Parisa Nekouei; Rouhollah Yousefi Zoshk
Abstract
The Iranian plateau is considered as one of the main founding columns of cultural transformation during the sixth, fifth and fourth millennia BC. Archaeological evidances such as the ...
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The Iranian plateau is considered as one of the main founding columns of cultural transformation during the sixth, fifth and fourth millennia BC. Archaeological evidances such as the pottery tradition is almost the best example of cultural interactions of this region with the other communities of northwest, central Zagros, Fars and southwestern Iran during in the last quarter of fifth millennium BC. This article focuses on analyzing the intra- and inter-regional relations of Second half of the fifth millennium BC in this Cultural zones according to pottery assemblages. In order to understand the level of social and cultural complexity in the different parts of Iran, the authors have explored how these pottery traditions came into discussed in in the plain of Varamin and Qom to the east, Kurdistan and Zanjan provinces and the eastern plains of central Zagros to the west(Figure.1). From 5500 BC onward, the central Iranian plateau is considered the trade road during the first half of fifth millennium BC links the central Zagros with the sources, but tangable cultural contact with more population movement appeared during the last quarter of fifth millennium BC in Godin VII period. Given the existing archaeological data, Qazvin plain always played a crossroad of cultures and could therefore be regarded as part of the broader framework of cultural and social interaction and relationship. In the late fifth millennium BC, archaeological evidences such as “Plum Ware” indicators of such cultural and economic interaction. "Plum Ware” assemblages have been obtained in an area extending from Varamin plain in the east of central Iranian plateau to Tepe Ghabristan, Tepe Shizar, Tepe Ismail Abad in Qazvin plain, Tepe Ozbaki and Tepe Gazarsang in the west, and Tepe Soha chai, Tepe Karvansara, Tepe Qeshlaq, Tal 11 Talvar, and Tepe Kalnan in the northwestern part of the Central Iranian Plateau, which indicates a relatively widespread distribution of this type of pottery. (Figure.2.3).In the Qomroud region, both Bakun potteries of the Fars province were found with the typical Sialk II and III1-3 (Transitional and Early Chalcolithic period) ceramics this obviously reveals true connection between the society of Fars and central plateau during the fifth millennium BC. The fine painted black on buff pottery vessels of Tepe Qomrud are unknown in terms of shape and role in the central plateau of Iran and are apparently similar to those in southwestern and southern Iran and especially in Susiana plain (Alizadeh, 2008) and Bakun, Rahmatabad and Tal-Gap sites (Azizi et al, 2012) whose origins most probably go back to those areas. These pottery vessels generally have a geometrical shape with broad strips, ladder designs and successive triangles, often filled with Dot Motif designs (Figure.4). Also, evidence of ancient copper works at Tepe Zagheh represent smelting process during the first half of fifth millennium BC at site and for the Early Chalcolithic/Sialk III1-3 period evidence of larger scale of copper production such as slags, crucible in areas such as Tepe Ozbaki, Tepe Cheshmeh Ali and copper workshop in Tepe Ghabristan indicates how small workshop centers changed into the industrial section in the later period (Matthews & Fazeli Nashli, 2004). This, together with findings related to metalwork in Tepe Qeshlaq, Tepe Kalnan, Tepe Karvansara, and Tepe Soha Chai cycle of highland producer and consumers during the fifth millennium BC. Current evidence, particularly the proximity and accessibility of copper resources in Qazvin plain and the high areas of the western margins of the Central Iranian Plateau and the presence of casting tools, objects and molds in most “Plum Ware”-bearing settlements such as Tepe Ghabristan, Maral Tepe Ozbaki, Tepe Godin, Tepe Qeshlaq and Tepe Karvansara, which undeniably help confirm the copper production process in these areas and plum / Godin VII people's specialization in metalwork, reinforces the hypothesis that a group of desentary or pastoral communities scattered along the central plateau to the northern and central regions of Zagros had interactions in the late fifth millennium BC and were specialized in the production and processing of copper objects. Some excavated sites such as Tepe Karvansara and Seh Gabi in the central Zagros represent direct evidence of copper production within the domestic spaces. Therefore, exchange of commodities and trade of copper is a good example, led to cultural integration between the fifth millennium BC communities of central Zagros and central plateau. Moreover, Tepe Qomrud was a key area for trade of copper in the fifth millennium BC and, like other chalcolithic sites in the central Iranian plateau such as Tepe Cheshmeh Ali, Tepe Ghabristan, Tepe Shizar, and Ismail Abad has been obtained important evidence of metalwork processes from archaeological excavations of Tepe Qomrud (Kaboli, 2015) which are clear indications of copper related activities in this area. In recent paper published by Vidale (Vidale et al 2018) technological centralization/standardization and specialization of ceramic and copper production was seen as the main characteristics of central plateau commonalities during the fifth millennium BC., With caution of cultural/historical approaches it seems“Plume Ware” is parts of techno/cultural innovations of late fifth millennium BC in central Zagros and diffused to the north central plateau of Iran. More or less, we know that such ceramic tradition is visible in some north central plateau settlements c.4200 BC while based on the current data this tradition was started in Godin VII period more or less around at the same time sphere. We observe that if the origins of “Plume Ware” back to central Zagros, then by the movement of population this tradition made progress within many settlements in central plateau in less than few generations. This study reveals that the similarity “Plum Ware” with Dalma and Godin VII tradition and also similarity “painted buff pottery of Qomrud with Fars and southwest sites, reinforcing the theory of the existence of cultural interactions between these regions. We assume that although cultures in the Iranian plateau have shared mechanisms of social complexities but, each region has to be examined its own cultural biomass. The need for strategic commodities such as copper and status goods during the fifth millennium BC led to cultural communication and interactions among the mentioned societies. This paper attempts to provide a new insight into the extent of cultural interactions in the Iranian plateau during the fifth millennium.
