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Archaeology Victor Sarianidi. Long Before Zarathustra (Archaeological evidences of Protozoroastrianism in Bactria and Margiana). Moscow: Staryi Sad. 2010. 167 pages, 92 figures, 70 plates, 2 maps. ISBN 5-89930-133-3.
This small book, written in Russian by the eminent Russian archaeologist Victor Sarianidi who is well known for his excavations in the area of Bactria and Margiana, is an expanded version of an earlier article which he presented in the Transactions of the Margiana Archaeological Expedition (Vol. 2. M., 2008). Here he deals with the most recent archaeological discoveries of that area. An English translation follows the Russian text of this larger work. The figure and plate captions are presented in both languages. For a much expanded work on this subject but one that does not deal with these latest discoveries, one should turn to Sarianidi's Margiana and Protozoroastrism (1998).
Although the Forward presents a brief background of Zoroastrianism and what is known of Zarathustra (Zarathustra and Zoroaster are used interchangeably) the thrust of the book is the archaeological finds found in the great Kara-Kum desert that rests on the eastern border of modern Turkmenistan. This area, known from the Behistun inscription, was in ancient times identified as Margush country.
At the end of the 3rd millennium BC tribes of farmers and cattle-breeders with a developed art style migrated to this area from the delta of the Murgab river. It was during this period that saw a sharp decline in rainfall which caused instances of great migrations resulting in abandoned fields and settlements. Sarianidi reminds us that many...