درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Bardak-e Siāh is one of the important archaeological sites in Bushehr province. Recently, archaeological researches about the Achaemenid site of Bardak-e Siāh in Bushehr, under the supervision of Ismail Yaghmai, have been published. This article reviews the book entitled A Hypothesis of the True Origin of Achaemenids Based on Archaeological Excavations of Bardak-e Siāh Palace, Dashtestan, Doroudgah Village.

Central Asia is a key unit of archaeological studies of the Ancient Near East and an issue for important questions such as primary states, Aryan people immigration has a unique role in archaeological activities. Considering the geographical location of Dargaz (Dargaz) Plain at the periphery of Central Asia, it is a vital area in the archaeology of the northeastern part of the Iranian Central Plateau and Central Asia. The region is ideally situated to research regional relationships and inter-regional interactions between those cultural-geographical regions due to its ecological potential and geographic location. Archaeologically, to comprehend Cultural Similarities in Dargaz Plain, many studies and surveys have been done since the beginning of the 20th Century. However, because of the lack of more detailed excavation in this area, the quality of cultural material of Central Asia and the Iranian Central Plateau is reassessing continuously. The first archaeological survey by Kohl and Heskel in 1978 reveals the similarities between Central Asia and this area. The Following works were done for the sake of making known the prehistoric Sites, their interaction with neighboring regions, and their ecosystem but it remains incomplete. Twenty-one prehistoric settlements have remained in the area, dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age I/III, according to archaeological studies carried out during these years. The majority of the locations that have been found are the ruins of dispersed villages and seasonal camps that were scattered throughout the plain, as well as at inaccessible heights and other locations. With an emphasis on the material culture, particularly the local ceramic traditions and the settlement patterns of the prehistoric site, this current work investigates the connection and interconnectedness of the Dargaz Plain and proposes novel prospects for future works. A study of the Dargaz Plain may shed new light on the social and cultural history of a larger region.

Notwithstanding its cultural wealth, archaeologists have hitherto given little consideration to Meshkinshahr County of Iran’s Ardabil Province. The region is remarkably rich in graves, as is evident from the various types of graves with simple inhumation, dolmen, rectangular stone-built, and Kurgan. In the spring of 2019, a rare example of Kurgan was investigated near the city of Fakhrabad. Unlike all other graves excavated in northwest Iran, its structure consisted of a combination of stones and mud bricks. This paper presents the preliminary results from the excavation of this Kurgan. While introducing the Kurgan, an assemblage of small artifacts and its structure were examined, and a relative chronology was then proposed. The Kurgan arguably occupies a special place in archaeology of Iran and South Caucasus given a combination of stones with mud bricks it has in its construction. Such Kurgan type still remains unreported from the region.

The lifeways of mobile human societies are a field investigated by anthropologists and archaeologists. Mobility is considered an effective way of foraging and resource production among human societies (for hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and farmers, respectively). Various classifications regarding the mobility patterns of human societies have been proposed so far. As of today, the majority of archaeologists use Murdock’s multi-purpose classification which divided mobile human societies into four groups: (1) Nomadic societies, (2) semi-nomadic societies, (3) semi-sedentary societies, and (4) sedentary societies. But some societies have characteristics that do not allow them to be placed in one of these groups. For identification of these unclearly defined societies, the authors will refer to 5 criteria of demographic dimensions: Mobility, number of movements, movement distance, residential criteria, and lifeway. For instance, it was not until 2003 that archaeologists began to recognize the intermediate trajectory of nomadic pastoralism from early village-based herding to the formation of full-fledged pastoralism in the western part of Central Zagros. Extensive study of pastoralist communities, however, can be used for the identification of several intermediate stages of the 5 criteria. Current archaeological evidence in most of the early Neolithic sites in Central Zagros such as Qazanchi, Sheikhi Abad, Sarab, Asiab, and Guran, unlike the Levant region which was settled in the Epipaleolithic (Natufian) period, indicates that these sites are seasonal. So how can we explain the mobility of human societies in the proto-Neolithic period of Zagros? As a result, the authors try to use these criteria to identify the intermediate stages of sedentarism in Zagros, from mobile societies in the Epipaleolithic period to sedentary societies in the late Neolithic period. For this purpose, the authors have studied the mobility patterns and residential criteria of human societies in the cultural landscape of Hawraman. The research was conducted in two seasons, in the summer of   2016 and the summer of 2018, respectively. At first glance, the patterns of mobility and lifeways of human societies seemed homogeneous and identical in the cultural landscape of Hawraman. But with a deeper analysis, Four main mobility patterns were identified. The patterns include (1) single-stage agriculturalist residential mobility in Koh-e-Takht, (2) multistage pastoralist residential mobility in Kosalan and Shahu Mountain, (3) logistical mobility (transhumance) in Javeh River, and (4) logistical mobility (based on cultural exchanges) all over the Hawraman. The patterns show that the Zagros societies did not become sedentary in a single stage. Therefore, semi-sedentary societies with residential mobility and semi-sedentary societies with logistical mobility can be placed in the intermediate stages.  

The artifact studied in this paper is a bimetallic sword made of bronze handle and an iron blade, which was excavated from the Tol ancient cemetery, located in Talash city, Gilan province, in 2001 by Mohammad Reza Khaltabari. This research aims to study the technology and pathology of the mentioned object by conducting comparative and archeological studies using the library method, conducting technological studies using the laboratory methods of radiography, metallography, and microstructural observations using a scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS). The phase analysis of corrosion products was done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), as well as knowing the manufacturing method and identifying the types of damage and corrosion. The result shows that this work belongs to the Iron Age. Also, the tests performed on the two parts of the handle and the blade showed that the material of the iron blade is iron-carbon alloy. The amount of carbon in different parts of the body of blade is not the same and the handle is made of bronze alloy with casting and hammering techniques. It also has a galvanic corrosion effect.

Biological samples such as bones, tooth, and hair obtained from archaeological excavations are mainly used for dating measurements. However, these findings provide valuable information about the diet, lifestyle or migration, and genetic interaction of communities, and disease because the biochemical content of biological tissues such as bones, teeth, and hair changes under the influence of the lifestyle of the past population. Therefore, it seems that human remains' biochemical, microscopic, and histological studies could be advantageous for clarifying the dark events of the past societies. Bioarchaeology, as an interdisciplinary science, assesses the historical-cultural relationships in ancient samples and human remains like hair, bone, or tooth by biological tools and techniques. In this science, the biological data of specimens are combined with archeological information to obtain a more accurate sociology of past civilizations. The purpose of the present review article is to familiarize archeology researchers with the usual methods in bioarchaeological studies.