Gird-i Ashoan during the Late Chalcolithic, Based on the Second Season of Excavation in Northwestern Iran

Excavations at Gird-i Ashoan, an archaeological mound in Piranshahr County in the Lower Zab Basin, have provided remarkable insights into the cultural traditions of the region during the Late Chalcolithic. Whilst reflecting some indigenous peculiarities, its material culture exhibits broad affinities with Northwestern Iran, the Caucasus, and Anatolia. This evinces the spread of the Late Chalcolithic (LC) cultures, especially LC2‒3, over vast territories, which could imply either population movements or the spread of a certain pastoralist subsistence system. The central stimulus was favorable climatic conditions, presumably a significant reduction in cold that fostered a climate almost similar to present conditions. Building on the finds from Gird-i Ashoan, the present paper addresses the reasons for the chaff-faced pottery’s extension over a wide geographic area from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia, northern Syria and northwestern Iran. Excavations at the site brought to light a Late Chalcolithic settlement of an unprecedentedly substantial range, consisting of about 8 m of continuous deposits. The pottery assemblages from the site include chaff-faced ware and Painted Pisdeli ware, suggesting that the site’s strongest interactions were with the Caucasus, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia

Gird-i Ashoan during the Late Chalcolithic, Based on the Second Season of Excavation in Northwestern Iran Keywords:

North West of Iran , Lower Zab Basin archaeology , Late Chalcolithic , Chaff-faced Ware , painted Pisdeli ware