c ~C.M AT A GeneralEditorandProjectDirector Withcontributionsby HollyPittmanandPhilipL.Kohl AMERICANSCHOOLOFPREHISTORICRESEARCH BULLETIN45 PEABODYMUSEUMOFARCHAEOLOGYANDETHNOLOGY HARVARDUNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA AmericanSchoolof PrehistoricResearch PeabodyMuseumHarvardUniversity Bulletin45 MEMBERSOF THEAMERICANSCHOOLOFPREHISTORICRESEARCH Ofer Bar-Yosef Secretary W.W.Howells Richard Meadow ExecutiveCommittee C.C.Lamberg-Karlovsky Director Members David Pilbeam Treasurer LawrenceStager Nicholas van der Merwe (!:xcavationsat Tepe Yahya,Iran 1967-1975 ~ The ThirdMillennium c.c.LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY GeneralEditor andProjectDirector D.T.Potts WithcontributionsbyHolly PittmanandPhilipL.Kohl M V?f..V('II /\) Sid (':J/13 /p ~~ I;)00 1 PEABODYMUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY ANDETHNOLOGY HarvardUniversity,Cambridge,Massachusetts 2001 Dedicated totheunheralded authors of this work: Our Iranianworkers,site supervisors,and the extended archaeological household at TepeYahya ProductionCredits: Editing:Carolyn L.White Proofreading:Janice Herndon and Carolyn L.White Art editing:Bryan Wells Production management and composition:Donna M.Dickerson Halftone scanning and printing and binding:Puritan Press,Hollis,New Hampshire Copyright 2001by the President and Fellows of Harvard College Library of Congress Control Number:00-136435 ISBN 0-87365-549-4 Allrightsreserved.This book,or parts thereof,may not be reproduced inany formor by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording,or anyor tobe invented, without permission of thepublisher.Ii- 9 UNIVERSITY 1OF il_..... Ia.IOVI \/dNIA Contents FOREWORD:EXCAVATIONSATTEPE YAHYA:THEBIOGRAPHY OF APROJECTxix C.C.Lamberg-Karlovsky ACKNOWLEDGMENTSxliii INTRODUCTION:SOMEPRINCIPLESOF THEFOLLOWING WORK xlv D.T.Potts ORGANIZATIONxlv SELECTIVITY AND QUANTIFICATIONxlvi DISTURBANCE, CONTAMINATION, ANDOBJECTIVITYxlvi COMPLETENESSxlvii 1PHASEIVC21 D.T.Potts AREAA5 Architecture and Stratigraphy5 Ceramics6 Small Finds7 AREAB7 Architecture and Stratigraphy7 Ceramics8 Small Finds8 AREAC8 Architecture and Stratigraphy8 Ceramics8 Small Finds9 AREAD9 AREAE9 THE IVC2 BUILDING10 RoomI10 Room 2II Rooms 3 and 411 Room 513 Room 613 Room 713 AREAG13 AREAH14 2PHASEIVCl55 D.T.Potts TRENCH BW-CW WALLS55 THE IVC "BUTTRESSES"55 REMAINS IN AN. 7356 v VI IVCBUILDING FILL56 SECONDARY DEPOSITSOUTSIDE THEIYCBUILDING: AREAS A-E56 SECONDARY DEPOSITS WITHIN THEIVCBUILDING:ROOMlA11B58 ROOM 258 ROOM 358 ROOM459 ROOM 559 ROOM 659 AREASF ANDG60 A NOTEON PIGMENTS ATTEPE YAHYA60 3PHASEIVB679 D.T.Potts PHASE IVB6STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHITECTURE79 PHASE IVB6CERAMICS81 PHASE IVB6SMALL FINDS82 4PHASEIVB5105 D.T.Potts INTRODUCTION105 THE PERSIAN GULFROOM AND ATTACHED WALLS AND FEATURES105 ROOM10110 SOUTH OFTHE PERSIAN GULFROOM111 NORTH OF THE PERSIAN GULFROOM112 NORTHEAST OF THE PERSIAN GULF ROOM112 EAST OF THE PERSIAN GULFROOM112 SOUTHEAST OFTHE PERSIAN GULFROOM112 KILN (?) NORTHEAST OFTHEPERSIAN GULF ROOM113 SOUTH OFTHE PERSIAN GULFROOMINBW-CW BALK AND TRENCH CW113 THE B-C BALK113 TRENCHA113 5PHASESIVB4,IVB3,ANDIVB2145 D.T.Potts PHASE IVB4145 PHASEIVB3146 PHASE IVB2146 6PHASEIVBl161 D.T.Potts REMAINSIN TRENCH A161 Architecture161 CeramicsandSmallFinds 164 REMAINSIN TRENCH B 165 Architecture165 Ceramics and Small Finds 166 REMAINSIN THE B-CBALK 166 7CONTEXTBW.69.T5.5-7179 D.T.Potts INTRODUCTION179 CERAMIC CORRELATIONS179 CHLORITE182 8SITUATING TEPE YAHYAINTIME ANDSPACE195 D.T.Potts INTRODUCTION195 PHASE IVC2195 Chronological Correlations195 Cultural Correlations198 PHASE IVCl199 Chronological Correlations199 Cultural Correlations202 PHASE IVB6203 Chronological and Cultural Correlations203 PHASE IVB5203 Chronological Correlations203 Cultural Correlations204 PHASES IVB4,IVB3,IVB2, ANDIVBl206 Chronological and Cultural Correlations206 CONCLUSION206 9REFLECTIONSON THEPRODUCTIONOFCHLORITE AT TEPE YAHYA:25YEARSLATER209 PhilipL.Kohl CHLORITE PRODUCTION AT TEPE YAHYA AND CHLORITE ARTIFACTS ATSHAHDAD210 ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE, THE CHLORITE VESSELSFROM TARUT ISLAND, AND THE MARITIME MOVEMENT OFMATERIALS219 CHRONOLOGICAL CORRELATIONS ANDCONTEXTS221 FINAL THOUGHTS:CHLORITES ASCOMMODITIES228 10GLYPHIC ARTOF PERIODIV231 HollyPittman INTRODUCTION231 PERIOD IVC:PROTO-ELAMITE PHASE232 Iconographic Discussion234 PERIODSIVB AND IVA:THE LATE THIRD MILLENNIUM236 Cylinder Seals237 Period IVBStampSeals238 Period IVAStampSeals239 THE CATALOG240 Phase IVC2240 Phase IVCl242 Other Phase IVClContexts243 Phase IVB6243 VII VIII PhaseIVB2243 NoControlled Context Infonnation244 Period IVB244 Cylinder Seals244 StampSeals245 Period IVA StampSeals246 AFTERWORD:EXCAVATIONSATTEPE YAHYA:RECONSTRUCTING THEPAST269 C.C.Lamberg-Karlovsky PERIODIVC:THE PROTO-ELAMITE SETTLEMENT270 PERIOD IVB:CHRONOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS271 INTERACTION SPHERES,CHLORITE WORKSHOPS, AND THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF PERIOD IVB277 APPENDIX A.AMALGAMATEDLISTOF PERIODIVCANDIVBCON-TEXTS ARRANGEDBYYEAROF EXCAVATIONANDTRENCH281 APPENDIXB.DESCRIPTIONOF TESTTRENCHES ATTEPE YAHYA CONTAININGPERIODIVC ANDIVBCONTEXTS285 APPENDIXC.CATALOGUEOF SMALL FINDS(EXCLUDINGTHE GLYPTIC)FROMPHASESIVC2TOIVBlCONTEXTS ATTEPE YAHYASORTEDBY REGISTRATIONNUMBER287 APPENDIXD.CATALOGUEOFSMALL FINDS(EXCLUDINGTHE GLYPTIC)FROMPHASESIVC2TOIVBlCONTEXTS ATTEPE YAHYASORTEDBYPHASE301 APPENDIXE.CATALOGUEOF SMALL FINDS(EXCLUDINGTHE GLYPTIC)FROMPHASESIVC2TOIVBlCONTEXTS ATTEPE YAHYASORTED ALPHABETICALLY BYMATERIAL315 BIBLIOGRAPHY329 FIGURES F.1Tepe Yahya as"discovered" in1967xxii F.2The village of Baghin in1973xxv F.3Tepe Yahya,1973.Southern step trenchxxviii F.4Tepe Yahya,1973.Northern step trenchxxix F.5TheLamberg-Karlovsky familyat Tepe Yahyain1970xxx F.6The firstseason at Tepe Yahya,1968(crew members)XXXI F.7Tepe Yahya,1969(crew members)XXXll F.8Tepe Yahya,1970(crew members)XXX111 F.9Tepe Yahya,1971(crew members)xxxiv F.lOTepe Yahya,1973(crew members)xxxv F.llTopographical plan of Tepe Yahyaand areasof excavationxxxix 1.1Plan of theIVC2building3 1.2Plan of theIVC2building showing hypothesized layout using standardized unitsof measure4 IX 1.3Viewof Area A from the east,looking west5 1.4View of Area A fromthesoutheast,looking north6 1.5Plain brown,medium grit,incised ceramic lid14 1.6Pottery from Area A,Phase IVC215 1.7Wide-mouthed jars with slightly flaringrims,Periods IVC-IVB16 1.8Fine club-rim bowls, Periods IVC-IVB17 1.9Club-rim bowls,Periods IVC-IVB18 1.10Spouts and spouted vessels,Periods IVC-JVB19 1.11Black-on-orange ware,PeriodsIVC-IVB20 1.12Black-on-grey ware, Periods IVC-IVB21 1.13Pottery from Area B,Phase IVC222 1.14Carinated bowls with off-set lips,Periods IVC-IVB23 1.15Deep,open bowls with straight sidesand carination, PeriodsIVC-IVB24 1.16Black-on-orange jars with parallel, wavy lines, PeriodsIVC-IVB24 1.17Black-on-orange jars with hatched parallel wavy bands,Periods IVC-IVB25 1.18Painted pottery from Area C,Phase IVC226 1.19Pottery from Area C,Phase IVC2,closed shapes, unpainted27 1.20Jarswith everted rims,Periods IVC-IVB28 1.21Jars with ledge rims,Periods IVC-IVB28 1.22Pottery from Area C,Phase IVC2,open shapes, unpainted29 1.23Deep bowls with interior beveled rim,Periods IVC-IVB30 1.24Low-sided trays,Periods IVC-IVB30 1.25White stone bowl (unregistered) from A.75.l1.3a31 1.26Cu/br spearhead (unregistered) from A.75.11.3a31 1.27Pottery from thelowest floorin Room1, A.75.11.2band A.75.T7.11.2b32 1.28Burnished greyware, Periods IVC-IVB33 1.29Whitestone bowl (SF3745)34 1.30Stone whetstones (SFs 3720b, c,d)34 1.31Twoheulandite beads (SF3812a, b)35 1.32Cu/br pin (SF3759)35 1.33Cu/br pin (unregistered) fromfloor A.75.T7.11.2b36 1.34Pottery from Room1,floor A.75.11.2a37 1.35Deep bowls with incurving sides,Periods IVC-IVB38 1.36Pottery fromRoom1,floor A.75.11.239 1.37Pottery from the hearth (BM. 71.3.1)associated with the latest floor (BM.71.3.3)in Room139 1.38Deep,straight-sided bowls, Periods IVC-IVB40 1.39Pottery fromRoom 2,Phase IVC240 1.40Jamdat Nasr-style storage jars from Room 4 (B.71.4.8),IVC2building41 1.41Polychrome storage jar (= fig.1.40.A) in situ (scale =50cm)42 1.42Polychrome storage jar (= fig.1.40.B)42 1.43Polychrome and unpainted pottery with nose lugs,Periods IVC-IVB43 1.44Painted pottery fromRoom 4 (B.71.4.8),Phase IVC244 1.45Painted bowls with curvilinear decoration,Periods IVC-IVB44 1.46Unpainted pottery from Room 4,Phase IVC2,open shapes45 1.47Large bowls with indented rim,Period IVC46 1.48Deep bowls with rounded sides,Period IVC46 1.49Unpainted pottery from Room 4, PhaseIVC2,closed shapes47 1.50Cu/br disk (SF2783)47 1.51View of Room5,IVC2 building,fromthewest48 1.52Cache ofuninscribed tablets in Room 5,IVC2 building48 1.53View of Room 6,IVC2 building, from theeast49 X 1.54 1.55 1.56 1.57 1.58 1.59 1.60 1.61 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Pottery fromRoom6,Phase IVC249 Unpainted pottery from Area G (BW.71.6),Phase IVC2,open shapes50 Unpainted pottery from Area G (BW.71.6),Phase IYC2,closed shapes51 Hole-mouth jars, Period IVC52 Decorated pottery from Area G,Phase IVC253 Incised disk with wagon-wheel pattern (unregistered)fromBW.71.653 Close-up of theceramic drain in Area H (Trench BW) whereit cut through the west wallof Room5 into Area G54 Drain in Area H54 Plan of mudbrick walling in TrenchBW-CW,excavated in1971, to thesouth of theIYC2building57 Schematic plan of mudbrick wallsand pit recovered in AN2.73.1258 Undecorated jars from Areas A-E (A.75.11),PhaseIYCI61 Undecorated bowls from Areas A-E, Phase IVCI62 Sharply carinated bowls,PeriodsIVC-IVB63 Decorated pottery from Areas A-E, PhaseIYC 163 Whitestone hole-mouth bowl fragmentfrom A.75.11(unregistered)64 Culbr pin with pinwheel-like head (SF3765)64 Black-on-orange sherd fromBM.71.3,Phase IVCI64 Undecorated pottery fromRoom 3,Phase IVC164 Carinated bowls and beakers,Periods IVC-IVB65 Decorated pottery fromRoom 3,Phase IVC}66 Stone hoe(?)(SF z-538)67 Undecorated pottery fromRoom4,Phase IVCl68 Decorated pottery fromRoom 4,PhaseIVCl69 Whitestone bowlfromRoom 4 (B.71.4.9, unregistered)69 Undecorated pottery fromRoom5 (B.70.20),Phase IVCl70 Snake-cordoned jars withor without punctate or chain-ridge decoration, Periods IVC-IVB71 Complete vesselsfromRoom 5 (8.70.20),Phase IVCl72 Beveled-rim bowls,Periods IVC-IVB73 Shallow bowls withslightly flaringsides,Periods IVC-IVB73 Painted pottery fromRoom5 (B.70.20),Phase IVCl74 Pottery fromRoom6,Phase IVCl75 Whitestone bowl fragment(SF2400)75 Painted pottery from Areas F and G,Phase IV C 176 Undecorated pottery from AreasF and G,Phase IVCl77 Completeshapes and a conical cupbasefrom AreasF and G, Phase IVC 178 White stone bowlfragment(SF2430)78 TrenchesB-BW,north section,showing theresultsof excavationsbetween 1968and1973insert facing page 80 TrenchB,east section,1968-1971, including theB-C Balk83 Plan of thePhaseIVB6floorB. 71. 