Human remains from Haji Khan Tepe, Iran, 2017

Bioarchaeology of the Near East, 13:172–176 (2019) Short fieldwork report Human remains from Haji Khan Tepe, Iran, 2017 Esmail Hemati Azandaryani1 , Mehrdad Malekzadeh2 , Arkadiusz Sołtysiak*3 1 Department of Archaeology, University of Bu-Ali Sina, Shahid Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Street, Hamadan, Iran 2 Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, 30 Tir St., Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Iran 3 Department of Bioarchaeology, Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland email: a.soltysiak@uw.edu.pl (corresponding author) Haji Khan Tepe (35◦ 01′ 58′′ N, 49◦ 01′ 17′′ E, 1613masl) is a small archaeological site covering 75×65m, located near the village of Zaraqan in Hamedan province, not far away from Ghare-chai river. Heavily destroyed by recent bulldozing and by illegal excavations, the site was discovered by Motarjim et al. (2009) during a regional survey. At present, the maximum height of the cultural strata is c. 4m. Due to the construction of Ibn Sina Petrochemical Context at this place, rescue archaeological excavations in four areas were undertaken at the site in the winter of 2016 and spring of 2017 under the direction of Esmail Hemati Azandaryani (Figure 1). In the largest area, Area A, architectural remains have been found, which have been interpreted as a temple dated to the Iron Age III (i.e. the Median period) (Hemati Azandaryani 2017). Figure 1. Haji Khan Tepe during excavations. Photograph by E. Hemati Azandaryani. Short fieldwork reports Figure 2. Human burial in Square EF34a. Photograph by E. Hemati Azandaryani. Figure 3. Porosity on calcanei of the individual from Square EF34a. Scale bar 1cm. Photograph by A. Sołtysiak. 173 174 Short fieldwork reports Figure 4. Pseudoarthrosis of the lumbar spinous process, EF 34a loc. 118. Scale bar 1cm. Photograph by A. Sołtysiak. Figure 5. Cutmarks at proximal femur, GH 34 loc. 104. Scale bar 1cm. Photograph by A. Sołtysiak. Only one complete burial has been unearthed at the site (Area A, Square EF34a). It was a simple pit grave measuring 170×70cm with no artifacts, dating most likely to the Islamic period (Figure 2). e skeleton was fairly complete and relatively well preserved. Although the pelvis was eroded, general bone robustness suggests that it Short fieldwork reports 175 was a male individual, with femoral midshaft circumference being 90.5mm and tibia circumference at the nutrient foramen 94mm (see Sołtysiak 2010), although both humeri were surprisingly gracile (21.7×16.9mm at midshaft) and both had septal apertures, which is more common in females (Mays 2008). ere was no degenerative joint disease, the teeth were slightly worn and the pubic symphysis retained some ridges and furrows (grade 2, Brooks & Suchey 1990), indicating a young adult. e mandible was missing and there were no dental caries in the preserved upper dentition (0/7). e femoral midshafts of this individual were clearly asymmetrical, with the left one being more robust than the right and linea aspera more prominent (8.4mm versus 7.3 at midshaft). ere were bilateral areas of porosity between the peroneal tubercle and the posterior facet (Figure 3). Apart of this complete skeleton, many disarticulated human elements have been found in several loci (Table 1) and it is likely that this scatter represents skeletons from Islamic graves that were destroyed during illegal excavations and construction works. Both male and female bones are present, but there are no subadult elements. Some fragments were strongly eroded and black staining was relatively common. Two cases of trauma were present in this small assemblage: a healed fracture at the proximal end of the left first metacarpal in EF 34 loc. 101 and a post-traumatic pseudoarthrosis at the lumbar spinous process in EF 34a loc. 118 (Figure 4). A case of sacralized lumbar vertebra was noted in EF 34b loc. 104. On several elements (i.e. the scapula under glenoid in EF 34 loc. 101; the ilium in EF 34b loc. 118; the proximal and distal left femur in GH 34 loc. 104) cutmarks were present, likely being left by tools used during illegal excavations (Figure 5). Table 1. Disarticulated human elements retrieved at Haji Khan Tepe. Trench CD 34 CD CD CD 34 EF 34 EF 34a EF 34b EF 34b Locus 101 107 111 125 101 118 101 MNI 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 EF 34b 102 2 EF 34b EF 34b GH 34 PC 104 118 104 1 1 1 1 Sex ? F* F* ? M** ? F* F* M** M** F** M** ? F* M* Age-at-death adult adult adolescent adult adult young adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult adult 40–45 Elements a few fragments from different body parts right femur humerus + vertebrae + metatarsals patella + rib + atlas a few fragments from upper part of the body a few elements from various body parts right femur left femur + thoracic vertebra + a rib clavicle + metacarpal + humerus + ribs right radius a few elements from various body parts sacrum + a few other elements ulna + humerus + ilium + a rib femur pelvis + vertebrae + radii + ulna 176 Short fieldwork reports References Brooks S., Suchey J.M. (1990), Skeletal age determination based on the os pubis: A comparison of the Acsádi-Nemeskéri and Suchey-Brooks methods, Human Evolution 5(3):227-238. Hemati Azandaryani E. (2017), First season of rescue excavation at Haji Khan Tape, unpublished report, Tehran: Iranian Cultural Heritage Oranization. Mays S. (2008), Septal aperture of the humerus in a mediaeval human skeletal population, American Journal of Physical Anthropology 136(4):432-440. Motarjim A., Mohamadifar Y., Bakhtyari Z. (2009), Survey of archaeological sites in Shara and Femenin counties, Hamadan province, unpublished report, Hamadan: Archive of Cultural Heritage Organization. Sołtysiak A. (2010), Death and decay at the dawn of the city. Interpretation of human bone deposits at Tell Majnuna, Areas MTW, EM and EMS, Warszawa: Instytut Archeologii UW.