Relative and radiocarbon ( 14 C) chronologies of the Elamite period from the Bashar River Basin, Iran
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24212461 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Morteza Khanipour (0000-0002-9828-0826, "Silk Road" International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage), Reza Naseri (0000-0001-5425-5875, Zabol University), Zeinab Mahjoub (0009-0001-3036-1232, University of Mazandaran), Barbara Helwing (0000-0001-9226-1053, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz), Arkadiusz Sołtysiak (University of Warsaw), Motahare Feizabadi Farahani (Stockholm University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1127-1145 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Radiocarbon (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-8222 • E-ISSN: 1945-5755 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/rdc.2026.10253 |
| OpenAlex | W7214959333 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
During the Bronze and Iron Ages, large parts of western, southern and southwestern Iran were under the influence of the Elamite polity. Over the past two decades, excavations at the cemeteries of Deh Dumen, Lahsavareh, and Lama have revealed significant evidence dating to the Elamite period. Archaeological data indicate that these cemeteries were used over extended periods of time. To establish a more precise chronology for these cemeteries, six human bone samples from the Deh Dumen and Lahsavareh cemeteries were subjected to radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating. In addition, one radiocarbon date from the Lama cemetery has previously been published. The oldest evidence of settlement at Deh Dumen dates back to the Proto-Elamite period, for which a date between 3200 and 2800 BCE can be suggested based on comparisons of pottery with sites from the same period for which absolute dates are available. The new 14 C results show that the oldest graves identified at Deh Dumen can be dated to between 2500 and 2200 BCE, corresponding to the Old Elamite period. Then, from about 1400 to 1100 BCE, burials took place in the two cemeteries of Deh Dumen and Lahsavareh, which coincides with the Middle Elamite period, and finally, burials were carried out again in these two cemeteries from about 800 to 600 BCE during the Neo Elamite period. Although only one 14 C date has been published from Lama, showing a date of ca. 1600–1450 BCE, comparing its findings with those from Lahsavareh and Deh Dumen suggests that this cemetery was also used as a cemetery for a long period in the second millennium and the first half of the first millennium BC. Absolute dating carried out in these cemeteries allows to separate and date the cultural materials of the Old, Middle, and Neo Elamite periods in the Zagros highlands more precisely.
Bronze Age · burial · Iron Age · Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
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The Elamite World
New Light on Šimaški and Its Rulers
On the Dynasty of Šimaški and the Early Sukkalmahs
The Question of Marḫaši
Elamites and Other Peoples from Iran and the Persian Gulf Region in Early Mesopotamian Sources
The Susa Sequence-3000-2000 B. C
The Art of Elam ca. 4200–525 bc
Local Exchange and Early State Development in Southwestern Iran
The IntCal20 Northern Hemisphere Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curve (0–55 cal kBP)
Technical Studies on the Bronze Age Metal Artefacts from the Graveyard of Deh Dumen, South-Western Iran (Third Millennium BC)
The lifestyles of Bronze Age Zagros highlanders at Deh Dumen, Iran
The Chehr Abad “Salt men” and the isotopic ecology of humans in ancient Iran
Burial Practices of the Bronze Age
Lead isotope analysis of Bronze Age copper alloy objects from Deh Dumen graveyard, southwestern Iran
Population, Exchange, and Early State Formation in Southwestern Iran
| Highly cited | No |
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