New Discoveries in the Bampur Valley (South-Eastern Iran) and Their Implications for the Understanding of Settlement Pattern in the Indo-Iranian Borderlands During the Chalcolithic Period

This article presents the results of the first systematic archaeological survey of the Bampur Valley in south-eastern Iran. This survey discovered 39 Chalcolithic sites dating to between the mid-to-late fifth and mid-to-late fourth millennium BC and collected numerous archaeological ceramics. These new data include substantial evidence for relationships with cultural complexes extending in the neighbouring regions of Kerman to the north-west and Kech-Makran in Pakistan to the south-east, as well as materials with styles never previously seen. Analysis of this data provides important, new details as to the chronology and archaeological cultures of the Bampur Valley and enables a first assessment of settlement pattern in this valley during the Chalcolithic period. Data of this survey are also critical for comprehending the cultural spheres and interactions at the level of southern Middle Asia at that time.