Archaeometric Studies on Neolithic Bullet-Shaped Cores from East Chia Sabz, Seymareh, Luristan

The East Chia Sabz site is located on the bank of the Seymareh River in the middle of the Zagros Mountain chain. The site is among the few examples of the acramic Neolithic sites of the ۸th millennium B.C. of Zagros which was archaeologically investigated during the rescue archaeological studies of the Seymareh dam. Numerous bullet-shaped cores were unearthed during the archaeological excavation of the site, from which twenty were investigated using XRD and XRF analyses. According to the results, most of the lithic artifacts demonstrate a similar mineralogy and geochemistry and are mainly composed of a cherty material with some impurities of calcite, chlorite, hematite and clay minerals. The presence of these impurities has lowered the cutting quality of these lithic materials. It seems that the cores had been provided from a local source. In this regard, the chert cobbles of the Amiran Formation that are also available from the river beds of the area could have been a significant source. 

Keywords:

Zagros , Mineralogy , geochemistry , XRD , XRF , Amiran Formation , lithic industry