Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies
Volume:2 Issue: 1, Winter and Spring 2012

There is a range of evidence that informs us about the organisation of the Achaemenid Empire, but our understanding of the eastern-most reaches of the empire, which lie within the bounds of modern-day Pakistan is relatively limited. While there is evidence for the eastern provinces in imperial art and references to them in Achaemenid Royal inscriptions, the archaeological record in the subcontinent is far more ephemeral and less straightforward to interpret. Some of the clearest information about these eastern regions comes from the historians who wrote about the conquest of Alexander at the end of the 4th century BC. The evidence for the Achaemenid period in the east is also informed by an understanding of the archaeological evidence from the preceding periods, which implies that the Achaemenid Empire annexed existing regional entities during the 6th century BC, and employed a layered administrative system in the east that saw differing degrees of control exerted in different regions.

To recognize the dynamic of vegetation in eastern Iran as well as to ascertain interactions of human societies with their environment, the present study is carried out on charcoal samples collected from Shahr-i Sokhta dated back to the Bronze Age. This research will present two different vegetal formations used by the inhabitants of Shahr-i Sokhta: riparian formation with species such as tamarisk (Tamarix) and willow (Salix) and steppe taxa like Chenopodiaceae and saltwort (Salsola). By comparing charcoal data with those of present flora, certain changes concerning the vegetation structure in this part of Iran have been identified. These changes are best explained in terms of anthropogenic or environmental factors. The major presence of riparian taxa in the studied samples indicates that Sistan had favorable environmental conditions in the third millennium B. C. The study also concludes that the ancient vegetation of southern delta of Sistan have been relatively richer than the existing situation.

After advent of Islam especially through and after the reign of Abbasid caliphs; interest of scientists and engineers was drawn towards the” mechanical or ingenious devices”. The wise jar was originally designed by Ahmad ibnMüsä, the famous Iranian scientist who lived in the 5th century A.H.(9th A.D). It consists of a jar with a mechanically intelligent mechanism inside, which is capable of separating two liquids on the bases of their densities. This jar was constructed and tested as a part of an experimental archaeology research project at the Iranian Research Organization for Science & Technology (IROST). The jar was designed in detail, and was manufactured and tested according to a book entitled Al- Hiyal; written by Ahmad ibn Müsä. However, to establish the correct operation of the jar, minor modifications were made to its original design set up and it was tested, and as a result the jar operated as expected by the book.

Human and animal skeletal remains can provide information about the food chain of inhabitant’s nutrition of archaeological sites. The food chain which at it minerals and organic materials transferred from soil to the plants, from plants to the animals, and from herbivores animals to the carnivores, is the benchmark system in ancient diet. Although Chemical interactions between soils, animal and human remains should not be disregarded, chemical data can provide useful information about the paleodiet. In present paper, the concentration of Chemical elements was analyzed in eight premolar teeth of mature individuals as well as a teenager without discrimination of their sex, from discovered graves of Iron Age of Gohar Tepe. The site had been populated until the Iron Age. In addition, we have investigated the ratios of Sr, Ba, Ca, P, with the purpose of studying the food chain from animal to human by analyzing discovered animal teeth in the site. To control diagenetic processes, the calcium/phosphorus (Ca/P) index was used. Furthermore the amount of chemical element in teeth and peripheral soil was compared. Concentration level of Chemical elements was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The Strontium content and the Ba/Sr ratios show that the human population in Gohar Tepe used products of animal origin somewhat more than plants and terrestrial food more than seafood in their diet.

Twelve proto-Elamite tablets and fragments were found during the 2006-07 excavation at Tape Sofalin in the northern Central Iranian Plateau. The form and content of these tablets is entirely consistent with that of the standard and late proto- Elamite tablets from Susa, except TSF 11, which we date to the Susa II/GodinV Period. Although all of the inscribed objects from Tape Sofalin published here are very fragmentary, they document the existence of a developed administration system.

The lion-bull iconography during the Achaemenian period of ancient Persia has generated different theories of astronomical and seasonal events besides the suggestions that it could be the symbol of the time cycle of the day, with lion representing the sun and bull the night. However, the present paper draws the reader’s attention to the hitherto unexplored angle of zoology to understand physiognomy of the lion-bull iconography in sculptural art of ancient Iran. The zoomorphology of lion and bull attempts at taxonomic identification based on iconography, which is also influenced by observations, imagination and collective psyche of sculptors. Notwithstanding this human bias involved in depiction of the animal, the present study demonstrates ‘near-nature’ precision in sculptural art, thereby allowing precise identification and shows how the artistic manifestations reflect a combination of animal morphology with myths and collective observations that might have passed down since generations. This is yet another form of faunal evidence that needs to be taken into account in addition to the skeletal record when confronted with presenting a holistic view of the animal world at the site. The paper is structured into three parts viz. Zoo-morphology of lion-bull motifs, Biogeography and Early History of lion and bull, and Faunal (skeletal) evidence of Lion and Bull in protohistoric and early historic Iran. This study highlights the significance of integrating skeletal record with other means of ‘faunal evidence’ in ancient literature, iconography, coins and ceramics that are helpful in understanding ancient subsistence, and socio- religious structure.

This paper centers on ancient, generally rather scattered and elusive remains of gameplay. Focusing on a discrete assemblage of game-related artefacts from the Bronze Age Indus Valley urban settlement of Mohenjo daro, it conducts a detailed study of some of the patchy features to see whether more structured elements thereby can be distinguished. The finds are approached situated in a broader, game-related context through a short recapitulation of findings at roughly contemporary sites in Egypt, Western Asia, and Iran. Thereafter is intra-site, spatial features of the finds explored, as well as particularities in appearance. While the playing of games is a rather universal human enterprise, its forms and expressions may likewise be seen as highly sensitive to the specific, social environment and fluctuations. Because of this intra-societal affiliation, identifying patterns of ancient gaming is suggested to contribute both to site specific inquiries and investigations of interregional distinctions and influences.