نشریه نامه انسان شناسی
پیاپی 32 (بهار و تابستان 1400)

This article explains a group of cultural materials among Qashqaie nomadic pastoralists that as symbols play role in the transmission of concepts and informations. These symbols are stonecuts that take on different meanings in different contexts, but are made similar in appearance. The possibility of such an existence of culture in ancient societies and its material evidence in archaeological contexts has led the present study to describe its characteristics and how getting perception to the nature and application of such data. In addition, this paper, in order to explain the limitations of recognizing and using this type of cultural material as a standard scale for use in ethno-archaeological studies, describes the structural-contextual of the mentioned symbols in the form of a case study. Finally, the present article, by reviewing the key concepts in order to deduce the meaning of a particular type of material cultural that has been addressed in the research, provides theoretical knowledge on how to use them in the analogy strategy

The study of cemeteries and burial practices of past and present societies help us to understand the socio-cultural structures of human groups and play an important role in archaeological and anthropological researches. There are some ritual behaviors among nomad groups slightly different from the ones of sedentary communities. One of these ritual practices is entrusting the deceased to temporary cemetery or site and then move them to the final burial site. This type of burial, which is considered as one of the secondary   burial types in archeological studies, has been commonly seen among Bakhtiari nomads. By focusing on the Behdarvand Bab, taking interviews to local individuals in the Bakhtiari tribal union and applying the library method, the present case study deals with the ritual tradition of entrusting the deceased among Bakhtiari nomads and its agents. Findings show that according to what practices and patterns the mentioned nomad groups accomplish this ritual tradition.

In the study of the migration route of Eurasian immigrant warrior ethnics from east to west and in order to recognize the cultural characteristics of these ethnics in the north and northwest of Iran, their characteristic burial culture that is called Kurgani burial culture is evaluated and identified in the area assigned for investigation. Due to clarify the presence of these Eurasian nomadic warrior ethnics, the following questions have been designed: What are the basic cultural findings on which can we explain the presence of nomadic ethnics of Eurasian steppe in Iran? In how many types the kurgans of north and northwest of Iran can be structurally identifiable? On what basis can their subsistent economy be existed? in order to answer these questions, we analyzed Kurgans and their role in the Transregional cultural relations and have used an analytical fundamental method. Recognizing to the ambiguities of the presence of these ethnics in the area, we have focused on examining the typology of  kurgans as a  merely characteristic of these ethnics burial architecture and compared them among neighboring cultural basins. On the basis of the derived data, the  role of Kurgans in the life of these ethnics and in their regional and transregional relationship came under analysis

Among one of the old cemeteries of Aligudarz city, there were four pieces of cylindrical milestone with mushroom-shaped heads as standing gravestones, which were exposed to the attention of profiteers of historical monuments in 2010. After excavating and destroying one of the graves with precedence from 1980's, one of the stones was broken in the middle for profit and the two others were overturned, and only one stone remained in the collection, which also had inscriptions in Persian including four lines of poetry with a date of 1694.Ten years later (spring of 2020), the cultural heritage associations received news of the intention to destroy the fourth milestone in Lorestan's cultural heritage. Accompanied by the police and the protection unit, the inscribed stone was transferred to the Aligudarz Anthropological Museum. This research has been accomplished by exploratory and combined quantitative-qualitative method and analysed in a descriptive- appraisal frame. Based on anthropological information, archeological findings, architectural documents and historical texts, field research revealed that the stone pillars belong to the gates of polo Square, which was built during the Safavid period by Khalil Khan, ruler of Bakhtiari, and his grandson Yahya Khan, along with a mansion and a city named Khalilabad. Findings made turned out that after the destruction of this city, mansion and polo square, all four stone pillars transferred to a nearby cemetery and as a sign or standing stone, placed on the graves of four great men and head men. The inscription of  polo square milestone that is discovered from Aligudarz is taken into account as the first case of this type discovered in Iran; So it could make an entrance to further studies on this issue.

