Bard Panir: A Station or Settlement of Proto-Writing in the North of Khouzestan

In this paper, research was performed on cultural materials from Bard Panir, which morphologically is located on southern Central Zagros at mountainsides of Lorestan, close to the Khuzestan Plain and is geopolitically a part of Khuzestan Province. However, this region is similar to Lorestan Province with regard to its average rainfall, its mild temperature is neither similar to freezing winters of Lorestan, nor like torrid summers of Khuzestan. In addition, this region had traditionally been fertile because of being near Bala Roud, Dez and Karkhe (Hole, 1994). Regarding Cultural-Historical parameters, this region seems to be at least contemptuous with cultural materials from cultural periods such as Shoush II or Uruk in Mesopotamia. Shoush II Period in Khuzestan is known based on what is found in Acropolis I, especially layers 17-22. Moreover, materials from Apadana are analogous to those from Acropolis1, layers 19-22 (Dittmann, 1986: 76). Therefore, this time horizon seems to be related to a network of societies that connect Central Zagros to Khuzestan, and from there to Mesopotamia, within which is especially located the key deployment called Uruk, which is divided into three periods: Early Uruk, Mid Uruk, and Late Uruk. Hence, based on cultural materials excavated by authors and some samples from this site which were kept in Andimeshk Cultural Heritage, the morphology and location of this Tappeh, as a special physiographical region, were determined.