CrossHighlands: Mobility and Resource Procurement Strategies

The CrossHighlands project investigates mobility patterns and resource procurement strategies in the mountain region of Kohgiluyeh (southwestern Iran). Located at an elevation ranging between 600 and above 2000 m a.s.l., where very diverse environmental conditions are found in a limited horizontal distance, Kohgiluyeh represents an ideal case for the study of mobility and resource procurement strategies in mountainous environments. Furthermore, its proximity to the plains of Susiana makes Kohgiluyeh a privileged place to investigate socio-cultural interactions between lowland and mountain peoples during the prehistoric and early historical times. Based on original fieldwork data, novel scientific analyses of selected organic and inorganic materials, and available archaeological and historical datasets, this interdisciplinary project investigates mobility on a local, regional and over-regional scale. The archaeological investigations of the sites of Bibi Zoleikhaee and Tole Kouchak, and of the remains of bridges and roads in the intermontane plains of Kohgiluyeh are the starting points for this research. The project aims to apply a range of innovative scientific methods for the study of artefacts, as well as bioarchaeological remains. These newly acquired datasets will be correlated with the existing archaeological and historical datasets to generate a solid reconstruction of past mobility trajectories. This will lead to identification of multi-causal reasons for mobility decisions and possible changes in raw material procurement trajectories over time. Moving beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, we expect that this project will greatly contribute to the current scientific debates on mobile pastoralism, state formation, and human- environmental interactions along the Zagros of Southwestern Iran in a long-durée perspective.

Contact: Andrea Ricci (Christian Albrecht University of Kiel); Silvia Balatti (Christian Albrecht University of Kiel)