An Investigation of the Cultural Changes of Kangavar Plain from the Chalcolithic to the Late Bronze Age According to the Settlement Models

Human being has always been trying to adapt with environment. This adaptation has done through getting know to the environment and developing human cognition; it has gradually made human being dominant over the environment and moved him toward civilization. Through time، human being’s conscious has considered the earth as a place for living and its environmental factors as living necessities. This impression has created some myths and religions whose main structure has depended on environmental factors. The interaction in between human and environment is important in settlement pattern discussion، as human and environmental conditions have influenced each other in a same place; In other words، human has changed the environment to his advantage as much as affected by the environmental factors. This effect has made some changes in the environment and human behavior. What we know as culture –the human distinctive feature- is the result of this adaptation and behavior basically. The interaction between human being and environment either in the form of human effect on the environment or the environment effect on the human، cannot be considered out of the environment. According to an approach in archeology، environmental factors have an important role in assessing settlements in each period. In addition to the recognition of the degree of environmental impact، this approach makes the degree of adaptation of the habitats with the dominant environmental conditions possible. One of these approaches in archeological studies is the study of the settlement pattern and analysis investigating the formation process of archeological sites in environmental contexts. Kangavar plain by 800 km2 is one of the eastern plains of Central Zagros situated at west of Kermanshah province next to Asadabad and Nahavand plains. This plain was studied by Cuyler Young as a project “investigating the western areas of Iran and Kangavar plain” during 1961 and 1974. Using given approaches، present research has analyzed the settlement patterns according to previous studies and investigations. Considering the situation of Kangavar plain and its environmental potentials، some questions and hypotheses have raised on the manner of settlement distributions both in Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages، influential factors and components studying settlement distributions and manner of living as well; moreover، according to Processual theory، aiming to investigate the settlement patterns using statistical methods، site catchment area have analyzed. This study shows that Chalcolithic period settlements were depend on the width of the plain while the Bronze Age settlements depend on the borders of the plain and foothill slopes. Although، considering the amount of access to water sources، the settlement distributions in both periods are linear and depends on the permanent or seasonal water; the Chalcocite settlement patterns are more dependent on environmental factors such as permanent water sources and trade roads showing the great amount of dependency on farming and trade. Considering the presence of immigrant groups with Yanik culture and also the indigenous people occupied the desirable parts of the plain، we can conclude that the immigrant groups had to settle in undesirable parts of the plain which can be confirmed by their life on which based livestock breeding. According to the settlements’ distance from the trading roads، the width of the plain and vicinity to foothill zones، the residents of the Bronze Age were economically more dependent on life style based on livestock breeding which itself can be affected by the role of immigrant ranchers to Kangavar plain by the Early Bronze Age.