Uruk

Lorestan’s Balageriveh, is a lowland passage area, located in between two rivers, Dez and Kashkan in South Central Zagros; the area itself is divided into three parts, northern, southern and central. In previous studies in Lorestan, a form of complete shift was depicted from sedentary lifestyle to a mobile one, in transition between the Late Chalcolithic and the Middle Bronze Age. Central Balageriveh is important to be studied on this matter due to its central position among Susiana (Elam), Central Zagros, Bakhtiyari region, Posht Kouh and Mesopotamia, as well as paleoclimatology and archaeological studies conducted over there. Due to the above reasons, the present study has taken into account paleoclimatology and archaeological data, the transition process from Chalcolithic Cultures to the Bronze Age, a change in settlement patterns and the role of socio-economic and environmental changes in this pattern alteration. The findings indicated that long-time climatic change which occurred in the middle of 4th millennium B.C. in the region cannot be regarded as the cause of the complete cultural gap and the change of settlement pattern at the time. Instead, it seems that with the collapse of the Uruk System and its commercial organization, the areas like Balageriveh which were intermediary in this commercial network, lost their charm. When people like Kura-Araxes, on whom some would put the blame of the Uruk collapse as they were mobile pastoralists, settled in some areas which the previous power had lived, the commercial paths withered and Balageriveh’s intermediary role diminished and instead due to socio-political reasons, the lowland characteristics of the area became highlighted and the change in settlement pattern occurred.

From a temporal perspective, we observe the presence and distribution of beveled rim bowls in Iran and Mesopotamia from the mid-fourth millennium BC until the beginning of the Bronze Age. The large production and specific shape of this pottery, alongside its extensive distribution, have prompted many archaeologists to study this subject. Beveled rim bowls is categorized into two types: Uruk and proto Elamite, based on their shape and structure. The geographical conditions in Iran have differentiated the distribution of this pottery compared to Mesopotamia. During this period, the Uruk type gradually changed in structure and transformed into the proto Elamite type. The regions of Khuzestan, Central Zagros, and the Central Plateau have the highest density of sites and pottery in Iran, connecting these centers through intermediary areas. According to the studies conducted, this distribution in Iran has been exported to various other regions by local elites or specific groups of people. Perhaps, this group consisted of local merchants who, through migration, spread the proto Elamite culture in Iran, while the Uruk type of beveled rim bowl was produced and distributed for economic or political purposes in significant sites such as Susa, Chogha Mish, Tepe Yahya, Sefalin, and Godin Tepe.