Settlement Patterns of Bronze-Age Sites of the Upper and Middle Atrak Basin in Northeastern Iran
Settlement Patterns of Bronze-Age Sites of the Upper and Middle Atrak Basin in Northeastern Iran
Keywords:
Upper and middle Atrak, Bronze Age, Settlement patterns, Correlation analysis
Abstract:
In archaeological studies of Southwestern Asia, during the period from the late fourth millennium BC to the beginning of the Iron Age (second half of the second millennium BC), phenomena such as growth of settlements in terms of area and population, emergence of early cities, trans-regional trade, formation of government institutions, emergence and spread of gray-and-black pottery, extensive changes in technology, dramatic development of smelting and use of bronze tools were identified. In this process, an extensive communication network aimed at controlling trade routes and access to raw materials across the plateau, by land and sea, connected many areas. Economically, remote trade was established in this period of time, various communities establishing ties with places located thousands of miles away in order to obtain their needed resources. Bronze-Age cultures are well-known in most parts of Iran, but Khorasan is an exception since the data are rare and insufficient. Moreover, information about the chronology and distribution of sites during different periods of prehistoric times in different parts of it is minimal. Thirty-eight sites from the Bronze Age have been studied in this research. These sites were identified in the archaeological surveys of the upper and middle Atrak during the last decade. This study was done using the descriptive-analytic method. GIS and SPSS software and Correlation and Cluster analysis methods were used for data analysis. The settlement pattern in the upper and middle Atrak basin is similar. It consists of two-rank models with a large main site and several small sites around it. The results of this study indicate that due to the lack of water resources in the region, access to constant water resources has been an essential factor in the shaping of Bronze-Age settlements. Most sites were also formed during the early Bronze Age, and we also faced a decrease in the number of sites in the middle and late Bronze Ages.
Download: PDF
How to cite: Alireza Hejebri Nobari, Nesa Judy, Settlement Patterns of Bronze-Age Sites of the Upper and Middle Atrak Basin in Northeastern Iran, Cercetări Arheologice, Vol. 30.1, pag. 29-44, 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.46535/ca.30.1.02
Bibliography
- Alley, R.B. 2004. Abrupt climate change. Scientific American 29 (5): 62-69.
- Arne, T.J. 1945. Excavations at Shah Tepe, Iran, Stockholm.
- Ataiee, M. 2009. Report of Archaeological Survey in Maneh and Samalghan. Archive of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization. [In Persian].
- Basafa, H. 2011. Late Bronze age and Early Iron age of Nishapour Plain, Based on Shahrak Firoze Archaeological Site, PhD thesis, Tarbiat Modarres University. [In Persian].
- Biscione, R. and Vahdati, A.A. 2011. Excavation at Tepe Chalow, Northern Khorasan, Iran. Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 53: 236-240.
- Biscione, R. 1977. The crisis of Central Asian urbanization in II millennium BC and villages as an alternative system, in: J. Deshayes (ed.), Le Plateau Iranien et I’ Asie central des origins a la conquête islamique:113-128. Paris
- Bond, G., Showers, W., Cheseby, M. et al. 1997. A perspective millennial scale cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and glacial climates, Science 278: 1257-1265.
- Bond, G., Kromer, B., Beer, J., Muscheler, R. et al. 2001. Persistent solar influence on North Atlantic climate during the Holocene, Science 294: 2130-2136.
- Conolly, J., and Lake M. 2006. Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology, Cambridge University Press.
- Dana, M., Garazhian, O. and Fazeli Nashli 2012. Stratified Systematic Sampling in Tape Borj, Nishabur, Khorasan. Payame Bastanshenas 9 (18): 49-68. [In Persian].
- Deshayes, J. 1976. Tureng Tepe. Iran 14: 169-71.
- Djamali, M., De Beaulieu, J., Miller, N. et al. 2009. Vegetation history of the SE section of the Zagros Mountains during the last five millennia: a pollen record from the Maharlou Lake, Fars province, Iran. Vegetation History and archaeobotany 18 (2): 123-136.
- Francfort, H.P., Vahdati, A, Bendezu-Sarmiento, J., Lhuilier, E., Fouache, M., Tengberg, M., Mashkour and Z., Shirazi 2014. Preliminary Report on the Soundings at Tepe Damghani Sabzevar, Spring 2008. Iranica Antiqua, 49: 112-152
- Garazhian, O. 2006. Excavation for stratigraphy and documentation of architectural remains in Qaleh Khan Tepe, Maneh and Samalghan, North Khorasan. Archive of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization. [In Persian].
- Hole, F. 1980. Archaeological survey in Southwest Asia. Paleorient 6 (1): 21-44.
- Hlopina, L. 1972. Southern Turkmenia in the late Bronze age. East and West 22: 204-217.
- Judy, N. 2011. Analysis of the Bronze Age of the Qaleh Khan settlement, with emphasis on Pottery technique traditions, Architecture, Cultural deposites, thesis for MA in Archaeology, Tehran University. [In Persian].
