The Jiroft culture
[Oscar White Muscarella]
Jiroft
(2008), in: Encyclopedia Iranica
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
. "For archeological accuracy the terms "Jiroft" or "Jiroft culture" employed to define a specific ancient Iranian culture and its artifacts should only be cited within quotation mark." also known as the Intercultural style or the Halilrud style,
is a postulated
early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
(late 3rd millennium BC)
archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
, located in the territory of present-day
Sistan and Baluchestan and
Kermān Provinces of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
The proposed type site is
Konar Sandal
Konar Sandal is a Bronze Age archaeological site, situated in the valley of the Halil River just south of Jiroft, Kermān Province, Iran.
Description
The site consists of two mounds a few kilometers apart, called Konar Sandal A and B with ...
, near Jiroft in the
Halil River area. Other significant sites associated with the culture include
Shahr-e Sukhteh
Shahr-e Sukhteh ( fa, شهر سوخته, meaning " heBurnt City"), c. 3200–2350 BCE,
also spelled as ''Shahr-e Sūkhté'' and ''Shahr-i Sōkhta'', is an archaeological site of a sizable Bronze Age urban settlement, associated with the Helmand ...
(Burnt City),
Tepe Bampur
Tepe may refer to:
*the Persian word for ' tell', a type of earthen mound
*''tepe'', a common element in Persian-language toponyms; see
*Tepe, Bismil, a village in Turkey
*Tepe, Dicle, a village in Turkey
*Tepe, Iran, a village in Markazi Provinc ...
,
Espiedej,
Shahdad
Shahdad ( fa, شهداد, also Romanized as Shahdād; formerly, Khabīs) is a city and capital of Shahdad District, in Kerman County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 4,097, in 1,010 families.
District
Shahdad is t ...
,
Tal-i-Iblis and
Tepe Yahya
Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological site in Kermān Province, Iran, some south of Kerman city, south of Baft city and 90 km south-west of Jiroft.
History
Habitation spans the 6th to 2nd millennia BCE and the 10th to 4th centuries BCE.
...
.
The grouping of these sites as an "independent Bronze Age civilization with its own architecture and language", intermediate between
Elam
Elam (; Linear Elamite: ''hatamti''; Cuneiform Elamite: ; Sumerian: ; Akkadian: ; he, עֵילָם ''ʿēlām''; peo, 𐎢𐎺𐎩 ''hūja'') was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran, stretc ...
to the west and the
Indus Valley civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
to the east, was first proposed by
Yusef Majidzadeh, head of the archaeological excavation team in
Jiroft
Jiroft ( fa, جیرفت, also Romanized as Jīroft; formerly, Sabzāwārān, Sabzevārān, Sabzevārān-e Jiroft, and Sabzvārān) is a city and capital of Jiroft County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 95,031, in ...
(south central Iran). The hypothesis is based on a collection of artifacts that have been formally excavated and recovered from looters by Iranian authorities; accepted by many to have derived from the Jiroft area (as reported by online Iranian news services, beginning in 2001).
Discovery and excavation
![Chlorite object Jiroft, Kerman ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Chlorite_object_Jiroft%2C_Kerman_ca._2500_BCE%2C_Bronze_Age_I%2C_National_Museum_of_Iran.jpg)
Early excavations at
Kerman
Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in 221,389 households, ma ...
were conducted by Sir
Aurel Stein
Sir Marc Aurel Stein,
( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...
around 1930. One of the most notable archaeological excavations done in
Kerman Province was one done by a group led by Professor
Joseph Caldwell
Joseph Caldwell (April 21, 1773 – January 27, 1835) was a U.S. educator, Presbyterian minister, mathematician, and astronomer. He was the first president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, holding the office from 1804 u ...
from
Illinois State Museum
The Illinois State Museum features the life, land, people and art of the State of Illinois. The headquarters museum is located on Spring and Edwards Streets, one block southwest of the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield. There are three satell ...
in 1966 (Tal-i-Iblis) and Lamberg-Karlovsky from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
in 1967 (Tepe Yahya,
Sogan Valley,
Dolatabad
Dowlatabad ( fa, دولت آباد, also Romanized as Dowlatābād and Daulatābād) is a city and capital of Borkhar County, Isfahan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a co ...
