Publications so far
0
| 1. | Kashani, Natascha Bagherpour; Bönke, Nicole; Herd, R.: The Resource Water, Climate Change And Resilience at Douzlākh, Workshop-Publication “ResourceScapes in the Iranian Highlands – Water, Wind and Minerals as Factors of Appropriation and Integration”. September 12-13th 2022. Session: Fundamentals of a specific environment: climate, vegetation, soils and landuse potentials. In: Forthcoming. (Type: Proceedings Article | BibTeX)@inproceedings{nokey, | |
| 2. |  | Bernbeck, Reinhard; Eberhardt, Gisela; Pollock, Susan (Ed.): Coming to Terms with the Future. Concepts of Resilience for the Study of Early Iranian Societies. Sidestone Press, Leiden, 2023, ISBN: 9789464261462. (Type: Book | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@book{nokey,The collection of essays in this book focuses on the highlands of Iran in pre-modern times, reaching from the Paleolithic to the medieval period. What holds the diverse contributions together is an issue that is closely related to debates in our own times: crises and how societies in the past dealt with them. We start from the premise that general circumstances in the fractured topographic structure of the Iranian highlands led to unique relations between ecological, social, economic and political conditions. In three sections entitled “Climate and palaeoenvironment”, “Settlement, subsistence and mobility” und “Political and economic institutions”, the authors ask what sorts of crises afflicted past societies in the Iranian highlands, to what extent they proved resilient, and especially what strategies they developed for enhancing the resilience of their ways of life. Looking for answers in paleoenvironmental proxy data, archaeological findings and written sources, the authors examine subsistence economies, political institutions, religious beliefs, everyday routines and economic specialization in different temporal, spatial and organizational scales. This book is the first volume of a series published by the German-Iranian research cooperation “The Iranian Highlands: Resiliences and Integration in Premodern Societies”. The goal of the research project is to shine a new light on communities and societies that populated the Iranian highlands and their more or less successful strategies to cope with the many vagaries, the constant changes and risks of their natural and humanly shaped environments. CONTENTS Climate and palaeoenvironment Holocene Paleoenvironmental Change and Phases of Drought in the Iranian Highlands. A Review Martin Kehl, Babak Rafiei-Alavi, Hamid Alizadeh Ketek Lahijani The Impact of Climate on Human Occupations in Iran from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age: An Attempt to Link Archaeological and Paleoclimate Records Babak Rafiei-Alavi, Martin Kehl, Hamid Alizadeh Ketek Lahijani Evidence of Neanderthal Resilience from Forty-five to Thirty-nine Thousand Years Ago at the Bawa Yawan Rockshelter, Kermanshah, Zagros Highlands Saman Heydari-Guran, Nemat Hariri, Martin Kehl, Samran Asiabani, Faramarz Azizi, Elham Ghasidian Water Stress and Imperial Politics in the Southern Zagros Mountains: An Interdisciplinary Approach in Long-Term Perspective Andrea Ricci, Silvia Balatti, Elodie Brisset, Morteza Djamali, Abdolmajid Naderi Beni, Ahmad Azadi, Pejman Firoozbakhsh Settlement, subsistence and mobility Resilience in Practice: A View from the Kura-Araxes Cultural Tradition in Iran Sepideh Maziar Reaching the Breaking Point? Developments in the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age Varamin Plain Susan Pollock, Morteza Hessari, Reinhard Bernbeck The Bronze and Iron Age of Mazandaran (3200–1000 BCE): Resilience and Cultural Adaptability Hassan Fazeli Nashli, Mojtaba Safari, Yunshi Huang, Zhenhua Deng, Hadi Davoudi, Xiaohong Wu The Environmental Limitations for the Pastoral-Nomadic Way of Life in the Karadagh Highlands of Northwestern Iran: Evidence from the Iron Age I-II and Modern Times Bahram Ajorloo Political and economic institutions Second-Year Cows for Manlari. Elamite State Investment in Cattle Husbandry in the Southern Zagros Mountains Azam Rayat and Walther Sallaberger Coping with Problems of Mining: Approaching Resilience Strategies through the Study of Resource-Scapes in the Iranian Highlands Thomas Stöllner Imperial Control and Highland Resilience in the Parthian Zagros Michael Brown and Shelir Amelirad Resilience in Centralized State Systems. The Persepolis Fortification Archive and Achaemenid Institutional Longevity Wouter F. M. Henkelman, Kai Kaniuth, Kourosh Mohammadkhani Prestigious Building and Urban Development in Ilkhanid Iran: The Rabʿ-i Rashīdī in Tabrīz as an Example of Resilience and Vulnerability in a Long-Term Perspective Birgitt Hoffmann, Lorenz Korn, Thomas Lorain, Jonas Elbers, Maryam Moeini Dynamics of Development and Resilience in Western Fars: The Bozpar Valley Stefan R. Hauser, Giuseppe Labisi, Elnaz Rashidian |
