Sistan Pottery And Its Relationship With Sites In Baluchistan And Jiroft, South Eastern Iran

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dc.contributor.authorJavanshah, Zainab
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-09T07:20:00Z
dc.date.available2018-01-09T07:20:00Z
dc.date.issued2017-08
dc.description.abstractSistan area is located in the north of the Sistan and Baluchistan region in southeastern Iran and is neighboured by Afghanistan and Pakistan in the southwest. The Sistan area has of prehistoric sites such as Shahr-i-Sokhta, Geratziani Tepe, Taleb Tepe and Sadegh Tepe. Shahr-i-Sokhta is known as a large urban settlement in the western part of the Sistan area on the Iranian plateau during the third millennium B.C., while Sadegh Tepe, Taleb Tepe and Geratziani Tepe are small prehistoric sites near Shahr-i-Sokhta. Previous archaeological research revealed that the Sistan pottery has been documented in terms of shape, decoration, function and its technique, and is dated to the Bronze Age. In addition, Shahr-i-Sokhta, Geratziani Tepe, Taleb Tepe and Sadegh Tepe in the Sistan area all shared a similar pottery tradition because they are from the same cultural background in this area. The morphological and compositional study of 120 pottery shard samples from the Sistan area (Shahr-i-Sokhta, Sadegh Tepe, Taleb Tepe and Geratziani Tepe) revealed that the pottery samples comprised of buff, red and gray ware with geometric and natural decorations. Sistan pottery shard samples are made by wheel throwing and sometimes a combination of coiling and wheel throwing techniques. In general, the pottery samples are of fine texture and fabric, mostly sandy and are well-fired in an oxidizing atmosphere. Scientific techniques used in this study include Thin-Section Petrography, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis carried out at laboratories in the Center for Global Archaeological Research, Universiti of Science Malaysia, Penang. The results of this study revealed the presence of diopside or pyroxene minerals in the Sistan pottery shards and indicated firing temperatures of about 900°C in an oxidizing atmosphere. Sistan pottery shards contain high siliceous or calcareous raw materials. The compositional characteristics of the Sistan pottery were compared to the geology of the region. Based on the comparative results, the majority of the Sistan pottery shards are believed to be made from the same local clay sources with good quality tempers. Comparative study of the pottery between the Sistan area and its neighbours (Baluchistan of Pakistan and Jiroft Valley of Kerman) during the Bronze Age has shown parallels in pottery shape (bowl, jar and beaker) made by wheel throwing technique and are decorated with geometric and natural designs in black and brown colours. In addition, the polychrome and bichrome pottery are also observed in the Sistan area and its neighbours that are designed by black, red, and yellow decorations. Ethnoarchaeological study of the ancient Sistan pottery and the present traditional Kalpouregan pottery indicated that the Sistan pottery was made by coiling and wheel throwing techniques in the shape of jar, beaker and bowl with buff, red and gray colours and decorated with black and brown geometric and natural designs that are similar to the present pottery from Kalpouregan which are made using the coiling technique in the form of jar, beaker and bowl, with geometric and natural designs similar to the Sistan pottery in most cases.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/5345
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversiti Sains Malaysiaen_US
dc.subjectSistan potteryen_US
dc.subjectand its relationshipen_US
dc.titleSistan Pottery And Its Relationship With Sites In Baluchistan And Jiroft, South Eastern Iranen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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