). Many artifacts associated with Jiroft were recovered from looters described as "destitute villagers" who had scavenged the area south of
Jiroft
Jiroft ( fa, جیرفت, also Romanized as Jīroft; formerly, Sabzāwārān, Sabzevārān, Sabzevārān-e Jiroft, and Sabzvārān) is a city and capital of Jiroft County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 95,031, in ...
before 2001, when a team led by
Yusef Majidzadeh began excavations.
The primary Jiroft site consists of two mounds a few kilometers apart, called Konar Sandal A and B with a height of 13 and 21 meters, respectively (approximate location ). At Konar Sandal B, a two-story, windowed citadel with a base of close to 13.5 hectares was found. The team uncovered more than two square kilometers of remains from a city dating back to at least the late 3rd millennium BC. The data Madjidzadeh's team has gathered demonstrates that Jiroft's heyday was from 2500 BC to 2200 BC.
The looted artifacts and some vessels recovered by the excavators were of the so-called "intercultural style" type of pottery known from Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau, and since the 1960s from nearby
Tepe Yahya
Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological site in Kermān Province, Iran, some south of Kerman city, south of Baft city and 90 km south-west of Jiroft.
History
Habitation spans the 6th to 2nd millennia BCE and the 10th to 4th centuries BCE.
...
in Baft. The "Jiroft civilization" hypothesis proposes that this "intercultural style" is in fact the distinctive style of a previously unknown, long-lived civilization.
This is not universally accepted; archaeologist
Oscar Muscarella
Oscar White Muscarella (March 26, 1931 – November 27, 2022) was an American archaeologist and former Senior Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he worked for over 40 years before retiring in 2009. He specialized in the art an ...
of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
criticizes that the excavators resorted to sensationalist announcements while being more slow in publishing scholarly reports, and their claims that the site's
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers ( strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...
shows continuity into the 4th millennium as overly optimistic. Muscarella does nevertheless acknowledge the importance of the site.
According to Majidzadeh, geophysical operations by French experts in the region indicate the existence at least 10 historical and archaeological periods in the region belonging to different civilizations who lived in this area during different periods of time in history. According to the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
experts who studied this area, the evidence remained from these civilizations may be traced up to 11 meters under the ground.
"What is obvious is that the evidence of Tal-i-Iblis culture in Bardsir can be traced in all parts of the region. Tal-i-Iblis culture, known as Ali Abad period (fourth millennium BC) was revealed by
Joseph R. Caldwell, American archaeologist," said Majidzadeh.
File:Jiroft culture artifact.jpg
File:Jiroft culture vase.jpg
File:Chloritgefäße aus Iran, Dschiroft, 2800-2300 v.C. (2).jpg, Jiroft vase, 2800-2300 BC
File:Chloritgefäße aus Iran, Dschiroft, 2800-2300 v.C. (1).jpg, Jiroft vase, 2800-2300 BC
File:Two horned elam.jpg, Vase from the Jiroft region. A "two horned" figure wrestling with serpents.
File:Statue aus Iran, Dschiroft, 2800-2300 v.C. (1).jpg, Jiroft statuette, 2800-2300 BC
Helmand culture
The
Helmand culture of western Afghanistan was a Bronze Age culture of the 3rd millennium BC. Some scholars link it with
Shahr-i Sokhta,
Mundigak
Mundigak ( ps, منډیګک) is an archaeological site in Kandahar province in Afghanistan. During the Bronze Age, it was a center of the Helmand culture. It is situated approximately northwest of Kandahar near Shāh Maqsūd, on the upper draina ...
, and
Bampur.
The term "Helmand civilization" was proposed by M. Tosi. This civilization flourished between 2500 and 1900 BC, and may have coincided with the great flourishing of the Indus Valley Civilization. This was also the final phase of Periods III and IV of Shahr-i Sokhta, and the last part of Mundigak Period IV.
