See also: Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex and History of Turkmenistan § Ancient

history

The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex is the modern archaeological designation for a

Bronze Age civilization of Central Asia, dated to c. 2300–1700 BCE, located in present-day
northern Afghanistan, eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan,
centred on the upper Amu Darya (Oxus River). Its sites were discovered and named by the Soviet
archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi (1976).[citation needed]

BMAC materials have been found in the Indus Valley Civilisation, on the Iranian Plateau, and in
the Persian Gulf.[36] Finds within BMAC sites provide further evidence of trade and cultural
contacts. They include an Elamite-type cylinder seal and a Harappan seal stamped with an
elephant and Indus script found at Gonur-depe.[37] The relationship between Altyn-Depe and
the Indus Valley seems to have been particularly strong. Among the finds there were two
Harappan seals and ivory objects. The Harappan settlement of Shortugai in Northern Afghanistan
on the banks of the Amu Darya probably served as a trading station.[38]

A famous type of Bactrian artworks are the "Bactrian princesses". Wearing large stylized dresses
with puffed sleeves, as well as headdresses that merge with the hair, they embody the ranking
goddess, character of the central Asian mythology that plays a regulatory role, pacifying the
untamed forces.