Afghanistan in the Bronze Age

The proposed research, entitled “Afghanistan in the Bronze Age: investigating settlement patterns and raw material trade networks,” will address fundamental, open questions of Bronze Age Afghanistan. It will give the first holistic overview of this period through a comprehensive catalogue and mapping of Bronze Age sites. In addition, data will be collated about the distribution of raw and finished lapis lazuli artefacts in Afghanistan as well as broader Central Asia, South Asia, and Iran. It will then analyze settlement patterns and their relation to mineral resources. The distribution of lapis lazuli artefacts will also be analyzed to understand the organization of trade and networks of exchange in this raw material, additionally drawing on ethnographic comparative data to build models for the socio-economic behaviour behind patterns observed. Ultimately, the impact of internal driving forces versus external ones for the extraction and trade of raw materials will be evaluated.