Human Ecology and Village Settlements in Northern Central Plateau of Iran

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.