Uruk Grey Ware in Western Iran

So called Uruk grey ware is one of the most important fourth millennium B.C pottery type of upper Mesopotamia. This typical pottery type dating back to the middle phases of Late chalcolithic period (LC3-4) of northern Mesopotamia. This ware is a handmade and chaff tempered/chaff-faced pottery. Uruk grey ware reported from many chalcolithic period sites in upper Mesopotamia extended from north of Syria and Iraq to the south-east of Turkey. Even upper Mesopotamia and western Iran are neighboring regions and have a firm cultural interaction during prehistory, but there is not clear information regarding Uruk grey ware in west of Iran. recent archaeological investigation carried out in some regions in western Iran archaeological sites like Tepe Qaleh Naneh in Marivan county, identified some handmade chaff tempered pottery seems to be Uruk grey pottery. Noted that Tepe Qaleh Naneh was first reported by Bu Alisina expedition in 2003. The site was revisited in 2015 resulted unmourns Godin VI (Late Uruk) pottery. Regarding the value of this pottery in late chalcolithic pottery studies, Present paper would try to investigate and evaluate the new founded martials from Marivan region. On the subject of non-local provenance of Uruk grey war which is located in upper Mesopotamia, the main question concerning this typical pottery type in western Iran is about the way of its intrusion and development in this area. In order to find the answer our question, we compared and analyzed Uruk grey pottery unearthed from archaeological sites like Tepe Qale Nane and some other chalcolithic period sites in western Iran like Tepe Kalnan. The result of our studies concerning this pottery showing that Uruk grey ware is not confined in Upper Mesopotamian horizon and some parts of western Iran is also influenced from this ware. Regarding firm archaeological interaction between western Iran and Upper Mesopotamia in fourth millennium B.C, so called Uruk grey war was introduced in western Iran also.

Obviously Upper Mesopotamia the same as southern Mesopotamia has an important role regarding the study of first cities in the world. After long time using local chronological table related to the late chalcolithic period studies in northern Mesopotamia, from 2000 onward, a new table which is based on changes occurred in martial cultures and particularly pottery was used. This new table divided the entire chalcolithic period (4500-3100 BC) to 5 phase: LC (Late Chalcolithic) 1: 4500-4200 BC is a transitional phase (Post-Ubaid) between Ubaid 4 and Early Uruk and characterized by typical Black On Buff (BOB) painted ware but with more limited painting compare to Ubaid 4. LC2: 4200-3850 is overlap somewhat with Early Uruk of southern Mesopotamia but without any southern influences. This phase is characterized by disappear of painted pottery and apparent of plain chaff tempered wares. LC3: 3850-3700 BC is characterized by new worldwide type (Chaff-Face) ware with its 4 typical variant: grey-black ware, Casserole, Hammerhead and potter mark. LC4/5:3600-3100 is overlap with middle and late Uruk period of southern Mesopotamia (Rothman, 2001: 370-72). After long time absence of southern influences, in the middle of 4th millennium BC, we see that southern Mesopotamia influences like Beveled rime pottery. One of the typical pottery style of Upper Mesopotamian late chalcolithic period is so called Uruk grey ware that is one of the chaff face variant. This type is really less known in western Iran, but recently in our survey carried out in Marivan area in western Iran, we succeed in discovering a few chaff face grey ware the same as Upper Mesopotamian Uruk grey ware. Discovering this new grey ware, showing the key position of this area from western Iran regarding to late chalcolithic period studies. Hoping future studies tell more about this unknown pottery style.
 

As mentioned Uruk grey ware is not western Iranian pottery type. This ware seems to be originated outside western Iran and its provenance is located in northern Mesopotamia (Gut, 2002: 20; Brustolon and Rova, 2007: 15-16). Regarding this issue, the main question about this pottery in western Iran is how and why this pottery is identified in this area? The most common and principal hypothesis may lay in immigration of people more transparency communities, but our studies show something different. in order to find the answer of proposed question, we analyses Uruk grey ware of some key sites in western Iran like Tepe Qlaeh Naneh in Marivan region. Qlaeh Naneh is a multi-period archaeological mound located in Marivan region in western Iran (Mohammadifar & Motarjem, 2003). This sites are dominated by prehistoric deposits and particular late chalcolithic period remains (Saedmoucheshi et al. 2015). Our evaluation and comparisons of this ware with similar ones from neighboring regions and specially northern Mesopotamia demonstrated that this pottery was introduced and developed in western Iran as a result of archaeological interaction between Western Iran and upper Mesopotamia in fourth millennium B.C. even western Iran and Upper Mesopotamia are in contact and have an archaeological interaction some times before late chalcolithic period in 4th millennium B.C, but with begging of  urbanization process in Mesopotamia in fourth millennium B.C this cultural interaction have raised and a firm interaction was formed. As a result of this cultural interaction both regions influenced from each other. One of the main sign of this relation and interaction is introducing of so called Uruk grey ware in western Iran.
 

What have been known as grey pottery in western Iran archaeological studies is confined to the bronze and Iron Age. But our new founded martials from some regions in western Iran like Tepe Qlaeh Naneh in Marivan showing that there is also some chaff-faced pottery in late chalcolithic period also called Uruk grey ware. Our methodology in this paper is based on comparative studies: Investigation the Similarities of Upper Mesopotamian Late Chalcolithic Period Potteries and particularly so called Uruk Grey ware with similar one that recently discovered in Marivan area in west of Iran. our studies show, as Upper Mesopotamian LC period and Qafghaz area that has some typical black and grey style ware in the first half to mid of fourth millennium BC, in western Iran there is the same grey style pottery that are totally different from bronze and Iron age grey ware. The most important characterization of this pottery is about their surface treatment: the outer surface of this ware is chaff-faced. This issue is a main sign for distinguishing this pottery from bronze and Iron age grey ware. Our discovery has an important role in Late Chalcolithic period studies of Western Iran and particularly border area like Marivan. Our findings are some grey ware including plain vegetated bowl. The bowl is fairly made with some burnished residue on the surface. This new ware has the same parallel in Upper Mesopotamian counterpart like: Arbil and Sharizor plain (Peyronel and Vacca, 2015) in Iraqi Kurdistan, Grai Rash (Kepinski et al. 2011), Tepe Gwara (Gawra VIII), (Rothman, 2002: 52), Tel Zeidan (Stein, 2009; 2010; 2011), Tel Brak (Mattwes, 2003). So we belief that our recent findings in Marivan belong to wider horizon of Uruk Grey ware of Upper Mesopotamia which extended to the western Iran and embracing the Marivan area also.