Abstract
The burnished gray ware which characterizes the Bronze Age (about 3800-1600 B.C.) has been found in the mountainous lands of the Northern Iran. However, much is unknown about its function, origin, or the background of its distribution. This uncertainty has been the main factor which has hindered the analysis of the Bronze Age culture in this region.
Recently, pottery that appears to be at the earliest stage of this ware has been excavated in Tappeh Hoseynābād, situated in the Gorgan Plain of north-east Iran. Stratigraphical changes in the pottery at this site probably indicate changes in the form and technique of this ware at its earliest stage. Also, we can expect to learn much about other wares of this period from other pottery found there.
In this paper, we present an outline of the pottery excavated in Tappeh Hoseynābād, material which has not been published, and position the pottery within the study of the Bronze Age. We conclude that the pottery of Tappeh Hoseynābād should be dated to the ‘appearance’ stage of the burnished gray ware, and it may be able to fill in the ‘hiatus’ in the chronology of this ware. When one follows the changes in the pottery at this site, it seems possible to interpret the ‘appearance’ of this ware itself as being a more gradual process than has been hitherto supposed. In this process, burnished gray ware may have passed though not only quantitative changes, but also some qualitative changes, as those in technique and function. Thus we can say that the pottery of Tappeh Hoseynābād may offer important data for analyzing the origin and regional changes in the burnished gray ware of Iran.
