Connections between the northern Zagros and Mesopotamia during the fifth millennium BCE: New insights from Tepe Namashir

In 2012, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of Kurdistan Province excavated a series of small, stratigraphic soundings at the site of Tepe Namashir in the northwestern part of Kurdistan Province, Iran. These excavations retrieved a sequence of occupation that spanned the fifth millennium BCE (Early to Late Chalcolithic). Interestingly, while the earlier occupation was characterized by Dalma pottery that is native to the Zagros region, the later occupation included increasing influences from northern Mesopotamia, first with the introduction of small amounts of late ’Ubaid sherds followed by an increasing dominance of plain wares characterized by heavy chaff temper (Chaff-Faced Ware). As such, the excavation results from Tepe Namashir shed light on questions regarding the interaction between Mesopotamian and Zagros communities during the fifth millennium BCE based on the distribution patterns of ceramic traditions.