Papers by Mitchell Rothman
The End of the Kura-Araxes Phenomenon, 2024
This paper with Hakob Simonyan discusses the stratigraphy of Shengavit archaeological site and th... more This paper with Hakob Simonyan discusses the stratigraphy of Shengavit archaeological site and the transition from Early Bronze (Kura-Araxes) to Early Kurgan in the area of modern Yerevan.
This dataset contains a list of the artifacts found in each Godin Period IV oplot (operation and ... more This dataset contains a list of the artifacts found in each Godin Period IV oplot (operation and lot, the basic unit of recording for Godin Tepe Period IV). Artifacts include registered objects (described in greater detail in the “Artifacts List” collection in the Godin Tepe TSpace ...
ARAMAZD: Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Dec 31, 2022
Shengavit is a site of the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition, which radiocarbon dates and pottery st... more Shengavit is a site of the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition, which radiocarbon dates and pottery style indicate spans its second phase, the KA2, from 2900 to 2500 BC. It also documents the transition to the Early Kurgan Period. The six-hectare site gives indications that it was a center for this time and place. Unlike the societies of the KA1 of 3500-3000 BC, we recovered evidence of the development of increased societal complexity while retaining an egalitarian symbolism. One of these signs is the construction of a massive stone wall with watchtowers, which we think surrounded the top of a bluff over the Hrazdan River. The effort needed to plan and recruit the labor to construct this wall, along with a profusion of large grain storage pits greater in volume than needed by residents of the site, point to the origin of some coordination mechanisms at the site. Still, some have questioned the Kura-Araxes date for the settlement wall. We discuss these issues and present new findings about the wall in this contribution, made in honor of Ruben Badalyan, who himself has done so much to promote our knowledge of the Kura-Araxes in Armenia.
Ancient Near Eastern Studies, 2022
This is the extended summary of the article of the same name published in Ancient Near Eastern St... more This is the extended summary of the article of the same name published in Ancient Near Eastern Studies journal. It is the summary of a week-long workshop with 10 international scholars trying to piece together what we knew about the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition and societal dynamics.
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd eBooks, Mar 2, 2023
The emphasis of Armenian archaeology in the last few decades has been on establishing the chronol... more The emphasis of Armenian archaeology in the last few decades has been on establishing the chronology of named archaeological 'cultures' that define specific periods of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages. This effort is an essential first step in any analysis of Armenia's archaeological past. As that chronology becomes clearer, we can move on to other issues. One such issue is to understand the society and cultural traditions of the Kura-Araxes better and to discover why they transitioned into the societies like those of the Early Kurgan Period. To do this we need to expand the data we collect and how we use it to understand societal and cultural issues better. We need to reassess our analytical stance and widen and enrich the publication of details of our excavations' and surveys' archaeological remains if we are to discover what the lifeways of the populations in Armenia's deep past were, and why they changed. This contribution in Pavel Avetisyan's honor proposes some ideas of how we can do that.
Straigraphic sections for Godin IV, Square B1. Drawn by Mitchell Rothman based on sections drawn ... more Straigraphic sections for Godin IV, Square B1. Drawn by Mitchell Rothman based on sections drawn in the field.• W# indicates a wall number• Lot# indicates a lot number (listed and described in the provenience lists)• Numbers within triangles are areas (listed and ...
Systematizing the Past, 2023
The emphasis of Armenian archaeology in the last few decades has been on establishing the chronol... more The emphasis of Armenian archaeology in the last few decades has been on establishing the chronology of named archaeological 'cultures' that define specific periods of the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages. This effort is an essential first step in any analysis of Armenia's archaeological past. As that chronology becomes clearer, we can move on to other issues. One such issue is to understand the society and cultural traditions of the Kura-Araxes better and to discover why they transitioned into the societies like those of the Early Kurgan Period. To do this we need to expand the data we collect and how we use it to understand societal and cultural issues better. We need to reassess our analytical stance and widen and enrich the publication of details of our excavations' and surveys' archaeological remains if we are to discover what the lifeways of the populations in Armenia's deep past were, and why they changed. This contribution in Pavel Avetisyan's honor proposes some ideas of how we can do that.
PLOS ONE
The Kura-Araxes (KA) cultural phenomenon (dated to the Early Bronze Age, c. 3500/3350-2500 BCE) i... more The Kura-Araxes (KA) cultural phenomenon (dated to the Early Bronze Age, c. 3500/3350-2500 BCE) is primarily characterised by the emergence of a homogeneous pottery style and a uniform ‘material culture package’ in settlements across the South Caucasus, as well as territories extending to the Ancient Near East and the Levant. It has been argued that KA societies practised pastoralism, despite a lack of direct examination of dietary and culinary practices in this region. Here, we report the first analyses of absorbed lipid residues from KA pottery to both determine the organic products produced and consumed and to reconstruct subsistence practices. Our results provide compelling evidence for a diversified diet across KA settlements in Armenia, comprising a mixed economy of meat and plant processing, aquatic fats and dairying. The preservation of diagnostic plant lipid biomarkers, notably long-chain fatty acids (C20 to C28) and n-alkanes (C23 to C33) has enabled the identification of ...
These sketch plans record the location of areas, features, and elevations (below site datum) for ... more These sketch plans record the location of areas, features, and elevations (below site datum) for Godin Period IV. They are taken from sketch plans made in the field as interpreted and redrawn by Mitchell Rothman. These plans are not architecturally accurate and are not ...
This file provides the complete pottery typology produced by Mitchell Rothman for Godin Period IV... more This file provides the complete pottery typology produced by Mitchell Rothman for Godin Period IV. This dataset is protected by Canada's Copyright Act, and by similar laws in other countries. For permission to reproduce any of the material in this collection contact ...
Page 1. TEPE GAWRA: THE EV0LUTION 0F A SMALL, PREHIST0RIC CENTER IN N0RTHERN IRAQ Thls On o E50A-... more Page 1. TEPE GAWRA: THE EV0LUTION 0F A SMALL, PREHIST0RIC CENTER IN N0RTHERN IRAQ Thls On o E50A-HCF-S218 Page 2. Page 3. Page 4. . Page 5. TEPE GAWRA: THE EVOLUTION OF A SMALL, PREHISTORIC ...
This chapter discusses the societal organization of Kura-Araxes Societies using a model of inequa... more This chapter discusses the societal organization of Kura-Araxes Societies using a model of inequality by Marcella Frangipane
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2012
Ancient Iran and Its Neighbours
Results of re-interpretation of the oval and surrounding areas of Godin Tepe in the late 4th mill... more Results of re-interpretation of the oval and surrounding areas of Godin Tepe in the late 4th millennium. Addresses the earlier claims that Godin was a colony or merchants colony of the southern Mesopotamian Uruk city-states.
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Papers by Mitchell Rothman