Settlement Patterns of Hamedan Late Chalcolithic Sites Based on the Rank-Size and Shanon Entropy Analyses

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.