7.1and stone and sherd concentration B.71.7.284 Section of test trench three meters west of the B. 70east balk84 Viewshowing thesuperimposition of the Phase IVB5wallsover thePhase IVC2wallsinthecenter of TrenchB,fromthewest85 Viewshowing thesuperimposition of thePhase IVB5walls over thePhase IVC2wallsin thecenter of Trench B,fromtheeast86 Intrusive black-on-buff,Phase IVB687 Black-on-buff chalice88 Intrusive black-on-buff,PhaseIVB689 3.10Black-on-redlorange/orange-bufflburgundy, Phase IVB690 3.11Unpainted PhaseIVB6pottery,jar forms91 3.12Unpainted Phase IVB6 pottery, jars with everted foldedand ledge rims92 3.13Jamdat Nasr-related and other decorated pottery,Phase IVB693 3.14Unpainted PhaseIVB6pottery,complete and miscellaneous shapes94 3.15Painted black-on-orange pottery with wavy bands between horizontal lines, Periods IVC-IVB95 3.16Unpainted Phase IVB6 pottery,club-rim bowls96 3.17Unpainted PhaseIVB6 pottery,deepvatsand bowls97 3.18Unpainted PhaseIVB6 pottery, miscellaneous bowls98 3.19Hollow-footed chalice fragments,PeriodsIVC-IVB99 3.20Small,elongated cups,Period IVB99 3.21Chain ridgeand punctate decorated storage jars, PeriodsIVC-IYB100 3.22Black-on-grey, PhaseIVB6101 3.23Whitestone vessel(SFs2252,2253,2254)101 3.24Whetstone (SF2255)102 3.25Stone disk with incised lines on obverse and reverse(SF3709)102 3.26Incised chlorite rimsherd (SF310)102 3.27Chlorite gaming piece or token (SF3667)103 3.28Stone ring or macehead (SF3705)103 4.1Plan of the Phase IVB5architecture106 4.2View of thePhase IVB5architecturein Trench B-BW,looking west107 4.3View of thePersian Gulf room fromthewest,looking east110 4.4View of thePersian Gulf room fromthenorth,looking south,with theoven in thesoutheastern comer111 4.5Pottery fromthefill,platform, and roof fallof thePersian Gulf room,Phase IVB5116 4.6Stone stampseal(glypticcatalogue no.57)117 4.7Pottery fromthefloorof thePersian Gulf room (B-BW.70.T4.7.l),Phase IYB5118 4.8Pottery fromB-BW.70.T4.7.1119 4.9Soft-stone cylinder sealfromthePersian Gulf room (glypticcatalogue no.49)120 4.10Room10fromthe north,looking south121 4.11Undecorated pottery fromRoom10, Phase IVB5122 4.12Decorated pottery fromRoom10.ContextsBW.69.T5.8a and 9a are poorly stratified layers that donot correlate with other layers,but are most likely Phase IVB5123 4.13Pottery fromBW.69.T5.8,9,andlOa124 4.14Beaker fromBW.69.T5.7,8,poorly stratified layers that areprobably Phase IVB5124 4.15Cu/br pin fromBW.69.T5.9 (SF2690)124 4.16Undecorated pottery fromsouth of thePersian Gulf room (BW.69),Phase IVB5125 4.17Decorated pottery fromsouth of thePersian Gulf room (BW.69.T5.1O)126 4.18Pottery fromthearea north of thePersian Gulf room (B-BW.70.T4.5), Phase IVB5126 4.19Pottery fromthearea east of the Persian Gulf room,PhaseIVB5127 4.20Cu/br pin fromeast of thePersian Gulf room (SF3363)128 4.21Painted sherd fromB-CBalk.71.27, bituminous black-on-tan-buff, overfired128 4.22Black-on-tan-buffwith interior curvilinear decoration,Period IVB129 4.23Area A viewed fromthenorth129 XI XII 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 4.37 4.38 4.39 4.40 4.41 4.42 4.43 4.44 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 Circular oven madeof mudbricks (contextA.75.9.4)130 Mudbrick kiln or oven with threechambers (context A.75.9.3)130 A.75north sectioninsert facing page 130 A. 7 5 east sectioninsert facing page 131 Decorated pottery from Area A,large jars, Phase IVB5131 Decorated pottery from Area A,Phase IVB5132 Photograph and drawing of plain buff-brown,finegrit,sherd with incised dragon/snake (A.75.9),Phase IVB5133 Large jars with snake/rope/punctate ridges,Phase IVB5134 Storage jars with broad rimsand short necks,Phase IVB5135 Club-rim bowls, Area A,Phase IVB5136 Deep vatsand wide bowls, Area A,Phase IVB5137 Small bowls and cups, Area A,Phase IVB5138 Burnished red and grey ware, Area A,PhaseIVB5139 Stone whetstones (A.SF3695,B.SF3694)140 Whitestone vessels (A.SF3739,B.SF3740)140 Stone axeor loomweight(?)(SF3697)141 Soft-stone weight or handbag from A.75.9.8141 Tombof a saint at Ashin,Soghun Valley,Iran,showing a soft-stone weight or handbag in situ142 Soft-stone weight or handbag from Ashin142 Soft-stone weight or handbag brought toexpedition house in Baghin by a local villager143 Cu/br shaft-hole axe(SF3756)143 Plan of the Phase IVB4 walls147 Pottery fromPhase IVB4contexts148 Truncated pot rims,Period IVB149 Selection of truncated pots fromsitesin Bactria and Margiana149 Chlorite gaming piece(?) (SF392)149 White stone loomweight or door socket (SF2281)150 Photograph and drawing of chlorite cylinder seal (glyptic catalogue no.50)150 Plan of the Phase IVB3wall,context B.70.32,1970150 Pottery fromPhase IVB3contexts151 Plan of thefour Phase IVB2walls,1970152 Plan of the Phase IVB2architecture in Trench B-BW showing thelocation of hearths B-BW.70.T6.2-6 and pit B-BW.70.T6.3152 Trench B-BW.70.T4 west section153 Trench B-BW.70south section153 Pottery fromPhase IVB2154 Disk seal (glypticcatalogue no.58)154 Carved chlorite fragment(SF270)155 Bowls, vats,and cupsfrom A.75.8and A.75.8a156 Large jars from A.75.8and A.75.8a157 Vatwith incised bull, plain red with chaff and heavy grit temper, from A.75.8157 Carved chlorite disk (SF3634)158 Whitestone labret (SF3727)158 Chlorite bowl(unregistered)from A.75.8.1158 Chlorite vessel fragment(SF3629)159 Chlorite vesselfragmentfromthenorth sideof Tepe Yahya,context XBE.71.T1.6b159 5.25Chlorite vesselfragmentfrom A.73.58159 6.1Plan of thePhase IVB 1 architecture in Trench A163 6.2View of thePhase IVBlarchitecture in Trench A fromthenorth, looking south164 6.3Viewof the Phase IVB Iarchitecturein Trench A fromthe west, looking east16S 6.4Pottery fromPhase IVB 1,Trench A167 6.SPottery from thePhase IVB 1,Trench A architectural complex168 6.6Chlorite vessel base (SF 3602)169 6.7Ivory or bone bead (SF3819)169 6.8Plan of thePhaseIYBIarchitecture in Trench B-BW169 6.9Plan of the AN2.73.7architecture170 6.10Pottery fromPhase IVB 1,large jars171 6.11Pottery fromPhase IVB 1,deep bowls172 6.12Pottery from Phase IVBl, small bowlsand short,squat jars173 6.13Pottery from Phase IVB 1,decorated and miscellaneous pieces174 6.14Chlorite vessel rim (SF374)17S 6.1SChlorite bead (SF7S)17S 6.16Stone pestle (SF 2066)17S 6.17Stone palette (SF2236)17S 6.18Basalt door socket or loomweight (SF2071)17S 6.19Plan of theB-C Balk.71.11architecture176 6.20B-CBalk.7lnorth section176 6.21B. 71.3east walling177 6.22Pottery fromtheB-C Balk177 7.1Painted pottery fromBW.69.TS.Sand Tepe Yahya comparanda where available183 7.2A selection of black-on-orange sherds fromBW.69.TS.S-7184 7.3Unpainted jars fromBW.69.TS.Sand Tepe Yahya comparanda where available18S 7.4Unpainted bowlsfromBW.69.TS.Sand TepeYahya comparanda where available186 7.SPlain buff incised lid fromBW.69.TS.S,Phase IVC2 pit187 7.6Selected bases fromBW.69.TS.S187 7.7Painted pottery fromBW.69.TS.6 and Tepe Yahya comparanda where available188 7.8Unpainted pottery fromBW.69.TS.6 and TepeYahya comparanda where available189 7.9Unpainted pottery fromBW.69.TS.7and TepeYahya comparanda where available190 7.10A selection of carved chlorite, mostly fromBW.69.TS.5and 6191 7.11A selection of carved chlorite,mostly fromBW.69. TS.5and 6192 7.12Carved male torsoof chlorite fromBW.69.TS.S193 9.1Outcrop of worked chlorite in themountainsimmediately north of Tepe Yahya211 9.2Unfinished, partially worked vessel fragmentsfromTepe Yahya212 9.3LargeInterculturalStyle vesselfromtrench grave PG1633atUr showing bands of the beveled-square or brick design separated by wavy lines213 9.4InterculturalStyle vessel fragmentsfromUruk with overall-imbricate design214 9.5Vesselfragment(exterior and interior)fromtheSin Templeat Khafajeh215 9.6Twosides of ceremonial chlorite axehead with incised design of aneagle or bird fromthechlorite-rich levelof the Tepe Yahya Period IVBworkshop216 9.7Grooved lid that isa unique object fromTepe Yahya,possibly a lid toa com-partmented box, which iscommon atShahdad and other sites north and east of Yahya218 XIII XIV 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.l3 9.14 9.15 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.l3 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 Combatant serpent and felinevessel fragmentfoundinsecondary context at Tepe Yahya (Period I)222 Combatant serpent and eagle vessel fromNippur223 Tepe Yahya plaque with hut and architecturalfacademotif223 Twosides of Tepe Yahya "weight"(?) fragmentapparently reused asdoor socket during IVBtimes224 Plaque or "weight"(?) fragmentfrom Agrab in theDiyala Valley with a similar humped bull and scorpion design tofigure9.11225 Back side of thefamouscolored and inlaid vessel fromLevel VIIBin the Inanna Templeat Nippur226 Combatant serpents on padlock-shaped "weight" fromtheSoch Valley in Uzbekistan227 Vesselfragmentfrom Tepe Yahya showing thehead of a felineor serpent with its mouth painted red230 Catalogue no.1,Y 34,fragmentaryimpression of classicstyle cylinder seal sigmoidalcurve247 Catalogue no.2, Y 22,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatite cylinder seal with one rosette petal247 Catalogue no.3,TY 20,fragmentaryimpression of wheeIcut style cylinder seal with long-necked bird with spread wings247 Catalogue no.4,TY 22,stampsealimpression of circle with notched border247 Catalogue no.5,TY19,fragmentaryimpression of classicstyle cylinder seal with feline247 Catalogue no.6,Y 43, fragmentaryimpression of classic stylesealwith bovid inskidding posture247 Catalogue no.7,TY 29,fragmentaryimpression of classicstyle cylinder seal with felineinskidding posture with raised tail248 Catalogue no.8,Y 38, fragmentaryimpression of classicstyle cylinder seal with two-register composition of quadrupeds248 Catalogue no.9,TY 27,fragmentaryimpression of cylinder seal with homed animal248 Catalogue no.10, Y 42,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatite or wheeIcut stylecylinder seal with petalformsandstraight lines249 Catalogue no.11, Y 44,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatite cylinder seal with curved ladder pattern249 Catalogue no.12,TY 30,fragmentary impression of glazed steatite cylinder seal with petals,chevrons,and hatched band249 Catalogue no.l3, TY 31,fragmentary impression of glazed steatite cylinder seal with hatched arcadeswith hatched interior249 Catalogue no.14, Y 31,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatite cylinder seal with hatched band patterning250 Catalogue no.15, Y 36,fragmentaryimpression of incised cylinder seal with chevrons over herringbone pattern250 Catalogue no.16,TY 23,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatitesealwith foursquarecross,twocurved lines,and six drillings250 Catalogue no.17,TY 25,fragmentaryimpression ofwheeIcut cylinder seal with short diagonallines251 Catalogue no.18, Y 30,fragmentaryimpression of incised cylinder sealwith outlined triangles251 Catalogue no.19, TY 26,fragmentaryimpression of incised cylinder seal with threechevronsand fourdrillings251 Catalogue no.20,TY12,fragmentary impression of classic style cylinder seal with recumbent bull andsmaller standing animal251 10.21Catalogue no.21,TY 24,fragmentary impression of glazed steatite cylinder seal with doubleoutlined hatched arcade or circle with traces of rosette251 10.22Catalogue no.22,TY17, broken glazed steatite stylecylinder seal,showing hatched arcadeand two-petaled rosette252 10.23Catalogue no.23,TY16,broken wheelcut sealwith linesat oblique angles252 10.24Catalogue no.24, Y 39,fragmentaryimpression of classicstylecylinder seal with rear endsof opposing bovids253 10.25Catalogue no.25, TY14,fragmentary impression of