Survey of Excavations in Iran during 1970-71

Smith, Philip E.; Bivar, A. D. H.; Fehérvári, Géza; Burney, Charles; Ghirshman, Roman; Weiss, Harvey; Hansman, Jhon; Stronach, David; Tosi, Maurizio; Sumner, William M.; Reiner, Erica; Williamson, Andrew; Deshayes, Jean; Levine, Louis; Perrot, Jean; Dollfus, Geneviève; Young, T. Cuyler

doi:10.2307/4300478

Cited by 16 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…In southern Mesopotamia, there has been a long tradition of archaeological excavations and survey that provide insight into changing settlement systems, including the rise of urbanism, and the concomitant fluctuations in population size and distribution (e.g., Adams, ; Adams & Nissen, ). Similar data have also long been available for parts of Iran (e.g., Alden, ; Hole, ; Smith et al, ), and there are growing datasets for northern Mesopotamia and the adjacent uplands (e.g., Lawrence et al, ; Wilkinson et al, ), and parts of SE Arabia (al‐Jahwari & Kennet, , ; Magee, ) and also south Asia (e.g., Kumar, ; Possehl, ).…”

Section: The Archaeological Datasetsmentioning

confidence: 84%

20,000 years of societal vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in southwest Asia

et al. 2019

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The Fertile Crescent, its hilly flanks and surrounding drylands has been a critical region for studying how climate has influenced societal change, and this review focuses on the region over the last 20,000 years. The complex social, economic, and environmental landscapes in the region today are not new phenomena and understanding their interactions requires a nuanced, multidisciplinary understanding of the past. This review builds on a history of collaboration between the social and natural palaeoscience disciplines. We provide a multidisciplinary, multiscalar perspective on the relevance of past climate, environmental, and archaeological research in assessing present day vulnerabilities and risks for the populations of southwest Asia. We discuss the complexity of palaeoclimatic data interpretation, particularly in relation to hydrology, and provide an overview of key time periods of palaeoclimatic interest. We discuss the critical role that vegetation plays in the human–climate–environment nexus and discuss the implications of the available palaeoclimate and archaeological data, and their interpretation, for palaeonarratives of the region, both climatically and socially. We also provide an overview of how modelling can improve our understanding of past climate impacts and associated change in risk to societies. We conclude by looking to future work, and identify themes of “scale” and “seasonality” as still requiring further focus. We suggest that by appreciating a given locale's place in the regional hydroscape, be it an archaeological site or palaeoenvironmental archive, more robust links to climate can be made where appropriate and interpretations drawn will demand the resolution of factors acting across multiple scales. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems

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Section: The Archaeological Datasetsmentioning

confidence: 84%

20,000 years of societal vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in southwest Asia

et al. 2019

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“…Ganj Dareh, Iran: (a) Neolithic pits with fire-cracked stones Level E (after Smith, 1975: pl. IIIa); (b)–(c) Level D burnt architecture and features (after Smith, 1972: pl Ic, 1990: figure 1). Jarmo, Iraq (d) Ovens and pits in communal areas (J-I 8-9, after Braidwood et al, 1983: figure 74).…”

Section: Environment and Fire Ecology And Fuel Selection In The Centrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humans and fire: Changing relations in early agricultural and built environments in the Zagros, Iran, Iraq

Matthews

2016

The Anthropocene Review

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Fire-centred studies have recently been highlighted as powerful avenues for investigation of energy flows and relations between humans, materials, environments and other species. The aim in this paper is to evaluate this potential first by reviewing the diverse theories and methods that can be applied to investigate the ecological and social significance of anthropogenic fire, and second by applying these to new and existing data sets in archaeology. This paper examines how fire-centred approaches can inform on one of the most significant step-changes in human lifeways and interrelations with environment and other species -the transition from mobile hunting-gathering to more sedentary agriculture in a key heartland of change, the Zagros region of Iraq and Iran, c. 12,000-8,000 BP. In the review and case studies multiple links are investigated between human fire use and environment, ecology, energy use, technology, the built environment, health, social roles and relations, cultural practices and catastrophic events.

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“…New research based on re-examination of the original field notes of Philip Smith, shows the stratigraphy of the site to be more complex than previously published [ 13 ] but does not alter any of the conclusions of this paper. During excavations sponsored by the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum, Philip E.L. Smith excavated roughly 20 percent of the mound in four seasons between 1967 and 1974 [ 10 , 14 – 16 ]. Current evidence places site occupation at 10,170–9,700 cal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The initial work identified five levels, A to E, with level E at the base and the first permanent architecture in level D, well preserved by an extensive fire. New research based on re-examination of the original field notes of Philip Smith, shows the stratigraphy of the site to be more complex than previously published [13] PLOS ONE [14][15][16]. Current evidence places site occupation at 10,170-9,700 cal.…”

Section: Introduction To the Site Of Ganj Darehmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable isotope analysis of human bone from Ganj Dareh, Iran, ca. 10,100 calBP

et al. 2021

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We report here on stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope values from bone collagen of human (n = 20) and faunal (n = 11) remains from the Early Neolithic site of Ganj Dareh, Iran, dating to ca. 10,100 cal. BP. Our focus explores how isotope values of human bone vary by age and sex, and evaluates dietary practices at this site. It also provides a baseline for future studies of subsistence in the early Holocene Central Zagros Mountains, from the site with the first evidence for human ovicaprid management in the Near East. Human remains include individuals of all age groups for dietary reconstruction, as well two Ottoman intrusive burials for temporal and cultural comparison. All analyzed individuals exhibited δ13C and δ15N values consistent with a diet based heavily on C3 terrestrial sources. There is no statistically significant difference between the isotopic compositions of the two sexes, though males appear to show larger variations compared to females. Interesting patterns in the isotopic compositions of the subadults suggested weaning children may be fed with supplements with distinctive δ13C values. Significant difference in sulfur isotope values between humans and fauna could be the earliest evidence of transhumance and could identify one older adult male as a possible transhumant shepherd. Both Ottoman individuals had distinctively different δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S values compared to the Neolithic individuals. This is the first large scale analysis of human stable isotopes from the eastern end of the early Holocene Fertile Crescent. It provides a baseline for future intersite exploration of stable isotopes and insight into the lifeways, health, and processes of neolithisation associated with the origins of goat domestication at Ganj Dareh and the surrounding Central Zagros.

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Survey of Excavations in Iran during 1970-71

Cited by 16 publications

References 0 publications

20,000 years of societal vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in southwest Asia

20,000 years of societal vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in southwest Asia

Humans and fire: Changing relations in early agricultural and built environments in the Zagros, Iran, Iraq

Stable isotope analysis of human bone from Ganj Dareh, Iran, ca. 10,100 calBP

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