| 3. |  | Maziar, Sepideh: Role of Archaeology in the Sustainable Development of Iran; A View from Resilience Theory. In: Pazhoheshha-ye Bastan Shenasi Iran, vol. 13, no. 38, pp. 377-402, 2023. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@article{nokey,The Iranian plateau has witnessed various cultural, social, and political phenomena from the prehistoric millennia to the present century. Sometimes some of them have led to prosperity, growth, and development, and others have been accompanied by war, conflict, and collapse. On the other hand, the diverse and variable ecosystem of the Iranian plateau as one of the semiarid regions in Southwest Asia leads to different environmental and climatic conditions. Like many other parts of the world, these circumstances caused prolonged droughts, floods, and other unpredictable environmental disasters or disturbances. However, ecological catastrophes, climate change, social and political transformations do not confine to this landscape or current time. Amid these circumstances, what makes a society resilient to these often unpredictable disturbances is its ability to cope with them. I do argue that learning from past experiences will enable communities to consciously manage the crisis and prevent trial and error methods. In recent decades, various theories have been proposed in anthropology and archeology. One of these theories, borrowed from ecology, is the theory of “resilience”. In this research, the role of archeology in resilience studies and different aspects of this theory is expounded. It designates how archaeology, with its multidisciplinary nature, under the resilience framework can transfer the knowledge of the past societies to us. Resilience theory is one of the rare frameworks that explore change, transformation, and development within a long-perspective environmental setting as well as its contemporary social, political, and economic contexts. Evaluating the correlations between climatic and cultural changes in Longue-durée, recognizing a degree of sustainability, finding probable past societies solutions to environmental challenges, and deciphering the long-term processes of resilience are the objectives that could be addressed under this framework. In this article, the significance of this theory as a promising bridging approach for the hazardous landscape of the Iranian plateau is demonstrated. |
| 4. |  | Maziar, Sepideh: Sustainability and Resilience in Iran: A View from Archaeology. In: Journal of the Society for Iranian Archaeology, vol. 2023, iss. 4, 2023. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@article{nokey,With increasing awareness of climate change, war and conflicts, social inequalities, and environmental crises, there has been a growing interest in concepts such as sustainable development and resilience. This shift has also found its place in various scientific disciplines, including archaeology. The ability of societies to withstand these unpredictable changes lies in their knowledge of effective strategies to navigate such conditions. This knowledge and experience can empower us to consciously manage resources, effectively address crises, and adapt to the ever-changing circumstances of the modern world. These approaches are still relatively new and not as widely recognized as they should be. Consequently, this article aims to introduce the resilience approach and explore its application in archaeology. It delves into the background of the term, provides a general definition, and presents various interdisciplinary approaches associated with this framework. Given the current conditions in Iran, embracing these interdisciplinary and multidimensional approaches can transform archaeology to resonate with society. Moreover, it establishes a vital connection between the past and the present of Iran. |
| 5. |  | Maziar, Sepideh: Evaluation of the Kura-Araxes migration: From a mono-factorial phantasm to a multi-dimensional phenomenon. In: Kosyan, Aram; Avetisyan, Pavel; Martirosyan-Olshansky, Kristine; Bobokhyan, Arsen; Grekyan, Yervand (Ed.): Paradise Lost. The Phenomenon of the Kura-Araxes Tradition along the Fertile Crescent Collection of papers honouring Ruben S. Badalyan on the occassion of his 65th birthday, Archaeopress, 2022. (Type: Book Chapter | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@inbook{nokey,Many scholars concerned with the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition take many aspects of this complex phenomenon for granted. In most publications, the expansion of this tradition across a vast area is treated like the movement of people from point A to B, or in the best case, as the waves of movement between these points. In most of them, migration is considered a direct