مجله مطالعات باستان شناسی پارسه
پیاپی 19 (بهار 1401)

One of the key issues of the Paleolithic archaeology is pathways and expansion routes of Pleistocene human populations into Asia. Recent discovered Paleolithic sites in the southern coasts and hinterlands of Iran, indicate the importance of these zones in the Pleistocene human dispersals. The 1977 joint French-Iranian geological survey carried out by Thibault, Dufaure, Mercier and Kadjar, gave rise to one of the important contributions to Paleolithic knowledge on the northern coastline of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea in pre-revolutionary years. During this survey, remarkable lithic assemblages were collected above a sequence of successive pediment surface, but unfortunately, the final report of Paleolithic finds, was never published. The lithic collections kept at the Paleolithic Department of National Museum of Iran. In this paper, the techno-typological characteristics of this collection is presented. The most prominent feature of this collection is the core-flake industry of the Lower Paleolithic; although we are not sure about the Acheulian evidence. The Middle Paleolithic artifacts in the collections are defined by Levallois debitages, discoid/semi-centripetal cores, and scrapers on flakes, especially transverse and oblique scrapers; however, it is not enough to attribute these finds to the Mousterian culture. The low frequencies of the blades and the lack of bladelets make it difficult to draw conclusions about the Upper/Epipaleolithic industries. The small number of blades and the presence of single platform blade/bladelet core, as well as a truncated blade, are possible evidence of Upper/Epipaleolithic presence in these assemblages. These assemblages can be considered as a new insight into technological behavior of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in this poorly known part of the Iranian plateau. They show the high capacity of northern shores and littoral of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea for Pleistocene archaeological studies, and a notable place to test hypotheses such as Out-of-Africa and coastal expansions.

Archaeological studies on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf are in the early stages. Although such studies have been started in this area for decades, long interruptions have led to a lack of reliable results. This issue is more acute in the prehistoric period. Limited research results publication has also increased this problem. Although archeological surveys have been done well in Bushehr province, unfortunately, the results of those studies have not been published well. Studying on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf is not just a research topic today; it is a research duty. Archaeological studies conducted in this region have shown that at least from seven thousand years ago, people who live on the land of Iran have been settled on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and had the opportunity to use the sea; although in the early periods this settlement was seasonal; but according to the new evidence of mud-brick architecture at Toll-e Suzo, villages and then permanent cities have been created in this region since the fourth millennium BC, and in the historical and Islamic period, these areas have been completely inhibited. In addition to the food supply, the sea has been playing an important role in trade relations since the Fifth/ fourth millennium BC, which should be considered in archaeological studies of the region. Toll-e Suzo, which is located in Genaveh district, Bushehr Province, is one of the prehistoric sites of the region, which, according to the cultural evidence identified from the excavation in the stratigraphic trench, has been settled from the middle of the fifth millennium to the end of the fourth millennium BC. The inhabitants of this area have been in contact with the interior of the Fars cultural region and southwestern Iran and have also access to marine resources.

In recent years the Achaemenid sites in the Borazjan area have attracted a great deal of attention and their identification with Elamite Tamukkan/Greek Taocê has been widely accepted. Aside from the architectural interest of these sites, however, their location along what later became an important route linking the Persian Gulf and the Iranian plateau is significant. Whether travelling between the Persian Gulf coast and Shiraz, or the earlier Achaemenid capitals (Pasargadae and Persepolis), Borazjan represents the first stage for travellers moving along this route. This study examines some of the logistical aspects of travel between Borazjan and the highlands, as well as the climatic extremes experienced by travellers during much of the year. The difficulties of traversing the route are illustrated with selections from 19th and early 20th century travellers accounts. The advantages of commencing or ending the journey at Shif, as opposed to Bushehr, are discussed with reference to numerous examples. The importance of mules as pack animals along the route is emphasized. Finally, the implications of the evidence marshaled for the burgeoning field of sensory studies are underscored.