classicstyle cylinder seal with felinein striding posture253 10.26Catalogue no.26, TY13,fragmentary impression of classic stylecylinder seal with seated felinefacingleft and tworegistersin frontwith small bovid and small feline254 10.27Catalogue no.27,TY 7,8,9,10,15,18,classic stylecylinder seal reconstruct-ed fromseven fragments255 10.28Catalogue no.28, TY11,fragmentaryimpression of cylinder seal with birds with spread wings256 10.29Catalogue no.29, TY 6,fragmentary impression of glazed steatitestyle cylin-der seal with four-petaled rosettesand drilling256 10.30Catalogue no.30, TY 4,fragmentaryimpression of incised style cylinder seal with twoor threerowsof connected diamonds with interior lozenges257 10.31Catalogue no.31, TY 27,fragmentaryimpression of classic stylecylinder seal with rear of skidding bovid, head of second bovid,and a foursquare cross257 10.32Catalogue no.32, TY 3,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatite cylinder seal with hatched triangle with internal solid triangle257 10.33Catalogue no.33,fragmentary impression of glazed steatitestylecylinder seal with double-outlinechevron257 10.34Catalogue no.34, TY 1,fragmentary impression of glazed steatite stylecylin-der seal with hatched arcadewith interior concentric triangle258 10.35Catalogue no.35, Y 7,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatite style cylinder seal with hatched triangle with interior alternating triangles258 10.36Catalogue no.36, TY 2,fragmentaryimpression of glazed steatite stylecylin-der seal with hatched triangle with threeconcentric interior triangles258 10.37Catalogue no.37, Y 35,fragmentary impression of classic stylecylinder seal with shoulder and leg of quadruped259 10.38Catalogue no.38, Y 11,fragmentary impression ofwheelcut stylecylinder seal with two petal formsand curved marking259 10.39Catalogue no.39, Y 33,fragmentary impression ofwheelcut stylecylinder seal with tracesof short diagonal lines and stacked chevrons259 10.40Catalogue no.40,fragmentary impression of a wheelcut cylinder sealwith oblique line pairs259 10.41Catalogue no.41,fragmentary impression of classic stylecylinder seal with rear of recumbent quadruped260 10.42Catalogue no.42,fragmentary impression of glazed steatitestyle cylinder seal with pair of outlined rosette petals260 10.43Catalogue no.43,fragmentary impression of wheelcut cylinder seal with short oblique lines260 10.44Catalogue no.44,fragmentary impression ofwheelcut cylinder seal with oblique opposing lines260 10.45Catalogue no.45,illegible seale?)impression onovoid mass of clay261 10.46Catalogue no.46, TY 34,fragmentary cylinder sealof firedserpentine with twowinged and homed deitiesfacingright between vegetation and snakes261 xv XVI 10.47 10.48 10.49 10.50 10.51 10.52 10.53 10.54 10.55 10.56 10.57 10.58 10.59 10.60 10.61 10.62 10.63 10.64 10.65 10.66 A.l Catalogue no.47,TY 33,chlorite cylinder seal with femalefigurewith extended anns and palm tree262 Catalogue no.48,TY 38,chlorite(?) cylinder seal with winged femalefigure and other images262 Catalogue no.49, TY 32,steatite cylinder seal with two squatting deitiesfac-ing right263 Catalogue no.50, TY 43,steatite cylinder seal recut from older seal with humanoid figureand possible seated figure263 Catalogue no.51,fragmentary chloritecylinder seal with two squatting female deities264 Catalogue no.52,steatite or chlorite cylinder sealwith two palm treesand two ovoids264 Catalogue no.53,compartmented steatite stampseal with pierced knob and scalloped edge264 Catalogue no.55,steatitestamp seal with incised linesand short gouges264 Catalogue no.57, TY 37,circular steatitestamp sealwith pierced knoband horned caprid and bovid265 Catalogue no.58,TY 35,double-sided steatitestampseal with opposing foot prints andsix-legged creature on opposite sides265 Catalogue no.59, TY 36,stampseal with human-headed hone?)with head turned back and tail raised266 Catalogue no.60,copper or bronze compartmented stampsealwith stepped crucifonn outline and central dot266 Catalogue no.62,copper or bronze compartmented stamp sealwith animalin profile with scalloped body patterning266 Catalogue no.63,stampsealimpression insherd withfour verticals above two dots266 Catalogue no.64,stampsealimpression on sherd of alternating feet266 Catalogue no.65,stampsealimpression on sherd of twooverlapping impres-sionsof seal with head of horned caprid267 Catalogue no.66,stamp sealimpression on plain red ware sherd with Harappan inscription267 Catalogue no.67,stamp sealimpression on clay bullae with humanoid figure with raised anns267 Catalogue no.68,rectangular steatitestampseal with perforated knobon the back with linescrossed fromcorner tocorner267 Catalogue no.69,steatitestampsealmadefromfour-sided perforated bead with images of a scorpion,palm tree,fish,and two stars268 Map of theIndo-Iranian borders illustrating theprincipalsites discussedinthe text272 TABLES F.lDistribution of sherdsbychronological period fromsurface collection and excavation of themound at Tepe Yahyaxxiv 1.1Phase IVC2 building areasandroomsandassociated excavated contexts2 2.1Phase IVC 1 building areasand roomsand associated excavated contexts56 4.1PhaseIVB5areasand roomsand associated excavated contexts108 5.1Phase IVB4,IVB3,and IVB2excavated contexts146 6.1Phase IVB 1 architecturaland stratigraphicfeaturesand associated excavated contexts162 7.1SmallfindsfromContext BW.69.T5.5-7180 7.2Contexts of chloritefragmentsanddebitage in association with stone tools182 8.1Diagnostic pottery types present inPhase IVC2contexts and selected comparanda196 8.2Calibrated radiocarbon datesfrom Tepe Yahya,Periods IVCand IVB197 8.3Diagnostic pottery types present in PhaseIVC 1 contexts and selected comparanda200 8.4Diagnostic pottery types present in PhaseIVB6contexts andselected comparanda202 8.SDiagnostic pottery typespresent in Phase IVBScontextsand selected comparanda204 8.6Radiocarbon dates fromShahr-i Sokhta Period IV20S 8.7Diagnostic pottery typespresent in Phase IVB4,IVB3,and IVB2contextsand selected comparanda207 8.8Diagnostic pottery typespresent inPhase IVB 1 contextsandselected comparanda207 A.1Newradiocarbon datesforPeriod IVB276 XVII Foreword Excavationsat Tepe Yahya: TheBiographyof aProject C.c.Lamberg-Karlovsky Department of Anthropology,HarvardUniversity Whatis at stake isnot only the distancethat shelters the author of autobiography fromhis experience but the possible convergence of aesthetics and of history. Paul deMan, Autobiography as De-Facement I intend the following to be memory not memoir.Today thereisafashionableinsistencethatanthropologists accountfortheirplacewithintheframeworkof their fieldworkexperience.This,however,isdecidedlynot theopinionof archaeologists.Thearchaeologicalsite report,thaticonicvolumefrequentlyreferredtoasthe "final report,"is,byintention,a creation asdry asdust. Ideally, the "final report" (read as one word) contains (a) adescriptiveandillustrativeaccountof all,oratleast most,of thesignificantremainsthatoneuncoveredin excavation;(b)adescriptionandillustrationofthe stratigraphyandtheresultantperiodizationof chrono-logicalperiods,phases,etc.;(c)adiscussionofthe methodsemployedinexcavation,flotation,sampling, etc.The finalreport ismeant to be a volume of descrip-tionand classification.In itsideal formit should permit the reader an opportunity to reconstruct what you found, howyoufoundit,andwhereyoufoundit.Thefinal reportisnotintendedtoinformthereaderwhatyou thinkaboutwhatyoufound.Thisisinterpretationand interpretationisverbotenina"finalreport."Afinal report issupposed tobe an "objective" scientificanaly-sis to be used by others in their search for empirical data. Thus,thesite report issupposed tobefreeof subjective interpretation. In fact,Ifinditregrettablethatfinalreportsdonot includeanarrativeexpositionof whattheexcavator(s) thoughtandinterpretedassignificantintheirwork.I would find it of inestimable value to read an interpretive evaluation, in conjunction with the classificatory and the descriptive,offeredbytheexcavator(s)inthosepub-lished finalreports of some of theimportant sites on the Iranian Plateau such asSialk,Hissar,Bampur,Susa, Ali Kosh,Choga Mish,Giyan,Tal-iIblis,Bakun,Shahdad, and Persepolis.One might argue that a narrative exposi-tion will not long endure,and thusdoesnot belong in a finalreport, while the empirical data is of eternal signif-icance. This isanabsurd conceit. The value of empirical data is determined by the methods of its retrieval, but old interpretiveideascanlongendure.Theexcavationsat TroyasundertakenbySchliemann,Dorpfeld,and Blegen offer successive increments in methodology, and eachreplacedourempiricalunderstandingof thesite. The notion that finalreports are of enduring value while ideasand hypothesesareephemeraland time-boundis, inthearchaeologicalcontext,amiscastnotion.Today Schliemann'sfinalreportof Troyhasitsgreatestvalue amongantiquarianbookcollectors.Schliemann'sidea that the archaeology of Troy represented the world of the Homeric epics has a far more lasting impact than hissite report.Contrary tocommon belief,ideasor hypotheses may have a moreenduring value than an archaeological finalreport.For example,Ghirshman'sidea (1954)that theProto-ElamitesettlementatSialkrepresenteda colony fromSusa involved in theexploitation of nearby copper minesisastrangelymodem idea,although pro-poundedoverfiftyyearsago.Inarchaeologythefinal reporthasattemptedtodivorcetheinteractionof data, ideas,andhypotheses.Inspiteof thisallfinalreports incorporate interpretations at the most basic level. As we shallsee,Dan Pottsincorporatesa wholesuite of inter-pretivenotionstoadvanceaspecificchronologyfor third-millennium Tepe Yahya. Sitereportsinarchaeology arerarely read.Theyare more typically perused,thumbed throughinsearch of a sherdthatoffersthereaderatypologicalmatch,an analysisthatatteststothepresenceof tin,thedetermi-nation of date and/or a context, or confirmation that pigs wereconsumedand/orhunted.Inthisregardthefinal reportinarchaeologyisusedinamannersimilartoa xx EXCAVATIONSATTEPE YAHYA,IRAN:THE THIRDMILLENNIUM dictionary or an encyclopedia.Within afinalreport one searches in vain for a plot, but there is only definition. A narrativeaccountthatattemptstooffermeaningand interpretationbasedupontheexcavateddataisallbut absent.It ismy contention that finalreports should con-tain achapter in which thechainsof inference that lead fromthematerialobjectsaredirectedtowardobserva-tion,interpretation,and theories. WhatIam suggesting isthatthedry-as-dustpresentationofadescriptive archaeological site report would benefit by the inclusion of what Glynn Isaac (1971: 128) called "lively portrayals of whathappenedinhistory."Thetwoapproachesare complementaryratherthancontradictory.Iamincom-pleteagreementwithJeanClaudeGardin(1998)who champions the importance of narrativity in the writing of archaeological reports. In our finalreport on the early periods at Tepe Yahya Tom Beale and I offered two chapters of narrative expo-sition of what we thought was happening at Tepe Yahya between 4900-3000 B.C.