reaction of people to population growth, lack of pasture lands, environmental stresses, and the Kura-Araxes as environmental or conflict refugees that flee a threat. These perspectives in recent years terminated to some skeptics regarding considering the distribution of the Kura-Araxes material culture as a result of migration. On the other hand, turning to be once again a buzzword, ‘migration’ as an explanation, is considered anachronistic among some archaeologists. This article will reevaluate different scenarios related to the Kura-Araxes phenomenon to see where we stand and how we can overcome these shortcomings. It seems that the Kura-Araxes phenomenon at the current state of our understanding suffers different drawbacks at different levels. The migration scenario itself and the mechanism behind it are still vague, and the relationship between the core area and diaspora is rarely addressed. It is suggested that approaches such as ‘resilience theory’ and discussing the Kura- Araxes phenomenon and migration in the context of social resilience will be more promising for the topic at hand. |
| 6. |  | Franke, Kristina A.; Kouroshi, Yahya; Skowronek, Miriam; Stöllner, Thomas (Ed.): DFG-SPP 2176: The Iranian Highlands – Resiliences and Integration in Premodern Societies. Accompanying Booklet to the Special Exhibition. 2021. (Type: Booklet | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@booklet{nokey,The DFG Priority Programme 2176 “The Iranian Highlands: Resilience and Integration in Premodern Societies” consists of 11 individual projects and a coordination programme. Our common goal is to explore early societies of the Iranian highlands and their resilience strategies. International cooperation of a large number of diff erent institutions in Europe and Iran is the basis for the research endeavour. In addition, there is intensive exchange with the “Patrimonies Project” and the project “Documentation and Historical Dialectology of Lori”, two associated projects that focus on current living conditions, the protection of cultural heritage and the study of dialects in the Iranian highlands. |
| 7. |  | Stöllner, Thomas; Aali, Abolfazl: Long-Term Salt Mining in Chehrābād: Resilient Strategies in Accessing Mineral Resources at the Iranian Highlands. In: Pearls, Politics and Pistachios: Essays in Anthropology and Memories on the Occasion of Susan Pollock’s 65th Birthday, pp. 352-369, Ex Oriente/Propylaeum, Berlin/Heidelberg, 2021. (Type: Book Chapter | Links | BibTeX)@inbook{nokey, |
| 8. |  | Maziar, Sepideh: Resilience and Migration: Time for Changing the Paradigm for Archaeologists?. 2021, visited: 30.11.2020. (Type: Online | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@online{nokey,In the social sciences, there are different narratives of migration. In archaeology, however, this theme is conventionally tackled in many cases from within an old-fashioned traditional framework. Accordingly, some scholars consider it a mono-factorial approach that overlooks the complexity and diversity of other factors at play. Others ignore it, not wishing to be regarded as anachronistic scholars or as being trapped in culture-historical or diffusionist paradigms. In this short essay, I discuss migration in the context of social resilience by adopting approaches from human geography, such as translocality. I argue that this approach will be more promising in the context of migration in anthropological archaeology. |
| 9. | Maziar, Sepideh: Resilienz bei Pandemie; Kurzbericht zum Projekt ‘Resilience in the Diaspora‘. In: ENKI; Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte des Vorderen Orients, iss. 22, pp. 26-28, 2021. (Type: Journal Article | BibTeX)@article{nokey, | |
| 10. |  | Brown, Michael: The Mountain Fortresses of Rabana-Merquly in Iraqi-Kurdistan. In: BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Altorientalisches Forum, vol. 4, no. 1, 2020. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@article{nokey,The twin fortresses of Rabana-Merquly are situated on the western side of Mt. Piramagrun, one of the most prominent massifs in the Zagros Mountains. A defining feature of these adjoining settlements are their matching, approximately life-size rock-reliefs depicting a ruler in Parthian dress, which flank the entrance to both sites. Behind the perimeter walls several structures have been recorded including a citadel and a sanctuary complex. The combined intramural area is in excess of 40 hectares. Based on the style of relief sculptures, and the material culture of their associated intramural settlements, occupation is dated to the early first millennium A.D. Investigations at Rabana-Merquly are a collaboration between Heidelberg University and the Sulaymaniyah Directorate of Antiquities. This talk gives an overview of the main fieldwork results to date, emphasizing the relationship between the fortified settlements and the wider landscape of the central Zagros highlands. |