Archaeology of the Islamic period along with the study of the history of Islamic art, provides a basis for understanding and studying human behavior. However, as a result of the accumulation of preislamic and Islamic traditions and culture, a multitude of cultural issues and contexts have been created that have emphasized the need for use other archaeological trends and show the inadequacy of existing approaches. Attention to man and human behavior that is observed in most archaeological research is the boundary between archeology and other methods of researching the culture of the Islamic period. Despite the use of ancient anthropological approach in most pre-Islamic studies, this method has received less attention in Islamic studies. The subject of this article is how the above-mentioned approach can shows more clearly the material culture and the interaction of societies of the Islamic era. In this study, it was shown that issues such as understanding lifestyle and special customs are important in using spaces in architecture. The symbolic and cryptic view of the decorations related to architecture and the mystical view of the tiles of the Islamic period can be revised by being brougth under ethnoarchaeological studies. perceptions based upon color differences and painting composition are misperceptions in this area.

Bull is a symbol of warfare, power and the male element that is characterized by the supporting the life forces such as fire, blood, plant (life), wine, etc. This function plays a fundamental and key role in the ancient ontology system of the region. The patriarchal systems (owen), royal and religious fire temples, social structures and political power of the society were built based on it. Horns, metals, tools of battle, plough (forks), lightning tools and their symbols are against the enemy, death and destruction. In Mesopotamian mythology that is identified with the characters like Inder, Agni, Ash, Enlil, and Izad-e-Sin, this animal represents the cultural structure and is a symble of the preagricultural period in the region. Meanwhile, the predictive sciences and technologies related to the properties of material elements are relegated to its functions and intertwined with its mythological treatises. The symbolism of this animal inserts in the second function of the three-part structure presented by George Domzil, which is the most important symbol in this structure. The data of this study are the result of fieldwork in Kurdistan, as well as written sources and libraries.

The present article is an investigation of talismans and prayers emerging from the recently dried Zāyandehrud riverbed. Adopting an archaeological approach, this article seeks for the relation between these materials and the surrounding ritual behavior through evaluating the former. These materials are the only remnants of a behavior that is essentially immaterial. They are created to be thrown into the river and hidden in it with the intention of triggering the magical effects or breaking up them. These material objects which are discovered by chance and because of the river water stop flowing represent a covert behavior of the people of Isfahan who tend to secrecy and leave little material evidence of their behaviors. Without trying to make any judgement on any behavior, the main goal of this study is to evaluate and analyze one of the behaviors of a contemporary people through the lens of their remaining material cultures. To have a more accurate picture of various layers of this cultural behavior in the city, three different communal space i.e., mosque, shrine and cemetry have been also surveyed. At the end, after providing a brief historical background, there is a discussion focused on this kind of attitude toward the mysterious knowledges within the context of modern everyday life in Iran.

One of the Islamic sects with a long history in the west region of Iran is called “Ahl-e-Haqq”. This sect has many sacred sites and elders` tombs in this region. This research has been done based on archeological excavations in the ancient site of one of the tombs of the elders of the Ahl-e-Haqq sect named Pir Mikael, as well as field anthropological studies of the region and ethnographic studies. The purpose of this study: to analyze the rituals of this sect, which are reflected as a symbol and sign in the material heritage or as a ritual behavior from the past to the present. In this research, an attempt has been made to provide evidence from the archaeological perspective of anthropology and with a descriptive-analytical approach find the relationship between this building, the genealogy of its owner, and the research findings with the sect of the Ahl-e-Haqq.The research question is: What evidence is there of a connection between this building and its owner and the Ahl-e-Haqq sect? The symbols used on the tombstones represent which of the beliefs of this secret ritual? In this regard, the discovered evidence and the findings of anthropological studies in the region and other centers of the presence of Ahl-e-Haqq in the cities of Kuhdasht and Delfan, led to the discovery of several other tombstones which became an approach to understand the connection between the beliefs and ritual behaviors of this sect with material heritage that are reflected as a symbol or sign. The results of studies showed that the religious beliefs and behaviors of the Ahl-e-Haqq sect are reflected in material heritage and some cases have appeared as a symbol. The architectural structure attributed to Pierre Michael, which has been excavated by archaeologists, was a religious building belonging to the late middle Islamic period.

