3400 BC to 550 BC

Neanderthals and oasis towns

Neanderthals once lived in these mountains: the burial of a Neanderthal child was found in Teshik-Tash cave in 1938. In the Bronze Age, around 2000 BC, oasis towns such as Sapalli Tepe on the Surkhan Darya belong to the Bactria Margiana culture, while herders roam the steppes to the north. The Sogdians and Khwarazmians who later farm the great oases speak Eastern Iranian languages.