Summary
An Attempt of a socio-culturological analysis of the Early Bronze Urbanism
Artak V. Gnuni
In the IV-III Millenniums B.C. the Armenian Highland was included in the area of the Shengavit (Kuro-Arax) archaeological culture which occupied about 1.5 ml. sq. km. It spread from the Northern Caucasus to Syria and Palestine, from the North-West Iran to the Tauros Mountains. It was characterized by some similarities in handcraft, architecture, beliefs. These factors led to the activation of the relations between the communities, and, as a result, to the formation of a common historical-cultural area. This created favourable conditions for the social development of the society, and, eventually, for the decay of the Primitive Society.
Urbanism was one of the most important socio-cultural phenomena on the stage of the decay of the Primitive Society.
In the Early Bronze Age the process of urbanism was proceeding very actively in the Armenian Highland, including the whole region of the Shengavit cultural area.
Some settlements of the Shengavit culture had almost all signs of the early cities; therefore, they had the principal functions of the early cities, being the agricultural, trade-handcraft, cultural-ideological, military-political centers.