| 11. |  | Brown, Michael; Rasheed, Kamal; Dörr, Roxana; Heiler, Jan: Die Bergbefestigung von Rabana-Merquly in Irakisch-Kurdistan: Ein Vorbericht der Grabungskampagne 2019. In: Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, iss. 152, pp. 91-110, 2020. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@article{nokey,On the slopes of Mt. Piramagrun in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan lies the fortified site of Rabana-Merquly. Ruins spread across c. 100 ha represent a major occupation during the Parthian period. Matching rock-reliefs that depict an anonymous ruler flank the two main entrances to the settlements. Pronounced similarities in attire between these sculptures and the statue of a king of Adiabene found at Hatra suggest a possible identification for both the individual depicted in relief (Natounissar) and the ancient city (Natounia-on-the-Kapros). Fieldwork in 2019 continued our ongoing programme of survey and excavation, with more detailed investigation of the complex at the entrance to Rabana valley. |
| 12. |  | Aali, Abolfazl; Stöllner, Thomas; Firuzmandi, Bahman: Analyzing Archaeological Finds from the Chehrabad Salt Mine. In: Journal of Archaeological Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 191-210, 2019. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@article{nokey,The Chehrabad salt mine is one of the rare ancient salt mine in the world and the only identified salt mine in Iran which has evidences of salt extracting over a long time span from 500 BC to modern times. According to the field researches conducted so far, in the excavated area, mining activities are proven to be in use in the Achaemenid, Sasanian, Middle and Late Islamic periods. After the accidental discoveries in 1993 and 2004, several season of excavation and archaeological surveys, have been carried out in the mine and around it. Archaeological researches brought to light interesting results concerning the techniques, periods and extracting tools, also relation between salt mine and the archaeological sites around it. Digging deep tunnels inside the salt rock deposits in different dimensions and sizes and using the various extraction tools can be seen in the excavated area with the difference in details in all the aforementioned periods. The long- term salt extraction activities and multi- periodic collapse of the tunnels, have resulted the formation of various layers such as fall, occupation, mining and erosion layers in different parts of the mine and the filling many of its old tunnels. According to documents, Most of the discovered human remains were probably non- native miners who died during catastrophic mining accidents and mummified naturally. |
| 13. |  | Nasab, Hamed Vahdati; Aali, Abolfazl; Kazzazi, Mandan; Pollard, Mark; Stöllner, Thomas: Reappraisal of the number of salt mummies identified in Chehrābād Salt Mine, Zanjan, Iran. In: Bioarchaeology of the Near East, vol. 13, pp. 23-47, 2019. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX)@article{nokey,The Chehrābād Salt Mine mummies were first discovered in 1993. So far, six individuals have been identified in the mine. Three (1, 2, and 3) were found accidentally by miners, while another three (4, 5, and 6) were discovered through systematic archaeological excavations. This article shows that there are two more individuals represented in the collection, bringing the total number of mummies to eight. Osteological examination confirms that the extra bones initially placed with Salt Man 1 belong to another individual, possibly a young adult male, of unknown date, called Salt Man 7. In addition, results from AMS dating of an extra piece of mandible, which was originally placed with the skeletal remains of Salt Man 3, indicates that this specimen does not belong to this individual; it was removed from the collection and renamed as Salt Man 8. The osteological analysis of the bone remains of Salt Man 8 suggests that this individual might also be a young male. |
| 14. |  | Aali, Abolfazl; Stöllner, Thomas (Ed.): The Archaeology of the Salt Miners. Interdisciplinary Research 2010-2014.. 2015, ISSN: 0947-6229. (Type: Book | Links | BibTeX)@book{nokey, |
2024 |
|
Kashani, Natascha Bagherpour; Bönke, Nicole; Herd, R.: The Resource Water, Climate Change And Resilience at Douzlākh, Workshop-Publication “ResourceScapes in the Iranian Highlands – Water, Wind and Minerals as Factors of Appropriation and Integration”. September 12-13th 2022. Session: Fundamentals of a specific environment: climate, vegetation, soils and landuse potentials. In: Forthcoming. (Type: Proceedings Article | BibTeX | Tags: Resilience, Water)@inproceedings{nokey, | |
2023 |
|