One advantage of ethnoarchaeological studies in the scope of archaeological approach is  its application in analyzing the pattern of settlement. The study of living societies and extracting their social and economic patterns, helps bring the interpretation of archaeological findings closer to reality. The ethnoarchaeological project and study of the Vakilabadi branch of the Deh Mishi tribe within the Chekab Baft region in the south west of Kerman province, was therefore carried out. Before the nomadic settlement plan, the people in question had been nomads with a rancher lifestyle. The manner by which the settlement choices of this tribe relates to the regional water resources, the reason behind the almost large distance between the settlement and the water sources, the ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of the usage of the present findings from ethnological and ethnoarchaeological studies for evaluating the settlement patterns, and accurate analysis of the relevance and dependence of cultural and natural variables within the archaeological contexts, are amongst the most important questions of this article. The authors, through interviews with the elders of the Vakilabadi family, alongside environmental surveys and archaeological analysis, have understood that the winter settlement of this tribe is not based on closeness to water sources, but rather the management of time and distance in order for the livestock to be effectively grazed and watered, all the while spending the least possible time going through the smallest possible distance. This study indicates that intact ethnoarchaeological subjects can still be observed and studied within some of the regions of the Iran central plateau, which will present similar and homogeneous patterns for analysis and interpretation of archaeological data.

Ethnoarchaeology has emerged in the first decade of the 20th century. The emergence of this sub-discipline as a method at the beginning of the second half of this century means put aside of the use of imposed ethnographic information without a defined framework for archeological issues. This interdisciplinary approach based on analogy, despite various vicissitudes by the tensions of different archeological schools, has always attempted to maintain its position in the archeological theory and provide scientific methods, propositions, and statements, particularly in relation with the archeological interpretations. Based on the analogical reasoning and within the framework of the middle-range theory, and considering the method of the using of ethnographic analogy, this approach has taken various concepts. Regarding the common nature of these concepts, eventually, the term "Ethnoarchaeology", as the most usable component of the middle-range theory in archeology, remained as its name. The present paper is aimed to investigate the nature, reason, and place of this sub-discipline in archeology. The position of ethnoarchaeology in archeology is defined; then, the interdisciplinary nature of this approach as well as its epistemological bases are investigated. Findings indicate that ethnoarchaeology, as an interdisciplinary, is continuing its development and,  like some other archeological approaches, not only has not failure or decline but also has been very dynamic and progressive. This sub-discipline benefits from a kind of inter-paradigm assumption flexibility, diversity, and dynamics. Besides, proportionate to its features, it’s very efficient in recognition and perception of the static context based on the dynamic context.

Discovery of the clay figurines of humped ox, animal dung remains and the abundant amount of ash layers from the Tepe Dasht that is one of the peripheral sites for the production of pottery for the Shahr -i Sokhta civilization have provided the context for the use of Ethnoarchaeology studies in Sistan. Using an archaeological approach and Ethnoarchaeological data from the dynamic communities of the contemporary villages, the authors relate them to the structure of the static communities of the past and seek information about the uses of this valuable animal among the natives of Sistan from the past to the present. The present research is based on fieldworks and library data and its method is naturally proportionate to an observational-experimental- historical research aimed to study the historical background of this issue and its continuation in the life of modern societies with emphasis on the evidence discovered from Shahr-i Sokhta and its peripheral sites such as Tepe Dasht, Rud Biayaban and Gradziani. Filed studies in the villages of this region show that although successive droughts in Sistan have diminished the cultivation of this native animal species, its role in subsistence economy, bringing labor force and fuel and feeding the inhabitants of this region will be significant If the right conditions and capacities become provided for breeding the Sistani humped ox.

In recent decades, archaeologists have realized the importance of ethnological research in the analysis of archaeological evidences. The main purpose of this type of research is to understand the behaviors of the communities and the correct interpretation of archaeological evidences. In this article, based on the tradition of plowing in Tang e Kooshak village of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, Archaeological data have been evaluated to measure similarities of agricultural traditions of ancient periods to the ones at present. What firstly In this study have been taken into attention were the mode and stages of making plough, its components and types of use in agricultural fields of the region. Then by searching the archaeological resources  introduction has been made to any obtained plowing tradition as  well as comparison between the components of ancient ploughs to the contemporary one. This is done for both revealing types of ploughs available in archaeological evidences and  recognizing the closest ancient sample to the above-mentioned plough. Without the classification of ploughs in traditional agriculture in Iran, this goal would not become available. The findings revealed that the Achaemenid sample has the closest resemblance to a sample of Tang e Kooshk.