Journal of Archaeological Studies

Abstract With substantial increase in socio-political complexity during the second half of the fourth millennium BC and emergance of a need to record the economic transactions, the Proto Elamite writing system on the Iranian plateau and the proto Cuneiform in Mesopotamia was emerged. As a result of the political, climatic and cultural conditions prevailing the Iranian Plateau, the Proto Elamite writing system was used by various communities on the Iranian plateau in late 4^th millennium B.C. It seems that there were probably different tribes with diversed cultures and languages, among which, they were able to take advantage of the identical sign list to register names in their language. In Proto Elamite writing system, there also have different numbers and signs for objects, property and the signs with phonetic values are combined togather, making string of signs with single meaning and separation of such chain of signs requires full knowledge of this writing system. The purpose of this article is to introduce and examine the signs integrated in phonetic values, which are probably integrated among the ideogram signs. The ideogram signs  may have been read with phonemes in the past, but there were never exclusively related to phonetic signs. The method of study is as follows: after classifying the groups of similar texts that were probably written by the same scribe or a group of Proto Elamite clay tablets sealed by a same image, the same structural similarities and phonetic differences have been studied. On the other hand, according to the similar position of the ideological signs before and after phonetic values, an attempt has been made to separate the chain of phonetic values. As a result, the pre-name signs probably have the gender value or social status of the owner of the name, and the sign after the name conveys the use of the verb and in small number of the texts, it conveys the meaning of a household or tribe

Abstract The different environmental features of the Central Iranian Plateau and the Central Zagros region, including the type of access to hydrological resources adjacent to the climatically high pressure regions, such as desert lands and mountainous locations, and the communication constraints are characteristics that throughout the millennia shaped the cultures of these areas. It seems that according to the recent archaeological discoveries and the natural and geographical features’ effects on determination of cultural zones, the revision of archaeological divisions of the central plateau and Zagros is an obvious and essential issue. In the past, the definition of the Central Plateau mainly included the plains of Kashan, Qom and Saveh, Qazvin, Tehran, and the margins of Kavir desert, but did not mention Kurdistan and Hamedan at all. Also, in the Central Zagros area, never mentioned any sites beyond Asadabad and Nahavand. Thus, the role of these regions in the course of cultural transformation, like a blind spot, has always been neglected and archaeologists never considered important places in the areas located between the central plateau and central Zagros, until now. Whereas, geographical divisions, despite the differences between the views of some geographers, emphasize the geomorphologic distinctions of these regions against the Central Plateau and Zagros. Thus, by a review of the factors such as geographical features, catchment areas, quality of communication routes, and the distributional coherence of some cultural materials, especially pottery, the necessity of defining an independent identity for the “Near west” of central Iran, which corresponds to the geological zone of the Sanandaj-Hamedan, distinct from the Central Zagros and the Central Plateau zone, will simply be accepted.

Abstract In terms of synchronic studies, the Late Chalcolithi period is characterized by Sialk IV1 cultural horizon at on the northern edge of the central desert. The final feature of proto-literate period known by the titles of Uruk and the Proto-Elamite characterized by the sudden disappearance of painted pottery of Sialk III6-7 and emergence of simple and coarse pottery of Uruk tradition. MeymanatAbad is an important site for study the Sialk IV1. Meymanatabad Tepe (N 3928141.46 and S 515322.47, AMSL: 1053.96 m) is located in southwest of Tehran, surrounded by two shallow hills of Northern and Southern ones. In general, a complete sequence of late chalcolithic was identified at this Tepe based on stratigraphic excavations. Stratigraphic excavation and presenting its chronological table help us to illuminate new information of the mid and late fourth millennium especially late chalcolithic in the frame of Sialk III6-7 and Sialk IV1. Considering the fact that the two mounds were settled along the chronological sequences, this report had done to present the Operation at the northern mound and relied upon on pottery analysis.