فهرست مطالب meysam miri ahoodashti

Music is a type of human behavior that is very powerful in impact. Music should be considered the first tool of instinctual human expression. From the beginning of creation, man has used dance and song to describe his inner modes. The study of documents shows the high of music in ancient Iran, which has been effective in Iranian religious ceremonies. Music is a phenomenon that is part of the national identity and the basis of a society’s culture. One of the essential issues related to the position of women in prehistoric Iran is their role in music. The purpose of this study is to identify musical instruments in ancient times, primarily the tool discovered in the Iron Age cemetery of Gohar Tepe, and the importance of the role of women in music, dancing, and singing. The research hypothesis is that no such musical instrument has been discovered, according to the excavations and studies in the Iron Age sites of Mazandaran and Gilan. This study uses the analytical–experimental method and fieldwork. The results show this instrument which is similar to the clarinet, is a wind instrument and is one of the oldest musical instruments of ancient times. This musical instrument is unique and interesting, which consists of deer antlers and silver with seven nails riveted to each other. In addition to the musical instrument and this burial, a bronze mask, metal objects, pottery, and ornaments have been also discovered, showing women's high position in music in the Iron Age of Iran.

Espahbad Khorshid cave is one of the giant natural arches in the world, which has a fantastic architecture of the late Sassanid Age. Inside this arch, we encounter architectural works of the Sassanid Age, built of stone rubble and Saroj mortar. The purpose of this research is to study the architectural works of this site and compare them with other architectural works of the Sassanid Age in other parts of Iran. The question of this research is, what are the similarities between architectural works discovered in Espahbad Khorshid cave and other architectural works from the Sassanid Age?The research hypothesis in answering this question is the use of stone rubble, Saroj mortar, rocking arches, and crescent arches in Espahbad Khorshid cave shows the significant similarity of this architecture with Sassanid Age architecture. This research uses fieldwork and documentation of architectural works discovered in Espahbad Khorshid cave. The results show that the architecture in this cave is significantly similar to the architectural works of the Sassanid Age in other parts of Iran. One of them is Dokhtar castle in Firuzabad, Fars province. Therefore, we can say the architectural works discovered from the Espahbad Khorshid cave are one of the unique architecture of the late Sassanid Age found in the Mazandaran region, and in terms of architecture, historical Age, and height of the castle has significant importance.

Sefid Chah Historical Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest cemeteries of the Islamic era, whose oldest tombs date back to the early Islamic centuries. Sefid Chah village is in the Yanehsar section of Behshahr city in Mazandaran province. This study aims to sondage and set the limit of this area, analyze the tombstone motifs, and compare it with other similar cemeteries in other parts of Iran. One of the questions of this research is the main reason for the burial sequence during different periods in this cemetery? Moreover, what was the reason for the importance of this cemetery for the people of this region? The present research hypothesis in answer to this question is that due to its mountainous and impassable Yaneh Sar, this region has been a haven and refuge for the opponents of the Bani Umayyad and Bani Abbas governments since the beginning of Islam. Therefore, this region is the burial place of many shrines. Also, the people from the distant past believe that due to this region’s high lime and soil type, their corpses decompose late and last longer, and for this reason, it sanctified from the distant past. In this research, using sondage, surface survey study, and objective observations, have been determined to set the limit of cemetery and analysis of the tombstones of this historic cemetery. The results show that most of the tombstones in this cemetery include Islamic, geometric, and symbolic motifs. Its monuments are very similar to the tombstones of Darul Salam Cemetery in Shiraz and Nahar Khoran Cemetery in Gorgan. Due to no discovery of cultural materials, this area has been used only as a cemetery since the early Islamic centuries.

Burial of animals along with their owners is a tradition that is common in the late second millennium and early first millennium BC in different parts of the Iranian plateau, especially in the north and northwest of Iran. In this study, human burial studied along with the burial of a dog, which obtained from Gohar Tepe site located in Behshahr city of Mazandaran province. The dog in squatted form, buried inside a jar, which placed at the bottom of the skeleton. The purpose of this study is to explain the tradition of animal sacrifice to high-level individuals in the Iron Age society because little research has done on the tradition of the sacrificial iron age in the north of Iran. The questions that can express in this research are why the dog was beheaded, and it was buried in the form of human burial and buried inside a jar with burial vessels. The current research hypothesis is that the dog's head was cut off during the burial, indicating a sacrificial tradition. Also, the burial of a dog in a jar and fetal posture shows that the owner has a high value in society. In this research, dog burial discovered from Gohar Tepe site investigated using a field study method. The results show that the dog placed in a jar without a head, and according to the available evidence, can be said that the dog was sacrificed and buried within its owner, this unique burial shows the type of sacrifice tradition in the first millennium BC in the north of Iran. According to archaeological studies, in the late second millennium BC, due to the migration from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau, various developments are formed. such as a cemetery tradition, metalworking, and pottery in the Iron Age sites, especially in the north and northwest of Iran, which one of these developments is the burial tradition

Human groups have considered the Behshahr plain of Mazandaran in the past Due to its particular geographical shape, location between the Caspian Sea and mountains, and the existence of some rivers in the region. However, our knowledge of this area is limited to several published surveys and archaeological investigation of its ancient sites. No detailed research has conducted on the formation of the settlement and the impact of geographical factors on it. Therefore, it is necessary to study the structure of the settlement pattern of this region. In the present study, new methods in archeology and a combination of archaeological data and remote sensing science were used rather than the traditional methods. Archaeologists need to know the advantages and disadvantages of using satellite remote sensing as a powerful tool for visualizing past perspectives. Applying remote sensing in archeology is one of the purposes of this study. Aerial photography, geophysics, laser scanning, geographic information analysis in GIS, and satellite imagery analysis are all aspects of remote sensing. They are all valuable for ancient research and promote non-destructive archeology, where using satellite remote sensing in archeology is the focus of this article. From a practical perspective, there can be an advancement over the traditional archaeologistchr('39')s research works with research using remote sensing satellite techniques. The use of satellite remote sensing for discoveries in archaeological studies, environment, and research programs, will be very usual and perfect and give us a fantastic insight into the social landscape of the past. This article discusses the types of satellite imagery with their advantages and disadvantages available to archaeologists and their applications in various archaeological projects to select the most appropriate images and provide information on other image types. To better understand the cases mentioned above, the settlement pattern of Behshahr evaluated with a combination of field methods and remote sensing techniques, GIS, spatial analysis functions, and multivariate regression methods. In this study, a sentinel-2 satellite image with a spatial resolution of 10 m noted on 2017, Topographic maps, 1/25000 maps and spatial data of the study area used after necessary preprocessing and correction, information layers including forest land cover, water zones, fields, coastal lands, elevation, and waterways classified as effectual environmental factors (independent parameter) in the formation of ancient settlements. In the next step, using buffer function to the spatial value of the settlements as a dependent parameter, linear regression modeling was used for spatial modeling and analysis. Therefore, the relative importance of the information layers and the potential spatial map of the ancient settlements obtained. As a result, the distribution of the settlements specified in each information layers. In addition to extracting and grading environmental information, their impact on the settlement formation in the research area was investigated. Access to water resources had played a significant role in this regard while distance from farms was the next priority. Attention to the importance of elevation factor in the formation of ancient sites, it is worth noting that the elevation factor has been less considered due to all sites situated in the plain of Behshahr, and has the least role in the formation of these settlements.