- The extent of the BMAC (according to the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture)
Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (English: Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex) — one of the Bronze Age civilizations that existed in the territory of eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan, northern Afghanistan, and western Tajikistan from the 23rd to the 18th centuries BC — contemporaneously with the Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and the Old Babylonian Kingdom in Mesopotamia.
The thesis about the existence of such a civilization was put forward in 1976 by the Soviet-Greek archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi. In his opinion, the main centers of the civilization were Namazga-Tepe and Altyn-Depe in modern Turkmenistan. It is not excluded that the core of the civilization was located on the territory of Afghanistan or Balochistan, which is currently inaccessible for archaeological research due to political instability. In this regard, the name of the archaeological culture in scientific publications varies — among others, the terms "Oxus civilization," "oasis civilization," and "Bactria-Margiana culture" have been proposed.
Excavations by Masson and Sarianidi revealed the foundations of structures (including fortifications) that were grand for their time at Namazga-Tepe, Altyn-Depe, and a number of other sites. Characteristic features include unpainted pottery, two-tier pottery kilns, cast copper and bronze items (knives, daggers, mirrors), and clay models of carts. Remains of multi-room houses divided by narrow streets were discovered. Highly developed ceramics and jewelry indicate the presence of a large number of artisans in the cities. Seals and other artifacts discovered within the area of the supposed civilization belong to an artistic system fundamentally different from the civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Moreover, pictograms on one of the seals may indicate the presence of a special writing system in the settlements of the Margiana civilization.
Sarianidi himself was inclined to consider the bearers of the civilization as Indo-Iranians and attempted to find correspondences to archaeological realities in the "Avesta" and the "Vedas."
Meanwhile, in the layers of the Margiana civilization, there are practically no burials or depictions of horses typical of Indo-Iranians, nor are there any signs of armed invasion from the north into Bactria and Margiana. In the Indo-Iranian proto-language, there is almost no complex construction and agricultural terminology of native origin, but there are terms borrowed from an unknown source. In this regard, it seems more likely that the bearers of the civilization belonged to the pre-Indo-European population of Central Asia. Apparently, the Indo-Iranian ethnos occupied the territory north of the oases of the Margiana civilization and actively contacted its bearers (see Andronovo culture). Hypotheses have been put forward that the bearers of the civilization spoke Sino-Caucasian, Dravidian, or Kassite languages.
No material has been preserved to determine the linguistic affiliation of the ancient Margiana population. Nor is there evidence of the existence of a single linguistic community throughout Bactria and Margiana. It is not excluded that the bearers of the Margiana civilization spoke a language close to the now-isolated Burushaski. There is an assumption about the influence of the Jiroft civilization on the Bactria-Margiana culture.
Sources:
Ethnogenesis of the Abkhazians. D.A. Arshba, 2015