| Bernbeck, Reinhard; Eberhardt, Gisela; Pollock, Susan (Ed.): Coming to Terms with the Future. Concepts of Resilience for the Study of Early Iranian Societies. Sidestone Press, Leiden, 2023, ISBN: 9789464261462. (Type: Book | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Administration, Economy, Environmental conditions, Institutions, Integration, Mobility, Resilience, Resources, Settlement and subsistance systems, Structure development)@book{nokey,The collection of essays in this book focuses on the highlands of Iran in pre-modern times, reaching from the Paleolithic to the medieval period. What holds the diverse contributions together is an issue that is closely related to debates in our own times: crises and how societies in the past dealt with them. We start from the premise that general circumstances in the fractured topographic structure of the Iranian highlands led to unique relations between ecological, social, economic and political conditions. In three sections entitled “Climate and palaeoenvironment”, “Settlement, subsistence and mobility” und “Political and economic institutions”, the authors ask what sorts of crises afflicted past societies in the Iranian highlands, to what extent they proved resilient, and especially what strategies they developed for enhancing the resilience of their ways of life. Looking for answers in paleoenvironmental proxy data, archaeological findings and written sources, the authors examine subsistence economies, political institutions, religious beliefs, everyday routines and economic specialization in different temporal, spatial and organizational scales. This book is the first volume of a series published by the German-Iranian research cooperation “The Iranian Highlands: Resiliences and Integration in Premodern Societies”. The goal of the research project is to shine a new light on communities and societies that populated the Iranian highlands and their more or less successful strategies to cope with the many vagaries, the constant changes and risks of their natural and humanly shaped environments. CONTENTS Climate and palaeoenvironment Holocene Paleoenvironmental Change and Phases of Drought in the Iranian Highlands. A Review Martin Kehl, Babak Rafiei-Alavi, Hamid Alizadeh Ketek Lahijani The Impact of Climate on Human Occupations in Iran from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age: An Attempt to Link Archaeological and Paleoclimate Records Babak Rafiei-Alavi, Martin Kehl, Hamid Alizadeh Ketek Lahijani Evidence of Neanderthal Resilience from Forty-five to Thirty-nine Thousand Years Ago at the Bawa Yawan Rockshelter, Kermanshah, Zagros Highlands Saman Heydari-Guran, Nemat Hariri, Martin Kehl, Samran Asiabani, Faramarz Azizi, Elham Ghasidian Water Stress and Imperial Politics in the Southern Zagros Mountains: An Interdisciplinary Approach in Long-Term Perspective Andrea Ricci, Silvia Balatti, Elodie Brisset, Morteza Djamali, Abdolmajid Naderi Beni, Ahmad Azadi, Pejman Firoozbakhsh Settlement, subsistence and mobility Resilience in Practice: A View from the Kura-Araxes Cultural Tradition in Iran Sepideh Maziar Reaching the Breaking Point? Developments in the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age Varamin Plain Susan Pollock, Morteza Hessari, Reinhard Bernbeck The Bronze and Iron Age of Mazandaran (3200–1000 BCE): Resilience and Cultural Adaptability Hassan Fazeli Nashli, Mojtaba Safari, Yunshi Huang, Zhenhua Deng, Hadi Davoudi, Xiaohong Wu The Environmental Limitations for the Pastoral-Nomadic Way of Life in the Karadagh Highlands of Northwestern Iran: Evidence from the Iron Age I-II and Modern Times Bahram Ajorloo Political and economic institutions Second-Year Cows for Manlari. Elamite State Investment in Cattle Husbandry in the Southern Zagros Mountains Azam Rayat and Walther Sallaberger Coping with Problems of Mining: Approaching Resilience Strategies through the Study of Resource-Scapes in the Iranian Highlands Thomas Stöllner Imperial Control and Highland Resilience in the Parthian Zagros Michael Brown and Shelir Amelirad Resilience in Centralized State Systems. The Persepolis Fortification Archive and Achaemenid Institutional Longevity Wouter F. M. Henkelman, Kai Kaniuth, Kourosh Mohammadkhani Prestigious Building and Urban Development in Ilkhanid Iran: The Rabʿ-i Rashīdī in Tabrīz as an Example of Resilience and Vulnerability in a Long-Term Perspective Birgitt Hoffmann, Lorenz Korn, Thomas Lorain, Jonas Elbers, Maryam Moeini Dynamics of Development and Resilience in Western Fars: The Bozpar Valley Stefan R. Hauser, Giuseppe Labisi, Elnaz Rashidian |
