SOME APPROACHES TO STUDY THE QUESTIONS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES AND ANCIENT HISTORY

Abstract

With reference to the topic, raised by G. A. Koshelenko in his review on the book "Kurganzol
– the fortress of Alexander in the south of Uzbekistan" by L. M. Sverchkova (VDI, 2015. № 2), based
on other publications of the author, including those co-authored the article considers the problem of
objectivity in historical research, methods of interpretation of archaeological data and the presentation
of their own opinions. Special focus is made on the persistent attempts to prove that the complex issues
of ancient history can be solved, based on guesswork and imagination.
All this was reflected in an unsuccessful attempt to determine the language of the carriers of the Jeytun,
Kelteminar and other cultures on the basis of archaeological materials, in an unreasonable approach
to solving the problems of the historical geography of the Bronze Age and the issues of migration of the
Gutian tribal union to Margiana and Bactria, the resettlement of the population of the Tarim Valley to
the Bandykhan oasis (Southern Uzbekistan).
The results of repeated studies of Bandykhan and Kyzyltepa sites have been considered separately,
including the chronological features and periodization of archaeological complexes, the history of
formation and development of the fortifications of Kyzyltepa and Bandykhan II. It is noted that the
authors of the new researches did not excavate the defensive walls of the Kyzyltepa settlement and the
Bandykhan II fortress, therefore their conclusions regarding the history of the fortification of these sites
remain unfounded; the characterization of some other problems of archaeology of the Late Bronze Age
and Early Iron Age requires scientific argumentation and comparative analysis.