Brief synthesisThe proto-urban site of Sarazm is an archaeological site which bears witness to the development of settlements in Central Asia from the 4th millennium BCE to the late 3rd millennium BCE. The Proto-urban Site of Sarazm illustrates the early rise of proto-urbanization in this region, reflected in the sophistication of the dwellings, infrastructures, and archaeological findings. The Proto-urban Site of Sarazm had connections with the steppes of Central Asia, and in addition with the Turkmenian, proto-Elamite, Mesopotamian, and Indus worlds. Criterion (iii): The Proto-urban Site of Sarazm constitutes a remarkable human settlement, exceptional in its geographical situation, in Central Asia, in the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE, to which its proto-urban and architectural remains and its archaeological findings bear witness. The Proto-urban Site of Sarazm is one of the places that gave birth to and saw the development of the major trans-Eurasian trade routes.