Proto-Urban site of Sarazm Tajikistan
The proto-urban settlement of Sarazm dates back to the first half of the 4th millennium BCE. It may have been established on an earlier village of farmers dating back to the Neolithic. In its earliest level, a particularly rich funerary circle testifies to the existence of an important settlement in around 3500 BCE. In geographical terms, Sarazm is situated at a point of contact between a mountainous area and an extensive plain. In the 4th millennium BCE, contacts developed between nomadic shepherds from the mountains and the agrarian populations of Transoxiana, on the basis of economic complementarity. The mountains that frame the main valley, to the north and south of Sarazm, are rich in a variety of mineral raw materials and metal ores. They can be crossed by high valleys and passes which are accessible in the summer, particularly to the south. Continent: Asia Country: Tajikistan Category: Cultural Criterion: (II)(III) Date of Inscription: 2010