ahmad sohrabi nia

Ownership of lands, feudalism systems and division of agricultural products has a long history in Iran. Agricultural system from demission and division of lands till the three step of cultivating, keeping and harvesting then division of products as well as taking tax, needs a regular circle and recording instruments as well as product measuring in different districts. In this research in addition to exploring circle of landholding from early Islamic period to Qajar period, two threshing heap stamp, that used to make mark on wheat as well as barley heaps are investigated. In this article we use anthropological and library studies based on descriptive and analytical approach to investigate the region cultivation and tow threshing heap stamps. The aims of this study are to identify the function as well as identity of these two stamps in socioeconomic context and investigate the circle of agriculture at Komijan city and Esfandan village, also tried to determine the identity and essence the stamps that are used by whom and when. In this end, structure of the stamps as well as form, material, motive and phrase on them will be described.

In this study we investigate the dung cake fuel that has played a major part in formation of inventions and innovations in human history. This fuel used to be obtained from animals such as cattle, sheep and goat and utilize from prehistoric period (eight millennium B.C.) till Pahlavi period in Iran as well as its vicinity lands. The usage of this fuel was in different ways: in lime kiln, in pottery kiln and pottery glaze production in addition to ordinary usage for heating and cooking in everyday life. There was a tendency in livestock-farmer societies with cold, drought and semi-desert ecosystem with little wooden sources to use the dung cake fuel. This descriptive-analytical study that is based on ethnographical and library documental data, has assessed the importance of dung cake fuel and has tried to describe the way of and the people (woman & children) who are engaged in its preparation, its functions, and the influential factors (ecosystemic and economic) in selecting it.

Sometime replete with sense of life, Gonabad pottery and its motifs have gradually lost their original meanings and concepts in the course of time and now those meaningful motifs reduced to just some decorative motifs without their initiative notions for most of potters making pottery and applying those motifs on the works. Therefore, it seems necessary to authors to determine the basic, essential concepts of motifs on the pottery forgotten as a result of transmission by oral history as well as time passage. The aim of this study is to introduce and reexamine the concealed thoughts, ideas and philosophies these motifs have maintained within them during thousands of years. The research is based on descriptive-analytical methodology and the data collection method on library review. According to the concept of study, the main sources for related data, articles and so forth in the research were scientific databases.The results indicate that there are generally three types of motifs on Gonagad pottery, including zoomorphic, vegetal and geometric. In the zoomorphic group, peacock, sparrow (little bird) and pigeon (big bird) are so prominent that those like peacock and sparrow have appeared on Gonabad Great Mosque’s portal as well. In the vegetal motifs the tree and in geometric ones the sun motif is of significance. In fact, the basic concepts of such motifs are embedded in popular stories as well as in folk beliefs, manifested symbolically in the form of single images on the pottery. Furthermore, the motifs had strong and close relations with the religious beliefs of that period as well as the subsequent eras. Specifically, peacock motif on the one hand was prominent in Islamic Art and on the other it carried Zoroastrian connotations.

During the 7th-8th centuries AH, Sirjan was one the most important and valid cities in the Kerman region which was ruled by local states known as Qarakhtaian and Al Mozafar. Not only Sirjan is mentioned in many historical sources but also multiple excavations have been done in the city's old historical context. Most of the archaeological studies on this city are limited from early Islamic era until Saljooghi era and the middle centuries especially 7th-8th centuries AH are less concerned. Therefore, the main goal of this article is to evaluate the city's status during 7th-8th centuries AH based on historic and archaeological facts. In this research we used descriptive-comparative approach, historical analysis and in order to gather the essential data, we applied field studies and valid documents to answer this question: What were the most important historical and archaeological transformations in Sirjan during 7th-8th centuries AH? As a result of our studies, we found that between 6th and 9th centuries AH the old city was relocated and expanded towards west to the current Ghal-e Sang region. Nevertheless, the city was still considered by several governors and because of this matter, numerous defensive structures was built all around the city. Also by studying various types of potteries in this era of Sirjan, we found that the city enjoyed social-economic dynamism and the residents used diverse types of potteries; manufactured inside and outside the region. This point indicates the existence of an extensive commercial relations with other domestic urban centers and possibly with foreign cities. Some of the remarkable types of potteries in this era of Sirjan are Zarin Faam, Sultan Abadi, Lajevardineh and Seladon.