Preliminary Report on the Archaeological Survey of Bronze Age Sites in Hozdar region of Sistan

Sistan plain is the center of the formation of significant and important areasin the late fourth millennium and early third millennium BC that have played a Fundamental role in Formation of human communities.  Archaeological surveys and excavations in Sistan region have been conducted with the aim of studying the archaeological position of this region and political, social and cultural developments in the Bronze Age. One of the most important ancient areas in the southern parts of the Sistan plain is the Hozdar region with an area of about 40 square kilometers. The first season of the project to survey and determine the area and propose the boundaries of Hozdar area under the supervision of Mohammad Keikha was done in 2019 and the area was surveyed systematically. During this Survey, 12 sites from the Bronze Age were identified and recorded, one of its important results is to study the developments that occurred in the Bronze Age and determine the position of the region in the chronological table of southeastern Iran. The main question raised in this research is: Based on cultural materials collected from the Bronze Age sites of Hozdar region, how is the relative chronology and cultural relations of this region with neighboring areas evaluated? According to studies conducted in Hozdar region, this region has a cultural continuity in the Bronze Age (simultaneously with the first period of Shahr-e Sokhteh to the fourth period of Shahr-e Sokhteh). During this period, due to the strategic position of the region, which is located along communication highways and also according to archaeological data, we see extensive cultural connections of Hozdar region settlements with neighboring regions, including North Sistan, Baluchistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Indus Valley and the civilizations of the Halil River Basin. The present Research, based on field studies and relying on descriptive-analytical method, to determine the relative chronology of the region and cultural relations of the mentioned area, studied cultural material