پایش افق معماری با پلان گرد در روستاهای اولیه دوره‌ نوسنگی در حوضه زاگرس مرکزی ایران

A B S T R A C T
The circular plan, a key architectural characteristic of the early villages (PPNA) in the Near East, has been the subject of numerous archaeological studies aimed at understanding the circular architectural horizon in the Levant, Anatolia, and northern Mesopotamia basins. However, the Central Zagros, as one of the most important basins in Neolithic studies, has been largely overlooked in this field. In this study, to gain a more fundamental and comprehensive understanding of the circular architectural horizon, the existence or absence of this type of architecture in the Central Zagros of Iran will be examined as the primary focus of this research. Two basic questions raised in this field are: What is the earliest architectural evidence in the Early Neolithic villages in the Central Zagros of Iran? Moreover, what type of human communities was the earliest architectural evidence of the Early Neolithic villages in the Central Zagros of Iran associated with? In this context, architectural works and biological evidence related to the villages of the early phase of the Neolithic period in important Neolithic sites of the Central Zagros of Iran, including Asiab, Sarab, Ganj dareh, Goran, Abdul hosein, East Chia sbez and Kapargah, will constitute the sources of answers to our research questions. According to the results of this research, architecture with a circular plan in early villages in the Central Zagros of Iran, as well as in neighboring basins, was common in the Neolithic period in connection with hunter-gatherer groups, which was replaced by architecture with a rectangular plan in the next stage of the Neolithic period (the expansion and development of villages).
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Architectural structures with a circular plan are considered the earliest and most common village architectural plans in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPNA) throughout the ancient East. This type of architectural plan has been widely obtained from archaeological sites of the PPNA period (the first stage of the formation of rural communities) in the Zagros-Torres and Levant basins, such as Qermez Dere, M'lefaat, Nemrik, Zawi Chemi, Karim Shahir, Çemka Höyük, Körtik Tepe, Çayönü, Hallan Çemi, Gusir Höyük, Hasankeyf Höyük, Jerf el Ahmar, Hatoula, Tell Aswad, Dhra', Netiv Hagdud, Gesher, Beidha, etc. However, no research has been conducted in this field in the Central Zagros of Iran, as one of the most important basins for Neolithic studies in the Near East. Given that the Central Zagros of Iran is one of the important basins of the Fertile Crescent and had many cultural similarities with Northern Mesopotamia and southeastern Anatolia in the Neolithic period, and that, unlike other parts of the Fertile Crescent, the first architectural evidence in the Early Neolithic period in the Central Zagros of Iran has not been properly studied, this research gap has caused the results of research in the field of circular-plan architecture and hunter-gatherer groups to be incomplete across the region. In this study, in order to gain a more fundamental and comprehensive understanding of the horizon of circular-plan architecture in early Neolithic villages in the Near East, the presence or absence of circular-plan architecture in the Central Zagros of Iran as one of the most important foci of the Neolithic process will be studied as the main issue of this research. Two basic questions raised in this context are:
 1- What is the earliest evidence of architecture in Early Neolithic villages in the Central Zagros of Iran?
2- What type of human communities was the earliest evidence of architecture in Early Neolithic villages in the Central Zagros of Iran associated with?
 
 
 
Methodology
This research, based on fundamental studies, aims to understand the scope of architecture with a round plan during the initial stage of village formation in the Central Zagros Basin of Iran. The strategy of this research is qualitative based on the nature of the data studied (areas with a round architectural plan in the Central Zagros Basin of Iran), and sampling has been carried out using a quota method. The general design of this research is descriptive-historical and case study, considering the method of data collection. The strategy of this research has been carried out systematically, involving the examination of documents, records, and databases.
 
Results and discussion
In order to monitor the horizon of circular architecture, architectural remains and biological evidence related to early Neolithic villages in important Neolithic sites in the Central Zagros of Iran, including Asiab, Sarab, Ganj dareh, Goran, Abdul hosein, East Chia sbez and Kapargah, have been examined and studied. Archaeological evidence related to the earliest layers of these sites suggests an economy based on hunting and gathering wild plant resources; however, the architecture of these layers remains unknown. Several reasons have contributed to the preservation of the remains of circular architecture in the Central Zagros Basin of Iran. For example, the re-excavations of Tape Asiab have clearly shown that in the initial excavations of this site, the excavators did not notice the circular architecture of this site and only recognized 30 centimeters of its wall height. The architectural evidence obtained from Layer E of Ganj dareh, some of which were up to 180 centimeters in diameter, is the first layer of the Abdul hosein site. In describing its architectural works, the explorer has limited himself to their similarity to Layer E of Ganj Dareh. The first layers of the sites of Asiab, Sarab, Ganj dareh, Goran, Abdul hosein, East Chia sbez and Kapargah, show that the central Zagros of Iran, along with the adjacent cultural areas, were part of the circular architecture horizon basin in the Neolithic period, and the diet relying on wild plant and animal species clearly indicates the hunter-gatherer biogroups as the dominant type of human communities in this period, who lived in circular-plan huts. During the first phase of the Pre-Precipitation Period (PPNA) in Southwest Asia, hunting and gathering were the predominant economic activities. The population was sparse and small, and the dominant type of human community was characterized by circular-plan architecture. After the first phase of this period, during the PPNB, changes in architectural traditions, material culture, social identities, and the gradual emergence of widespread domestication have become the most important indicators of this basin. In the archaeology of the ancient Near East, it is widely accepted that this type of evidence is associated with hunter-gatherer societies and that their architecture typically features a circular plan.
 
Conclusion
The Central Zagros of Iran, as a significant part of the geography of Southwest Asia and one of the key geographical areas with rural sites, cannot be considered a distinct basin from the rest of Southwest Asia. Since the excavation of important Neolithic (rural) sites in the Central Zagros began in the 1960s and 1970s, aimed at identifying evidence of domestication (plants and animals), our knowledge of the details of the PPNA period (economic style, human communities, and architecture) remains incomplete. According to the results of this study, circular architecture in early villages in the Central Zagros of Iran, as well as its eastern part, southeastern Anatolia and the Levant, was common in connection with hunter-gatherer groups in the first phase of the Neolithic period, and this basin was an important part of the horizon of circular architecture in the Neolithic period. It seems that hunter-gatherer societies (the first stage of the formation of rural societies) in the central Zagros Mountains of Iran, in the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent, as well as in its northern and western parts, lived in underground and semi-underground huts with a circular plan, which was replaced by a rectangular architectural plan in the later stages of the Neolithic period.
 
Funding
There is no funding support.
 
Authors’ Contribution
The authors contributed equally to the conceptualization and writing of the article. All of the authors approved the content of the manuscript and agreed on all aspects of the work declaration of competing interest none.
 
Conflict of Interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the scientific consultants of this paper.