Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies
Volume:12 Issue: 1, Summer and Autumn 2022

The settlement evolution of the Early Neolithic period is considered a milestone in the human cultural history.While the archaeological implications of this period are discussed extensively, the landscape of Early Neolithic Iran has remained underrepresented, mostly due to lack of geoarchaeological investigations. The early periods Formative and Archaic Susiana, attested in several sites in the Susiana plain in southwestern Iran, are of utmostimportance as they bear witness to the first implications of standardization of material culture and intra-regional organization. This paper summarizes our current understanding of these periods as well as their landscape in the seventh and sixth millennia BCE. Then, it proposes a preliminary reconstruction of the landscape in this period based on recent geoarchaeological investigations by the author, applying a combination of different methods such as remote sensing, GIS analysis, and original geoarchaeological data including sediment cores, soil profiles, as well as laboratory analyses including sedimentological and chemical analyses (and lithological description in the field) and OSL dating. The results widen our perspective regarding the region’s hydrology. The Early Neolithic landscape of Susiana seems to have been different from the current one, primarily due to the tangible changes in watercourses and the noticeable differences in the surface soil and vegetation. The results further confirm thatheavy sedimentation of later periods covers most of the surface of this buried landscape including now buried watercourses and small wetlands.

Eastern Mazandaran, a part of the larger southeastern Caspian region, assumed a distinctly important place in the Neolithic period. The region shows both a local Neolithic culture and trans-regional ties to the coeval cultures of Gorgan, Semnan, Damghan, and Shahrood plains, northeastern Iran, and southern Turkmenistan. In recent years,new, systematic excavations have covered the Neolithic sites in the plains of Behshahr and Neka, most notablyTouq Tappeh and Tappeh Valiki. The latter, excavated in 2021 to demarcate its boundaries, is one of the largest Neolithic sites across the Neka plain. In this paper the archaeological site of Valiki is introduced and its small finds,in particular the pottery assemblage, are described. Representing the earliest phases of pottery production in the concerned plains, this assemblage evinces a local tradition of pottery technology in the Neolithic period in eastern Mazandaran, on the one hand, and regional and trans-regional contacts, on the other. A preliminary outline of theNeolithic settlement pattern in the involved plains is also given.

The Khorasan region, especially the Kashafrud basin, has culturally retained a strategic position by virtue of its location between three major cultural spheres of southwestern Central Asia, the Central Plateau of Iran, and northeastern Iran. The Iron Age still remains a mainly unknown period in this region. In northeast Iran, particularly in the Greater Khorasan, the period is characterized by cultural attributes utterly different from those of the other parts of the Iranian Plateau. Coeval archaeological evidence from Khorasan shows affinities with the Yaz and Dahistan cultures of Central Asia. The major topics considered in this study are: the distribution pattern and major influential factors in the formation of the Iron Age settlements in the Kashafrud basin (Mashhad Plain), the nature of Iron Age cultural material in the region, and the characteristics shared between the contemporary settlements in Mashhad and the adjacent regions. Further major research objectives include proposing a comparative chronology, analyzing the regional cultural landscape, and specifying the Iron Age settlement patterns in the region. Thus, attempts have been made to answer the research questions through ArcGIS maps, analysis of surface ceramics, and the landscape archaeology approach. The results indicate the impressive role of environmental factors, especially the Kashafrud River as the leading regional resource, in the advent of Iron Age settlements. Moreover, the regional material culture exhibits strong affinities with the Iron Age culture of “Yaz” in Central Asia, and indicates relations and population movements between the different regions that were under the influence of this culture.

While depiction of iconic archaeological finds or monuments of archaeological, historical, cultural or natural significance on postage stamps printed by many countries around the globe to promote nationalist sentiments as means of creating or promoting national cohesion, especially in ethnically diverse countries, is by no means unusual, the question posed in this paper, with specific focus on paleoanthropological finds, is that how far back in time this practice can be traced, and how images of hominid fossils from hundreds of thousands, sometime millionsof years ago, can be of contribution to promoting nationalism in various countries. Using semiotics of how stamps function to convey meaning, it has been explored how images of hominids on stamps contribute to a broad program of building a national identity and strengthening nationalism in different countries around the globe.

Historical texts and geographic sources as well as archaeological studies place the Seymareh valley, located in present-day Ilam province of Iran, among the regions with great potential of producing outstanding archaeological evidence of the Sasanian period. Yet, the current state of archaeological scholarship in the region by no meansreflects its high capacity. During the field surveys of areas between the Darreh Shahr and Badreh as well as the foothills of the Kabirkuh Mountain range, evidence of burials with rock-cut Astodans (niches) were identified at the villages of Zayed and Fazel-Abad. Judging from the recovered pottery and the comparison of burial spaces with those in other contemporaneous Iranian regions such as Khuzestan and Fars, this type of Sasanian burial spaces and the mountainous climate of the Seymareh valley seem to have played an important part in the adoption of such burial practices in the region.