| Maziar, Sepideh: Role of Archaeology in the Sustainable Development of Iran; A View from Resilience Theory. In: Pazhoheshha-ye Bastan Shenasi Iran, vol. 13, no. 38, pp. 377-402, 2023. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Crisis, Resilience, Resources, Sustainability)@article{nokey,The Iranian plateau has witnessed various cultural, social, and political phenomena from the prehistoric millennia to the present century. Sometimes some of them have led to prosperity, growth, and development, and others have been accompanied by war, conflict, and collapse. On the other hand, the diverse and variable ecosystem of the Iranian plateau as one of the semiarid regions in Southwest Asia leads to different environmental and climatic conditions. Like many other parts of the world, these circumstances caused prolonged droughts, floods, and other unpredictable environmental disasters or disturbances. However, ecological catastrophes, climate change, social and political transformations do not confine to this landscape or current time. Amid these circumstances, what makes a society resilient to these often unpredictable disturbances is its ability to cope with them. I do argue that learning from past experiences will enable communities to consciously manage the crisis and prevent trial and error methods. In recent decades, various theories have been proposed in anthropology and archeology. One of these theories, borrowed from ecology, is the theory of “resilience”. In this research, the role of archeology in resilience studies and different aspects of this theory is expounded. It designates how archaeology, with its multidisciplinary nature, under the resilience framework can transfer the knowledge of the past societies to us. Resilience theory is one of the rare frameworks that explore change, transformation, and development within a long-perspective environmental setting as well as its contemporary social, political, and economic contexts. Evaluating the correlations between climatic and cultural changes in Longue-durée, recognizing a degree of sustainability, finding probable past societies solutions to environmental challenges, and deciphering the long-term processes of resilience are the objectives that could be addressed under this framework. In this article, the significance of this theory as a promising bridging approach for the hazardous landscape of the Iranian plateau is demonstrated. |
| Maziar, Sepideh: Sustainability and Resilience in Iran: A View from Archaeology. In: Journal of the Society for Iranian Archaeology, vol. 2023, iss. 4, 2023. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Resilience, Sustainability)@article{nokey,With increasing awareness of climate change, war and conflicts, social inequalities, and environmental crises, there has been a growing interest in concepts such as sustainable development and resilience. This shift has also found its place in various scientific disciplines, including archaeology. The ability of societies to withstand these unpredictable changes lies in their knowledge of effective strategies to navigate such conditions. This knowledge and experience can empower us to consciously manage resources, effectively address crises, and adapt to the ever-changing circumstances of the modern world. These approaches are still relatively new and not as widely recognized as they should be. Consequently, this article aims to introduce the resilience approach and explore its application in archaeology. It delves into the background of the term, provides a general definition, and presents various interdisciplinary approaches associated with this framework. Given the current conditions in Iran, embracing these interdisciplinary and multidimensional approaches can transform archaeology to resonate with society. Moreover, it establishes a vital connection between the past and the present of Iran. |
2022 |
|
| Maziar, Sepideh: Evaluation of the Kura-Araxes migration: From a mono-factorial phantasm to a multi-dimensional phenomenon. In: Kosyan, Aram; Avetisyan, Pavel; Martirosyan-Olshansky, Kristine; Bobokhyan, Arsen; Grekyan, Yervand (Ed.): Paradise Lost. The Phenomenon of the Kura-Araxes Tradition along the Fertile Crescent Collection of papers honouring Ruben S. Badalyan on the occassion of his 65th birthday, Archaeopress, 2022. (Type: Book Chapter | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Bronze Age, Kura-Araxes, Mobility, Resilience, Translocality)@inbook{nokey,Many scholars concerned with the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition take many aspects of this complex phenomenon for granted. In most publications, the expansion of this tradition across a vast area is treated like the movement of people from point A to B, or in the best case, as the waves of movement between these points. In most of them, migration is considered a direct reaction of people to population growth, lack of pasture lands, environmental stresses, and the Kura-Araxes as environmental or conflict refugees that flee a threat. These perspectives in recent years terminated to some skeptics regarding