Topographical map with red triangles indicating sites of interest

Distribution of Archaeological Sites Across Deh Luran Landscape, Western Iran

Analysis of Land, Water, and Settlement Through Remote Sensing and Ground Survey:

Case Studies from Zagros-Mesopotamia

Mitra Panahipour

ISAW Visiting Assistant Professor

This lecture will take place online; a Zoom link will be provided via email to registered participants.

Registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rescheduled-analysis-of-land-water-and-settlement-zagros-mesopotamia-registration-149941764855

Note: This lecture was originally scheduled for April 1st and has been rescheduled for April 26th.

Understanding dynamic interactions between past populations and their lands has been one of the primary goals of archaeological studies. In this regard, detecting different settlement systems such as sedentary and mobile patterns, and diverse land-use practices in light of socioeconomic demands and environmental conditions can clarify broader issues of resource management, sustainability, and longer-term landscape changes.

This lecture explores the highlands and lowlands of the west and southwestern Iran, where the transitional nature of the land created a dynamic ecosystem and variability in resources created both risks and opportunities in land-use and production. It presents results of a multidisciplinary approach combining recent remote sensing techniques for documenting and modeling past landscapes, that also illustrate the potentials for future fieldwork, in conjunction with previously acquired archaeological ground survey data and ethnographic records, in order to identify episodes of coping with variable environments, intensification, mobility, and abandonments.

Mitra Panahipour is Visiting Assistant Professor at ISAW. She is an anthropological archaeologist specializing in landscape archaeology, remote sensing techniques, geospatial analysis, and historical periods in the ancient Near/Middle East. Since joining ISAW in 2019, Mitra has initiated a research project to revisit Deh Luran archaeological landscape, located between the highlands of the Zagros Mountains and lowlands of Khuzestan. As home to some of the earliest prehistoric investigations and ethnoarchaeological observations in the region, first surveys and excavations in Deh Luran resulted in significant discoveries of the development of social complexity, early agricultural settlements, water management and irrigation techniques, and the relations between highlands and lowlands. In this project, she is applying an interdisciplinary method by using results of the past records, in conjunction with recent landscape surveys, various remote sensing and geospatial analyses, environmental data, and ethnoarchaeological documents to examine long term patterns of settlement, land-use practices, and relations between sedentary and mobile communities throughout Deh Luran's history. In addition, she aims to elucidate chronologies, patterns of occupation, and land use during its later historical periods.

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