Anau

A tell site in the Kara Kum oasis of southern Turkestan, first excavated in the 1880s and again in 1904. Its name has been given to a Chalcolithic culture of the 5th and 4th millennium BC that parallels that of the sites of Sialk and Hissar (Hassuna) in Iran, especially with connections in pottery styles.. Characteristic finds include fine pottery with geometric painted decoration and simple copper tools. There was a farming subsistence economy and metal ores were probably imported from the south.

Site consisting of two separate tells in the Kara Kum desert of southern Turkmenia, Soviet Central Asia, first excavated in the 1880s and again in 1904. It has given its name to a Chalcolithic culture of the 5th millennium bc, which has been recognized on a number of tell sites. Characteristic material includes fine pottery with geometric painted decoration and simple copper tools. The mixed farming subsistence economy and the building traditions indicate continuity from the preceding Djeitun culture, but the metal ores were probably imported from the south, where both the Sialk culture of Iran (an early metal-working centre) and the Hassuna culture of Mesopotamia show connections in pottery styles with the Anau culture.