مجله مطالعات باستان شناسی
سال هفتم شماره 1 (پیاپی 11، بهار و تابستان 1394)

In February and March 2005, the archaeological survey of Righ Saray desert in the northern part of Varzaneh was conducted. Ancient Rigsray is an area which has been buried by the sandy dunes at the western margin of the marsh Gavkhoni. During this project nearly 100 archaeological sites were identified and recorded. One of the most important sites identified by the survey is Saba 9 which is the subject of present paper. Comparative study on the pottery collection of the site suggests for the site a third millennium B.C. date. The abundance of surface scatters including pottery and especially beads is remarkable and higher density of beads and pendants made from stone, bone and ivory in addition to the finished and unfinished examples on the surface suggest that Saba 9 may have been a manufacturing site for these items. In this article we have tried to determine the relative chronology of the site through the study of pottery and beads by comparing them with well known sites resulted in to conclude the possible interaction of Saba 9 with the contemporary sites of surrounding areas.

In this study, 27 Achaemenid coins, 62 Parthian coins, 66 Sassanid coins, have been analyzed. The Achaemenid coins as well as 20 Parthian coins belong to the National Museum of Iran and the other 42 Parthian coins are kept in Tamashagah-e Pool Museum. Sasanid coins belong to private collectors. Using PIXE analysis, the element concentrations of the coins were measured. By using statistical analysis on the concentration of the elements, the samples were analyzed using factor analysis method. Statistical analysis shows that the coins belonging to the Achaemenid and Sassanid periods can be identified and separated based on the changes of Cu/Ag, Pb/Ag and Au/Ag ratios. In particular the relative change in Cu/Ag ratio in the Achaemenid period is very low, whereas it is high for the Parthian Coins.

This study assumes areas between the Central Zagros region and Central plateau of to play an important role in the shaping social and economic complexity and the formation of urban infrastructure during the late chalcolithic period of the region. Regarding the issue an archaeological survey conducted in the area, 39 sites were identified and were archaeologically analyzed. For spatial data analysis both Rank-size and Entropy analysis index were used. The Rank-size data and their distributional pattern across the area indicated a close relationship between the site size and the settlements functionalities as well as their expansion on the plain and their communications with the adjacent regions. The concave logarithmic graph of Rank-size analysis and increasing Entropy index yielded from the settlement size measurements, resulted in the lack of existence of a concentrative organizational system of production or a high level communicating network for the settlements of the Hamadan Plain during the late chalcolithic period. Thus the result of this analysis indicates the fact that the cultural complexity or production systems of the Late Chalcolithic occupants of the area did not follow the central place or other centralized system of relationships as may have been seen from the other late Chalcolithic sites of Iran.

Chipped stones, like many other archaeological artifacts, change in their original context. One of the most important changes is breakage. Although it is clear that chipped stones which are gathered by archaeologists might have been broken, there have been few discussions made on the estimating the original number of chipped stones before breaking. In this article we have introduced different methods of counting broken fragments of chipped stones when refitting is impossible. Seven different assemblages of chipped stones have been experimentally broken and their fragments have been counted by using different methods in order to find the competible methods to count fragments of chipped stones in an archaeological assemblages.

One of the most important sits of Sasanian period in Iran from which the Royal Hunting Plaques were recovered has been Chal Tarkhan of Eshgh Abad. There was a Sasanian palace containing a considerable number of stucco representing variety of subject pointing to a deep understanding of Sasanian stucco art. In spite of the researchers made by e.g. Thompson and Kroger on this Plaques yet, there have been doubts around their true identity as well as theirs art styles. The pieces of Chal Tarkhan stucco plaques represen three version of hunting scene by Sasanian Kings consisting of Bahram and Azade on a camel, King on a deer and several pieces of the King on the horseback. In this article we review the most special characteristics of the plaques motifs through making a comparative study among the well known motifs of Sasanian objects to place the Royal Hunting of Chal Tarkhan Plaques in their real chronological order. We also attempted to explain the artistic sides of the Plaques as the different art works of Sassanians represent different ideas and motifs.

