A Study of Dalma Pottery Based on the Examination of Azerbaijan and Kermanshah Potteries

Having a glance at the archaeological data in North West of Iran during prehistoric era, we can see that most studies in the area focused on the edge of Urmia Lake. Unfortunately, most of the studies which have been done in the North West are related to the Bronze Age and later periods, and fewer studies have been done on the Chalcolithic period. Moreover, most of the information published about this area, is related to the same time periods. There is little information about Dalma Period and related publications do not exceed the fingers of one hand. For this reason, most researchers, due to the complexity and lack of knowledge about this period, refer to it as Wonder Period. In particular, Dalma period and the area of its development are surprising and noteworthy for them. One of the shortcomings is Dalma pottery. In this article, we review the Dalma pottery in the regions of East and West Azarbaijan and Kermanshah to provide a rather clear picture of Dalma pottery tradition. Generally, Dalma pottery is classified as four categories which probabely have specific functions depending on their coverage and form.