considering the distribution of the Kura-Araxes material culture as a result of migration. On the other hand, turning to be once again a buzzword, ‘migration’ as an explanation, is considered anachronistic among some archaeologists. This article will reevaluate different scenarios related to the Kura-Araxes phenomenon to see where we stand and how we can overcome these shortcomings. It seems that the Kura-Araxes phenomenon at the current state of our understanding suffers different drawbacks at different levels. The migration scenario itself and the mechanism behind it are still vague, and the relationship between the core area and diaspora is rarely addressed. It is suggested that approaches such as ‘resilience theory’ and discussing the Kura- Araxes phenomenon and migration in the context of social resilience will be more promising for the topic at hand. |
2021 |
|
| Franke, Kristina A.; Kouroshi, Yahya; Skowronek, Miriam; Stöllner, Thomas (Ed.): DFG-SPP 2176: The Iranian Highlands – Resiliences and Integration in Premodern Societies. Accompanying Booklet to the Special Exhibition. 2021. (Type: Booklet | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Administration, Institutions, Integration, Landscape, Mobility, Resilience, Resources)@booklet{nokey,The DFG Priority Programme 2176 “The Iranian Highlands: Resilience and Integration in Premodern Societies” consists of 11 individual projects and a coordination programme. Our common goal is to explore early societies of the Iranian highlands and their resilience strategies. International cooperation of a large number of diff erent institutions in Europe and Iran is the basis for the research endeavour. In addition, there is intensive exchange with the “Patrimonies Project” and the project “Documentation and Historical Dialectology of Lori”, two associated projects that focus on current living conditions, the protection of cultural heritage and the study of dialects in the Iranian highlands. |
| Stöllner, Thomas; Aali, Abolfazl: Long-Term Salt Mining in Chehrābād: Resilient Strategies in Accessing Mineral Resources at the Iranian Highlands. In: Pearls, Politics and Pistachios: Essays in Anthropology and Memories on the Occasion of Susan Pollock’s 65th Birthday, pp. 352-369, Ex Oriente/Propylaeum, Berlin/Heidelberg, 2021. (Type: Book Chapter | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Achaemenid, Administration, Bronze Age, Chalcolithic, Institutions, Iron Age, Islamic era, Minerals, Mining, Neolithic, Resilience, Resources, Salt, Sasanian, Zanjan)@inbook{nokey, |
| Maziar, Sepideh: Resilience and Migration: Time for Changing the Paradigm for Archaeologists?. 2021, visited: 30.11.2020. (Type: Online | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Mobility, Resilience)@online{nokey,In the social sciences, there are different narratives of migration. In archaeology, however, this theme is conventionally tackled in many cases from within an old-fashioned traditional framework. Accordingly, some scholars consider it a mono-factorial approach that overlooks the complexity and diversity of other factors at play. Others ignore it, not wishing to be regarded as anachronistic scholars or as being trapped in culture-historical or diffusionist paradigms. In this short essay, I discuss migration in the context of social resilience by adopting approaches from human geography, such as translocality. I argue that this approach will be more promising in the context of migration in anthropological archaeology. |
Maziar, Sepideh: Resilienz bei Pandemie; Kurzbericht zum Projekt ‘Resilience in the Diaspora‘. In: ENKI; Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte des Vorderen Orients, iss. 22, pp. 26-28, 2021. (Type: Journal Article | BibTeX | Tags: Resilience)@article{nokey, | |
2020 |
|
| Brown, Michael: The Mountain Fortresses of Rabana-Merquly in Iraqi-Kurdistan. In: BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Altorientalisches Forum, vol. 4, no. 1, 2020. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Fortification, Kurdistan, Landscape, Parthian, Persian empire, Resilience)@article{nokey,The twin fortresses of Rabana-Merquly are situated on the western side of Mt. Piramagrun, one of the most prominent massifs in the Zagros Mountains. A defining feature of these adjoining settlements are their matching, approximately life-size rock-reliefs depicting a ruler in Parthian dress, which flank the entrance to both sites. Behind the perimeter walls several structures have been recorded including a citadel and a sanctuary complex. The combined intramural area is in excess of 40 hectares. Based on the style of relief sculptures, and the material culture of their associated intramural settlements, occupation is dated to the early first millennium A.D. Investigations at Rabana-Merquly are a collaboration between Heidelberg University and the Sulaymaniyah Directorate of Antiquities. This talk gives an overview of the main fieldwork results to date, emphasizing the relationship between the fortified settlements and the wider landscape of the central Zagros highlands. |
