Yarim Tepe is a
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
settlement in the eastern
Gorgan
Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...
plain,
Golestan Province. It is located near
Gonbad-e Kavus
Gonbad-e Kavus () is a city in the Central District of Gonbad-e Kavus County, Golestan Province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
The modern name, meaning "the tower of Kavus", is a reference to the most impo ...
. This ancient settlement played a big role in establishing the cultural chronology of the Neolithic period in
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
.
History of research
It was first explored by V. E. Crawford in 1963, when very little was still known about the Neolithic age settlements in this area. There are many cultural similarities between Yarim and the nearby site of
Tureng Tepe
Tureng Tepe (, "Hill of the Pheasants"; alternatively spelled in English as Turang Tappe/Tape/Tappa/Tappeh) is a Neolithic and Chalcolithic archaeological site in northeastern Iran, in the Gorgan plain, approximately 17 kilometers northeast of the ...
of the same age.
Just like at Tureng Tepe, in the earliest horizon, there occur
Jeitun
Jeitun (Djeitun) is an archaeological site of the Neolithic period in southern Turkmenistan, about 30 kilometers north of Ashgabat in the Kopet-Dag mountain range. The settlement was occupied from about 7200 to 4500 BC possibly with short interr ...
-like ceramics, that are found mostly in the
Koppet Dag mountains area, but also at several other contemporary sites in the Gorgan plain, for example in the
Hotu cave, and even further west near
Behshahr.
In Period I at Yarim Tepe, the Jeitun ware was identified as “Yarim Neolithic”.
Chronology
The early stage of Yarim I is generally dated c. 5200 BC. In Southern
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
, this is also known as ‘Pessejik period’. In Northeastern Iran, along with Yarim I, to this period also belong
Hotu cave, and
Tureng 'IA'. In North-central Iran, this period is known as ‘Transitional Chalcolithic’, and it is parallel to
Sialk
Tepe Sialk () is a large ancient archeological site (a ''tepe'', "hill, tell") in a suburb of the city of Kashan, Isfahan Province, in central Iran, close to Fin Garden. The culture that inhabited this area has been linked to the Zayandeh Riv ...
II stratum.
At Yarim Tepe there is a gap between the Djeitun-ware levels and the overlying gray-ware levels (Yarim II).
[Robert H. Dyson]
CERAMICS: The Neolithic Period through the Bronze Age in Northeastern and North-central Persia.
iranicaonline.org
See also
*
Sang-i Chakmak
*
Prehistory of Iran
The prehistory of the Iranian plateau, and the wider region now known as Greater Iran, as part of the prehistory of the Near East is conventionally divided into the Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age p ...
Notes
{{Reflist
Bibliography
*D. Stronach, “Yarim Tepe,” in Excavations in Iran. The British Contribution, Oxford, 1972, pp. 21–23.
*Robert H. Dyson
CERAMICS: The Neolithic Period through the Bronze Age in Northeastern and North-central Persia.iranicaonline.org
*Hiebert F.T.
The Kopet Dag Sequence of Early Villages in Central Asia.Paléorient, 2002 Vol 28 #2 pp. 25–41
External links
*Frank Hole (2004)
NEOLITHIC AGE IN IRANiranicaonline.org
Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC
1963 archaeological discoveries
Tells (archaeology)
Archaeological sites in Iran
Neolithic settlements
Neolithic sites of Asia
Prehistoric Iran
National works of Iran