Ira Schwartz
University of Toronto and ARISC Fellow
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
5:00-6:30PM Tbilisi Time / 9:00-10:30AM EDT
Azizkendi Tepe is a Late Chalcolithic period (ca 3900-3500BCE) site, located in the Marneuli plain in southern Georgia. The site was discovered in 2019 during pedestrian survey and after just two seasons of excavation it has come to hold a unique and important place in the archaeology of the South Caucasus. Our research at Azizkendi Tepe is centred around the processes of acculturation that took place during the “Leilatepe” period as Mesopotamian people migrated into the region in order to access its wealth of metal and mineral resources. Some of these people seem to have remained in the South Caucasus and, over time, participated in the formation of new social realities and novel practices which are visible in the material record at Azizkendi Tepe.
After a small excavation in 2023 revealed a dense concentration of pyrotechnical installations with no known parallels in the Southern Caucasus, we returned this year with hopes of identifying associated domestic architecture. Since homes are primary loci of social (re)production, finding these domestic spaces would help us better understand who was living at this site and how they engaged with the world around them. The results of our excavation this year included finding at least two large domestic spaces that are unique in the South Caucasus, as well as a range of material remains that show the intersection of identities at Azizkendi Tepe. This talk presents the finds from our 2024 excavation season and discusses how they fit into a broader regional context.
Ira Schwartz is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto. His research is centred in the Chalcolithic periods of the southern Caucasus, Iraq, and Jordan with a focus on studying pottery, chaînes opératoires, and communities of practice. He is interested in how these things can inform about changes in social boundaries at multiple scales, from the household to the region. Ira Schwartz is the recipient of ARISC Research and Mentoring Fellowship, supported with a grant from the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) through a grant to the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC).
This talk is organized as a part of the ARISC Event Series that showcases the work of ARISC fellows. ARISC does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, education, age, income, socio-economic status, or status as a covered veteran.