Late Chalcolithic, Uruk expansion

Aşağı Salat is located 20 km east of Bismil district of Diyarbakır, 2 km east of the point where Salat Stream and Tigris River meet. The höyük (mound) is located on the northern bench of the Tigris River and measures approximately 150 x 100 m. Within the scope of Ilısu Dam Salvage excavations, 7 levels and 11 architectural phases were identifi ed during the excavations in Aşağı Salat for 5 seasons. Among these settlement layers, the Late Uruk-Early Bronze Age Transition Period and the Neo Assyrian Period constitute the strongest settlement stages. The settlement chronology determined from the höyük on the banks of the Tigris River and going down to the 5th Millennium BC reveals a settlement model shaped with the river. In this study, a general assesstment was made on the place of Aşağı Salat in the Upper Tigris Region settlement history, especially with the data obtained from the recent excavations (2009-2010).

During 2007 archaeological survey of Little Zab River in Sardasht district in northwest Iran, six typical Uruk (Uruk-related) sites were brought to light. One of the important ones is Tepe Badamyar Rabat, with typical Bevelled Rim Bowls pottery that is considered as the first evidence of
Uruk materials in northwest Iran. In addition to Rabat, the Uruk materials found in Tepe Baghi, Tepe Waliv, Tepe Molla Yousef, Tepe Lavin and Tepe Goman provide an opportunity for studying the one millennium gap between Hasanlu VIIIA (Pisdeli) and VIIC (Kura-Araxes) in the southern
parts of Lake Urmia, which is seen as a key unknown period in the archaeology of NW Iran. The Uruk evidence found in the mentioned sites mainly belongs to the Middle and Late Uruk periods (3600/3500–3100 BC).

During the Later Prehistory of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers and adjacent regions, a great cultural spread took place during the Late/Terminal Ubaid phases of Southern Mesopotamia. In the Northern Mesopotamian regions, it happened during the immediate preLate Chalcolithic phases. Excavations in Southeastern Turkey prove a continuity of Ubaid cultural traits at least during the earlier phases of the local Late Chalcolithic (LC1). Two archaeological sites, Surtepe and Tilbes-Körche, close to the Birecik Dam area (Turkish Euphrates) are presented and evaluated here. Surtepe höyük, a 8 ha Late Ubaid settlement that provided Coba bowls, has levels with painted pottery from the late Late Chalcolithic 1 or earlier LC2 phases in an area of at least 4 hectares in south and southwestern slopes. The small site of Tilbes-Körche has probably a bigger interconnected structure and no simple isolated buildings. Among the stone foundations we identify at least one tripartite premise with a surface over 90 m2 and two bipar-tite buildings. From the largest excavated unit (H3-H10) was recovered a stamp seal depicting a crosshatching motif and another token/stamp seal with 8 incised lines. Within LC1 or a transitional phase between it and LC2, the 18% of the pottery found in the Tilbes-Körche buildings was painted and there is a huge abundance of unpainted bowls, which are about half the ceramic ensemble, many with traces of a wheel or slow-wheel, mass-produced bowls, various variants of LC1 flint scraped, and two bowls that most resemble the so-called "flower pots". Resumen Durante la prehistoria reciente de los ríos Éufrates y Tigris y regiones adyacentes, una gran expansión cultural tuvo lugar durante las fases tardías y terminales de Ubaid del sur de Mesopotamia. En las regiones del norte de Mesopotamia, aconteció durante las fases previas del Calcolítico Final. Excavaciones en partes del sureste de Turquía demuestran la continuidad de los rasgos culturales Ubaid, al menos durante las fases más tempra-nas del Calcolítico Final 1 (LC1) local. Aquí se presentan y evalúan algunos sitios arqueológicos, Tilbes Höyük, Tilbes-Körche y Surtepe, cerca del área de la presa Birecik (Éufrates turco). Surtepe höyük, un asentamiento de 8 ha del Ubaid Final que proporcionó cuencos tipo Coba, tiene niveles con cerámicas pintadas de la fase final del LC1 o de comienzos del LC2 en un área de al menos 4 ha en las laderas sur y suroeste. El pequeño asentamiento de Tilbes-Körche tiene probablemente una gran estructura interconectada y no simples edificios aislados. Entre los cimientos de piedra identificamos al menos uno tripartito con una superficie de más de 90 m 2 y dos edificios bipartitos. En la unidad excavada más grande (H3-H10) se recuperó un se-llo que representa un motivo de rayado cruzado y otro sello o token con ocho líneas incisas. Dentro del LC1 o

The ground date of Ağrı and Iğdır, which we have assessed in the east half of the Eastern Anatolia Region, has been drawn back to the middle of the 5th millennium BC by means of recent studies conducted. This chronology can be drawn back to the middle of the 6th millennium BC in the Van Lake basin. As some settlements located in the mountainous areas of the South Caucasus during the prehistoric periods came to life in the 7th millennium BC, it is quite difficult in this respect to say that the settlements in the east half of East Anatolia came to life in a much later phase. The fact that Van, Ağrı and Iğdır provinces were in communication with North Syria, North Mesopotamia, Northwest Iran, Central Anatolia and South Mediterranean during the period from at least the 4th millennium BC to the 3rd millennium BC indicate that a similar situation might have been encountered in the earlier phase. Since the earliest common chronology of the three provinces determining Turkey's eastern border in north-south direction can be drawn back to the 4th millennium BC, the article is initiated at this point. The most distinct evidence defining this millennium is buff/light brown, glossy, chaff-faced ware and handmade dark gray pottery. On the other hand, the culture of the next millennium, Kura-Araxes, shows a multi-component, advanced character with its terracotta artifacts, architecture, socioeconomic structure, belief and cult structures, burial customs, level of development in mining and metallurgy. In this study, the traces of two common cultures that lived throughout the geographies of Iğdır in the north and Van in the south have been traced by taking Ağrı to the center. The strong presence of these cultures and the fact that they have been identified in three provinces throughout South Caucasus and Northwest Iran indicate that they might have experienced the earlier period in common as well.

دوره مس‌‌سنگی جدید در فلات مرکزی ایران دارای دو فرهنگ با سبک‌های سفالی متفاوت است که در سرتاسر فلات مرکزی تداوم داشته است. این مقاله با درنظرگرفتن دو دوره مس سنگ جدید ۱ و۲ مجزا از هم که از نظر توالی گاه‌شناختی در امتداد هم به ارائۀ تطور فرهنگی مبتنی بر داده‌های سفالی در دو محوطه شاخص میمنت‌آباد و سفالین پرداخته تا بتواند تصویر مناسب‌تری از فرایند تحولات قابل‌مطالعه در نیمه دوم هزاره چهارم پ.م. را ارائه نماید. مطالعۀ گونه‌شناختی یافته‌های باستان‌شناسی محوطه‌های میمنت‌آباد و تپه سفالین نشان‌گر شباهت‌های نزدیکی میان مراحل استقراری این دو محوطه با فرهنگ‌های شناختۀ‌شدۀ مرکز فلات از دشت قزوین تا کاشان و سایر محوطه‌های مشابه در سرزمین‌های پست و بلند ایران در نیمۀ دوم هزارۀ چهارم پ.م. و اواخر آن است. در این مقاله به توصیف و طبقه‌بندی سفال‌های اواخر هزاره چهارم پ.م. در این محوطه‌ها پرداخته خواهد شد که در خلال کاوش و بررسی به‌دست آمده و با سایر سفال‌های مشابه دیگر مناطق از جنبه‌های مختلف مقایسه خواهند شد