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STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF NEOLITHIC CLAN COMMUNITIES IN ETHNIC
RELATIONS IN THE LOWER ZARAFSHAN VALLEY
Usmanova Inobat Ibragimovna
Doctoral student of the Urganch State Pedagogical Institute,
teacher-intern of the “Нistory and geography” department.
inobatusmanova540@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4013-3556
Annotation:
The article reflects the stages of development of ethnic processes of communities of
the Neolithic period of the Lower Zarafshan.
Key words:
Gulyamov Ya.G, Islamov U, Askarov A, Vinogradov A.V, Kholmatov N.U,
Mamedov E.D, Lower Zarafshan, Mokhandaryo, Guzhayli, Uchaschi-131, Darbozakyr 1,2,
Khudzhagumbaz, Saksaul, Tamin, Kasmala, Talas.
INTRODUCTION
As a result of repeated geological processes, the surface of the territory of Uzbekistan consisted
of mountains and plains. According to the data recorded in geographical literature, the Lower
Zarafshan region was a plain. Due to the flooding of the Zarafshan River, the areas in the
Kyzylkum interfluve turned into water bodies, the organic world of which, along the banks of
which reedbeds and thickets were productively used, was transformed into a reservoir, and the
ethnic processes of the settlement of Neolithic tribal communities in the process of their daily
activities were taken into account. The geographical location of the Lower Zarafshan Valley, the
stages of the emergence, formation and development of the anthropogenic landscape, the
ecological conditions of the settlement of Neolithic tribal communities in the process of their
development are considered.
METHODS
According to the achievements of geography in Uzbekistan, 25-10 million-500 thousand years
ago, the Kyzylkum-Aral Basin was a plain [1]. The Quaternary period of the geological era was
covered by the Pleistocene glaciation from the Mindelian stage to the Holocene (10 thousand
years) [3. 4.] According to the conclusion of P. Baratov, as a result of geological processes, it is
known that the territory of Uzbekistan consists of mountainous and plain areas, which, in terms
of geographical location, natural resources, location of rivers, and natural resources, are plains of
the Ustyurt, Lower Amu Darya and Lower Zarafshan valleys. The development of the Lower
Zarafshan valley by humans began late in the Akchadarya basin, that is, the population of the
Burli-3 settlement located at the foot of the Sultan Uvais mountain range was engaged in ethnic
relations in the Late Stone Age and Mesolithic periods [5]. According to N.U. Kholmatov, the
inhabitants of the Uchaschi-131 settlement, located in the area of the Daryosay tributary,
which arose in the Bukhara-Karakul oasis due to the rise in the water level of the Zarafshan
River, carried out ethnic processes in the southeastern regions of Ustyurt in the late 7th
millennium BC - mid-5th millennium BC, along with the first Neolithic tribal communities, and
their descendants continued the previous economic practices of the Janbos-4 tribal communities
in the Akchadarya basin in the late 5th millennium BC - mid-4th millennium BC [6]. It should be
noted that the results of archaeological research conducted by the Mohandaryo archaeological
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group of the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of
Uzbekistan under the leadership of Ya.G.Gulomov in the 1950s around the small and large
settlements formed in connection with the rise in the water level of the Mohandaryo tributary of
the Zarafshan River have provided unique sources for studying the history of the Neolithic
period of the primitive community system of Uzbekistan. In their fundamental monograph, the
researchers noted that the stone tools collected from the settlements registered during the
archaeological fieldwork conducted in the Lower Zarafshan Valley belong to the Kaltaminor
culture[7].
In the 1940s-1950s, the second stage of archaeological study of Stone Age settlements in the
Lower Zarafshan Valley began. The Mohandaryo archaeological group, led by Ya.G. Gulomov,
artificially built the Mohandaryo settlement on the hills adjacent to the foothills of the water
basins formed as a result of the high water supply of the Mohandaryo and Gujaili tributaries of
the Zarafshan River, using building materials from the surrounding areas.
Material objects obtained from the cultural layers of the Darbazakyr 1 and 2 settlements were
found to be similar to the construction of the Janbos-4 settlement in the Akchadarya basin, and
material objects.
As a result of the excavations carried out by the Mohandaryo archaeological group at the
Darbazakyr-1 settlement, its topographic structure was rectangular, and its total geographical
area was 80 m2[8].
In the third chapter of the monograph “Kuyi Zarafshan in the Neolithic Period” published by
Ya.G. Gulomov, U.Islomov, A.Askarov, it is noted that in the Karakul oasis of the Neolithic
period, a wooden pillar dwelling was rectangular in shape, the upper part was covered with
branches and reeds, and in the center was a “fireplace”, and tribal groups were engaged in
hunting deer, gazelles, wild horses, pigs, quails, hunting weapons, fishing rods, bows and arrows,
and pickling. Thus, like the Jonbos-4 settlement, the settlement was artificially built on the
ground level from the surrounding building materials. The plan of this rectangular base was
identified in the third cultural layer of the settlement.
The third historical stage continues from 1965 to the present. During this historical period,
archaeological exploration and excavation work was carried out by the Khorezm archaeological
expedition, the Mohandarya archaeological group, and the Samarkand State University
archaeological group, and unique material objects were obtained. In particular, since 1960, U.
