On the rituals of the creators of the «Oxus civilization»

The rites associated with the Oxus civilization are examined in the contextof the cultural transformations of the Bronze Age in the region of Outer Iran (term byP. Amiet). The emergence of the Akkadian empire is bound up with the increase ininter-regional exchange and trade, the appearance of trade colonies and wider contacts.In various parts of the region archaeological cultures developed, in the élite strata of whicha specific sub-culture took shape. It evidenced common features all across the regionand common ranges of high-status goods, while in low social strata regional traditionscontinued to exist. The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) singled outby Viktor Sarianidi was an élite culture, while in lower strata traditions of the Anau cultureand others closely linked with it were retained to a significant degree. Among the artefactsembodying the rituals pertaining to the Oxus Civilization, there emerged a geometrically-styled model of the world (exhibited in the lay-out of buildings, anthropomorphic sculpture,seal-stamp amulets, ritual vessels) and images of seasonal rituals. Distinctive features offunerary rituals and depictions of divinities make it possible to piece together concepts oflife after death and of divinities in the World of the dead.