Extremes and Cultures: Investigating the Decline of the Chalcolithic Age in the Tehran Plain with the Environmental Archaeology Approach.

Islam, Babak Shaikh Baikloo; Amirkhiz, Ahmad Chaychi; Amini, Farshid Mosadeghi

Natural hazards in ancient times were among the factors central to the decline of human cultures and civilizations. Climate change periods are associated with increased extreme weather events such as torrential rains and prolonged droughts, thus posing severe challenges to human societies. In the fourth millennium BCE, variable climatic conditions in the Tehran plain caused cultural dynamics to be disrupted. Through an environmental archaeological approach, the present study discusses the possible causes of cultural decline and collapse in this plain in two stages of climate change during the fourth millennium BCE. The data derives from the archaeological site of Mafin Abad, where occurs a situation similar to a series of sites in North Central and Southwest Iran. High-resolution paleoclimate research has been used to reconstruct the climatic conditions of the fourth millennium BCE. This research reflects the importance of environmental sedimentology studies in archaeological sites to identify possible environmental reasons for cultural prosperity and disintegration of prehistoric rural communities.

TEHRAN (Iran); COPPER Age; ENVIRONMENTAL archaeology; EXTREME weather; CLIMATE change; ENVIRONMENTAL sciences; FLOODS; RAINFALL; SEDIMENTOLOGY

Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 2023, Vol 13, Issue 1, p77

2251-743X

Academic Journal

10.22111/IJAS.2023.45046.1259