(Beale1986).I did the same in thevolumeon theProto-Elamite tablets(Damerowand Englund 1989). In the Afterword I attempt the same, but hereIfirstofferan ethnographicaccountof lifeonour dig. This archaeological report isa testament totheinter-actionof threedistinctivecomponents:(1)agroupof foreigners,in this instance mostly Americans,undertak-ing archaeologicalexcavationsin;(2)asmallvillage in Iraninwhichanaverageof seventy-fivelocalworkers ("theother")areemployed;andfinally(3)eachof the aboveisdirectlyinvolvedinthedailymanipulationof hundreds of artifacts, which from the moment of discov-eryaresubjecttointerpretivemanipulation.Fromthe interactionof thesethreecomponents,comprisingtwo distinctiveculturesand theremnantsof aremotemate-rialworld,resultsanarchaeologicalreport of illustrated sherds,sections,andsequencesof culture.Rarelydoes anarchaeologicalreportdiscussthenatureof theinter-action between the above components.I intend totouch upon these matters here. Artifactsrecoveredbyarchaeologistsaresituatedin threedimensions.They are produced within thecontext of alongpastworld,recoveredasobjectswithinour present world, and offered an interpretation, or a "mean-ing," which may,or may not,belong toeither world. Thearchaeologistisindebted tothepast,con-strainedby'what oncewas,' aswellasby the idea that the document,thesherd and theseed, isactuallyatracethroughwhichthepastcan berecovered.Inasmuchasit[thetrace]isleft by the past, it stands for the past, it'represents' thepast,notinthesensethatthepastwould appearitself inthemind(Vorstellung)butin thesensethatthetracetakestheplaceof (Vertretung)thepast,absentfromhistorical discourse.(Ricouer 1984:2) Thearchaeologicalimagination,constrainedbythe documents, those sherds and seeds, that aim to "speak up forthepast"provideuswith"data,"arepresentational image of the past wholly lacking in both plot and imag-ination.In the Near East,asperhapsinother regionsof archaeological theater,plot and imagination arederived fromanappreciation,atthemostabstractlevel,of the interplayof such notionsasthescientificmethod and a roster of "isms," be they colonialism, orientalism, Marx-ism, or fundamentalism,as perceived by the archaeolog-ical team of "scientists" and "the other." An example of suchinterdependenceistheuseof ethnoarchaeology, whereinforeignarchaeologistsstudypresentethno-graphicconditionsin order toshed light on an archaeo-logicalpast.Wemaythinksuchanapproachisan appropriateuseof thescientificmethod,whilethose being studied, "the other," may think that a study of the present in order to better comprehend the remote past is a curious exercise in oriental ism, an attempt to vindicate avisionof anunchangingorient juxtaposed towestern notionsof'progress."Therecollectionsthatfollow attempttobedescriptive;their purposeistoallowthe reader a better appreciation of what,how,and when we did what wedid atTepeYahya.Inan Afterword I offer what might passasaninterpretationof what wasgoing on at Tepe Yahya in the third millennium.Such aninter-pretationgoesfarbeyondthesherdsandseeds.With apologies toR.G.Collingwood (1946:137),I substitute thewordarchaeologyforhistoryandthemessagestill pertains,"Allarchaeologyisthere-enactmentof past thought in thearchaeologist's own mind." In1965I was appointed an Assistant Professor in the DepartmentofAnthropologyatHarvardUniversity. Except for an earlier stint of summer school teaching at PennsylvaniaStateUniversity,andayearteachingat FranklinandMarshallCollegeinLancaster,Penn-sylvania, it is my first and only academic appointment. I was hired toteach thearchaeology of the Near East and itwasanticipated,byfacultyandstudentsalike,thatI wouldinitiateaprogramof fieldresearch.Throughout thatfirstyear atHarvard I made planstoundertakemy firstmajorresearchproject.Inthesummerof 1966I departedforSyriawhereIplannedtobeginasurvey alongtheBalikhandKhaburRivers.Withinthepast decade thisregion of Syria hasbecome a growth indus-try of archaeological research. In1966 its understanding was stilllargely the result of the excavations of Sir Max Mallowan, Max von Oppenheim, and Andre Parrot. My plan was to locate a site that would offer a greater appreciationof theHalaf andUbaidperiods.Itwas,in retrospect,a simplistic program, one hardly meriting the term"researchdesign."TheHalaf andUbaidperiods were, and largely remain, poorly understood, and asthey wereantecedenttothegreatperiodsof urbanizationin southernMesopotamiaIthoughttheydeservedfuller attention.Inthespringof 1966Harvardawardedmea Milton Fund grant and thesurvey was undertaken in the months of July and August.Its success was measured by thefactthatI had located a siteof modest size that was litteredwithsherdsof theHalaf andUbaidperiods.It was thesite I planned toexcavate over thecourse of the nextseveralyears.Thefollowingacademicyearwas spent in planning foritsexcavation,whichincluded the submission of a grant to the National Science Foundation (NSF). I was fortunate to be awarded a grant and selected anumberofgraduateandundergraduatestudentsto accompany metoSyria.June7,1967, three days before myscheduleddepartureforSyria,theSixDayWar erupted.My project in Syria became untenable. Twocircumstances coincided toallowmetotransfer my research theater fromSyria toIran.Almostfromthe time in which I arrived at Harvard I was extremely fortu-natetohavea research assistant of extraordinary energy and ability:Denise Schmandt-Besserat. Denise and I had been working on the collections in the Peabody Museum inanefforttoorganizeanexhibitionof NearEastern materials.ItwasDenise'ssustainedeffortthatbrought this exhibition to fruition; the exhibition endured for over adecadeonthefifthfloorof thePeabodyMuseum.Of specialsignificancetomewasthecollectionatthe PeabodyMuseumgatheredinthe1920sbySirAurel Stein in his surveys of southeastern Iran and Baluchistan. DeniseandIdecidedthatwewouldmakeaneffortto carefully study this collection and offer it for publication in a volume being planned to honor Robert H.Dyson, Jr., my principle mentor in graduate studies at the University ofPennsylvania(Lamberg-KarlovskyandSchmandt-Besserat1977).OurworkontheSteinCollectionpro-videdthebackbonetotheletterIwrotetoDr.John Cornell,Program Director for Anthropologyatthe NSF, that attempted to justify the transfer of fundsfromSyria to Iran.I wrote a three page letter toDr.Cornell request-ingthat a percentageof thefunds,whichwereawarded for excavation inSyria, be used for undertaking a survey insoutheasternIran.Ourstudyof theSteinCollection wasused to justify our interest in thisvery little known, butextremelylarge,regionof Iran.Withintendayswe hadapositiveresponsefromDr.Cornell.A weeklater thosewhowerescheduledfordeparturetoDamascus FOREWORDXXI accompanied me to Teheran:Denise Schmandt-Besserat, JamesHumphries,andRichardMeadow.TheStein Collection at the Peabody Museum and the generous and understanding support of Dr.Cornell allowed for the dis-covery of Tepe Yahya. InTeheranwewereassistedandguidedbyDavid Stronach,Directorof theBritishInstituteofPersian Studies. Over the next several years he offered informed, gracious, and at times stem, but always invaluable coun-sel.ItwasDavidwhoguidedmethroughthehighly bureaucraticprocessof securingpermissiontounder-takearchaeologicalresearchinIran.Wearrivedin Teheranasatotallyunknownandunexpectedentity hopingtosecureapermitfromtheArchaeological Serviceof Iran toundertakea survey inthe province of Kerman.TomydismayIlearnedthatittookthree monthsormoretosecurepermissiontoundertakean archaeologicalfieldproject.That schedule would allow metobeginthesurveyonlyaftermyclassesbeganat Harvard.Iwasveryconcernedthosefirstweeksin Teheran,forif I wasunsuccessfulin obtaining a permit neither NSFnorHarvard would be pleased.I preferred not tothink of such consequences, instead spending the time awaiting thedecision of the Iranian Archaeological Serviceby purchasingaLandrover,securingfieldsup-plies,and visiting a friendfromearlier daysin graduate school, Cuyler Young, who had just started a program of excavation at Godin Tepe. Wearrived at Godin well past midnightinthemidstofconsiderablecommotion. Someonehad brokenintothestoragefacility.Thegen-darmeswereundertakingwhatvaguelyresembledan investigation. BackinTeheranwefoundourselvesinfortunate hands.Dr.EzatNegaban,thedirectorof theArchae-ologicalService of Iran,acknowledged that theKerman districtinsoutheastern Iran wasoneof theleast known provincesanddeservingof archaeologicalsurvey.He championedourproposalandpromisedtomoveit through thevariouslevelsof bureaucracyasquicklyas possible.WithoutDr.Negaban'spersonalsupportthe YahyaProjectwould never havegotten off theground. He was as pleased tosee archaeological research under-taken in this little explored region ofIran as he was dubi-ous about the time we had chosen to undertake our work, namely,in theextreme heat of the summer. Joined by Gholam Ali Shamlou, an archaeologist rep-resenting theIranian ArchaeologicalService,weset out fortheprovinceof Kermaninthelastweekof June. Over the next nine weeks we traveled over 10,000 kmin searchof a veryspecifictypeof site.Inthesummer of 1967wewerenotinterested in isolatingaspecificarea anddoinganintensivemappingof thearchaeological sitesinthatregion.Thatwouldcomelater.Ourswas XXIIEXCAVATIONSATTEPEYAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM FigureF.1.Tepe Yahyaas"discovered"in1967. mostdefinitelynotasystematicsurvey.Wewerein searchof asubstantialsitewithalongsequenceof set-tlement; the greater the chronological expanse the better. Prior to1967only two archaeologicalsitesinsoutheast-ernIran, thesecondlargest inIran, hadbeenexcavated, and both were of limited duration and results: Tal-IIblis (Caldwell1967)andBampur(deCardi1970).We locateddozensof sitesinthevicinity of thesettlements of Kerman, Mahan, Baft, andHajjiabad, butallwereof smallsize and of limited chronological duration. Almost 100%of thesites,whichwedulyrecorded,contained ceramics that offered no typologicalparallel and thusno clue to their date. I hoped to locate a site that would offer alongsequence of chronological periodsand serveasa type-sitefortheregion.Theexcavationof suchasite would placeintocontextaseries of ceramic typesmak-ing settlement survey more comprehensible withrespect tochronologicalperiods.Surveyofthesurrounding regionwouldfollowanunderstandingof theregional ceramicsequence.AsSeptemberapproachedandafter months of survey that saw uscamping under the stars, as well as being put up in police stations, schools, mosques, factories,andvillagehomes,wehadbuttwoviable choices:TepeNurabad,asitewefirstvisitedinthe liroft,whichwasearlierreporteduponbySirAurel Stein,andTepeYahya,asitewediscoveredonAugust 17, 1967(fig.F.I). Five peoplein ashort wheel-base Landrover isquite acrowd,particularlyif thevehicleisalsoloadedwith lanterns,food,excavationequipment,extrawater,fuel , andbedding.Oursearchbeganintheearlymorning before itbecame unbearably hot.There was hardly a day inwhichwespentlessthanfiveorsixhoursinthe Landrover; theremainder of thetimewasspent walking and/orinspectingsites.Wehadactuallybeeninthe vicinity, less than ten km from Tepe Yahya, weeks before theactual"discovery"of thesite. Welocated aseries of sitesinthevicinityofDolatabadandtheAb-Dasht Maden(achromiteminingvillage)thatweremost promising.Thesewerethesitesthatweresubsequently intensivelysurveyedandsubjecttolimitedexcavation byMartha Prickett(1979)on behalf of theYahyaProj-ect.From theDolatabad region weturned north toward Baft,thenfollowedtheHalilRudtotheJiroft.From