The Problem of Associating Elaziğ Korucutepe Elite Burial Chambers with Kurgan Tombs

Towards the end of the IV^th millennium B.C., the communities living in the Eastern Anatolia Region went through a transformation towards an urban culture as a result of the cultural change and transformation experienced in the region. It is observed that with urbanization, privileged families and groups were formed within the cities. We see the first burial tradition of an elite class that incorporates a belief in the hereafter among the peoples of Eastern Anatolia in the elite tombs of Korucutepe, which date back to the second half of the IV^th millennium B.C. In these two-chamber tombs made of adobe, numerous unique artifacts were recovered along with the deceased. Rich burial gifts reveal that a radical social and economic change took place in the region. Considering both chronological, rich grave goods and burial structures, these tombs, associated with Mesopotamia-Syria, Transcaucasia, and northeastern Iranian cultures, are understood to have unique local characteristics. However, in recent studies, these tombs have been associated especially with kurgan tombs.