
Asiangymmax
Embarassingly bad pheno
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The Yaz culture is often discussed as a candidate for the culture of the early Iranians as described in the Avesta, i.e., the collection of religious literatureof Zoroastrianism.[68] Its texts were passed on orallyfor a long time, which makes an identification with a precise archeological culture difficult.[69]Regardless, the identification of the Yaz culture with the civilization described in the Avesta is based on a number of factors that correlate the textual and archeological evidence.[70]
First, the geographical horizon of the Avesta makes it clear that the Avestan people lived in the eastern portion of Greater Iran.[71] As regards the time frame, the oldest texts are assumed to correspond to the late second millenium BCE,[72] whereas the later texts were probably composed in the first half of the first millenium BCE.[73] The Avesta is therefore probably connected with the southward movement of Iranian tribes from the Eurasian steppeinto southern Central Asia and eventually onto the Iranian plateau during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age.[74]
Moreover, the archeological features of the Yaz I culture are seen as the results of the intrusion of nomadic Indo-Iranians from the northern Andronovo culture and their interaction with indigenous traditions from the preceding BMAC culture.[2][24]This is also substantiated by the genetic makeup of Iranophone populations of southern Central Asia. A 2021 study by Kumar et al. shows how by the late Iron Age, the population of this region was characterised by a combination of BMAC and Andronovo ancestries.[75] Likewise, a 2022 study also shows how the ancestry of modern Tajiks and Yaghnobis largely formed during the early Iron Age by a mixture between these two groups.[76]
Finally, a lack of graves and excarnations emerged in the Early Iron Age, especially in Yaz I and II cultures,[77] the same period in which Zoroastrianism developed (works such as the Gathas often being dated to the second half or end of the 2nd millennium BC); the contemporary occurrence falls in line with certain traditions (see Tower of Silence) and cultural schools of thought, but there is ongoing scholarly debate surrounding such a connection.[2][78][79]
First, the geographical horizon of the Avesta makes it clear that the Avestan people lived in the eastern portion of Greater Iran.[71] As regards the time frame, the oldest texts are assumed to correspond to the late second millenium BCE,[72] whereas the later texts were probably composed in the first half of the first millenium BCE.[73] The Avesta is therefore probably connected with the southward movement of Iranian tribes from the Eurasian steppeinto southern Central Asia and eventually onto the Iranian plateau during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age.[74]
Moreover, the archeological features of the Yaz I culture are seen as the results of the intrusion of nomadic Indo-Iranians from the northern Andronovo culture and their interaction with indigenous traditions from the preceding BMAC culture.[2][24]This is also substantiated by the genetic makeup of Iranophone populations of southern Central Asia. A 2021 study by Kumar et al. shows how by the late Iron Age, the population of this region was characterised by a combination of BMAC and Andronovo ancestries.[75] Likewise, a 2022 study also shows how the ancestry of modern Tajiks and Yaghnobis largely formed during the early Iron Age by a mixture between these two groups.[76]
Finally, a lack of graves and excarnations emerged in the Early Iron Age, especially in Yaz I and II cultures,[77] the same period in which Zoroastrianism developed (works such as the Gathas often being dated to the second half or end of the 2nd millennium BC); the contemporary occurrence falls in line with certain traditions (see Tower of Silence) and cultural schools of thought, but there is ongoing scholarly debate surrounding such a connection.[2][78][79]