Pottery can perhaps be considered one of the most important data found in archaeological excavations in order to help clarify the unknowns of any ancient site and answer questions. This data shows one important part of human interactions in the past. By examining this data, various approaches are available to archaeologists, the prerequisite of which is to be purposeful and act correctly in pottery typology. By studying the pottery of the Parthian period of the and the spread of its types in the Persian Gulf, one of the hand, the cultural expansion of the Parthians in the south of Iran an on the other hand due to its geographical expansion in the south of the Persian Gulf, the seafaring of the Parthians in the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf. The purpose of writing this article is to investigate the types of Parthian pottery in the south of Iran and to document the cultural connections between the settlements in the north and south of the Persian Gulf , then to present a picture of seafaring in the Persian Gulf and the cultural expansion of the Parthians in the Arabian Peninsula. In this article, the Parthian pottery types of the Tom-Maron will be analyzed and classified based on the archeological excavation documents of the area. The most important question in this research is the pottery characteristics of the Parthian period of the Tom-Maron, then we are looking for the question that the cultural development of the Parthian period based on the findings of the Tom-Maron was formed under what factors? This research clearly showed that based on the method of making the color of the body and the paste, 10 types of Parthian pottery can be classified in Tom-Maron. The species identified with the sites of the coasts and islands of the northern Persian Gulf, such as Qeshm Island, Makran regions, and also the southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, such as the Maliha site, form a cultural domain.

Sasanian Silver Bowl at the National Museum of Iran, known as the “dancer-musicians scene”, has been one of the museum’s most archaeological works for the past sixty years. According to Ali Sami, this bowl was purchased in 1334 (1955); it is attributed to the north of Iran (Kelardasht of Mazandaran). The palm-shaped head of this bowl shows four dancer-musician-singers with four different well-known musical instruments as well as a figure of a pheasant in the center. In all previous scholarly works, as well as in the many exhibitions in which this bowl has been displayed, this work has been referred to as the motif of the “female dancers-musicians”. However, doubtful interpretations of musical instruments of the motif can be found in the same scholarly works. Obviously Iranian scholars to the internally held exhibitions have followed previously mentioned works. The author will first challenge the “femininity” of these four dancer-musician-singers and will testify the view that three of them are only masculine. Secondly, I will present a new proposal to the readers with a different interpretation of these Iranian music instruments. Also, the author considers this bowl to probably be a heritage from the Persian Gulf (southern, not northern Iran). Furthermore, I will also focus on the identity of these dancer-musicians in such a musical group scene as “Indian gypsies” or at least inspired by such a musical style. The author will also refer to two other lesser-known similar bowls of the Museum. Meanwhile, the author will present a new perspective on the date of this silver object which is based on its motif details and two more Silver Works at the National Museum of Iran. In this comparative study, I will draw a line between the three motifs (of the bowls, especially two of them) based on the two seasons of “winter and spring (or summer)”!

Cultural Iran according to historical evidences, archaeological remains and cultural features such as language, ceremonies and customs, it covers a wide range from Central Asia to parts of the Indian subcontinent to the Caucasus and Asia Minor and throughout the Middle East and parts of the north of Africa. Throughout the history of the governments that ruled the Iranian plateau, at certain points in time have dominated a large part of the ancient world that, while political domination, have left their cultural influence directly and indirectly in various aspects in these realms and areas. These effects on the mentioned areas are so deep that they can be considered as part of the cultural Iran. Material evidence of this influence and cultural influences can be found in the material remains left in the form of cities, as well as the character of buildings, ancient hills and historical sites and their dependent effects related to them, including the formation and patterns of pottery, architectural decorations, as well as cultural influences such as language, clothing, customs, and mythology. In this regard, trade and exchange in the form of transfer of artificial products from Iran to other lands also has a particular importance. In this regard, some pieces of tile decorations in Qalhat site were obtained during the archeological survey of the Iranian mission, which are clear examples in this field. The ancient port of Qalhat in Oman is one of the lands that owes part of its history to the presence of the Iranian element there; According to evidences, the presence began at the beginning of the historical period of Iran, ie the Achaemenid period, and has continued for centuries. In this article, we are going to introduction this ancient port to answer the question that tile decorations obtained from the archeological survey of the Iranian mission how confirm the trade and cultural exchange between Iran and this port ? Another question is: from which center or tile production center in Iran have been these tiles traded? This research is descriptive historical type and seeks to answer the research question with an archaeological approach based on evidences and remains from survery and library studies, including refering to historical texts and other sources.

