Tappeh Qazānchi, A Settlement from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Kermanshah Plain, Iran

Despite the extensive excavations and research in the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent, questions remain regarding the Neolithization process and the role of the Zagros region in these dynamics. Tappeh Qazānchi, is located at 1323 m.a.s.l. to the northwest of the city of Kermanshah and lies close to the Razavar river, was selected for archaeological research due to the presence of a long chronological sequence. The project aimed to study the Early Neolithic societies’ material culture, residential practices, subsistence economy and the environmental conditions of the site. mechanized agricultural practices over the past five decades have damaged the site, revealing a section (approximately one hundred meters long on the northern part of the mound) of cultural sequences from the early Holocene period. The site was sounded during the winter of 2019 to identify the cultural sequences, determine the core area and buffer zone. The extent of the core area was estimated to be approximately two hectares. The stratigraphy was carried out in the section of the northern wall in three trenches. The results indicate that the lower levels contain a Pre-Pottery Neolithic sequence and the upper levels of the site belong to the Late Chalcolithic and Middle Bronze Age periods. Archaeological, and high-resolution bio- and geoarchaeological investigations (archaeobotany, archaeozoology, micromorphology, and sedimentology) reveal that the Holocene environment around the site was characterized by small-scale permanently waterlogged areas or periodically flooded zones. During the Middle Bronze Age, Tappeh Qazānchi is contemporaneous with Chogha Maran (upper phase) and Godin Tepe (Period III), and during the Late Chalcolithic with Siahbid (middle and late phases), Chogha Maran and Godin Tepe (Period IX). The Pre-Pottery Neolithic phases at Qazānchi were contemporaneous with several other early Holocene settlements of the Zagros, including Sheikh-e Abad, East Chia Sabz, Kelek Asad Morad, and Chogha Golan.