"The chronological position of the Chogha Bonut Aceramic period vis-a-vis the Buz Murdeh phase in Deh Luran has theoretical implications in terms of the occupation of the lowland on the eve of domestication. However, the paucity of excavated materials dating to the initial phases of the Neolithic prevents us from proposing a chronological framework without the use of radiocarbon dating. Nevertheless, comparative analyses of the pottery sequences from the early villages in Susiana and Deh Luran indicate that, at least in southwestern Iran, pottery manufacture began earlier in Susiana than it did in Deh Luran and continued to influence Deh Luran for several millennia. Moreover, the culture-specific T-shaped figurines, so characteristic of the early Neolithic sites in western southwestern Iran (Sarab, Chogha Bonut, Chogha Mish, Tappeh Ali Kosh) and northeastern Iraq (Jarmo), occur from the beginning of the occupation at Chogha Bonut but appear later in the Mohammad Jaffar phase at Tappeh Ali Kosh. Admittedly, such a conclusion is based on uncertain grounds. It is perfectly possible that Chogha Bonut and Tappeh Ali Kosh are contemporary, but given the present evidence from Chogha Bonut, it seems highly unlikely that Tappeh Ali Kosh, or any other early Neolithic sites in Iran (with the possible exception of Tappeh Asiab) would be earlier. The implication is that during the eighth millennium B.C., the environmental conditions were favorable in Iran (if not the whole Near East) to allow the establishment of early villages in a number of environmental niches suitable for the transition from collecting and hunting food to producing it."
[1]
"The Aceramic Phase: Initial Colonization of Lowland Susiana. The earliest, basal levels at Čoḡā Bonut that did not produce any ceramic vessels comprise the initial Aceramic phase. In this phase, the early settlers of the Susiana plain chose to settle on top of a low natural hill surrounded by shallow marshes at an elevation where dry farming was possible. Even today, when the region is much drier than it was in early Neolithic times, dry agriculture is still practiced as supplement. The early farmers of lowland Susiana cultivated wheat, barley, and lentils and had domesticated sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs. Hunting and gathering supplemented this mixed subsistence economy. During this initial phase, the chipped stone industry and manufacture of stone vessels were highly developed. In the limited exposure of the 1996 excavations, no traces of solid architecture were found, but fragmentary pieces of straw-tempered mud bricks suggest the existence of solid architecture. Most probably, the early inhabitants of this site came from the highlands, for there is a great similarity between the chipped stone industry, clay and stone figurines, and tokens of Coga Bonut, on the one side, and those found at the early sites in the piedmonts of the Zagros Mountains, on the other."
[2]
[1]: (Alizadeh 2003, 8)
[2]: (Alizadeh 2009, Encyclopedia Iranica Online, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/coga-bonut-archaeological-site)
| Year Range | Pre-Ceramic Period (ir_susiana_pre_ceramic) was in: |
|---|---|
| (7800 BCE 7201 BCE) | Susiana |
"Radiocarbon dates reported from the sites just discussed and similar sites in the highland put all the early Neolithic aceramic sites in western Iran within the 8000-7000 B.C. range. However, considering the problems with radiocarbon dates, these dates alone are not sufficient to be used as definite criteria to establish chronological priority of any of these early sites, even though some (Tappeh Asiab and Ganj Darreh) yielded morphologically wild species of the plants and animals that at Tappeh Ali Kosh and Chogha Bonut are considered morphologically domesticated and presumably later." [1]
[1]: (Alizadeh 2003, 8)
Inhabitants.
8,000-7,000 BCE Neolithic, includes site of Ali Kosh in Khuzistan. "Sedentary village communities began to have between 250 and 500 inhabitants, regular mud-brick houses, and an economy based on agriculture and the farming of sheep, goats and pigs (and cattle by the end of the period)."
[1]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 38) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
levels.
1. Villages
"The implication is that during the eighth millennium B.C., the environmental conditions were favorable in Iran (if not the whole Near East) to allow the establishment of early villages in a number of environmental niches suitable for the transition from collecting and hunting food to producing it."
[1]
Incipient food production in Khuzistan, Bus Mordeh period 7500-6500 BCE.
[2]
According to Mortensen early villages may have clustered together, "each group widely separated from the next." Examples in Susiana: Chogha Bonut, Boneh Favili, and Chogha Mish."
[3]
[1]: (Alizadeh 2003, 8)
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 34) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[3]: (Frank 1987, 83) Frank ed. 1987. The Archaeology of Western Iran. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C.
levels.
In the 7000-6000 BCE period we get first reference that: "Communities were united and motivated by common religious beliefs, visible from the various cultic artefacts and objects found ... This religiosity had two main complementary aspect: a funerary aspect, linked, through ancestral cults, to the patriarchal structure of these communities (an aspect that was already visible in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B); and a fertility aspect (human, animal and agrarian), brought to the fore by the development of food production techniques."
