Bronze Age

Lorestan’s Balageriveh, is a lowland passage area, located in between two rivers, Dez and Kashkan in South Central Zagros; the area itself is divided into three parts, northern, southern and central. In previous studies in Lorestan, a form of complete shift was depicted from sedentary lifestyle to a mobile one, in transition between the Late Chalcolithic and the Middle Bronze Age. Central Balageriveh is important to be studied on this matter due to its central position among Susiana (Elam), Central Zagros, Bakhtiyari region, Posht Kouh and Mesopotamia, as well as paleoclimatology and archaeological studies conducted over there. Due to the above reasons, the present study has taken into account paleoclimatology and archaeological data, the transition process from Chalcolithic Cultures to the Bronze Age, a change in settlement patterns and the role of socio-economic and environmental changes in this pattern alteration. The findings indicated that long-time climatic change which occurred in the middle of 4th millennium B.C. in the region cannot be regarded as the cause of the complete cultural gap and the change of settlement pattern at the time. Instead, it seems that with the collapse of the Uruk System and its commercial organization, the areas like Balageriveh which were intermediary in this commercial network, lost their charm. When people like Kura-Araxes, on whom some would put the blame of the Uruk collapse as they were mobile pastoralists, settled in some areas which the previous power had lived, the commercial paths withered and Balageriveh’s intermediary role diminished and instead due to socio-political reasons, the lowland characteristics of the area became highlighted and the change in settlement pattern occurred.

In Sistan, with an area of 8117 square meters, some 1660 archaeological sites have been explored during two phases of field surveys. The National Geographical Organization of the Armed Forces of Iran has divided Sistan into 22 geographical districts. The south of Qale Rustam Domain with an area of 295 square meters was the aim of second phase of investigation that could discover 280 archaeological sites. Most of them belong to Bronze Age. The site number 152 in the South of Qale Rustam Domain, which is located near the Iran-Afghanistan border with an area of 27000 square meters, was formed simultaneously with Shahr-e Sokhta. During the investigation, two stone objects resembling handbags, as well as a plenty of potsherds were found. The potsherds found at the surface level, both simple and designed are of the types found in phases 5-8 of Shahr-e Sokhta, which date back to the first half of the third millennium B.C. The specific function of these bags is still unclear, but seems to be weights or scale. However, based on chronological studies, these bags, like the other cultural proofs found around them especially pottery, can be attributed to the first half of the third millennium B.C.

The Iranian Plateau is, in the late 4th millennium B.C., with Mesopotamia and Egypt the birthplace of writing in the World. We propose here to consider the Proto-Elamite (Early Proto-Iranian) and Linear Elamite (Late Proto-Iranian) scripts, not as two different writing systems, but as the same system at two different chronological stages of evolution. Between 3500 and 1850 B.C., the continuous history of writing in Iran may be consequently understood according to 6 distinct phases (I: 3500-3300 B.C.; II: 3300-3000/2900 B.C.; III: 3000/2900-2300 B.C.; IV: 2300-2000 B.C.; V: 2000-1850 B.C.; VI: after 1850 B.C.).

Animal remains from Taghiabad in the Varamin plain are analyzed, conducted in 2018. This site is located north of Taghiabad and south of Ajorbast villages, Javadabad district in Varamin town. All the excavated bones are of animal origin, and no human bones have been retrieved. This site dates back to the Iron and Bronze ages; in this study, we deal with Bronze Age. Two hills were excavated, which are referred to as Taghiabad 1 and 2. Taghiabad 1 relates to the recent and middle Bronze Ages, containing ten loci (Seven loci of the Late and three loci of the Middle Bronze Age, respectively), and Taghiabad 2 contains three loci of the Late Bronze Age. Burning and cutmarks were found on some of the bones, which cutmarks might be secondary to butchery. This study is based on field, and lab studies on animals remain retrieved from these two hills (Taghiabad 1 and Taghiabad 2). Results show that sheep, goat, cattle, gazelle, equid, deer, and canine in Taghiabad 1 and sheep, cattle, gazelle, and small carnivorous in Taghiabad 2 are the most prevalent findings. The people’s primary sources of meat supplies were sheep, goats, and cattle.

Rick Abad Tepe is located north of the Zab River in Northwest of Iran, close to the border with Iraq. The excavation at this archeological site was carried out in the summer of 2019. The materials and evidence obtained from there showed Rick Abad belonged to the Bronze Age, with some monuments not documented yet from any site in the Zab Basin. The Tamarchin passage, west of Piranshahr, connects this region to northern Mesopotamia. This research tries to respond to the following questions: What was the status of Zab Basin settlements in the Bronze Age? How was the regional and extra-regional communication with the surrounding areas? As a matter of fact, seven levels belonging to the Bronze Age were identified in the course of the excavation. In the south of Lake Urmia, Kura-Araxes potteries were less visible; however, typical black-burnished ceramics similar to those of the Kura-Araxes tradition were recovered from some sites. Surprisingly, Painted Orange Ware (POW) and beveled-rim Bowl were seen in the early Bronze Age of the Zab Basin. Furthermore, the impression of the seal from Rick Abad is remarkable as well since this type of object had an administrative function and it is a sign of economic and social activities as well as regional and extra-regional relations. The location of this region between northwest of Iran and the north of Mesopotamia (Iraqi Kurdistan) somehow turned this basin into a meeting place of various cultures. Probably these sites played a key role in trade and commerce, although, they never attained an urban status.