Journal of Archaeological Studies

Abstract Discontinuities in archaeological settlement sequences constitute one of the major challenges in geoarchaeological research, and identifying their origin requires reconstructing the geomorphological processes responsible for sediment accumulation within archaeological sites. The open-air archaeological site of Komishani, located adjacent to Komishan Cave in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran, preserves evidence of human occupation dating from the Mesolithic to the Bronze Age. Occupational hiatus, occurring between the archaeological horizons and dated to between 8600 and 8200 BCE, has raised important questions regarding the origin of the natural deposits responsible for the interruption. To address this issue, sedimentological analyses and geomorphological observations were integrated to reconstruct the depositional history of the site. Sediment samples were analyzed using dry sieving, grain-size distribution, statistical grain-size parameters, and morphometric indices of coarse clasts. The results indicate that the natural deposits are predominantly composed of coarse-grained sediments exhibiting poor to very poor sorting. The predominance of discoidal and bladed clasts, moderate sphericity, angular particle morphology, lithological similarity between the clasts and adjacent limestone outcrops, together with the geomorphological characteristics of the area, including steep hillslopes, faulted geological structures, and unstable bedrock, indicate a local sediment source and short transport distances. Collectively, these lines of evidence suggest that the deposits were generated by hillslope and mass-wasting processes, which rapidly transported and accumulated clastic materials, burying parts of the occupation surface and producing the observed sedimentary discontinuity within the archaeological sequence. These findings emphasize the fundamental role of geomorphological processes in controlling natural sediment accumulation and generating occupational discontinuities in archaeological sites.

Abstract The presence of water resources, particularly rivers, significantly influences site selection. Throughout history, settling near rivers has brought numerous advantages, but it has also posed certain risks. This study focuses on the sub-basins southeast of the Caspian Sea. Initially, we explore the connection between the layout of ancient settlements and the drainage networks. Additionally, we analyze the relationship between flood risk and the settlement patterns of these ancient sites by estimating the flooding risk based on linear, areal, and relief aspects. This research marks the first time such an analysis has been conducted. The findings underscore the importance of proximity to rivers in site selection, with areas close to rivers with lower stream orders being the most favorable for settlements. The study reveals a decrease in the frequency of sites near higher stream orders in relation to flooding risk. Conversely, there is an increase in the frequency and density of ancient sites near the first stream orders and at greater distances from the rivers, coinciding with an elevated flooding risk in the sub-basins. These results indicate that the inhabitants of the southeastern areas of the Caspian Sea sub-basins were cognizant of the flooding danger and factored it into their decision-making when selecting settlement sites

Abstract The ancient hills are the human’s close and far activities sense. These places may be the transit camp survivors or ruins towns or villages. This paper studies the archaeology of the ancient hill of Meymanabad using micromorphology methods. This hill situated in Robat Kareem_in South-East village called Meymantabad. The result has showed that before the establishment of the site occupations there have been a warm and wetter conditions througout the region.  According to the cubic microscopic structure that is the region natural examples index, a period lack of establishment from point E to point D has occurred.  The point C is the latest cultural point and after this there are no cultural effects. In fact, what makes this civilization wiped out was the river flooding of Shadchay River resulted in the destruction of the site and caused the peoples to abandon their settlement areas.