SocietyCentral Asia

The Oxus civilisation

2,201 BCE – 1,701 BCE

Cities in the desert between all the others, found in 1976

In depth

The complex at Gonur Depe has concentric walls and a water system supplying thousands in a region with almost no rainfall. Finds include objects from the Indus, Mesopotamia and the steppe — the place was a crossroads long before the Silk Road had a name. Some scholars hold that it was here the Indo-Iranians paused on their way towards India and Iran.

For children

Between Mesopotamia, the Indus and the steppe lay a forgotten civilisation with fortified towns, irrigation and fine metalwork. No one knew it existed until Soviet archaeologists uncovered it in the 1970s.

Connects to

The steppe people move out3,301 BCE – 2,601 BCE
The Indus Valley civilisation2,601 BCE
The Silk Road opens131 BCE

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org