SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE OF THE ANCIENT KHOREZM PEOPLE DURING THE BRONZE AGE

Аннотация

This article examines the social and economic life of the population during the Bronze Age in ancient Khorezm and its surrounding regions, based on the results of archaeological excavationsconducted at various sites. Keywords:Khorezm, Amu Darya, Bronze Age, economy, social life, productive forces, agriculture, Tozabagyab, craftsmanship, governance, military democracy. It is known that during the Soviet era, under the influence of “Communist ideology”, which permeated all aspects of life, the Khorezm Archaeological-Ethnographic Expedition, led by S.P. Tolstov, conducted extensive archaeological research over more than half a century in the lower Amu Darya, Sarikamish, and Uzboy regions. The results of these studies, published in various forms such as literature, dissertations, collections, and articles, provide valuable insights intothehistory ofour ancestors. The social, economic, and cultural-ethnic relations of Khorezm during the Bronze Age exhibituniquecharacteristics. The research of S.P. Tolstov, M.A. Itina, and Ya.G. Gulomov highlights the development and distinctive features of Bronze Age society. It is worth noting that the study of Uzbekistan's BronzeAge history began intheKhorezm oasis. According to the research of A.S. Kes and A.V. Andrianov, around the 5th millennium BCE, the Uzboy, Sarikamish, Okchadarya, and Aral regions experienced significant flooding of the Amu Darya, leading to the formation of water basins and lake systems that served human interests1. During this period, the Mesolithic people living around the Sultan Uvays mountain sought new economicresources and settled intheKumtepa hillsnear theOkchadarya basin. By the beginning of the 4th-3rd millennium BCE, the main flow of the Amu Darya was directed towards the Aral Sea through the Okchadarya tributary, creating water basins in the southern and northern Okchadarya, Tuymuyin, Kaparas, and Sarikamish regions, where early human settlements were established. S.P. Tolstov referred to the southern Okchadarya water basins and lakes as the "Venice of Central Asia." It is appropriate to introduce the term "Khorezm Venice" into historical literature to describe the numerous water basins formed between the Kumtepa hills during the Neolithic and Eneolithic periods. Historical records 1 Кесь А.С. Антропогенное воздействие на формирование аллювиально-дельтовых равнин Амударьи //Культура и искусство древнего Хорезма//М.”Наука”, 1981.стр.73; Вайнберг Б.И. Экология Приаралья в древности и средневековье //Этнографическое обозрение //М.”Наука”, № 1, 1997.стр.26, рис.2. Карта дельт Амударьи. page979 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue03,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai indicate that human activity continued in the southern Okchadarya basin and Kaparas oasis from themid-3rd millenniumBCEto the2ndmillennium BCE2. The social, economic, and ethnic processes of Khorezm's Bronze Age society are vividly illustrated by archaeological and anthropological artifacts found in settlements. Between the mid-3rd millennium BCE and the 2nd millennium BCE, Khorezm's Bronze Age society gradually developed. Archaeological findings suggest that Bronze Age tribes were located in the southern Okchadarya basin and the Kaparas oasis of the Tuymuyin system, along the shores of water basins and adjacent lowland areas. According to S.P. Tolstov, during the Bronze Age, agricultural tribes from southern Turkmenistan and pastoral tribes from the northeast migrated to Khorezm,creating the Suyargand and Tozabagyab cultures3. Research on the migration of the Suyargand culture bearers from southern Turkmenistan to the Okchadarya basin is not supported by archaeological evidence. By the 2nd millennium BCE, a sharp rise in the Amu Darya's water level caused the Okchadarya tributary to flood, creating numerous water basins and lakes in the southern Okchadarya region. Over time, these basins dried up,turning intobarren land. In these barren lands, Bronze Age tribes engaged in farming and animal husbandry. According to K. Sobirov, the Suyargand people were descendants of the Kaltaminor culture, continuingtheir traditionaleconomic practices. The historical processes in the Okchadarya basin logically support K. Sobirov's views. In reality, tribal communities from the Sarikamish and Uzboy regions settled in the Okchadarya basin4. Indeed, the Suyargand people, having migrated from southern Turkmenistan, began constructing homes based on their knowledge of clay architecture. They lived in semi- underground dwellings and developed hunting, animal husbandry, farming, and crafts such as weaving and pottery. However, unliketheir ancestors, the Margush and Bakhtarians, they didnot incorporate clay architecture into their daily lives. The tribes that migrated from the northeastern part ofthe southern Okchadarya were primarily engaged inpastoralism and simpleagriculture. The