Ground Stone Tools and the Issue of Food Production and Preparation at Neolithic Site of East Chia Sabz, Seimarreh Dam

Ground stone is known as one of the most important artifacts in the Neolithic period. The production of a ground stone artifact can involve a whole host of manufacturing techniques, such as pounding, flaking, abrasion, polishing and even sometimes drilling. Although the “Neolithic” term is archaeologically relied upon the emergence of ground stone worldwide, this kind of artifact has ever rarely been given attention, especially in prehistoric Iran, in comparison with other archaeological materials. However, ground stone tools are mostly considered in relation with the emergence of agriculture as they were seemingly produced and applied for food preparation. Thus, they are usually known as the popular prehistoric implements, especially since the Neolithic beginning onward. In addition to subsistence and food processing, special analysis, social structure and the women’s roles in the past could also be paid attention by the consideration of ground stone tools. These issues, however, are based on a notable amount of the artifact associated with architectural spaces excavated in large scale. Taking the above mentioned issues, this article surveys the ground stone tools found at the Neolithic site of East Chia Sabz as the result of the first rescue archaeological excavation in 2009. This brings us informative data on the nature of food preparation in the site through time. Different types of ground stone including grinding slabs, mortars, pestle, hand stone and pounder were discovered. Both temporal and spatial distributions of the ground stone tools are seemingly consistent with the emergence of cultivation and then morphologically domestication of some plant species, including two-row barley, emmer and lentil. In this regard, the amount of pounder was larger in the lower layers while grinding slabs were increased through time. This issue is meaningfully seen at other Neolithic sites in western Iran indicating the development of agricultural activities and food preparation since the early Neolithic onward. Therefore, although the ground stone tools of East Chia Sabz not only show food preparation since the earliest time of occupation but also determine an increasing reliance upon production and consumption of plant foods. It should be noted that though ground stone tools are mostly assumed in relation with food preparation, they may have been used to process other materials such as pigments. In addition, they could have found a second function during their usage; for example, a grinding slab that had already been used to process the grains during an earlier phase, it might have been applied in building a wall in the later phase of occupation at a site. This kind of functional process should be given attention, notably during the excavations.