Chogha Bonut

Chogha Bonut (Persian Choghā bonut) is an archaeological site in south-western Iran, located in the Khuzistan Province.

The site is about 20 km southeast of Dezful, and 5 km west of Chogha Mish, another ancient site.

It is believed that the site was settled as early as 7200 BCE, making it the oldest lowland village in south-western Iran.^[1][2]

This settlement on the Susiana Plain played a big role in the early Elam civilization. Later, this area became dominated by Susa. The site is important because it preserves a record of preceramic period settlement in Iran.

Archaeology

The site has an area about 50 meters in diameter and about 5 meters in height.^[3] It was accidentally discovered in 1976 when the mound was being leveled for agribusiness development. Helene Kantor, then working at Chogha Mish nearby, hurried to the site and received a permit to investigate it.^[4]

Kantor remained for two seasons (1976/77 and 1977/78), but was unable to return in 1979 due to the Iranian Revolution.^{[2][5][6][7][8]} Abbas Alizadeh continued investigations at the site in 1996.^[2] His findings were published in 2003.^[1] It is one of the few Neolithic sites excavated since the Iranian revolution.^[9]

Among the finds were 41 clay tokens.^[10]

Settlement

Five phases of occupation are documented at the site:

1. the Aceramic phase,
2. the Formative Ceramic phase, (Film Painted Ware)^[11]
3. the Archaic Susiana 0 phase (includes the Early Susiana period, ca. 5900 BCE),
4. the Late Middle Susiana phase (ca. 5200 BCE)
5. the Late Susiana 2 phase. (ca. 4400-4000 BCE)^[12]

See also

• Prehistory of Iran
• Cities of the ancient Near East

References

1. Alizadeh, Abbas (2003). Excavations at the prehistoric mound of Chogha Bonut, Khuzestan, Iran : seasons 1976/77, 1977/78, and 1996, Oriental Institute Publications 120 (PDF). Chicago, Ill.: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in association with the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization. ISBN 1-885923-23-6. OCLC 53122624.
2. Alizadeh, Abbas., "EXCAVATIONS AT CHOGHA BONUT: THE EARLIEST VILLAGE IN SUSIANA, IRAN", The Oriental Institute News and Notes, No. 153, Spring 1997
3. Curtis, Vesta Sarkhosh, and St. John Simpson. “Archaeological News from Iran: Second Report.” Iran, vol. 36, 1998, pp. 185–94
4. Alden, John R. (2005). "Review of Excavations at the Prehistoric Mound of Chogha Bonut, Khuzestan, Iran: Seasons of 1976/77, 1977/78, and 1996". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 125 (1): 109–111. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 20064295.
5. Helene J. Kantor, "Excavations at Chogha Mish and Chogha Bonut", Oriental Institute 1976-1977 Annual Report, 1977
6. Helene J. Kantor, "Chogha Mish and Chogha Bonut", Oriental Institute 1977-1978 Annual Report, 1978
7. Helene J. Kantor, "Chogha Mish and Chogha Bonut", Oriental Institute 1978-1979 Annual Report, 1979
8. Helene J. Kantor, "Chogha Mish and Chogha Bonut", Oriental Institute 1979-1980 Annual Report, 1980
9. Hole, Frank. Neolithic Age in Iran], The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies, Retrieved July 21, 2010
10. Overmann, Karenleigh A.. "CHAPTER 9. THE NEOLITHIC CLAY TOKENS". The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, 2019, pp. 157-178
11. BERNBECK, Reinhard. “MIGRATORY PATTERNS IN EARLY NOMADISM: A RECONSIDERATION OF TEPE TULA’I.” Paléorient, vol. 18, no. 1, 1992, pp. 77–88
12. Abbas Alizadeh, "Excavations at Chogha Bonut, an Aceramic Neolithic Site in Lowland Susiana, Southwestern Iran", Neo-Lithics: A Newsletter of Southwest Asian Lithics Research, 1997

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