Islamov, a special Neolithic archaeological group, has been conducting extensive excavations at
settlements located in the foothills of the Mohandarya and Gojaili tributaries, and has managed
to obtain new material objects [9].
In 1961-1965, U.I. Islamov conducted archaeological exploration in the Mohandarya and Gojaili
tributaries, registering more than 50 Neolithic settlements built on the ground with wooden
pillars, and conducting excavation work in some of them. In this historical period, in the foothills
of the Lower Zarafshan Valley, the Zarafshan River, the Daryosay tributary, samples of objects
from the cultural layers of the Uchaschi-131 and Khudzhakumbaz settlements were recorded in
the monograph of the Khorezm expedition employee A.V. Vinogradov. Also, objects from the
Neolithic settlements of Saksaul, Koptu, Tamin, Shulkum, Esen-Tyube, Zhalpak, Kosmola 1.6,
Talas-1, and Aimora-1 were found in the lower Syrdarya basin [10]. The researcher N.
Kholmatov described the results of archaeological research conducted in the vicinity of the
Chorbakty stream, which included excavations at 59 Neolithic settlements [11].
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As a result of archaeological and geomorphological work carried out by A.V. Vinogradov and
E.D. Mamedov in southwestern Kyzylkum in 1979-1984, 26 archaeological monuments of the
Neolithic period were registered in the Chorbakty stream area [11]. The material and spiritual
culture of the Uchachi and Darbozakyrlik Neolithic tribal communities, who conducted ethnic
relations in the Lower Zarafshan Valley during the Neolithic period, and the Janbos-4 settlement
tribal communities, who used water basins between sand dunes around the Yanboshkala Heights
in the Akchadarya basin, were studied [12].
RESULTS
Based on the data recorded in geological, geographical and archaeological literature, the
geographical environment, climatic conditions, anthropogenic landscape, history of the
Zarafshan River, human settlement, ethnic processes, and settlement patterns of the Lower
Zarafshan Valley were analyzed. The geographical position of the Zarafshan Valley plain, which
is the result of geological development processes, anthropogenic landscape, natural conditions,
ecology, and ethnic processes that led to human settlement, are divided into Middle and Lower
Zarafshan. It was noted that the Western Zarafshan-Bukhara-Karakul oasis was mastered by
humans in the Neolithic period (7th millennium BC - mid-5th millennium BC) and turned into an
ethnic area, and this process continued step by step. During this historical period, as a result of
the activity of the Daryasay tributary of the Zarafshan River, the Uchachi-131 settlement in the
Karakul region was the first ethnic area for humans. The Echkiliksay, Daryasay, Mohandarya,
Gujaili and Oyakagitma tributaries of the Zarafshan River served as the basis for the lifestyle and
economic activities of the tribal communities of the Uchachi-131 settlement.
DISCUSSION
The information mentioned in the topic allowed us to draw the following final conclusions:
-It is known from historical data that, like the Akchadarya basin, the Lower Zarafshan Valley
was not inhabited by the Acheulean population of the Bukhara-Karakul oasis during the
Acheulean period.
-Human settlement in the Lower Zarafshan Valley began in the Neolithic period, marking the
beginning of the Neolithic period in the history of Uzbekistan.
-The hunter-gatherers of the Uchashchi-131 settlement used natural resources in their daily
activities, determined their first profession, further improved it, and continued their next
historical path.
Summarizing the historical information contained in the article, we found it necessary to make
the following proposals:
-The Khorezm oasis of Shurakhon and the Lower Zarafshan Valley are geologically unified,
while the conditions of the Kyzylkum desert are common, but differ in hydrological
characteristics, which necessitates the study of the history of the population's economy.
-Analyzing the history of the economic and cultural interactions of the Neolithic tribal
communities of the South Akchadarya and Lower Zarafshan Valleys;
-Proposals such as clarifying the territorial boundaries of the population's settlement in the two
regions and explaining demographic issues were put forward.
References
1. Gulyamov Ya.G. Istoriya Oroshenia Khorezma s drevneyshikh vremen do nashikh dney-
Tashkent, "Fan", 1957-S.45-46.
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2. Gulyamov Ya.G, Islamov U.I, Askarov A.
Pervobytnaya kultura i vozniknovenie
oroshaemogo zemledelia v Nizovyakh Zarafshana-Tashkent, Fan, 1966-S 25-29.
3. Islamov U.I. Otkrytie neoliticheskoy kultury na Makhan-Dare (ONU-Tashkent,:Fan, 1961.
No. 1-S.61-68.
4. Vinogradov A.V. Drevnie okhotniki i rybovy Sredneaziatskoy mejdurechya M.:Nauka,
1981.T.XIII-S 64-93.
5. Kholmatov N. A. Novye neoliticheskie pamyatniki na starorechyax Zarafshana //Novye
otkrytyya v Priarale-M.:Nauka, 1991 a. Vyp-1-S 4-33.
6. Vinogradov A.V, Mamedov E.D.
Arkheologo-geomorfologicheskie raboty v Yugo-
Zapadnyx Kyzylkumax v 1984 g //AO, 1985-M.: Nauka, 1986-S 456-457.
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