Jiroft we took the Tang-iMordan pass through theeast-ernmostZagrosMountainsbacktowardDolatabad.A verysignificantamountof timewasspenttravellingin areas where only the roughest dirt paths served as roads. In crossing the Tang-i Mordan pass wesimply made our own road. As we had noidea where wewere, or for that matterwhereweweregoing,itcannotbesaidthatwe werelost.Wewerecarrying British mapsof 1:50,0000, buttheywereof limiteduse.Somevillagesandroads depictedonthemapdidexist,whileothersdidnot,or wereincorrectlysituated;othersactuallydidexistbut werenoton themap.Wespentsomeconsiderable time in the Tang-i Mordan examining rock art and cairn buri-als.Cairns were widely scattered throughout this region of Iran and wetook theopportunity toexcavatea num-ber of them (Lamberg-KarlovskyandHumphries1968; Lamberg-Karlovsky and Fitz1987). TwoelementsconvergedtobringustotheSoghun Valleyandthe"discovery"ofTepeYahya.Denise Schmandt-Besseratwaschampioningourreturnto Dolatabad,which wevisited weeksearlier,inthehopes thatamorecarefulsurveyandsomeexploratoryexca-vationof themanymoundstherewouldidentifythis region as of primary significance. The second factor that led usto Tepe Yahya was our fear of running out of gas. In themountains traversing the Tang-i Mordan we were told that the closest available petrol was in the village of Soghun.IhaveyettolocatethisvillageonanymapI haveseen.Nevertheless,weweretolditwasabout twentyIanwestof Dolatabad.WeheadedforSoghun and in descending the Tang-i Mordan caught siteof the largestmound wehadseen,or weretosee,onoursur-vey.It was August17,1967. Wespentseveraldaysinthetinyvillageof Baghin, which is at the very foot of the mound and three Ian from Soghun.At that timethevillageof Baghin consisted of fewer than a dozen houses. In1967, and until our depar-ture in 1975, there was no electricity, running water, or a school in thewhole of theSoghun Valley.In1998I had thegood fortunetoreturn toBaghin and revisit thesite of TepeYahya.Thevillage,whichinour timehadless then 50 people,now hasseveral hundred.Thereiselec-tricity,runningwater,andavillageschoolhousein Baghin and thenearby villageof Soghun hasa medical facilityanda busservice thatconnectsit totheoutside world.Whenweundertookoursurveyin1967,there wasnoasphaltroadthatconnected thecityof Kerman witheither theimportant coastalport of Bandar Abbas, todaycalledBandarKhomeini,orwiththesouthern FOREWORDXXIII townof BaftintheZagros.ThetripfromKermanto Yahyatooktwolonganddifficultdays,largelyover badlymaintaineddirtroads.Weusuallystopped overnight inSirjan in a place that called itself theHotel Bostan;itcameclosetosoundinglikeBostonbutthe resemblanceendedthere.Todayonecandriveonan asphalt roadfromKerman towithin fifteenIan of Tepe Yahyainapproximately fourhours. In1967 wedid a small test trench at the base ofTepe Yahyainthehopesthattheevidencerecoveredwould strengthen our yet tobewritten NSFapplication.There was nodoubt inmy mind that thiswas thesitewewere going toreturn tointhefollowing year.Our survey was over.Upon myreturn toCambridge I wrote a short note forthe journal Iransummarizing what I thought wasof significanceinoursummer'ssurvey(Lamberg-Karlovsky 1968). Three points are emphasized:First, the recoveryofpotterysimilartoTal-iIblis,including bevel-rimmed bowls,fromour sondageat TepeLangar. A year beforeJoeCaldwellcreated quitea stir with his discoveryof thispotterytypeatTal-iIblis.Thisevi-dencewasthought,atthattime,toconstituteconcrete proof of Mesopotamian influence, of the Uruk Period, in southeastern Iran; second, the excavation of a number of IronAgecairns(Lamberg-KarlovskyandHumphries 1968);andthird,oursondageatTepeYahya.Fromthe surfaceof themoundwerecoveredpotterythatsug-gested eastern parallelstoBaluchistan aswellasblack-on-buffwaresrelatedtothewest.Thepresenceof steatitevesselswasnotedaswasthepotentialimpor-tance of thesite foradding to our understanding of east-westinteraction.Theshortnoteconcludes,"Afinal cautionaryobservationfromour survey andexcavation meritsmention:theinabilitytocorrelateorlocatein stratigraphic context material often found on the surface of themound and thecorollary,material foundin exca-vationwasnotalwaysevidentonthesurfaceof the mound."Inotedthatthecoarsechaff-temperedwares thatwerecoveredinoursondage,identicaltowhat Dyson (1965) referred to as the "soft ware horizon," was "nowhere evident on thesurface of the mound." Thispartialasymmetry,distinguishingwhatone foundinexcavationfromthatrecoveredfromthesur-faceof a site,continued totrouble me.Over thecourse of several seasons at Yahya I became even more acutely aware that the story to be derived from surface materials differsgreatlyfromwhatcanbesaidonthebasisof excavationdata.In1970wediscoveredtheProto-ElamitesettlementatTepeYahya,PeriodIVe.Asis readilyevidentinthismonographtheProto-Elamite community is easily distinguished by a distinctive mate-rialinventory.Over thenextfewseasonsIspentmany quiet hourswalkingover themound insearch,notonly XXIVEXCAVATIONSATTEPE YAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM TableF.1.Distribution of sherds by chronological period fromsurface collection and excavation of the mound at Tepe Yahya. Number of sherdsNumber of sherdsPercentagePercentage fromsurface atfromsurface ofexcavatedrecovered in PeriodtOQof moundeastern sloQeof moundwithin moundoff-mound survey VI01 V33 IVe00 !VB01 IVA414 III-l78131 Unknown27 of thediagnosticfeaturesof PeriodIVC,butof those thatcharacterizedother periodsof settlement at Yahya. In 1973 I decided to test, by systematic surface survey of themoundandstatisticalsampling,therelationshipof theceramictypesrecoveredfromthesurfacetothose recoveredinexcavation.Inordertoaccomplishthis study in1973Itook Marcelloand Eda Vidale,aphysi-cistand astatistician,toTepeYahyainorder todefine the research strategy for undertaking this program and to collaborateon thestudy(Vidale,Vidale,andLamberg-Karlovsky1976).Savefortherecognitiongivenby ArleneRoseninCitiesof Clay(1986),thisstudyisall butignored,perhapsduetoitspessimisticconclusion. Table F.lsummarizes our results. The table offers a clas-sificationof thetotalnumberof sherdsrecoveredfrom twosurfacelocationsof themoundbychronological period andsummarizes theresultsof the distribution of sherdsby chronological period within themound (from excavation)andoff-mound(systematicsurveycollec-tion off-mound). Our analysis confinned my suspicion of earlier years. For example,thecoarsewaresnotedinour1968son-dage,characteristicof ourearliestperiodof habitation (PeriodVI),arevirtuallyinvisiblefromthesurfaceof themound,andtheProto-Elamitesettlementwould never bedetected inasurfacesurvey of thesite.These resultshaveleftmehighlysuspiciousof claimsthat identifyasettlement hierarchyfromsurfacecollections andthenproceedtoclaimthatathree- orfour-tiered hierarchysignifiestheoriginof thestate(Wrightand Johnson1975).Therelationshipofsurfacetodata recoveredfromanexcavatedmoundremainsatapho-nymic problem that greatly deservesfurther research. Upon my return to Cambridge in the fallof 1968 I set asideasignificantpartof thefallsemestertowritean application forfundingtothe NSF.It was tobe thefirst of four successful NSF submissions for research at Tepe 6 540.5 165.0 30.2 60.8 831.0 1234.5 028.0 Yahya(1968:oneyearsupport;1969-1970:twoyears support;1971-1973:threeyearssupport;1974-1975: twoyearssupport).TheNSFwastheprincipalsource for funding the Yahya Project; however, additional funds wereobtainedthroughoutthe1970sfromtheFord Foundationandprivatebenefactors,mostsignificantly Mr.LandonT.ClayandMr.GiancarloLigabue. Followingthe1967surveyItookbetweenfifteenand twenty-five undergraduate, graduate, and staff personnel (photographer,artist,registrar,etc.)toTepe Yahya each summer.Given the remoteness of the site this was a for-midableundertakingthatrequiredconsiderableplan-ning.Onlythosethatlivedthroughitcancomment on thedegrees of itssuccess or failure.We were extremely fortunateinbeinggivencommissaryprivilegesatthe U.S.embassy.WeweretheonlyAmericanexpedition offeredsuchprivileges,andwearegratefulto Ambassador and Mrs.Richard Helms. We trucked to the sitecases of tuna fish,peanut butter, jams, juices, hash, canned vegetables, meats, and stew as well as scotch and vodka.In the Soghun Valley we competed with the local gendannesinacquiringthelimitedeggs,cucumbers, and tomatoes that were available. We would periodically send the truck to Kennan, some 250 km distant, but still theclosestplaceforustopurchaselargequantitiesof potatoes,onions,cucumbers,tomatoes,spices,etc.Our cook,almost always acquired for us by David Stronach, accompaniedtheexpeditionfromTeheran.Expedition supplies-whether beds,wheelbarrows,propanerefrig-erators,stoves,shovels,Colemanlamps,etc.-were all shipped down fromeither Teheran or Kennan. ItisdifficulttocapturetheremotenessofTepe Yahya.Perhapsoneindicationof itbeingbeyondthe "far-off beatentrack"isindicatedbythefactthatwe hardly ever had to host visitors (fig.F.2).Over the years at Tepe Yahya only twoarchaeologists/scholars came to visit us. Richard Frye and Rachel Maxwell-Hyslop made FigureF.2.Thevillageof Baghin in1973. the long journey to thesite and had a specific reason for doing so:Richard's son and Rachel 's daughter were par-ticipating in our excavations. In1970 we were visited by thearchaeometallurgicalteamledbyTedWertimeand CyrilSmith.ThisbroughtmeintocontactwithRonald Tylecote, Radomir Pleiner, andBennoRothenberg, dis-tinguishedscientistsaccompanyingthearchaeometal-lurgicalsurvey.Eachofthesescientistsplayedan importantroleinguidingandsustainingmydecades-FOREWORDXXV longinterest inmetallurgy. Benno wastospend therest of theseasonwithusatYahyawhiletherestof this SmithsoniansponsoredteamdepartedforAfghanistan. Their objectivewastodiscover thesource(s)of tinthat fueledtheNearEasternBronzeAge.Thedebatecon-cerningthesource(s)of tinintheNearEastcontinues, enlivened by therecentdiscoveryof bronzes containing tinatTellAbraqintheUnitedArabEmirates(Weeks 1999). Later, Thierry Berthoud (1979) was to visit Yahya XXVIEXCAVATIONSATTEPE YAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM inhisownsearchfor"fingerprinting"thecopper depositsof Iran.Hediscoveredacopperdepositwith tracesof ancientmining near Yahya.Subsequent analy-sisof thisoreand metalartifactsfromYahyaled tohis conclusionthatmetalswereproducedatYahyafrom localsources. Theremotenessof Yahyawasremarkable.Today,a visittoYahyaoffersacompletelydifferentimpression fromthatof decadesago.Asmentionedabove,in the summerof1998IwasprivilegedtoreturntoTepe Yahya.Electricity, running water, a village schoolhouse, a nearby clinic,a bridge across the occasionally flowing river,anasphalt road leading almost directly tothesite, telephone service,and a local bus route arealladditions of the Khomeini years.When I returned toIran,after an absenceof over twodecades,I saw that themajor cities hadchanged little,saveforanevengreater congestion, whiletheinfrastructureof ruralIranisfundamentally transformed,typified by thechanges in thevillages sur-roundingYahya.A visittoTepeYahyaoffersawholly different experience from that of decadesago! The remoteness of Tepe Yahya affected our everyday lifeaswellasour excavationprocedures.In1970Tom Bealeusedaseriesof plasticpails,hoses,something resembling cheese cloth,and a