Potters, herders and administrators: contextualizing the Leylatepe phenomenon

• Applicant: Privatdozent Mark Iserlis, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 565388694

The subject of the proposed project is the “Leylatepe culture/tradition”, a phenomenon that occurred in the central and eastern part of the South Caucasus in the 4th millennium BC, a time of remarkable economic and political change in the Caucasus, the Middle East and Europe. All studies present the Leylatepe phenomenon in the context of migration, cultural influences and contact with geographically distant cultures, overlooking the features of the phenomenon itself. We have a vague understanding of the chronological frame, main components of material culture and settlement structures of the phenomenon. The research is focused on exotic aspects, while the most basic components of material culture and chronological frameworks are ignored. In other words, theories and concepts about Leylatepe phenomenon are based on insufficient data and exotic finds. After almost 40 years of fieldwork and dozens of books and articles, the phenomenon remained undefined and linked to only a very loosely described ceramic typology and theories about migrations from Mesopotamia and the North Caucasus. The material culture of the Leylatepe settlements should first be studied and described before discussing migrations, contacts and influences. The aim of the proposed project is to create basic descriptions of contexts from two neighboring Leylatepe settlements on the basis of high- resolution excavations, special find analyzes and diachronic typological-technological analyzes of the cretulae and ceramic collections. The proposed study focuses on two main aspects: (1) The basic multidisciplinary study of material culture from well-documented archaeological contexts and, based on this, (2) The description of internal cultural dynamics, based on typologies, chronology and special studies. This basic work has the potential shed a light on systematically ignored aspects and to spark new discussions about the Leylatepe phenomenon its position in regard to other cultural phenomena in the Caucasus, the Middle East and Europe.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants