Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies
Year:2022 | Volume:12 | Issue:2|Papers Count:10

This paper focuses on the lithic finds from two seasons of excavations at Qaleh Kurd (QK), a cave site in western Central Plateau. Through sedimentological studies, Holocene and Pleistocene deposits were identified during the excavations. Analysis of sedimentary context and the spatial distribution of the faunal remains and lithics suggested that the Pleistocene deposits at QK split into three sub-periods. Statistical analysis based on the lithic techno-typology confirmed such suggestion with the lithics featuring Middle Paleolithic (MP) affinities in all phases. The cross-sequence comparisons of QK’s lithics with the Zagros and Central Plateau MP assemblages suggested stronger affinities of QK with the former. The overall characteristics of the QK tool kit consist of a scraper-rich, flake-base typology, low frequency of denticulate and notch, the abundance of points, application of Levallois technique, frequent signs of direct percussion, minimal preparation of platform, and the presence of intense retouching and rejuvenating the edges.

Chalcolithic Micaceous Red Ware widely distributed in the Bhal region of Gujarat during 2600‒1600 BCE was first reported from Rangpur in Surendranagar district. This ceramic type was also reported in limited quantity from other parts of Saurashtra, Kachchh, North Gujarat, and South Gujarat. The ware is primarily defined by its color, texture, surface finish, inclusions, shapes, and decorative pattern. Although it has been reported from twenty-nine sites to date, not much attempt has been made to bring to light and define its other cultural parameters. This paper tries to elucidate the characteristic features of this ceramic type. For this purpose, Micaceous Red Ware from Vagad was chosen for detailed typological studies, and the findings were compared with the data from other excavated and surveyed sites in Gujarat. Further, the available radiocarbon dates from these sites were recalibrated. This paper concludes with a verification of the term Micaceous Red Ware Tradition within the spatio-temporal framework.

The Sasanian Empire was one of the most important periods in ancient Iran and one that experienced flourishing of the Zoroastrian religion. As the official religion in the Sasanian to post-Sasanian period, Zoroastrianism can be understood better by studying evidence of the religion’s impact on artifacts such as glassware, coins, silver vessels, pottery, and textiles. This paper shows the importance of “Zoroastrian sacred numbers” on glass fabrication and its impact on a specific type of glassware. Based on his assumption that glassware designs reflect the beliefs of artisans, the author focuses on the number of the facets on the related glassware. To test this hypothesis, the Sasanian glassware is compared to other concomitant objects such as royal necklaces and flower petals used in the Zoroastrian Pahlavi manuscripts. This religion-inspired decorative technique continued into the Early Islamic period, during which Shiism strongly preserved the Zoroastrian legacy in glassware.

The large assemblage of lithic artifacts deriving from the first season of excavations at Velem in 2021 was subjected to counting by the NAS approach. Typologically, the assemblage split into retouched tools, various types of scrapers (both side-and end-), hand axes, and a Levallois-type arrowhead. The recovered tools tended to be shaped on blades. Among the debitages, flakes proved to be the most recurrent. The meager attestations of cores compared to debitages and the lack of flakes with cortex raised the possibility that part of the core preparation process took place outside the site. With regard to technology, flakes were mostly separated from the core through direct percussion, while indirect percussion or soft hammer direct percussion was used to fashion the blades and bladelets. The entire assemblage was made of chert, of which Behshahr ranks among the leading sources in Iran. While its mysterious, disturbed and intermingled archaeological context excluded a precise chronology, a tentative date between the late Neolithic and the Chalcolithic period was offered for the lithic assemblage from Velem in light of the attested technology and typology.

The Islamic Middle Ages represented the flourishing period of various arts, including pottery, during which the increased artistic freedom gave rise to ingenious artistic and literary creations. Geographical and political situation in Kashan caused its local pottery to develop into a trans-regional industry. Despite the similarity between the themes used by the local workshops, differences are also evident. For precise identification of styles used in individual workshops, it is necessary to identify the styles specific to individual workshops and potters. Abu Zayd is the most common signature found on the Kashan pottery style. His aspiration to perpetuate his name on his works suggests that he was the leading figure in the advent and later advance of the style. The findings of this research show that a large number of works produced during and after Abu Zayd’s lifetime closely resemble his own creations. He worked in the Kashan style, and his techniques were retained in other workshops after his demise. Potters have bequeathed valuable works that were modeled after Abu Zayd’s style. The study of Abu Zayd’s works reveals that while they share wide similarities with those of his fellows, a part from his signature he had employed his own peculiar designs and motifs. There are cases of single designs in which the main patterns were worked by Abu Zayd and the details were left for other hand(s). Such collaboration as well as mentoring were the main reasons behind the dissemination of his style.

