HI THE “SURROUNDING AREAS”
NINETEEN THE BMAC PRESENCE IN EASTERN IRAN: State of affairs in December 2018 - towards the Greater Khorasan Civilization?
INTRODUCTION
One of the most interesting phenomenon of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) is its diffusion in a significant part of Middle Asia as shown by the presence of various classes and types of artifacts that probably indicate several modalities of expansion. In order to study this phenomenon it is important to precisely identify and determine the four different areas that are concerned within this vast region (Biscione and Vahdati, forthcoming). Before we proceed to their presentation, it must be underlined here that the authors prefer to adopt the term “Greater Khorasan Civilization,” or GKC, to that of BMAC, for the reasons explained below.
The formative area
There is no doubt that the BMAC/GKC has its roots in the Namazga culture, therefore it can be expedient to consider as the “formative area” the region covered by the Namazga (NMG) periods I-IV, from the Early Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age (Figures 19. i and 19.2) (see also Chapter 4 and contra Chapters 1 and 20). As can be seen from Figure 19.1,' the formative area embraces a good deal of northeastern Iran (Biscione and Vahdati 2012: 356; Vahdati 1394/2015). It includes: the upper Atrek valley from Shirvan to Quchan (Venco Ricciardi 1980); the areas of Darreh Gaz (Kohl and Heskel 1980: 163-169; Yusefi Zoshk and Baghizadeh 1391/2011) and Mashhad (Basafa and Rahmati 1393/2014; Habibi et al. 2015); the western part of the region of Nishapur (Hiebert and Dyson 2002: 117-122);2 the area of Sabzevar (Vahdati and Francfort 1389/2010; Francfort et al. 2014); and the region of Torbat-e Jam, southeast of Mashhad, where the site of Tepe Mokhar, on the eastern outskirts of the city, has given GKC pottery and ceramics of period NMG IV and perhaps III.’
The recent discoveries of Tepe Mokhar and Tepe Chupan, west of Bardaskan, and of Tepe Nay, east of Kashmar (Figure 19.3),4 the last two with local pottery similar
Figure 19.1 Geographical features and modern cities mentioned in the chapter. (Elaboration by the authors based on maps downloaded from Maps-for-free, https://maps-for-free.com/.)
to that known at Tepe Borj (Garajian 2012: 59-62), show that the southern border of the formative region follows approximately the line Sabzevar-western Nishapur plain-Torbat-e Jam-Mashhad region (Figures 19.1 and 19.2). Thus, the surface occupied by the Namazga culture on the Iranian Plateau is indeed larger than that known in southern Turkmenistan.
The core area
The BMAC/GKC extends over most of the “formative area” but also far beyond it and includes Margiana (if not significantly settled during the Early Bronze Age) and Bactria.5 In this vast area, the zone where the BMAC/GKC is only preceded by the Namazga culture or where it represents the first occupation, either because the regions were not inhabited or because earlier sites are unknown,6 can be considered as the “core area” (see Figure 19.2). In Iran, it seems to coincide with the presently known border of the “formative area.”
Figure 19.2 “Formative” and “core” areas of the BMAC/ GKC and archaeological sites with BMAC/ GKC materials determining expansion and influence areas. (Elaboration by the authors based on maps downloaded from Maps-for-free, https://maps-for-free.com/.)
The expansion area
In recent years, outside the “core area,” a number of cases in which the BMAC/ GKC replaced the previously existing cultures/civilizations have been identified. The regions concerned by this replacement can be defined as the “expansion area” and include parts of eastern Iran, beyond the borders of the “core area.” The sites where this expansion is clear (see Figure 19.2) are presented in the following sections, but the borders of this area are still fuzzy and uncertain. Part of this expansion went westwards, to the region of Bojnord in the Middle Atrek valley, and of Jajarm-Esfarayen in the valley of the northern Kal-e Shur, both areas located in northern Khorasan. Another (greater) part is located southwards, in the southern part of Khorasan and in the Iranian and Afghan Seistan (see also Chapter 20).
Figure 19.3 Archaeological sites mentioned in the chapter. (Elaboration by the authors based on maps downloaded from Maps-for-free, https://maps-for-free.com/.)
The influence area
There is also a significant BMAC/GKC presence in regions occupied by other cultures. This presence ranges from a coexistence where both material cultures are represented, to a sporadic presence of BMAC/GKC luxury objects. In the opinion of the authors, this could be defined as the “influence area.” It includes sites already known (see Figure 19.2), like the massive BMAC/GKC presence, with a substantial amount of pottery7 found to the east of the core area, at Shortughai (Francfort 1989: 65-70), and to the southeast, at Mehrgarh (Santoni 1988; Jarrige 1989), Nausharo (Jarrige 1988), and Sibri (Santoni 1984, 1988) (see also Chapters 20 and 21).8 Similarly, in Iran, it includes the well-known cases of Shahdad, Tepe Yahya, Jiroft, Khurab (see Chapter 20), and Tepe Hissar, where its presence is essentially represented by luxury objects (like at Jiroft). In a number of other sites the BMAC/GKC evidence is limited to a few or isolated objects (Biscione and Vahdati, forthcoming).
This chapter focuses on the expansion area and on the sites of the influence area not yet published or difficult for Western scholars to access. Table 19.1 provides information on the type of site, settlement, or graveyard we are dealing with.
