Investigation and analysis of the effect of environmental factors on the formation and distribution of Bronze Age settlements in the Sarakhs basin

Environmental factors play an effective role in creating human settlements in any time period. Sarakhs Basin in the northeast of Khorasan Razavi province is one of the regions of Iran that due to the lack of archaeological research on its biological and cultural landscape, many ambiguities and questions are raised. In the last fifty years, this area has been studied by various delegations, and several Bronze Age sites have been identified in this area. In this study, the main question is what are the most important environmental factors in the formation of bronze settlements in this area? In this research, 8 identified areas belonging to the third and second millennium BC of this area have been studied by descriptive-analytical method, using Arc GIS software, in relation to natural variables. The analysis of the findings has shown that this area in the Bronze Age includes settlements that have been subject to watercourses and other geographical factors such as terraces and clay sediments. In the Bronze Age, we see permanent and temporary settlements in this area, so that settlements with few deposits have been created near the water sources of waterways. These areas are often located in low altitudes and in the Bronze Age, the livelihood of this area, according to the elevation measurement of Bronze Age areas and soil type analysis, this area was probably based on livestock and agriculture was limited.