Le paysage fluvial et irrigué de Sarazm dans la moyenne vallée du Zeravchan, Tadjikistan, Asie centrale

Abstract

The geoarchaeological study of the river landscape of the Zeravchan Valley highlights the role of water as a morphogenic agent and the importance of factors controlling river dynamics according to different timelines. This landscape is also the result of interactions between the dynamics of this semi-arid and tectonically active area and the riparian societies that have developed there since the protohistoric era. This methodological approach is based on a multilevel study of the archives of the river landscape and the remains of hydraulic structures. The archaeological data are supplemented by a geomorphological study, Optically Stimulated Thermoluminescence (OSL) dating and micromorphological analysis of the sedimentary backfill of a canal which was in use in the 3rd millennium BE. This study shows that socio-environmental interactions, related to human settlement and water management in a challenging environment, contribute to the creation of such a water landscape over very short periods of time as well as over several millennia.

Keywords

• geo-archaeology
• river landscape
• irrigated system
• canals
• water management