As a give and take relationship between human and environment, economy has played an essential role in the formation and sustainable development of cities. A city’s spatial structure is a refelction of its urban economy and how social actors have acted to create a relationship between the production and distribution of income from the sale of products, inside and outside urban areas. This social behavior in the city space, on the one hand, has caused high productivity and favorable access to physical-social and economic infrastructure (business) in the whole city. On the other, it has fostered a constructive economy in order to improve residents’ life quality and the sustainability of the city over time. This paper aimed to analyze the spatial behavior that was the driving force of the economic development of Boshruyeh City in the Qajar era using the theory of space syntax. The research questions were: How did the economic variable (“barak”-weaving industry) affect the distribution and density of the neighborhood patterns in Boshruyeh in the Qajar era? In what way were the access system and the pedestrian pattern governing the spatial organization of Boshruyeh able to ensure the sustainability of the urban economy and the growth of the city in the Qajar era? The present study represents a basic research in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in nature and methodology. To collect data, library research was utilized and using findings and documents of cultural heritage, a report on documenting the cultural-historical context of Boshruyeh City was provided. Using the UCL DEPTH MAP software, the descriptive-analytical part was based on the theory of space syntax and the analysis of the city map, emphasizing the metric radius and combining and weighting the two indices of integration and choice in the arrangement method. The results indicated a two-way and significant relationship between the two indicators of integration and spatial choice in the creation of space configuration and movement economy in the city space of Boshruyeh in the Qajar period. In the meantime, the footprint of the human factor in the natural movement of the city, the flow of the barak-weaving industry as the economic variable can be seen in the pattern distribution of the city houses and the pedestrian pattern in the streets as a people-oriented space in the city economy.

Cultural and social phenomena in our society have deep roots in the past. In other words, at least in part, the social behavior of current societies has its roots in their past, institutionalized in the subconscious memory of the citizens for hundreds or thousands of years. The cognition of social behavior of past societies and their structures could lead to a deeper and better understanding of contemporary social behavior. One of the most important ways in reconstructing social behavior of people in the past is the study of architectural and urban spaces. Considering Iranian cities with historical heritage, the historical texture of the city of Yazd is well preserved. The reconstruction of the social structure of Yazd (emphasizing social communication) according to the remaining spaces from the past, with the use of space syntax, will be discussed in this paper. It seems that compact neighborhood, and some public spaces such as neighborhood mosques could have increased social interaction among neighborhood residents. Increasing the level of social communication, can not only increase the cohesion and solidarity between the residents, but also lead to the creation of a kind of informal social control. However, some other architectural spaces left by them, and some principles of Islamic religion like privacy, indicate the emergence of a different type of social behavior like pretention and dual character among residents.

A deciding factor in the design of a mosque is the direction of the qibla. The qibla is directed toward the Kaaba, which marks a fixed direction of prayer for Muslims worldwide. The mosque adjacent to Prophet’s house is credited with the earliest attempt at qibla-orientation, which was based on the canopy. Later on, the orientation would be determined through the courtyard direction. However, Iranian architecture has employed several other ways to orientate towards qibla, thanks to its specific elements that differ from those of Arabian architecture. The first mosques in Iran were formed through modifying the earlier chahar-taqi buildings. Yet, several other original mosque designs also emerged as Iranian architecture was dynamic and constantly evolving. The three elements of the “dome, ” “iwan, ” and “courtyard” have interacted with each other within Iranian mosques. This paper focuses on the role and implications of these three elements for qibla-orientation. As a primary research, it combines exploratory and descriptive-analytical approaches to study and examine various Iranian mosques from different periods. The results suggest that the courtyard was less influential than the other two elements in the mosques in shabestani, one-iwan and two-iwan plans. However, with the advent of the four-iwan scheme, the courtyard took on the primary role in the pre-Safavid mosques. Mosques would begin to develop a more centripetal organization in the Safavid period, when the courtyard and iwan, placed opposite to the direction of qibla, assumed a more critical role.

Since 2018, Art University of Isfahan’s Department of Archeology has focused on the Zāyandehrud River basin, particularly its eastern and western parts, to better understand the archaeological landscape of the region and its changes through time. Field studies in the eastern part of the basin near Varzaneh have identified large numbers of new sites from different periods. Due to its geographical location at the center of Iran, the region could act as a hub between the four corners of the Iranian plateau in different periods. The similarities between the material cultures from the studied region and those from other parts of the Iranian plateau, particularly during the Early Bronze Age (EBA), also bear witness to the linking character of the region. The identification of over 200 sites spanning the EBA to the Timurid period and excavations at two EBA (013, 051) and a probable Iron Age site (006) indicates an auspicious environment and prosperity at the time for the lower part of the Zāyandeh-Rud basin, which today has been transformed into a desert or semi-desert landscape. The diversity of sites, including settlements, cemeteries, and architectural remains, as well as evidence of industrial activities such as pottery production, mining, metallurgical activities, and production of semi-precious stone artifacts, highlight different aspects of human life in the surveyed area.

The book under review is the fifth volume of the series ‘Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions’ and the first one dealing with artefacts not from the Indus valley but from the territory of the Indo-Iranian borderland. In the preface to the book Asko Parpola explains why non-Indus seals and other small objects are published in a series about Indus seals and inscriptions. The author’s intension is to supplement the corpus of Indus inscriptions with foremost geometric seals that predated the Indus civilization and were also found in the Indus valley. Some of the signs or symbols that can occasionally be found on the objects from the Indo-Iranian borderlands are the forerunners of the Indus script. Thus, the book appears to be an important contribution to the study of the origin of Indus writing and seal production. As emphasized in the preface, no such rich collection of photographs has ever been published for the region of the Indo-Iranian borderlands before. It is, therefore, an important contribution to the field that may allow us to study potential relations of this region with its two major contemporary neighbours, Mesopotamia in the west and the Indus valley in the east.