[1]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 42) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
Not in this period since for the 7000-6000 BCE period our reference is: "While there were shared warehouses, certain fundamental expressions of communal life were still lacking, such as temples or other cultic buildings." [1]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 43) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
" In this phase, the early settlers of the Susiana plain chose to settle on top of a low natural hill surrounded by shallow marshes at an elevation where dry farming was possible. Even today, when the region is much drier than it was in early Neolithic times, dry agriculture is still practiced as supplement." [1]
[1]: (Alizadeh 2009, Encyclopedia Iranica Online, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/coga-bonut-archaeological-site)
"The appearance of the first silos for the conservation of food and seeds from one year to the next indicates how these communities had by now overcome the daily dimension of nutrition." [1] In Khuzestan this refers to the Bus Mordeh period 7500-6500 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 36) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 34, 36) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
Not until later. Uruk phase c3800-3000 BCE: "bureaucracy sent orders to specialised workmen, planned and constructed key infrastructures (such as canals, temples, or walls), and engaged in long-distance trade." [1]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 79) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs."
[1]
Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE.
[2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
"The great organisations of the first phase of urbanisation rose to prominence without writing. The latter developed relatively quickly as a response to these institutions’ needs." [1] Liverani says the so-called "urban revolution" of the Uruk phase occurred 3800-3000 BCE. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 73) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 69-70) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
‘early Neolithic settlements have proven difficult to document even in intensively surveyed regions.’ There is only evidence for mudbrick architecture [1]
[1]: Lloyd R. Weeks, ‘The Development and Expansion of a Neolithic Way of Life’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 56
‘early Neolithic settlements have proven difficult to document even in intensively surveyed regions.’ There is only evidence for mudbrick architecture [1]
[1]: Lloyd R. Weeks, ‘The Development and Expansion of a Neolithic Way of Life’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 56
‘early Neolithic settlements have proven difficult to document even in intensively surveyed regions.’ There is only evidence for mudbrick architecture [1]
[1]: Lloyd R. Weeks, ‘The Development and Expansion of a Neolithic Way of Life’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 56
‘early Neolithic settlements have proven difficult to document even in intensively surveyed regions.’ There is only evidence for mudbrick architecture [1]
[1]: Lloyd R. Weeks, ‘The Development and Expansion of a Neolithic Way of Life’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 56
‘early Neolithic settlements have proven difficult to document even in intensively surveyed regions.’ There is only evidence for mudbrick architecture [1]
[1]: Lloyd R. Weeks, ‘The Development and Expansion of a Neolithic Way of Life’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 56
‘early Neolithic settlements have proven difficult to document even in intensively surveyed regions.’ There is only evidence for mudbrick architecture [1]
[1]: Lloyd R. Weeks, ‘The Development and Expansion of a Neolithic Way of Life’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 56
"Round and ovoid sling pellets have been dug up in early Sumer and Turkestan. Ovoid sling pellets have been unearthed at the neolithic sites on the Iranian tableland. In later times, the sling was used in Palestine and Syria. It was introduced in Egypt at a still later date." [1]
[1]: (Singh 1997, 90) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
Stone arrowheads found for this time, but it is unclear if used for warfare or hunting. There is no reason to believe that other humans couldn’t be the target for these arrows though [1] "The bow was probably between 6,000 and 10,000 years old by the dawn of the Bronze Age". [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 36) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 27-28) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.
Bone harpoons found for this time, but it is unclear if used for warfare or hunting. There is no reason to believe that other humans couldn’t be the target for these. [1]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 36) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
Arrowheads have been found, but is unlikely to be a more sophisticated bow at this time. "Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE." [1]
[1]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
Bone needles/knives were present by 7200 BC, but no hard evidence for use in warfare [1] Stone blades had been in production in Iraq/Iran since the Paleolithic: ’The Baradostian lithic industry is dominated by blade production. Characteristic tools include slender points, backed blades and bladelets, twisted bladelets with various kinds of light retouch, end scrapers, discoidal scrapers, side scrapers, and burins.’ [2] Obsidian blades have also been found for this period [3]
[1]: (Alizadeh 2003, 82)
[2]: Nicholas J. Conard, Elham Ghasidian, and Saman Heydari-Guran, ’The Paleolithic of Iran’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, pp. 38-39
[3]: Lloyd R. Weeks, ‘The Development and Expansion of a Neolithic Way of Life’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 57
Evidence for use as Pack Animals appears by around 7000 BC onward [1] The donkey was probably domesticated from the African wild ass ’in more than one place’ but for the Nubian subspecies 5500-4500 BCE in the Sudan. [2]
[1]: (Leverani 2014, 41) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
[2]: (Mitchell 2018, 39) Peter Mitchell 2018. The Donkey in Human History: An Archaeological Perspective. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Dogs had been domesticated by this time but no evidence for use in warfare [1] although there is evidence they were used for hunting and guarding purposes. [2]
[1]: (Alizadeh 2009, Encyclopedia Iranica Online,http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/coga-bonut-archaeological-site)
[2]: (Leverani 2014, 36) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.
There is evidence for loincloths being used, but it would hardly count as armor and there is no evidence for warfare at this time:‘The early periods at Tepe Sialk (I-IV) were a time of important technological innovation. A carved bone knife handle representing a man wearing a cap and a loincloth found in a Sialk I context is one of the earliest known anthropomorphic representations from Iran’ [1]
[1]: Ali Mousavi, ’The History of Archaeological Research in Iran: A Brief Survey’, In Daniel T. Potts (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran, 2013, p. 7