series of graduated siev-ing dishes (brought from the States) to initiate a flotation program.Thetoolswereprimitiveandof insufficient sizetoprocesslargesamples.Theabsenceof adequate toolswasnot,however,themajorconstraintonhis undertaking.Thelackof waterwas!Ourwatersupply was brought in from a distance of over one mile by a sin-gle,andvery difficult toobtain,donkey and driver,car-ryingtwotwenty-galloncans(originallycontainersfor thesaleof gasoline).Tom had toshare his water supply for flotationwith the cooks,our gravity-fed shower sys-tem,thewomenwhowashedourpottery,conservation needs, and general toiletry essentials, and hefound him-self withlittlewater.Thealternativewastotruckthe flotationsample tothenearestmechanicalwater pump, over fivemiles' distance.Wedidthison rareoccasions to process remains recovered fromlarge hearths. Within hisflotationregimeTom,andlaterMaurizioTosiwith theadditionof anoildrum,succeeded insamplingspe-cificareasfromvirtually allperiods.Theflotationsam-pleswerestudiedbyLorenzoCostantini(summarized byMeadow1986b).Picks,shovels,andwheelbarrows hadtobetruckeddownfromTeheran.OurMarshall-towntrowelswerebroughtfromtheStatesaswereour fieldnotebooks,artsupplies,andphotographicessen-tials.Our smallhand-pickswerebroughtfromIsrael,a gift from Yigael Yadin.He designed them specifically for archaeological work in Israel and graciously had twenty-fiveofthemmanufacturedforusintheJerusalem bazaar!Ivaluedthesesmallpicksandwantedtotake themashandluggageaboardtheEI-AlflightfromTel AvivtoTeheran.Ithoughtescortingthembyhand wouldassuretheir eventualarrivalat TepeYahya.This attemptwasthwartedbythesecuritycheckintheTel Aviv airport. The security officer found twenty-five such tools carried aboard the passenger cabin to be a potential threat,particularly when carried byone with a passport stamped by virtually every Arabnation within the Near East.Theywantedmetocheckthemintotheluggage compartment.Fortunately, Yigael Yadinhad anticipated thisproblem.Hewasatthattimeinthegovernment of Menachem Begin, and he wrote on official stationary an explanationof whatthetoolswereforandidentified theircarrierasafriendandfellowarchaeologist.My picks wereimmediately escorted tothe plane by a secu-rityofficerandplacedin thestoragefacilityabovemy seat.For yearstheyaidedintheidentificationof mud-brick at Tepe Yahya. TheHarvardinfirmary,underthedirectionof Dr. LouiseShore,offeredamedicalcourseonemergency proceduresandhealth-caremaintainanceforpeople servinginremoteregionsoftheworld,particularly aimed toward Peace Corps volunteers.I took this course andexplainedtoDr.Shorethelocationandthecondi-tionsunderwhich our expedition livedforalmost three monthsof theyear.Asaresult,wewereabletotakea considerable supply of prescription drugs toour excava-tion.Theseweretheonlymedicalsupplieswithinsev-eraldaystravelof TepeYahya.Wesharedouraspirin, bandages,andantisepticswiththevillagersdaily. Sometimes,inmoreseriouscases,weoffered prescrip-tion drugs, aswhen a man had walked two days to reach us for help.His hand was hideously swollen and his arm wascompletely discolored, the result of a wooden spike driven through his hand. Wecould dolittle in such cases save offer antibiotics or,inrareinstances,drivethem to Kerman or Bandar Abbas. A handful of men and women, frequently carrying their ill infants and children, awaited medical assistance daily.The task of ministering to them was taken up by Jim Humphries who ran a regular clinic and patiently and skillfully cared forchildren burned by cookingfires,casesof severediarrhea,toothaches,and soforth.There were alltoo many instances in which the illness or injury was simply beyond our capacity to help. I deemed it essential to have a vehicle available in camp at all times in order toevacuate a member of the expedi-tion,shouldthisberequiredduetoaccidentorillness. With two vehicles in camp this would pose no difficulty; onewasreleasedtoserveitsfunctionasambulance. Tensionsroseamongmembersof theexpeditionwhen some favored,and others did not,the release of the only vehicle at camp to transport an injured or ill villager to a medical facility.Medical issues were of paramount con-cernandnevereasilyresolved.Overtheyearsitwas neccessarytosendamemberof ourexpeditionback home only once.Ironically,that instancehad nothing to dowith local conditions. The person wassuffering from hallucinations,theunfortunateaftermathof drugabuse backintheStates!Althoughmanysufferedfromperi-odicboutsof intestinaldisorder-PhilKohllostmore than thirty pounds in his first field season-we were, by-and-large,ahealthygroup.Inthesummerof1970I broke my wrist fallingfroma horse while trying tobal-anceadozenbagsof sherds.A local"darvish,"amed-icalpractitionerwithafinereputationforsettingthe bonesof sheepandgoat,wrappedmywristinanegg and flour cast, and declared the injury a bad sprain. After eight days of enduring pain, and with the lower arm now turnedblackandblue,Itookthethree-daytriptothe Kermanhospitalandthecity'ssoleX-rayfacility.My wrist was broken in seven places. Dev Kernan, our expe-dition photographer, accompanied me to the hospital. He tookasplendidphotoof thedoctorsettingmywrist whileI,underanesthesia,wasunawareof thenurse swatting fliesresting on my chest.The doctor did a fine job. A fewyearslater hewasquitesurprised toseethe degreeof mobility I had regained;heexpected worse.I tooktheX-raybacktoYahyaandshowedittothe darvish.HeponderedtheX-ray,asif hehadstudied dozensof others,andsmiling told methat anyonewith such a photo could tell me where the bones were broken. In 1968I realized that in order toaccomplish asub-stantialhorizontalexposure,ourworkwouldrequire severalseasonsof excavation.Isetout aseriesof lOx 10m trenches on the southern slope of the mound. These trenchesconnectedtoaseriesoflOx10m squares across the topof the mound, which met,in turn,a series of 5x5mtrenchesalongthenorthernslopeof the mound.Itwasmyintentiontocutthemoundintwo, thereby connecting the trenches toa singlestratigraphic profile (figs.F.3,F.4).I anticipated that our work would take a decade.I was not much for the "telephone booth" approachoflimitedexcavation,maximumsampling, accompanyingstatisticalcharts,andthehopesthata good theory will salvage a limited excavation.Needless tosayaftersevenseasonsof excavationwewerenot even close to our goal; less than three percent of the vol-ume of the mound was excavated, a far cry from the pro-jected fifteen percent called forin the initial plan. Therecognitionthatour workatYahyawastotake severalyearstroubledmeinonerespect:itmeanta series of summers apart from my family.I was explicitly toldbysome,anditwasinferredbymany,thattaking one's family on an archaeological dig was wrong on two counts:(1)itwouldjeopardizethehealthof ourchil-FOREWORDXXVII dren,and (2)archaeology wasa serious undertaking and the presence of a family would trivialize the significance of thatendeavor.Fromthe1950stothe1970sthevast majorityofarchaeologicalexpeditionsfromtheU.S. conformedtotheirlocalcultureandfamilieswerenot welcomed onanarchaeologicalexpedition.Therewere veryrareexceptionsandIturnedtoanexceptionfor advice.In thefallof 1968BobBraidwood wasgiving a seriesoflecturesinourdepartment.Hewasalmost alone among American archaeologists to take his family tothe field.Bob correctly predicted that our kidswould beamongst the healthiest on the expedition.Headvised that I ignorethetabooand takemyfamilytoYahya.In 1969 my wife and two boys, aged 7 and 3,spent the first of severalseasonsat Yahya(fig.F.5).Mywifetookon theformidabletaskof runningtheday-to-daybusiness of thedighouseina nearlyforgottenpartof theworld involvingthetangibleneedsof food,drinkingwater, hygiene,andcleanclothingandthelessthantangible, butnolesscomplexpersonalaffairsof thefifteento twenty-fivemembersoftheexpedition.In1968we lackedproperhousing,propanegasforcooking, propane refrigerators,and toiletfacilities.In discussing the firstseason some yearsagoI wrote, Thatfirstseasonwasmostdifficult.Witha group often students and a government official fromthe ArchaeologicalService of Iran,and a cookfromTereran,welivedforalmostthree monthsintents,cookingoveropenfires (mostlyif notexclusivelyriceandgoat)and tryingtofindsecludedspotsinthenatural environmenttoserveasprivy.Therewasno running water, noelectricity, and not sufficient foodavailablein thevalley.At different times wewereallill,at timesrather seriously.Most importantly we established good relations with thevillagers.(Lamberg-Karlovsky1974:275) Those"good relations"throughoutthe1968season of excavation werecompromised by a localkhan.Prior totheShah's land reform thekhan's fatherlaid claim to theownership of most of theland in theSoghun Valley. Thekhanwasattemptingtoreassertthatclaim.He requested a sum, the equivalent of $2000, for permission to excavate on "his" mound.In1968, within thecontext of villageIran, that wasanenormoussum!Wepaid our workers,on average,$1.00 a day,a sum that was favor-ablycompetitivewiththatpaidtoworkersinanearby chromite mine.Our government representativestrongly advisedusnottopayanythingtothelocalkhanfor Iranianlawplacedtheownershipof allarchaeological sitesin thehandsof thegovernment.Thekhancalled a XXVIIIEXCAVATIONSATTEPE YAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM FigureF.3.TepeYahya,1973. Southern steptrench. strike, which wasvery effective. Almostnoone showed upforwork.Ourgovernmentrepresentativeresponded bycallinginthelocalgendannes,whothenthreatened totakethekhantoKermanand tocertain jail. The khan recanted and work resumed.Over the years heremained a troublesome and unreliable presence, constantly badg-ering ustohirespecificworkersand agitating forunrea-sonable favors . OurIraniangovernmentrepresentativein1968was thesamemanwhoaccompaniedusinour1967survey, Mr.GholamAliShamlou.Hewasaserious-minded archaeologistwithakeeninterestinfurtheringhisedu-cation.In1970heapplied, andwasaccepted, tounder-takea graduate programinanthropology/archaeology at Harvard.HereturnedtoIranin1977withafreshly minted Ph.D. He was not the only Iranian undergraduate and/orgraduatestudentthatparticipatedintheexcava-tionsat Tepe Yahya.Throughout the1960s, and particu-larlyinthe1970s,therewerethousandsofIranian studentsstudyingintheUnitedStates.Thesestudents were a tangible result of the Shah's extensive program of scholarshipsgiventocompetentstudentswishingto studyabroad.Our Iranianstudentsincludedacousinto theQueen,whocouldnotbelievetheimpoverished natureof villageIran towhichshewasexposedforthe first time!She suggested that I accompany her in asking theQueen tobuild us a new facility with electricity, run-ning water,and all.I quickly declined her offer forthere wasalreadysomeresentmentaboutourcommissary privileges while otherswent without.Toher great credit she lasted the entire season and adapted welltoour con-ditions.AnotherlessprivilegedIranianstudentlasteda week andreturned toTeheran. By the1969seasonwehadconstructedandrenova-tedtwodighouses:onefive-roomhousewithattached kitchen,adjacentout-house,andanenclosedcourtyard inwhichwegrewalfalfa(our cook madeanoccasional soupfromthis)andonethree-roomhouseusedmainly forstorage.Mostof theexpeditionstaffsleptonthe roof.The1969 season saw dramatic advances in our liv-ingconditions, which only thosewhoenduredthe1968 season could acknowledge. FigureF.4.Tepe