An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar
Pottery is of particular importance in archaeology as an indicator of chronology, art, technology, and subsistence system of ancient populations. Pottery discloses contacts and exchanges between different regions. Kelar Hill (henceforth: Tapeh Kelar) of the Kelardasht region is a major prehistoric s...
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| Format: | Article |
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Archaeological Sciences Research Centre, University of Sistan and Baluchestan
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://ijas.usb.ac.ir/article_7498_94854f40147be417032816a8cd7e8d86.pdf |
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| author | Parastoo Masjedi Khak Mostafa Khazaie Kouhpar Abbas Motarjem Zahra Mokhtari |
| author_facet | Parastoo Masjedi Khak Mostafa Khazaie Kouhpar Abbas Motarjem Zahra Mokhtari |
| author_sort | Parastoo Masjedi Khak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pottery is of particular importance in archaeology as an indicator of chronology, art, technology, and subsistence system of ancient populations. Pottery discloses contacts and exchanges between different regions. Kelar Hill (henceforth: Tapeh Kelar) of the Kelardasht region is a major prehistoric site in western Mazandaran. The site contains cultural evidences spanning the Late Chalcolithic (fourth millennium BCE) through the Islamic period. Amost significant component of the site’s sequence is a Kura-Araxes deposit. As the Kura-Araxes culture originated far from Tapeh Kelar (in South Caucasia), the primary concern of the present study revolves around the structureof the pottery from the site dating to the transition from the Late Chalcolithic to the Kura-Araxes period to spot the existing variations or discrepancies. The study also tries to answer the question whether or not the Kura-Araxes material represented exotic products at Tapeh Kelar. Some 25 sherds dating to the Late Chalcolithic, and Early‒Middle Bronze Age were picked up for petrographic analysis to compare the mineralogical texture of the LateChalcolithic and Middle Bronze Age ceramics with those of the Kura-Araxes material. The analyses suggest that the Kura-Araxes pieces from Tapeh Kelar were local products despite some disparities in their texture, which stemmed from the difference in raw material sources. Therefore, the presumption that the Kura-Araxes-type pottery first entered the site through exchange or trade before the related forms were copied by local potters is refuted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:16:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5432e4ec489f47779a947aad5022055b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2251-743X 2676-2919 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:16:33Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Archaeological Sciences Research Centre, University of Sistan and Baluchestan |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-5432e4ec489f47779a947aad5022055b2023-12-31T11:32:53ZengArchaeological Sciences Research Centre, University of Sistan and BaluchestanIranian Journal of Archaeological Studies2251-743X2676-29192022-06-01121859910.22111/ijas.2022.74987498An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh KelarParastoo Masjedi Khak0Mostafa Khazaie Kouhpar1Abbas Motarjem2Zahra Mokhtari3Department of Archaeology, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur, Iran.Ph.D, Independent Researcher, Iran.Department of Archaeology,University of Bu Ali Sina, Hamedan, Iran.Department of Geology, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur, Iran.Pottery is of particular importance in archaeology as an indicator of chronology, art, technology, and subsistence system of ancient populations. Pottery discloses contacts and exchanges between different regions. Kelar Hill (henceforth: Tapeh Kelar) of the Kelardasht region is a major prehistoric site in western Mazandaran. The site contains cultural evidences spanning the Late Chalcolithic (fourth millennium BCE) through the Islamic period. Amost significant component of the site’s sequence is a Kura-Araxes deposit. As the Kura-Araxes culture originated far from Tapeh Kelar (in South Caucasia), the primary concern of the present study revolves around the structureof the pottery from the site dating to the transition from the Late Chalcolithic to the Kura-Araxes period to spot the existing variations or discrepancies. The study also tries to answer the question whether or not the Kura-Araxes material represented exotic products at Tapeh Kelar. Some 25 sherds dating to the Late Chalcolithic, and Early‒Middle Bronze Age were picked up for petrographic analysis to compare the mineralogical texture of the LateChalcolithic and Middle Bronze Age ceramics with those of the Kura-Araxes material. The analyses suggest that the Kura-Araxes pieces from Tapeh Kelar were local products despite some disparities in their texture, which stemmed from the difference in raw material sources. Therefore, the presumption that the Kura-Araxes-type pottery first entered the site through exchange or trade before the related forms were copied by local potters is refuted.https://ijas.usb.ac.ir/article_7498_94854f40147be417032816a8cd7e8d86.pdftapeh kelarpetrographylate chalcolithickura-araxesgeology |
| spellingShingle | Parastoo Masjedi Khak Mostafa Khazaie Kouhpar Abbas Motarjem Zahra Mokhtari An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies tapeh kelar petrography late chalcolithic kura-araxes geology |
| title | An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar |
| title_full | An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar |
| title_fullStr | An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar |
| title_short | An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar |
| title_sort | archaeomineralogy of the late chalcolithic early bronze and middle bronze pottery from tapeh kelar |
| topic | tapeh kelar petrography late chalcolithic kura-araxes geology |
| url | https://ijas.usb.ac.ir/article_7498_94854f40147be417032816a8cd7e8d86.pdf |
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