Early Villages on the Persian Gulf Littoral: Revisiting Tol-e Pir and the Galehdār Valley

Abstract

The archaeological site of Tol-e Pir is situated in the Galehdār Valley, in the south of Fars Province. The site was discovered by Sir M. Aurel Stein in 1933 and is the only prehistoric mound on or adjacent to the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf that has been excavated. Ceramic material from the surface and excavations is similar to material from well dated sites in the highland Kur River Basin and indicate that the site was occupied during the fifth millennium B.C. Tol-e Pir is thus critical for demarcating the distribution of Chalcolithic painted black-on-buff ceramics in south-west and south Iran, characterising the interaction between populations in different environmental zones during the fifth millennium B.C., and also understanding the development of complexity in early village societies. This paper reviews the initial discovery and excavation of the site, presents the results of a recent survey of the mound, analyses the distinctive black-on-buff painted ceramics, introduces sites that have recently been discovered in the region, and delineates the broader environmental and archaeological contexts.