Thus, the Jiroft culture is closely related to the Helmand culture. The Jiroft culture flourished in eastern Iran, and the Helmand culture in western Afghanistan at the same time. In fact, they may represent the same cultural area. The
Mehrgarh
Mehrgarh (; ur, ) is a Neolithic archaeological site (dated ) situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan in Pakistan. It is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River and between the modern-day Pakistani cities of Quetta ...
culture, on the other hand, is far earlier.
Writing system
![Jiroft culture inscriptions](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Jiroft_culture_inscriptions.jpg)
An inscription, discovered in a palace, was carved on a brick whose lower left corner only has remained, explained
Yusef Majidzadeh, head of the Jiroft excavation team. "The two remaining lines are enough to recognize the
Elamite script," he added. "The only ancient inscriptions known to experts before the Jiroft discovery were cuneiform and hieroglyph," said Majidzadeh, adding that "The new-found inscription is formed by geometric shapes and no linguist around the world has been able to decipher it yet."
Some Iranian archeologists believe the discovered inscription is the most ancient script found so far, predating these others, and that the Elamite written language originated in Jiroft, where the writing system developed first and was then spread across the country.
Possible connection with Aratta
Majidzadeh has attempted to identify the Jiroft sites with the land of
Aratta mentioned in
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of ...
ian sources. His conclusions have been met with skepticism from a number of scholars. Other conjectures (e.g. Daniel T. Potts, Piotr Steinkeller) have connected Konar Sandal with the obscure city-state of
Marhashi, that apparently lay to the east of Elam proper.
See also
*
Prehistoric Iran
The prehistory of the Iranian plateau, and the wider region now known as Greater Iran, as part of the prehistory of the Near East is conventionally divided into the Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age per ...
*
List of Iranian artifacts abroad
List of Iranian artifacts abroad is a list of Iranian and Persian antiquities outside Iran, especially in museums. Most of these were found outside modern Iran, in parts of the former Persian Empire, or places influenced by it.
Neighbors of Ir ...
*
Kulli culture
The Kulli culture was a prehistoric culture in southern Balochistan ( Gedrosia) in Pakistan ca. 2500 - 2000 BCE. The pottery and other artifacts are similar to those of the Indus Valley civilization and it is not clear whether the Kulli culture is ...
*
International Rankings of Iran in HistoryKonar Sandal on map
References
Sources
*''Jiroft, Fabuleuse Decouverte en Iran'', Dossiers Archeologica 287, October 2003.
*Yousef Mazidzadeh, ''Jiroft earliest oriental civilization'' (2004).
*O. White Muscarella, ''Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta": A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh, Jiroft: The Earliest Oriental Civilization'', Bulletin of the Asia Institute 15 (2005) 173–198.
*Andrew Lawler, ''Ancient Writing or Modern Fakery?'', Science 3 August 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5838, pp. 588–589.
*Andrew Lawler, ''Iranian Dig Opens Window on New Civilization'', Science 21 May 2004: Vol. 304. no. 5674, pp. 1096–1097.
*M.R. Maheri ''The Early Civilizations of Kerman'' (تمدّن های نخستین کرمان), Markaze Kerman Shenasaee (2000), 1st edition,
*
*''Jiroft, Fabuleuse Decouverte en Iran'', Dossiers Archeologica 287, October 2003.
*Yousef Mazidzadeh, ''Jiroft earliest oriental civilization'' (2004).
*O. White Muscarella, ''Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta": A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh, Jiroft: The Earliest Oriental Civilization'', Bulletin of the Asia Institute 15 (2005) 173–198.
*Andrew Lawler, ''Ancient Writing or Modern Fakery?'', Science 3 August 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5838, pp. 588–589.
*Andrew Lawler, ''Iranian Dig Opens Window on New Civilization'', Science 21 May 2004: Vol. 304. no. 5674, pp. 1096–1097.
Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta" A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh
External links
Jiroft in Encyclopedia IranicaThe Writing Tablet from Konar Sandal B (Jiroft)Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta" A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh
{{Iran topics
Prehistoric Iran
Archaeological cultures of the Near East
Archaeology of Iran
Archaeological artefact types
History of Kerman Province
History of Sistan and Baluchestan Province
National works of Iran