Authors
Abstract
Relying upon the theories concerned with the cultural evolution of anthropology and archaeology, and providing a brief review of the related literature, the present article conducts a careful examination of the evolutionary trends in pottery of the layers from the prehistoric periods of Qal’eh Kh?n. Testing several variables affecting pottery, the article proposes that while cultural evolutionism can describe and partly clarify the chronological evolution of cultural items, it will not be possible to carry out a comprehensive analysis of such evolutions and therefore realistic interpretations cannot be provided without due consideration of the environment (including the landscape, social organization, internal and external social relations, relations with other environmental contents, and interactions with the environment). It is argued that, from among a variety of statistical analyses, while the evolution of pottery is moving towards complexity and development, this is not indicative of its technological evolution. Pottery has undergone evolution, in the course of history, by changing from one form to another and matching to its environment.
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