| Brown, Michael; Rasheed, Kamal; Dörr, Roxana; Heiler, Jan: Die Bergbefestigung von Rabana-Merquly in Irakisch-Kurdistan: Ein Vorbericht der Grabungskampagne 2019. In: Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, iss. 152, pp. 91-110, 2020. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Fortification, Kurdistan, Landscape, Parthian, Resilience)@article{nokey,On the slopes of Mt. Piramagrun in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan lies the fortified site of Rabana-Merquly. Ruins spread across c. 100 ha represent a major occupation during the Parthian period. Matching rock-reliefs that depict an anonymous ruler flank the two main entrances to the settlements. Pronounced similarities in attire between these sculptures and the statue of a king of Adiabene found at Hatra suggest a possible identification for both the individual depicted in relief (Natounissar) and the ancient city (Natounia-on-the-Kapros). Fieldwork in 2019 continued our ongoing programme of survey and excavation, with more detailed investigation of the complex at the entrance to Rabana valley. |
2019 |
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| Aali, Abolfazl; Stöllner, Thomas; Firuzmandi, Bahman: Analyzing Archaeological Finds from the Chehrabad Salt Mine. In: Journal of Archaeological Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 191-210, 2019. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Achaemenid, Mining, Resilience, Resources, Sasanian, Zanjan)@article{nokey,The Chehrabad salt mine is one of the rare ancient salt mine in the world and the only identified salt mine in Iran which has evidences of salt extracting over a long time span from 500 BC to modern times. According to the field researches conducted so far, in the excavated area, mining activities are proven to be in use in the Achaemenid, Sasanian, Middle and Late Islamic periods. After the accidental discoveries in 1993 and 2004, several season of excavation and archaeological surveys, have been carried out in the mine and around it. Archaeological researches brought to light interesting results concerning the techniques, periods and extracting tools, also relation between salt mine and the archaeological sites around it. Digging deep tunnels inside the salt rock deposits in different dimensions and sizes and using the various extraction tools can be seen in the excavated area with the difference in details in all the aforementioned periods. The long- term salt extraction activities and multi- periodic collapse of the tunnels, have resulted the formation of various layers such as fall, occupation, mining and erosion layers in different parts of the mine and the filling many of its old tunnels. According to documents, Most of the discovered human remains were probably non- native miners who died during catastrophic mining accidents and mummified naturally. |
| Nasab, Hamed Vahdati; Aali, Abolfazl; Kazzazi, Mandan; Pollard, Mark; Stöllner, Thomas: Reappraisal of the number of salt mummies identified in Chehrābād Salt Mine, Zanjan, Iran. In: Bioarchaeology of the Near East, vol. 13, pp. 23-47, 2019. (Type: Journal Article | Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Achaemenid, Mining, Resilience, Resources, Sasanian, Zanjan)@article{nokey,The Chehrābād Salt Mine mummies were first discovered in 1993. So far, six individuals have been identified in the mine. Three (1, 2, and 3) were found accidentally by miners, while another three (4, 5, and 6) were discovered through systematic archaeological excavations. This article shows that there are two more individuals represented in the collection, bringing the total number of mummies to eight. Osteological examination confirms that the extra bones initially placed with Salt Man 1 belong to another individual, possibly a young adult male, of unknown date, called Salt Man 7. In addition, results from AMS dating of an extra piece of mandible, which was originally placed with the skeletal remains of Salt Man 3, indicates that this specimen does not belong to this individual; it was removed from the collection and renamed as Salt Man 8. The osteological analysis of the bone remains of Salt Man 8 suggests that this individual might also be a young male. |
2015 |
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| Aali, Abolfazl; Stöllner, Thomas (Ed.): The Archaeology of the Salt Miners. Interdisciplinary Research 2010-2014.. 2015, ISSN: 0947-6229. (Type: Book | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Achaemenid, Mining, Resilience, Resources, Sasanian, Zanjan)@book{nokey, |