Tepe Hissar in the Fourth Millennium BCE

The fourth millennium BCE in northeastern Iran was marked by intricate interactions at both regional and trans-regional levels. During this time, Tepe Hissar’s inhabitants engaged in significant cultural exchanges involving pottery, figurines, and metal objects with various regions of central Iran. In the latter half of the millennium, these connections shifted towards northeastern Iran and the Gorgan Plain. Hissar became a hub for large-scale, centrally organized industries, particularly in metalworking and gemstone craftsmanship, such as lapis lazuli, which contributed to greater social stratification, evidenced by wealth accumulation in elite burials.New pottery chronologies offer a revised understanding of the cultural developments at the Hissar settlement and their social and cultural consequences, as seen in the material culture of settlements and burials. The primary goal of this research is to present the quantitative and qualitative changes in pottery and the influence of Tepe Hissar throughout the fourth millennium BCE. These changes indicate the formation of extensive internal and external cultural relationships, reflecting the cultural dynamism of Hissar during the fourth and third millennia BCE. It can likely be concluded that despite environmental heterogeneity in northeastern Iran, there were cultural homogeneities and similarities in this region. These can be observed in the resemblance of pottery styles and unified management techniques, which are attributed to cultural interactions between these communities within geographic and cultural frameworks.