Giroft culture , pers. تمدن جيرفت , sometimes also the Khalil-Rud culture - the archaeological culture of the early Bronze Age (III – I millennium BC. E.), localized on the territory of the modern Iranian stop Sistan and Kerman .
The hypothesis of the existence of an independent giroft civilization was put forward on the basis of a collection of artifacts confiscated in Iran from “black archaeologists”. Objects are believed to have come from the Konar Sandal area near the village of Jiroft on the Khalil River in south-central Iran. Among other archaeological sites that are associated with this culture are Shahri-Sukhte (lit. “burnt city”), Tepe-Bampur, Espeedaj, Shahdad, Iblis, Tepe-Yahya and several others.
Iranian archaeologist Yousef Majidzadeh , Pers. یوسف مجید زاده , who led the archaeological site in Giroft, was the first to propose considering a group of similar archaeological sites as “an independent Bronze Age civilization with its own architecture and language,” occupying an intermediate geographical position between Elam in the west and the Harappan state in the east. Majidzadeh suggested that the Jiroft culture could be referred to in the Sumerian texts as the kingdom of Aratt , rivaling Uruk .
A number of researchers were skeptical of Majidzadeh's hypotheses. According to an alternative hypothesis (Daniel Potts, Peter Steinkeller), giroft culture is associated with the mysterious city-state of Markhashi , which, according to documents of that era, was located east of Elam.
Content
Discovery and excavation
Earlier excavations in Kerman were carried out by M.A. Stein around 1930.
Important excavations in Kerman province were conducted by groups led by Professor Joseph Caldwell of the Illinois Museum in 1966 (Tal-i-Iblis) and Charles Lamberg-Karlovsky of Harvard University in 1967 (Tepe Yahya, Sogan Valley, Dolatabad ).
Many of the artifacts that were later associated with Giroft were confiscated from the “black diggers” - local peasants who plundered archaeological sites in Giroft until 2001, when a team of Iranian archaeologists led by Yousef Majidzade began systematic excavations here. Archaeologists have discovered on an area of more than 2 square meters. km the remains of a city dating from at least the end of 3 thousand BC. e.
The artifacts obtained by the grave robbers, as well as several vessels discovered during excavations, belonged to the so-called “intercultural type” of ceramics, known in Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau, as well as from excavations of the 1960s. in nearby Tepe Yahya .
The hypothesis of a “giroft civilization” is not generally accepted. Archaeologist Oscar Muskarella of the Metropolitan Museum of Art believes the excavators were quick to make sensational statements, while excavation results are published with delays. Also, according to Muskarella, the attribution of the lower stratigraphic layers to 4 thousand BC. e. overly optimistic. Despite these criticisms, Muskarella recognizes the importance of an open monument.
During archaeological excavations, many household utensils of highly artistic performance were discovered, which testified to the existence of a highly developed civilization. Near the village of Tepe Yahya , one of the craft centers of the Giroft civilization was also discovered. Known to scientists, the archaeological layers of civilization are located approximately 400 square meters. m. territory. Accurate data on the origin of this civilization is not available, there is only an assumption about the influence of the Dzhiroft civilization on the so-called Bactrian-Margian culture , which arose later and was located north of the alleged location of the Dzhiroft civilization.
According to Majidzadeh, the geophysical data of French researchers indicate the existence in the region of at least 10 historical and archaeological periods belonging to different cultures. The lower stratigraphic layers are located at a depth of 11 meters underground.
Konar Sandal (typical monument)
A typical monument of Giroft culture, Konar Sandal, is located on two hills 13 and 21 meters high, and is located On the second hill, a two-story citadel with a base of about 13.5 hectares was discovered.
Alleged Writing
According to Majidzadeh, he discovered the inscriptions of the Jiroft culture, written in a letter reminiscent of the Elamite linear script and dated around the 22nd century. BC e. Majidzadeh's message was greeted with skepticism; for example, Lawler (Lawler, 2007) quotes Jacob Dahl, a specialist in ancient texts from the Free University of Berlin, who considers the inscriptions found to be fake.
Jiroft and Aratta
According to Iranian historian Jahanshah Derahshani (born 1944), the country of Aratta, mentioned in Sumerian sources, was located in the east of the Iranian plateau, and it was inhabited by the ancient Aryans , known as Aratti or Artaioi [1] . Around 1000 BC e. the Arathians allegedly moved southwest to Persis (now the province of Fars) and became the direct ancestors of the Persians , as well as the Parthians , Bactrians and Arachosians . Derakhshani refers to Herodotus , according to which the Parthians were also called Artaioi = Artaians [2] , and to Gellanik of Lesbos , who described them as inhabitants of the Persian region of Artaia [3] . The Greeks called the inhabitants of the Barigaz region Arattii, Arachosi and Gandaraei - this people was subjugated by warlike Bactrians [4] .
See also
- Aratta
- Cully Culture
Notes
- ↑ Derakhshani, Die Arier in den nahöstlichen Quellen des 3. und 2. Jahrtausends v. Chr., Tehran 1998, p. 41.
- ↑ Herodotus VII, 61.150
- ↑ Quoted from J. Marquart ! - name spelling changed in 1922--! 1986, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Eran I: 234.
- ↑ ibid .; The periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Ed. by W. Schoff, New York 1912, p. 41.
Literature
- 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 May 21, 2004: Vol. 304. no. 5674, pp. 1096-1097.
- MR Maheri, The Early Civilizations Of Kerman (تمدّن های نخستین کرمان), Markaze Kerman Shenasaee (2000), 1st edition, ISBN 964-6487-21-1
Links
- Unknown bronze age culture? (unavailable link from 03/31/2018 [482 days])
- Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta" A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh
- Jiroft civilization
- saudiaramcoworld.com: What Was Jiroft? (unavailable link from 03/31/2018 [482 days]) ( پایگاه خبری جیرفت /issue/200405/Jiroft.Artifacts/popup_content.html image gallery (unavailable link from 03/31/2018 [482 days]) )
- mehrnews.ir: “New studies show Jiroft was ancient trade link” (unavailable link from 03/31/2018 [482 days])
- chnpress.com: Jiroft Inscription, Oldest Evidence of Written Language (unavailable link from 03/31/2018 [482 days])
- chnpress.com: New Discoveries in Jiroft May Change History of Civilization
- chnpress.com: Jiroft was an international trade center 5000 years ago (unavailable link from 03/31/2018 [482 days])