The customs buildings complex at the Persian Gulf in Bushehr Province was built at the end of the Qajar era and the beginning of the Pahlavi era. These buildings are very similar. All these buildings are architecturally built in the same way. All these buildings have two floors and match each other. The architecture of these buildings is derived from the architectural style of the second half of the 18th century and 19th century of the West. This style entered Iran’s architecture as a symbol of modernity and strongly influenced Iranian architecture. It has to be mentioned that this influence was much greater in the last years of the Qajar era compared to its first years. By using the historical research method and library studies, it is tried to collect the necessary data about the research subject and obtain adequate understanding of the customs and telegraph offices in Bushehr Province.

A large part of Iran is located in dry areas, for this reason, various measures have been taken for water management, especially surface water. Dry weather, lack of rainfall, seasonality of river water and gradual drying of rivers, created the idea of water storage in the form of dams, aqueducts and cisterns in the human mind. The cisterns have different designs depending on the climatic and social conditions of each region. Also, the architecture of such buildings in different regions has been influenced by local architecture. Optimum management of low rainfall in a few days of the year in an area that due to the geological texture of the underground water table is insignificant and salty was a sign of the genius of the inhabitants of the Iranian plateau for water storage. With the progress of this tradition, especially during Islamic periods, the number of settlements in the region increased. One of the water storage structures is the cisterns, which were built along the flood path so that the surface water is directed to them after the rain and used for various purposes. The question is, considering the scarcity of water in the region, is it possible to restore this structure in a modern way by reviving the past techniques? Due to the low but heavy rainfall in the south of the country, the ponds, in addition to providing an important part of the residents’ water, also act as floodgates, and with one rain at the end of the summer season and a few rains in the winter season, all the thousands of ponds in the south of the country are filled. But with the dependence of these areas on the water of the dams, in addition to the pressure on the country’s water resources, this historical tradition is gradually being forgotten. However, from the results of this research, based on the statistics, it seems that the restoration of the ponds -with government support and with a modern design based on historical patterns- will provide the possibility of water supply for the residents of the region.

Since the formation of the Silk Road, the route has been the main route between East and West Asia. With the beginning of the age of colonialism, the process of globalization began and so direction-function of communication evolved greatly, which reached its peak in the nineteenth century and the close relationship of Iran-Japan became possible. the question of the present article is which areas or ports of Japan and Iran in the nineteenth century were used foreign trade, did the designated areas had a history and what factors affected trade. answer is that the products of the Sassanid and Safavid types reflect the political position of Japan and the trade role of other nations rather than a demonstration of the Iran-Japan relationship but in 19th century because of Imperialist pressure and needs of global trade this drastically changed .A historic review of this relationship reveals areas in Japan that were the main centers of state trade, such as the ports of Osaka and Kobe to Kyoto and Nara plains, the port of Nagasaki, and the ports of Kanagawa Bay specially Yokohama, which all of them played a similar & synchronized role in the 19th century to make trade possible from the ports of Bushehr, Lenge and Abbasi in Iran and even because of Opium trade it expanded to Taipei too. So before nineteenth century the trade in question was always influenced by the culture of closeness in Japan, but in the new era due to the pressure of imperialism and the trend of modernism gates were opened and strategic goods such as Opium exported from Iran to Imperial Japan. In order to achieve the above, artifacts and written sources along with the analysis of geographical data by using a socio-historical approach have been used.