Bahram Ajorloo
Abstract
Palaeoclimatology is a basic approach for the Neolithic archaeology. The world-wide climate changes during the Holocene ca. 10th millennia BC was an introduction to the Neolithic Revolution and the emergence of early villages. Early Holocene climate oscillations changed the biogeography of Iran. Consequently, ...
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Palaeoclimatology is a basic approach for the Neolithic archaeology. The world-wide climate changes during the Holocene ca. 10th millennia BC was an introduction to the Neolithic Revolution and the emergence of early villages. Early Holocene climate oscillations changed the biogeography of Iran. Consequently, its temperature, fauna and flora had been changed during ca. 12800- 3500 BC; and finally, the modern climate of Iranian plateau had been established ca. 3500 BC. The palaeoclimatological information of western Iran is provided from both lakes of Urmia and Zeribar. Therefore, there is not enough palaeoclimatological information about eastern Iran. By the Holocene changes the core of early village sedentary and trans-humanism in the Iranian plateau originated in Northern and Central Zagros. Thus, it can be concluded that the early village sedentary in the plateau of Iran had been affected by both climate and geography; such a situation is analogous to Palestine and southeast Anatolia. In addition, it can be approached by a cultural diffusionist model. Khuzestan and Azerbaijan were early areas entered in the Neolithic Age affected by socio-cultural events of the Early Neolithic Northern and Central Zagros. Furthermore, the economy of the settled Neolithic people in the plateau of Iran had been subjective of the Early Holocene oscillations; as the result, the development of arid climate through the Iranian plateau and by the stretching of deserts and semi-desert lands and also steppes, people achieved pastoralism, trans-humanism and dry farming.
Bahram Ajorloo; Asmaa Saeed
Abstract
Archaeologically, the hybrid and mythological motif of People-scorpion, as presented in both forms of Man-scorpion and Woman-scorpion, in the horizon of Bronze Age cultures in the plateau of Iran, merely, is reported from the archaeological sites of Jiroft in the Halil Rood basin, southwest Iran. In ...
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Archaeologically, the hybrid and mythological motif of People-scorpion, as presented in both forms of Man-scorpion and Woman-scorpion, in the horizon of Bronze Age cultures in the plateau of Iran, merely, is reported from the archaeological sites of Jiroft in the Halil Rood basin, southwest Iran. In Mesopotamia, the people-scorpion is presented as the guardian monster for the gates of dead people’s world, under the earth. Such a ritual concept and religious function had been adapted by the mythology of ancient Egypt as well. According to the results of recent archaeological excavations in Jiroft, however, the southwest of Iran is speculated as the geographical homeland of this motif. So, whether Iranian plateau or Mesopotamia, where is the cultural origin of such motif? In spite of the scorpion’s motif in the chalcolithic Age of Iran, The basic hypothesis proposed by the authors explains that the idea on the progression of a naturalist scorpion’s motif unto a hybrid- mythological people- scorpion one in the art of Bronze Age has not yet been provided enough archaeological evidences. By this essay, the authors have an art historical method oriented by archaeology. This method just studies motifs of both scorpion and people-scorpion in artifacts recovered from archaeological contexts in both prehistoric Iran and Mesopotamia. These artifacts are grouped into these regions. The essay concludes that people-scorpion’s motif in southeast Iran was originated in the native Bronze Age believes and culture of the Halil Rood basin in the dawn of urbanization. So, in addition to no causative relations between such motif and arid climates in Iran, there is no causation concerning the Chalcolithic Age motif of scorpion and the Bronze Age people-scorpion.
