Evidence of the presence of the Hassuna culture in the west of central Zagros (Nazarga Hill, Sarpol-e-Zahab County)

The Hassuna culture belongs to the late Neolithic era, which spans the period of 6000-5300 BC, and is considered as one of the first village-dwelling cultures in Zagros. After the discovery and exploration of Hassuna hill in the north of Mesopotamia, due to the importance of the findings, this culture was considered as an indicator for the early rural settlement of Zagros. So far, evidence of the Hasuna culture has been obtained in the northwest and recently in the east of Zagros, which shows the wide spread of this culture. However, no evidence of Hasuna has been found in central Zagros, especially in its western regions. In the fall of 1400, a rescue survey of the Havasan dam area of Sarpol Zahab city was carried out under the supervision of Nasser Aminikhah. This research pursued various goals, one of the most important of which was to study the possible cultural interactions of the region with neighboring regions, especially Mesopotamia. One of the distinctive aspects of Hassuna culture is a type of pottery known as "peeling tray", which was obtained for the first time from layer 2 of Hassuna hill. The existence of peeling tray fragments on the observation hill answered our question about the existence of the connection between Zagros and Mesopotamia in one of the most important historical periods. In this article, in addition to introducing the cultural materials of Tepe Nazargah, we have also discussed the reasons for the importance of the area under investigation.