- Judy, N., Garazhian, O. and Rezaei, M. 2011. Prehistoric burial methods in the Qaleh Khan settlement (North Khorasan) with emphasis on the Bronze Age. Payame Bastanshenas, 15: 59-74. [ In Persian].
- Kelt, K. and Shahrabi, M., 1986. Holocene sedimentology of hypersaline Lake Urmia, northwestern Iran. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 54: 105-130.
- Khlopina, L.I. 1981. Namazga-depe and the Late Bronze Age of Southern Turkmenia; The Bronze Age Civilization of Central Asia; Philip Kohl (ed); New York: Armonk.
- Kohl, P.L., Biscione, R. and Ingraham, M.L. 1982. Implications of Recent Evidence for the Prehistory of Northeastern Iran and Southwestern Turkmenistan. Iranica Antiqua 16: 185-204.
- Kuzmina, E., 2007. The Origin of the Indo-Iranians (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series), Brill.
- Masson, V.M. 1988. Altyn-Depe. Philadelphia: University of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania.
- Mayewski, P., Rohling, E., Stager, C., et al. 2004. Holocene climate variability. Quaternary Research 62: 243-255.
- Mirzaei, A. 2008. Archaeological Survey Report in Farooj and Shirvan. Archive of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization. [In Persian].
- Mirzaei, A. and Dana, M. 2016. Bronze Age Review in the Upper Atrak Basin: New Archaeological Surveys in North Khorasan. Honors of Iranian Cultural Heritage, Mir Abedin Kaboli Festival, 3: 541-557. [In Persian].
- Motarjem, A. and Siasar, N. 2017. Studying the Changes of Distribution Patterns of the Bronze and Iron Ages Settlements in Chamchamal Plain Central Zagros. Pazhoheshhaye Bastanshenasi Iran, 6 (11). [In Persian].
- Papoli Yazdi, M. 1992. Nomadism in North Khorasan, translated by Asghar Karimi, Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi. [In Persian].
- Rajabi, N. 2013. Report of Archaeological survey in Bojnourd city. Archive of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization [ In Persian].
- Sadat Hosseini, Z. and Khaledi Sh. Naderi, A. 2016. Paleoclimate reconstruction and vegetation dynamic during Pleistocene and Holocene based on palynology at Dasht E Arzhan wetland ars Southwest Iran. Climate Research, 7 (27-28): 1-13. [In Persian].
- Safaeirad, R., Azizi, Gh., Mahammadi, H. and Alizadeh Lahijani, H. 2015. Reconstructing the Holocene and Late-Pleistocene Climate Changes of the Central Zagros Using Palynological Evidences of the Hashilan Wetland. Geography and Environmental Hazards, 3: 1-20. [ In Persian].
- Sarianidi, V.I. 1971, Southern Turkmenia and Northern Iran Ties and Differences in Very Ancient Times. East and west, New Services.
- Schmidt, E.F. 1937. Excavations at Tepe Hissar Damghan, Pennsylvania University Press, Philadelphia.
- Sharifi, A., Pourmand, A., Canuel, E. et al. 2015. Abrupt climate variability since the last deglaciation based on a high-resolution, multi-proxy peat record from NW Iran: the hand that rocked the Cradle of Civilization? Quaternary Science Reviews 123: 215-230.
- Stevens, L. Wright, H. and Ito, E. 2001. Proposed change in seasonality of climate during the Late glacial and Holocene at Lake Zeribar, Iran. The Holocene, 11 (6): 747-755.
- Vahdati, A. 2014. A BMAC Grave from Bojnord, North-Eastern Iran. Iran Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, 52 (1): 19-27.
- Vahdati, A. and Frankfurt, H. 2010. Preliminary Report on the excavation of Damghani Tape in Sabzevar, Spring 2008. Archeology and History, 48: 17-36. [In Persian].
- Vahdati, A. and Biscione, R. 2015. The third season Joint Iranian and Italian excavations in Chalu Tape, Jajarm, North Khorasan: Excerpts from the findings of Iranian archaeological researches in 2014, Tehran: the 14th Annual Iranian Archaeological Conference. [In Persian].
- VanZeist, W. and Bottema, S., 1977. Palynological investigation in western Iran. Palaeohistoria 19: 19-85.
- Voigt, M.M and Dyson, R.H. 1992. The Choronology of Iran, Ca 8000-2000 B.C, in: R.W. Erich (ed.), Chronologies in Old Word Archaeology, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp: 122-178.
- Warren, R.E. and Asch, D.L., 2000. Practical applications of GIS for archaeologists: a predictive modeling toolkit, London.
- Wasylikowa, K., Witkowski, A., Walanus, A. et al. 2006. Palaeolimnology of Zeribar, Iran, and its climate implication. Quaternary Research 66 (3): 477-493.
- Ricciardi, V, 1980. Archaeological Survey in the Upper Atrak Valley (Khorassan, Iran): Preliminary Report. Mesopotamia, 15: 51-71.
- Zare, Sh. 2011. Report of Archaeological Survey in Maneh and Samalghan (North Khorasan), Chapter 2. Archive of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization. [In Persian].

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License