Spread of the Culture of Kura-Araxes ( Yaniq) in the West of Markazi Province

Because of the existence of different cultures and the lack of related solid archeological studies in the Iranian Plateau, the Bronze Period is one of the less known periods of prehistory there. One of the cultures attributed to this period is the Kura-Araxes culture, which spread in vast areas of the northwest and west of the Iranian Plateau and some parts of its center. However, the details of the nature of this culture and the quality of its spread in this plateau are not yet available. The conducted archeological investigations confirm the existence of this culture in the central and western parts of the plateau of Iran and the central Zagros region. In the course of the archeological studies carried out in 2007-2008 and 2014 in the west of Markazi Province, nine large residential areas in relation to the Kura-Araxes culture were identified on the banks of Qareh Chai River. These areas include Agh Tappeh, Savarabad Tappeh, Ghal’ah Sarsakhti Tappeh, Chezan Tappeh, Far Tappeh, Shur Tappeh, Do Gol Zard Tappeh, Mazra’eh Khatun Tappeh, and Adineh Masjid Tappeh. The great vastness and height of these areas (particularly Agh Tappeh and Sarsakhti Tappeh) could indicate the existence of different layers of human residence and dense architecture of prehistory there. In this paper, the authors have tried to explore the importance of different forms of human residence in Kura-Araxes during prehistory while clarifying the place of Kura-Araxes culture in the west of Markazi Province as one of the junctions linking the cultures of the center of the Iranian Plateau to Central Zagros.