The name “Aratta” and the name of its ruler, “the Lord of Aratta,” are both mentioned in Sumerian literary and epic texts. In these texts, “the Lord of Aratta” and two important Sumerian kings—Enmerkar, who founded Uruk, and Lugalbanda, who succeeded him—were the main players in the events that took place in “the land of Aratta.” One of the most significant places in Sumerian literature was this land, which was unexpectedly referred to as legendary by a small number of scholars who believe the land of Aratta does not exist. Due to the scarcity of essential materials like stone, metals, and wood in Mesopotamia, the metal and stone wealth of Aratta was extremely valuable to the Sumerian society. Other academics have challenged this theory in light of new archaeological discoveries and suggested alternative hypotheses based on their own research findings. The land of Aratta is likely situated in a region located east of Mesopotamia, as mentioned in a number of studies. This article aims to suggest that Aratta could be identified with the area of Shahdad in Kerman Province, while many alternative suggestions were made without consideration of Iranian archaeology.

Pottery is of particular importance in archaeology as an indicator of chronology, art, technology, and subsistence system of ancient populations. Pottery discloses contacts and exchanges between different regions. Kelar Hill (henceforth: Tapeh Kelar) of the Kelardasht region is a major prehistoric site in western Mazandaran. The site contains cultural evidences spanning the Late Chalcolithic (fourth millennium BCE) through the Islamic period. Amost significant component of the site’s sequence is a Kura-Araxes deposit. As the Kura-Araxes culture originated far from Tapeh Kelar (in South Caucasia), the primary concern of the present study revolves around the structureof the pottery from the site dating to the transition from the Late Chalcolithic to the Kura-Araxes period to spot the existing variations or discrepancies. The study also tries to answer the question whether or not the Kura-Araxes material represented exotic products at Tapeh Kelar. Some 25 sherds dating to the Late Chalcolithic, and Early‒Middle Bronze Age were picked up for petrographic analysis to compare the mineralogical texture of the LateChalcolithic and Middle Bronze Age ceramics with those of the Kura-Araxes material. The analyses suggest that the Kura-Araxes pieces from Tapeh Kelar were local products despite some disparities in their texture, which stemmed from the difference in raw material sources. Therefore, the presumption that the Kura-Araxes-type pottery first entered the site through exchange or trade before the related forms were copied by local potters is refuted.

Seasonal settlements of the Mongol rulers fall into the two general classes of temporary and permanent settlements, which were scattered across the territory under their influence. According to historical reports and archaeological documents, permanent settlements were constructed using building materials in certain Yaylaqs (summer quarters) and Qishlaqs (winter quarters) or on the outskirts of urban centers, and were periodically used by Mongol rulers. Historical texts from the Ilkhanid period use three different names of Qarshi, Kushk and Saray to refer to such settlements, highlighting the differing structures of the pertaining settlements. The present study aims to offer a classification for permanent settlements of the Mongol and Ilkhanid rulers via semantically and functionally interpreting the terms Qarshi, Kushk and Saray. To this end, apart from archaeological documents, Chinese terms referring to the permanent settlements of the Mongol rulers are invoked. The results of this analytical-historical research show that in light of the prefixes used in the Persian texts deriving from the Ilkhanid period, the permanentsettlements of the Mongol empires and Ilkhans split into two categories: Saray and Kushk. Sarays were a series of ceremonial buildings located mostly in the main cities or important seasonal residences and are comparable to the Gongchengs of the Mongols in China. Kushk mainly denoted a midway residence, where the sole existing building was a single Kushk or Qarshi.

With the establishment of the Sasanian empire, Ardashir became the heir to the feudal and lenient legacy of the Parthians. He sought to establish political and religious centralism under his reign. At the same time, Manichaeism, much like the other existing religion in Iran, brought together pieces of the other religions and presented itsteachings and tenets in any possible form. However, this religion presented severe ideological problems for the newly-established Sasanian empire, since it could undermine the religious and political centralism that the Sasanians desired, hence the first major ideological challenge. The present research seeks to answer the followingquestion: What could justify the lenient behavior toward Manichaeism despite Shapur’s intention to officialize Mazdayasna? Since the Sasanians initially focused on unifying their entire territory, they showed more leniency and tolerance towards the Manicheans. However, against this backdrop, the research hypothesizes that Mani’s ideas gradually became an ideological threat to the Sasanians’ desired political and religious centralism. The Sasanians familiarized themselves with the Manichean discourse through meticulous analysis and then sought to dismantle it. This research resorts to description and analysis of the available related information. It seeks to answer the research question and confirm the hypothesis.

The Aras and other rivers running across the Moghan region played an important role in the formation of prehistoric sites. The Moghan plain has not so far received the scholarly attention it deserves. While extensive scientific activities have covered the Lake Urmia Basin, this plain has for the most part remained neglected. Yatag Tepesi, a prehistoric site in Germi, Moghan, was subjected to a systematic investigation. The main objective of this paper is to introduce the pottery traditions and to determine the chronological sequence of the site. To gain a more detailed understanding of cultural interactions with other regions and to ascertain the chronological sequence of the site in the Chalcolithic period, the following questions were raised: To which cultural period(s) does YatagTepesi date based on the recovered cultural evidence, including the pottery? The main hypothesis is that the site relates to the Middle Chalcolithic (LC1) and Late Chalcolithic (LC2‒3). Judging from the available evidence, to which regions does the site exhibit the closet links? Our analyses indicate contacts and affinities with other parts of northwest Iran, most notably the Qaradagh region and the Lake Urmia Basin, and South Caucasia. The paper adopts a descriptive-analytical approach. The results of the study suggest that in light of the pottery and other lines of evidence, Yatag Tepesi maintained interactions with other centers of northwest Iran, and flourished between 3700/3600‒4500 BCE.