According to zooarchaeological evidence, Central Zagros as a center of domestication experienced independently the first step of livestock domestications. It seems that Capra hircus have been domesticated about 10,500 B.C in Central Zagros and since then, has played a key role in the food economy of this region. Outstanding development of genetics shed new lights on the origins of goat and domestication process of this species in southwestern Asia. The aim of this study was a pure extraction of ancient DNA and then amplification of hypervariable segment of mtDNA through PCR technique. Then the prime query of this research was recognition of Neolithic goat haplotypes and their comparison with the modern standard haplotypes through phylogenetic tree.

In the third season excavation of Lama Cemetery (Chal Shahin Lama), a cylindrical seal with inscription was found and because of its significance, it was introduced, compared and analyzed. Existence of this seal indicates the continuation of nomadic practices of the people of this cemetery in spite of change of material culture (for example, ceramic). The seal of Lama and its grave reflect the broad cultural communication with neighboring regions. Moreover, the prolonged use of Lama’s cylindrical seal emphasizes that caution be practiced in chronological studies based on one particular object or index. There is a huge gap in the time between the creation of the inscription and engraving of the animal. It is likely that the inscription of this seal belongs to the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age and the image of the ostrich dates to Iron Age III.

Human- environment interaction is among the subject matters explored by human ecology with the help of natural sciences based on anthropological and archaeological perspectives in an eclectic fashion. The present paper offers exploring the framework and concepts used in ecology, the terminology pertaining to and geographical boundaries of Central Plateau of Iran and its northern part will be discussed. After reviewing the ecological features of the region, variables determining the adaptive process of the settlements with the natural environment in ancient and recent time - especially the village period- will be assessed. Identifying adaptive strategies and behaviors and technologies involved therein form the base of the human ecological approach and its subject matter. This approach has previously been applied in especially in western Iran. But in other parts of the country, archaeological research has rarly progressed beyond description of sites, introduction of finds and rudimentary explanation of cultural change. The distinct ecological features of the Central Plateau of Iran and its internal variation on one hand, and a series of recent archaeological field projects in the region on the other, demands a fresh look of the region from ecological point of view and utilizing new finds in assessing enduring archaeological questions.

The study of the circumstances surrounding the development of record-keeping for information purposes, and of what these records looked like, in prehistoric human societies has always played a significant role in archaeological research. Such research is important because it relates to the beginnings of the use of accounting and reckoning systems, which came to be one of the principal elements of institutionalized management and bureaucracies under during the urbanized historical periods. Tepe Zagheh is one of the key sites of the transitional period from Neolithic to Chalcolithic in the Qazvin Plain, having provided a considerable collection of tokens (counting objects) in addition to the various other pieces of cultural evidence that were discovered through the successive excavations projects. Thus 238 Zagheh tokens were available for typological study and theoretical analysis. The main goal of this paper is to re-identify accounting and reckoning systems applied in Tepe Zagheh and to study the evolutionary processes of accounting systems in this prehistoric site. It is apparent from the study that the Zagheh society experienced an early form of accounting system for keeping track of farm products and of animal counts, and that tokens were the tools used to document such reckoning processes.

According to the inscriptions the eastern and southern shores of Lake Urmia were occupied by Urartuian Empire in 9th century B.C. There have been evidences such as the inscribed documents as well as a number of archaeological sites contain in Urartuian materials which all reveals the conquest of Urartuian over the area. Some of these inscriptions give an account of efforts made by Urartuian Kings to consolidate their long term powers as they tried to build various fortifications in the invaided territoried. Göyce Qala in city of Maragheh is one of the castles implying the presence and influence of Urartuian in the area for at least half a century. This paper describes the characteristics of Göyce Qala castle through comparing it with the most well-known Urartuian castles of the neighbor in areas to understand not only the physical patterns of the castle itself but to explain the role of this castle played in the area to extend Urartuian military controls over the area around 810 to 764 B.C.