Yahya,1973.Northern steptrench. The routine at Yahyabegan with thestart of excava-tionsat6:00A.M.andcontinued,withateabreakat 9:00,untilnoon.Workresumedat3:00P.M.andcon-cluded at 6:00 P.M.Thismadeforalong day.The noon break allowed foranap, or morecommonly, theupdat-ingof one'sfieldbookandsmallfindcards(printed 5-x-7 -inch cardsused todescribethecontext and meas-urement of the object, and provide adrawing; seeBeale 1986:5,fig.1.1).Throughouteachof thefieldseasons wehadthebenefitof theartistAnnHechle.Shewas amongthemostvaluedandproductivepersonsonthe project.Today AnnisanotedcalligrapherinEngland. Over theyearsat Yahyashedrew thousandsof images: Proto-Elamitetablets,cylindersealsandtheirimpres-sions, chlorite bowls, and thousands of sherds.Her work loadwasstaggeringandherabilitytomeasureupwas highly impressive! At times she would acknowledge that sheneededabreak,thathereyeswereexhaustedfrom overwork.Herillustrationshavebeenthemainstayof virtuallyeverypublicationpertainingtotheYahya FOREWORDXXIX Project.Intheearlyseasonsourphotographicneeds werewell-servedbyDevKernan.Inlaterseasonsthis taskwasundertakenbyRichardMeadowandmyself. Thenegativewaslatersubject tothemagicof Stephen Berger, longtime photographer at the Peabody Museum, whocouldtransformamodestnegativeintoasuperla-tive photo.Our expedition staff always consisted of Ann Hechle,oneortworegistrars,aphotographer,andmy wife,whomanagedthecamp.Attimeswealsohqda conservator.In1970-1971 ,theseasonsinwhichwe recovered most of our Proto-Elamite tablets and cylinder sealings, wewerefortunatetohave Ingrid Reindell with usasconservator.Wealwaysbroughtacookfrom Teheran(in1970hewasanelderlygentlemanwho cookedforErnstHerzfeldatPersepolis).Wealways hired anumber of women fromthevillagewhocooked our bread andwashed clothingandpottery, aswellasa number of houseboystohaul water, assist thecook, and keeporder in camp. xxxEXCAVATIONSATTEPEYAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM FigureF.5.TheLamberg-KarlovskyfamilyatTepe Yahyain1970. In1969ourdietimprovedmarkedly,asdidour eveningcocktailhour,whenweobtainedcommissary privileges. With ample quantities of vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershiresauce,andTabasco,PhilKohlinvented the Yahya cocktail that came to be known asthe "kolang buzurg,"Persianfor"bigpick. "Itwasguaranteedto make an impresssion onthe brain!Parties were reserved for Thursday evenings.Friday wasour dayof rest. Overthecourseof asingleseasonwewouldhave twoorthreelargepartiestowhichwewouldinviteour workers. Onthese occasions we would hire a local band, consistingof adrummerortwo,astringedinstrument, andahom.Wewouldslaughterandroastoneof our sheep--partof asmallherdthatmywifewouldpur-chasefor theexpedition-and cook hugepots of riceon an open fire. The most difficult items to secure were suf-ficient wood forthecooking fireand enough largecaul-dronsforcookingtherice.Marthaspentthebetter part of twodays travelling about the valley insearchof caul-drons .Wedispatchedacoupleof menwithdonkeysto gotothemountainsandreturnadaylaterladenwith firewood.Thepartywouldbegininearlyeveningand last well past midnight.There was much dancing, at first menonly,saveforthefemalesof ourexpeditionwho wereallowedtodanceashonorarymen!Actually, after thevillagersbecameaccustomedtoandtrustfulof our ways,a number of local women would join in the dance. Thelocalgendarmeswouldattend and werecompletely untroubledbythefactthatexpeditionmemberscon-sumed alcohol. Wenever offered alcohol toour workers, evenwhen asked! Drugs,chieflymarijuanaandopium,werereadily available inthe valley.In Iran the possesion of the above drugs,althoughincommon usethroughoutthecountry inthe1960sand1970s,heldthedeathpenalty.Itook this very seriously, particularly after anevening spent in 1970withtheAmerican-trainedchiefofpolicein Kerman.Heseemed abit tooenthusiasticintellingme thatthepreviousyeartheyhangedtwenty-fourdrug offendersandshotanadditionalfourteen.Officersand eminentandpowerfulindividualswereshot;ordinary peoplewerehung.Thedeathpenaltyappearedtooper-ateonaclass-consciousbasis. Needlesstosaythecon-sumptionand/or useof illegaldrugsbyanymember of FOREWORDXXXI FigureF.6.Thefirstseason atTepe Yahya,1968. Left toright:Mr. Mahmud Khordavany, C. C.Lamberg-Karlovsky, Arthur Bankoff, Martha Lamberg-Karlovsky, Andrea Bankoff, James Humphries, Peter Danewith arm around villager, PhilipKohl(kneeling), Hussein (cook), JaneBritton (onground). Photograph byRichardMeadow. theexpedition was aninstant one-way ticket back tothe States.I never had toissuesuch a ticket. ThemethodsadoptedfortheexcavationsatYahya wereessentiallythoseIlearnedatJerusalemfrom KathleenKenyon,andatHasanlufromRobertH. Dyson,Jr.EachlOx10m squarewasseparatedbya meter balk (for a full description of the field methods see Beale1986).Thepositionandorientationof thestep trench had littletodowithsurfacedebrisor contour;it had a great deal to do with increasing the extent of shade andprotectionfromthesun-the deeperthetrenchthe greater theshade in the mornings and late afternoons.In anenvironmentwheredailytemperaturesapproached andat timesexceeded 40C(100F)even partialpro-tectionfromthesunwasamostwelcomerelief!Each lOx 10m square, and there were on average six to eight trenchesexcavatedatasingletime,wasexcavatedby fivetoseven workerssupervised by agraduatestudent. There wasa great advantage in having substantial conti-nuityinreturninggraduatestudentsandtrainedlocal workers.Workers,trainedtoexcavatewithaparticular tool, returned year after year and worked withthesame graduatestudent.Studentsresponsibleforexcavating third-millenniumcontextsoverthecourseofseveral seasonswere:MarthaPrickett,DanPotts,PhilKohl , TomBeale,andElizabethStone.NagarajaRao, Abdullah Masry,E.C.L.During-Caspers,DennisHes-kel,andChristineLesniakeachspentatleastasingle season excavating third-millennium contexts. The long-term commitment and publication responsi-bilitiesundertakenbystudentswhoparticipatedinthe excavations at Tepe Yahya remain seminal tothe overall successof theproject(Seefigs.F.6- F.IO.Individuals participatingintheexcavationsatTepeYahyabutnot appearingonthephotographs:LauraNash,Marny Golding,NagarajaRao,MirabbadinKabooli ,Dexter XXXIIEXCAVATIONSATTEPEYAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM FigureF.7.Tepe Yahya,1969. First row(infrontof car):Richard Meadow, AnnHechle,PhilipKohl.Second row:Martha Prickett, David Biemoff, Martha Lamberg-Karlovsky, C.C.Lamberg-Karlovsky, Donald Whitcomb, I. Azirnzadeh,James Humphries. Thirdrow(ontopof car) : CarlLamberg-Karlovsky, Christopher Lamberg-Karlovsky (topof head),Thomas Beale, VickiTompkins.Toright of car:SaidReza(whofirstcooked forHerzfeldatPersepolis), WilliamFitz. Photograph byDevKernan. Perkins,PatDaly,IshmaelYaghmai ,MinaSadegh, YasminLadjevardi ,ThomasAdams,JeffFrye,Ingrid Reindell ,MaurizioTosi ,SandroSalvatori ,Benno Rothenberg).Theextentof continuityinpersonnelis underscoredbythefactthatDanPotts,TomBeale, Richard Meadow, Peter Dane, and Christopher Thornton wrotetheirundergraduateHonorsThesesonaspectsof theYahyaProject andaftercontinuedwork at Yahyathe firstthreecompletedtheirPh.D.dissertationsona related topic.Finally, Tom Beale and Dan Potts authored two of the finalpublications including this one. This was very mucha plannedendeavor. It wasessentialtoenlist thecollaborationof graduatestudentsinordertofulfill theresponsibilitiesforthepublicationof thematerials recovered from Yahya. I anticipated that we would spend asignificantnumberof yearsexcavatingatYahyaand surveyingthesurroundingcountryside.Undersuchcir-cumstancesitwasreadilyevidentthatwithinashort timeasingle person would beburied in publication responsibilities.Thus,itwasessentialtoencouragethe interestof othersinthestudyof thematictopicsor ina corpusof material.Iwasfortunateinbeingsurrounded bya good number of excellent students eager toassume such responsibility. In1970 Dexter Perkins and Pat Daly joined theexpeditionwiththeexpresspurposeof train-ingRichardMeadowintheskillsof zooarchaeology. Richard further enhanced these skills at Harvard through hisstudywithBarbaraLawrence.In1968Richard Meadow completed his Honor ' s Thesis on our 1967sur-veyinIran.Afterparticipatingineachseasonof exca-vation at Yahya hecompleted hisassignment by writing hisdissertation onthezooarchaeologyof theearly peri-odsat Tepe Yahya(Meadow1986a). Inthefallof 1969IwasinvitedbyProfessorEdith Poradatogiveatalkonour workatTepeYahyatothe Columbia University Seminar on the Ancient Near East. Attendingthattalkwasastudent headedforthegradu-ateprograminClassicsatHarvard University.Hispar-entswere livinginTeheran and hewished tocombine a FOREWORDXXXIII FigureF.8. Tepe Yahya,1970. First row: CarlLamberg-Karlovsky, Carl'sfriend, Christopher Lamberg-Karloysky, Martha Lamberg-Karloysky, E.C.L.During-Caspers.Second row: ThomasBeale, Gholam-AliShamlou, PollyShenkman, Elizabeth Stone, Martha Prickett,our cook.Last row:Ann Hechle, William Fitz, Barbara Gard, Philip Kohl , James Humphries, C.C.Lamberg-Karlovsky. Photograph byDeyKernan. visitwiththemwithaninitialexposuretoanarchaeo-logicalexpedition.It wasinthismanner that Ifirstmet Phil Kohl.I indicated that hecould join usat Yahya if he werein Teheran at aspecificdate.I wassomewhat sur-prisedtoseehimshowupinTeheranthatfollowing summer.Unfortunately,therewasnoroomforhimin any of our vehicles. Ileft him with a rough mapof how to get to Tepe Yahya.Once again I thought I had seen the last of him.In mid-summer he arrived at Yahya, uncere-moniouslydumpedfromthebackof amelontruckin frontof the mound.He had hitchhiked alltheway from Teheran.Helostthirtypoundsthatsummer,wasintro-ducedtotheimportanceofsteatite,transferredfrom ClassicstoAnthropology,andeventuallychanged what had beencalledsteatitetochloriteinaclassicstudyof provenience and trade(Kohl1974). It remainsmostunfortunatethatthePh.D.disserta-tion of Martha Prickett has never been published (Prickett 1986a).Her recentdeathisagreatlosstoarchaeology. It isan exceptional reservoir of original data and of out-standing significance. Martha spent almost a decade sur-veying;firstbroadlythroughouttheregionandthen intensivelyinthevicinityofYahya.Herthesisisa remarkablydetailedpieceof scholarshipcontainingthe resultsofhersurveys,hertestexcavations,andthe analysesof thematerialsrecovered.Herworkisthe most formidablesingle product resulting from the Yahya Projectinitsthreerichlydocumentedandillustrated volumes.Thevolumesareavailablethroughthe UniversityofMichigandissertationservices.They deservegreaterattentionandafarwiderdistribution, thoughtheirdetailandlengthprovedtoomuchtopre-pare forfinalpublication. XXXIVEXCAVATIONSATTEPEYAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM FigureF.9.Tepe Yahya,1971.Back rowsitting onwalls:MarthaPrickett, Andrew Williamson, Marian Laaf, James Humphries, C. C.Lamberg-Karlovsky, PhilipKohl , ThomasLayton, Raffaele Biscione, Abdullah Masry, Thomas Beale, Elizabeth Stone, Ishmael Yashmai, Christine Lesniak.Sitting inroom, left toright:threecooks, Ann Hechle, Martha Lamberg-Karlovsky. Infront:GraceCorso, DeyneMeadow.PhotographbyRichardMeadow. In1970-1971AndrewWilliamsonaccompaniedthe surveysundertakenbyMarthaPrickett. Andrewwasa studentatOxfordandmuchinterestedintheIslamic