 | |
| Alternative names | Maikop, Majkop |
|---|---|
| Geographical range | Eurasian Steppe |
| Period | Bronze Age |
| Dates | c. 3700 BC – 3000 BC |
| Preceded by | Darkveti-Meshoko |
| Followed by | Yamna culture, Novosvobodnaya culture |
The Maykop culture or Maikop culture (Russian: майкоп, [mɐjˈkop], scientific transliteration: Majkop,), c. 3700 BC–3000 BC,[1] is a major Bronze Age archaeological culture in the western Caucasus region.
It extends along the area from the Taman Peninsula at the Kerch Strait to near the modern border of Dagestan and southwards to the Kura River. The culture takes its name from a royal burial, the Maykop kurgan in the Kuban River valley.
According to genetic studies on ancient DNA published in 2018, the Maykop population came from the south, from Imereti, and was descended from the Chalcolithic farmers known as Darkveti-Meshoko who first colonized the north side of the Caucasus. Maykop is therefore the "ideal archaeological candidate for the founders of the Northwest Caucasian language family".[2][3]
- ^ Ivanova, Mariya (2007). "The Chronology of the "Maikop Culture" in the North Caucasus: Changing Perspectives". Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies. II: 7–39.
- ^ Wang, Chuan-Chao; Reinhold, Sabine; Kalmykov, Alexey; Wissgott, Antje; Brandt, Guido; Jeong, Choongwon; Cheronet, Olivia; Ferry, Matthew; Harney, Eadaoin; Keating, Denise; Mallick, Swapan; Rohland, Nadin; Stewardson, Kristin; Kantorovich, Anatoly R.; Maslov, Vladimir E.; Petrenko, Vladimira G.; Erlikh, Vladimir R.; Atabiev, Biaslan Ch.; Magomedov, Rabadan G.; Kohl, Philipp L.; Alt, Kurt W.; Pichler, Sandra L.; Gerling, Claudia; Meller, Harald; Vardanyan, Benik; Yeganyan, Larisa; Rezepkin, Alexey D.; Mariaschk, Dirk; Berezina, Natalia; Gresky, Julia; Fuchs, Katharina; Knipper, Corina; Schiffels, Stephan; Balanovska, Elena; Balanovsky, Oleg; Mathieson, Iain; Higham, Thomas; Berezin, Yakov B.; Buzhilova, Alexandra; Trifonov, Viktor; Pinhasi, Ron; Belinskij, Andrej B.; Reich, David; Hansen, Svend; Krause, Johannes; Haak, Wolfgang (December 2019). "Ancient human genome-wide data from a 3000-year interval in the Caucasus corresponds with eco-geographic regions". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 590. Bibcode:2019NatCo..10..590W. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-08220-8. PMC 6360191. PMID 30713341.
- ^ Anthony, David (2019). "Archaeology, Genetics, and Language in the Steppes: A Comment on Bomhard". Journal of Indo-European Studies. 47 (1/2): 175–198.