Settlement Patterns of the Bronze Age Sites of the Upper and Middle Atrak Basin in the Northeast of Iran

In archaeological studies of the region of Southwest Asia, during the period from the late fourth millennium BC to the beginning of the Iron Age (second half of the second millennium BC), phenomena such as the growth of settlements in terms of area and population, the emergence of early cities, Trans-regional trade, the formation of government institutions, the emergence and spread of gray and black pottery, extensive changes in technology and the dramatic development of the smelting industry and the use of bronze tools were identified. In this process, an extensive communication network aimed at controlling trade routes and access to raw materials across the plateau by land and sea connected many areas. Economically, in this era, trans-regional trade was established, and communities were connected thousands of miles away from home to obtain the resources they needed. Bronze Age cultures are well known in the most part of Iran but Khorasan is an except and the data are rare and insufficient. Moreover, information about chronology, and distribution of sites during different periods of prehistoric times in different parts of them is very limited. In this research, 38 sites from the Bronze Age period have been studied. These sites were identified in the form of archaeological surveys of the Upper and Middle Atrak during the last decade. This study was done using descriptive-analytic method. For data analysis, GIS and SPSS software, and Correlation and Cluster analysis methods were used. Settlement pattern in the Upper and Middle Atrak basin is similar. It consists of two-level models with large site and a number of small sites around it. The results of this study indicate that due to the lack of water resources in the region, access to the constant water resources is the most important factor in shaping the Bronze age Settlemens. Most sites are also formed during the Early Bronze Age, and we are faced a decrease in the number of sites in the Middle and Late Bronze Age.