The Newfound Petroglyphs at Aso, Birjand, Eastern Iran

Located only 300 meters south of the village of Aso in a mountainous landscape, the so-called Aso petroglyphs were identified and analyzed as part of archeological and anthropological surveys in 2013. The 71 discrete examples recorded at the site consist of animal motifs and human figures alongside a series of abstract designs. The carvings were worked on igneous rocks in pecking technique, mostly as singular motifs, though a few composite themes also exist. The rock art was investigated via a field survey, where individual motifs were documented in photographs and drawings before comparing them to petroglyphs from around Iran through a desk research. The main aims of the study included introducing and examining the petroglyphs, anthropological analysis of the motifs, correlating the motifs with the local settings (e.g. flora and fauna), contrasting the motifs with those from other regions, and establishing a tentative date based on the evidence at hand. Chronology represents a most prominent and at the same time a most confusing issue while tackling rock art throughout the world. In this context, a basic strategy is comparing the concerned motifs with related material from the same span of time. The chronological determination of the Aso petroglyphs mainly relied on the dateable recovered tools, the involved technique, and the types of tools applied. Our results suggest that in quantity and quality the motifs parallel those attested in Jorbat, Tous and Marzbanik in eastern Iran, and in the northwest of Iran: Arasbaran (Songun), Central Zagros: Bauki (Luristan) and Zarrineh (Kurdistan).