period.WhileMarthaattendedtotheprehistoricsites, AndrewrecordedtheIslamicremains. Andrewdiscov-eredanearlyIslamicsite,Dasht-iDeh,intheSoghun Valley,whichhedatedtotheninth- tenthcentury.He believed thesiteworthy of excavation and we were able toarrange tohave theexcavations of Dasht-iDeh incor-porated into the Yahya Project. Andrew's twoseasons of excavation were singularly successful. He uncovered the outlineof whathebelieved tobeasmallmosque, some splendid metals, ceramics, and inlayed boxes. The exca-vation,aswellasitspublication, wasnever completed. In the mid-1970s Andrew assumed a position ascon-sultantandadvisoronarchaeologytotheMinistryof CultureintheSultanateofOman.In1974Andrew invitedustoundertakeanarchaeologicalsurveyin Oman.IobtainedthesponsorshipofthePeabody Museum and the Harvard Survey was under way!It was thefirstsucharchaeologicalprojectundertheofficial auspicesof theOmangovernment.Todaythesurveyis referred tointheliteratureasthe"HarvardSurvey";its results werepublished asthelead article inthefirstvol-umeofTheJournalofOmanStudies(Hastings, Humphries,andMeadow1975).Myownscheduledid notpermitmetoaccompany thesurveyteambut Isent outtwograduatestudents,bothold handsintheYahya Project:Jim Humphriesand Richard Meadow.Ms. Ann Hastings, who had lived inOman and had along-stand-inginterestinarchaeology,alsoaccompanied theteam. (For more than a decade Ms.Hastings was an invaluable researchassistantinvolvedinallfacetsoftheTepe YahyaProject.Theindexof smallfindsinallpublica-tionsconcerning Yahyaowes a great dealtoher dedica-tion tothe Yahya Project.) The Oman survey was a great success.Amongmanyothersettlementsdiscoveredthe teamlocatedasite,whichtheynamedSamadafteran FOREWORDXXXV FigureF.I0. Tepe Yahya,1973. Ann Hechle, Eda Vidale,DennisandMala Heskel, MichaelToplyn, ThomasBeale, Philip Kohl, JamesHumphries, Daniel Potts, Martha Prickett, Marcello Vidale, Connie Piesinger, Glen Dash, DeyneMeadow, Fayez (cook)and twoassistants, C.C.Lamberg-Karlovsky, Martha Lamberg-Karlovsky, Gregory Gordon, Jeffrey Frye, Hussain Baktiari, Carland Christopher Lamberg-Karlovsky. Photograph byRichard Meadow. adjacentstream, thatsuggested thepresenceof a major metallurgicalproductioncenter.Thesitewascarefully mapped and dated to the end of the third millennium. We spent months back in the Peabody laboring over the date of this site and took the gamble that many of the ceramic typeshaddistantparallelswithlate-third-millennium Yahya.Thisguessprovedtobecorrect.Followingthe firstseasonof survey,plansweremadetoundertakea fullscaleexcavationof thissite.Thiswasnevertobe. AndrewWilliamson,conductinghisownsurveyinthe Dhofar region of Oman, wastragically killed by a mine that exploded upon impact with his vehicle. Andrew was replacedbyPaoloCosta,anItalianspecialistonthe architectureof theIslamicperiod.Muchtoourdismay ourteamwasnevertoreturntoOman.Archaeological intriguereplacedourlegitimaterighttocontinuewith theexcavationsof thesite-Samad-that theHarvard Surveydiscovered.MaurizioTosiwasinvitedbyhis Italian colleague Dr.Paolo Costa, who was now advisor tothegovernmentonallmattersarchaeological,to undertake a project in Oman. Oman had opened its doors toarchaeologistsandthispreviouslylittleexplored countrywasbecomingagrowthindustryforarchaeo-logicalresearch.TositookGerdWeisgerber,affiliated withtheGermanMiningMuseuminBochum,tovisit thesiteof Samad, whichtheHarvardSurvey teamdis-coveredand,aswaswellknown,intendedtoreturnto forfullexcavation.Weisgerber, without ever contacting us, decided toexcavate thissite.For reasons that arenot difficult tofathom hechanged thename of thesitefrom Samad toMaysar. Changing thenameof thesite, how-ever, neither masksthefactthatSamadand Maysar are the very same place nor doesitlegitimize the right for it tobetakenaway,withouteventhecourtesyof acom-munication, from its discoverers. Excavations at Samad 51 Maysar provedtobeagreatsuccess.Inordertolegit-imizethetake-overof thesiteof Samad,andmakethe HarvardteampersonanongratainOman,wewere XXXVIEXCAVATIONSATTEPE YAHYA,IRAN:THETHIRDMILLENNIUM accusedof takinganarchaeologicalcollection,sherds gathered over thecourseof our survey,out of thecoun-tryand refusing toreturnthem.One cannot return what wasnever taken.Thematerialsrecovered fromsurvey, consisting of dozens of bagged and labeled sherds, were all dulydeposited, in collaboration with our Omani col-leagues,inadesignated storagefacility.Wewere never again to see these materials:the bags of sherds, our four-wheeledvehicle,orthefield-notesleftbehind!Years later I discussed our loss of the project in Oman, specif-icallytheexcavationofSamad/Maysar,withTosi, Costa,andWeisgerber.Noneofthemwasableto enlighten me on any matter pertaining totheaffair. From the inception of our excavations at Tepe Yahya James Humphries enthusiastically embraced the respon-sibilityforwritinghisdoctoraldissertationontheIron Agelevels.Afterfiveyearsof excavatingtherelevant levels at Yahya he inexplicably withdrew from the grad-uateprogramatHarvard.Fortunately,PeterMagee,a former student of Dan Potts at the University of Sydney, withanexpertiseintheIronAge(Magee1996),has completedastudyof PeriodsIIandIIIatYahya.His forthcomingvolumeontheIronAgeatTepeYahya drawssignificant parallels with thecontemporarycom-munitiesintheGulf,particularly on thoseof Muweilah intheUnitedArabEmiratesandtheIronAgesiteof Akra in Pakistan (Magee forthcoming). In1969ImetMaurizioTosiforthefirsttime.He arrived in my office at Harvard and informed me that he wasexcavatingShahr-iSokhta,whichheidentifiedas Aratta,thefabledresource-richlandof Sumerianleg-end.In1969Ihadheardof neitherMaurizioTosinor Shahr-iSokhta.Learningaboutbothwastochange muchof mythinking.Shahr-iSokhtawasrichinthe manufactureof lapislazuli,whichTosibelievedwas exportedtoMesopotamia.Thus,lapislazuliatShahr-i Sokhta complemented my own idea of the importance of chloriteatYahya.CollaborationwithTosiandhiscol-leaguesinRomeatIstitutoMedioedExtremoOriente (lsMEO,todayrenamedIstitutoItalianoper I' Africaet I 'Oriente[lsIAO])introduced me toa number of Italian colleagues who were to participate in our work at Yahya: Silvio Durante(1979;Mazzeo1981)studied our shells, Marcello Piperno (1973) completed a study of thestone toolsfromtheearlyperiods,andLorenzoCostantini undertookanimportantstudy,whichremainsinhis hands,completedbutunpublished,of ourpaleoethno-botanicalsamples(summarizedfortheearlyperiodsat Yahya by Meadow1986b). Tosi made two extended vis-itstoourexcavationandexpandedupontheflotation proceduresinitiatedbyTomBeale.Additionally, RaffaeleBiscioneandSandroSalvatorispentaseason with us at Yahya.Biscione followed up his visit to Yahya byanextendedstayatthePeabodyMuseumwherehe undertookastudyof theunpublishedcollectionsin the PeabodyMuseumfromAnau,Turkmenistan(Biscione 1977).Tosialsoarrangedforaninitialstudyofour Proto-ElamitetextsbyProfessorPieroMeriggi.This unpublishedmanuscript,inthearchivesof theYahya Project at thePeabody Museum, was superceded by the moreextensivestudyof theProto-Elamitecorpusby Peter Damerow and Robert Englund (1989). Throughout thefallof 1972 Tosiand I worked in the Peabody Museum on the paper that was eventually pub-lishedwiththetitle"Shahr-iSokhtaandTepeYahya: TracksontheEarliestHistoryof theIranianPlateau" (Lamberg-KarlovskyandTosi1973);thecribbingof partof itstitlefromSir AurelStein(1933)wasinten-tional.In usingShahr-iSokhta and Tepe Yahyaascase studies we attempted to show how, through the materials recovered from thetwosites,one could link acompara-tivestratigraphy of "interaction spheres" that connected Central Asia,theIndus,theGulf,andMesopotamia.In the1990s,inthefashionof "worldsystems,"our per-spectivehasbecometheconsensus,butover25years agoitwasseenasasomewhat inflatedviewand just a little self-serving in the use of our own sites as case stud-ies in exemplifying the extent of interaction that tied the regionsfromMesopotamiatotheIndusandfromthe Gulf toCentral Asia together.Recent years have seen an explosion in our understanding of the archaeology of the Gulf andof CentralAsia;moresointhelatterregion thanintheformer.WhenwewereexcavatingatTepe Yahya we were aware of distant relations that connected Central Asia totheIndo-Iranian borderlands (Lamberg-Karlovsky1973;Tosi1973).Thefirstconcretelink betweensouthernTurkmenia( CentralAsia)and MesopotamiawasmadeviaShahr-iSokhta:cylinder sealscarvedwithJamdatNasr-likegeometricmotifs (theso-calledPiedmontStyle,whichwerealsopresent at Yahya in Period IVC)were associated with Geoksyur potteryinPeriodIatShahr-iSokhta.Thisoccasioned considerableexcitementbetweenmyselfandTosi (Lamberg-Karlovsky and Tosi1973). In retrospect we still had little awareness of the extent of contact that characterized Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau in theBronze Age.It was only in thelate1970s that Victor Sarianidi gavedefinition towhat he referred toasthe"Bactrian-Margiana ArchaeologicalComplex" (BMAC;Sarianidi1976).His excavations in the Dashly Oasisof Afghanistanofferedapreliminaryunderstand-ing of thisarchaelogical complex.Later more extensive excavationsinTurkmenistanatTogolokandGonur, togetherwiththoseof AhmedAliAskarovatSapelli depeandDjarkutaninUzbekistan,gaveclearer defini-tion towhat some began tocall the"Oxus Civilization" (Lamberg-Karlovsky1994b).Theextensivecontactof theBMACwithSusahasbeennotedbyPierreArniet (1986)whilecontact withtheIndo-Iranianborderlands isevidentatShahdad,Khurab,Khinamaninsoutheast-ernIran;MiriQalatinMakran;andatSibriand NausharoinBaluchistan.Potts(1993)hasrecently pointedoutthepresenceof significantBMACartifacts intheGulf.Itismorethanlikelythatthecontacts betweenthesetwodistantregions,ratherthanbeing direct, were mediated by the communities situated in the Indo-Iranian borderlands. Whatever the motivations that broughtthesedistantregionsintocontactitisworth remembering that whether the BMAC materials be from Susa,Shahdad,or Tell Abraq,they arescant innumber, produced of a valuable material, and manufactured with finecraftmanship,i.e.,luxuryitems.Thefinequality andnumeroustypesof BMACmaterialson theIranian Plateauisbestattestedintherecentvolumereporting upon the excavations atShahdad (Hakemi1997a). It is of interest to note that initially no one suspected, leastofallI,thattheBMACmaterials,whetherof metal, stone, or ceramic, recovered fromShahdad in the early1970s were intrusive to the region!Everyone con-ceivedofthemasindigenoustosoutheasternIran, includingAliHakemi.Whatwerelaterrecognizedas BMACartifactswerepublished by Hakemiasearlyas 1972andfrequentlydiscussedbyhimatinternational conferences(Hakemi1972,1976).Noonehadthe slightest suspicion that they weresignature artifacts of a complexculturesituatedwelltothenorth.Their intru-sivenatureon theIranianPlateau(thematerialculture knowntodayastheBMAC)escaped recognition,even by those who were later to make important contributions toitsstudy(Arniet1986;Porada1964,1993;Hakemi 1997a;Gubaev,Koshelenko,andTosi1998).Recent attemptstosuggestthatclassicceramictypesof the BMACfindtheiroriginintheKachiPlain,i.e.,the MehrgarhlNausharoregion,remainasunconvincingas earlierclaimsforthisregionbeinganindependent hearth for the origins of agriculture or the source for the originsof the Indus civilization (Jarrige1994). Ouropportunity tocollaboratewith VictorSarianidi was realized