Recent Rock Art Finds from North of Kavar in Fars, Iran

Abstract

An archaeological survey of Tasouj district, Kavar County in eastern Fars province was conducted by Parsa Ghasemi in March 2012. The survey resulted in the identification of 34 archaeological sites. Two sites – a cave and a rock shelter named Pir-Barreh – contained rock paintings. The two sites are located 10km north of Kavar, about 1km northeast of the village of Anjireh on the eastern flank of the Pir-Barreh gorge. The rock art is predominantly composed of paintings in ochre red, depicting designs that may be dendromorphs (tree forms), geometric/abstract patterns (square, fingertip decorations, cross-like motifs, a possible image of the sun, filled circular images and other unidentified forms), and positive hand prints. These works were probably created by dabbing fingers in a moistened red pigment which is likely to have been hematite. The style used in these paintings is similar to those discovered in eastern Fars. The existence of paintings of a similar style in eastern Fars province may indicate that a specific style of rock art culture was prevalent across a wide area of the southern Zagros Mountains region. This painting style bears a strong resemblance to the style of motifs on potsherds dated to the Chalcolithic era found in the region, including some from Tall-e Gap (5000-4200 BC), from Bakun A (4200-3800 BC) and potsherds of the Late Susiana 1 phase (4800-4300 B. C). This style and motif repertoire appears to have had remarkable continuity into the recent past in the tattoo art of some nomadic groups in the region.