Women's Rank in the Iron Age Based on Ethno archaeological studies in the West Central Zagros nomads

Up to now, various graveyards belonging to Iron Age in the west central Zagros have been excavated. In these graveyards, the graves belonging to women have also been excavated in which the grave goods specific to women were found. The excavators of these graves have only described the data obtained from the shape of the graves and the manner of the burial, and have not dealt with the issue of the women’s rank in this age. This is due to the fact that among the buried objects any inscription related to these graves has not been found. Moreover, the studies relating to women had recently been posed within archeological literature. The researchers have ascribed these graves, which did not have any relationship with settlement compounds, to the nomads; a manner of living in the form of tribal living which exists up to now in this region. Therefore, it can be said that with regard to the geographical similarity and, to a great extent, the similarity of the manner of living of these people with the tribes living in this region (Xezel, Malekshahi, and Kalhor), and also the continuation of the traditions in central Zagros, some of which have been indicated to in this paper such as the manner of burial, the position of the women during Iron Age has been dealt with archeologically. In this paper, the graves of 14 graveyards have been investigated, taking into account the fact that the women ranking in these tribes is seen in the form of the family which is itself affected by numerous social, political, and economic factors. In the end, all of the subjects have been summed up.