A Comparative Study of Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Lapui Pottery with North Fars, Based on Petrographic Method

The Lapui period is one of the prehistoric cultural stages of South Zagros that was first introduced by McCown and Langsdorff in the excavations of Tall-i-Bakun in the Bakun A surface layer. But it was Louis Vanden Berghe who first used the title “Lapui”. Lapui Pottery has been extensively obtained in the Sumner survey of the Kor River Basin, on the other hand, Lapui pottery is found in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari mountains in high quantity and quality. The question arises as to what the relationship between the Lapui Pottery of these two regions was. Therefore, the present study compares 17 sherds of Lapui pottery belonging to four Archaeological sites of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari with 7 sherds of Kur River Basin sites (Lapui and Tall-i-Bakun) by the petrographic method in order to investigate the similarity and differentiation of these pottery sherds. Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Mountains, on the other hand, have provided a suitable nomadism habitat that has been the focus of Lapui culture. In fact, the existence of the highlands and its rich foothills provide favorable conditions for herd movements, in addition to the abundant water resources in the region, which has long been the focus of nomads. But petrographic studies on pottery sherds scientifically investigate this nomadism. Finally, considering the similarities of pottery texture, fillers, Gap analysis, and baking pottery temperature, it can be concluded that the knowledge of making Lapui pottery has been transferred to the northern boundaries of this culture under the influence of nomadic movements and that the inhabitants of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari geography today act. They have made Lapui pottery, which is justified in the slightest contrast to some samples in the region with northern Fars. On the other hand, the degree of similarity of some samples of the southern areas of the Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari with those of Fars is such that it is reminiscent of their importation.
Keywords: Lapui Pottery, Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari, Kor River Basin, Pottery Petrography, Nomadism.
 
Introduction
In the Kor River Basin, there are several prehistoric sites with red slip pottery found on the surface of which and had previously been seen in the upper layers of  Tall-i-Bakun A (Langsdorff and McCown, 1942: 32). One of these sites is “Tepe Lapui”, which derives its name from a village of the same name (which has now become a city). It is noteworthy that the name “Lapui”, now one of the cultural stages of South Zagros, was first mentioned by Louis Vanden Berghe (VandenBerghe, 1954: 401). As noted, McCown and Langsdorff first introduced it in the excavations of Tall-i-Bakun, in the surface layer of Bakun A. They first recorded it as Bakun A 5 (Langsdorff and McCown, 1942: 32), due to the different pottery properties they had observed (compared to the painted Bakun pottery). The pottery obtained from Bakun AV was similar to the pottery that Sumner had obtained in his studies of the Kor River Basin. Accordingly, the simple red pottery of Bakun A 5 was designated as Lapui Pottery, a separate period in the prehistory of Fars sequence. In addition to Fars, Lapui pottery has been found in Bakhtiari area (Zagarell, 1982 and Khosrowzadeh 1386, 88, 89 and 90). Lapui pottery from Bakhtiari region has not been studied separately and cohesively so far, and the nature of its association with Lapui pottery of the Kor River Basin, which originates in Lapui culture, remains unclear. The present study seeks to conduct a detailed comparative study of 24 pottery sherds from two provinces of Fars and Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari using Petrography method to determine the nature of the relationship in the fourth millennium BC (3900 to 3400 BC) in the north of Fars with the Bakhtiari Mountains. On the other hand, it is worth noting that for the Lapui period, it has been suggested to change the settlement patterns and to move to Nomadism. Alizadeh, for example, has some evidence of the change in the settlement patterns of Lapui culture over Bakun A’s settlements (Alizadeh, 2004: 82) Or, Sumner argues, Nomadism was a response to the rapid decline in productivity in the Sun region, due to the adverse consequences of excessive use of agricultural land (Sumner, 1972). How is the position of the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari mountains and its highland plains, along with the abundant water resources located on the northern boundaries of the Lapui culture, defined? It seems that the landscape of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari and its potential are of interest to the Originator of Lapui culture.
 
Discussion
According to petrographic studies in general, it can be stated that quartz minerals are found in all samples. It has been used as the main filler and Temper. This mineral is generally single crystalline with angular to semi-rounded margins. But there is also a less frequent type of polycrystalline. The angularity of the quartz minerals is due to two reasons: the quartz is not displaced from its original origin or is deliberately crushed by the potter and added to the clay. In some samples, it is the dominant constituent of calcite and has less abundant quartz. As mentioned, calcite is considered a thermal index because calcite minerals dissipate at temperatures around 800 degrees Celsius. Due to the geology of the two provinces and the existence of different calcareous and carbonate formations, the absence of calcite in some pottery indicates that the degree of baking pottery has exceeded 800 degrees Celsius. The use of different stone fragments in the studied Lapui pottery as temper was not common. The use of limestone and calcite in the pottery structure of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province is more common than Fars province. The structure of some samples shows a flow state that goes back to the type of pottery created. The color change in the body of the pottery or the different color of the pottery has nothing to do with their composition, depending on the conditions of oxidation and resuscitation and the amount of oxygen at the time of pottery baking. Finally, it can be stated that, according to the above explanations, all pottery studies are of local origin and differ only in their primary origin, time and place of manufacture. For this reason, the minerals in the pottery are different. According to the objectives of the study, it can be concluded that the structure of all the pottery in these areas is similar to each other and their major difference is related to their original composition and origin.
 
Conclusion
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari have good living conditions for a Nomadism lifestyle that is still maintained even today; As was also the focus of Lapui culture. The distribution of Lapui sites in the province was studied and it was found that the southern sites of the province provided significant quantitative and qualitative pottery samples. On the other hand, petrographic studies on 24 samples of Lapui pottery in two provinces show structural and compositional similarities between samples. These parallels reflect the spread of Lapui culture on its northern borders, which has led to the transfer of Lapui pottery knowledge to the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari foothills. In addition to the overall microscopic similarity between the samples, four of the pottery samples of the province (G.C 11, 22 and M.T 07, 04) are similar in structure, composition, baking pottery temperature, and texture quality to those in North Fars. This high similarity does not appear to be accidental, and these four pottery sherds may have been influenced by Nomadism movements in the province, with all four pottery sherds belonging to southern areas of the province. Thus, the Lapui pottery of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari has been directly (imported) and indirectly (transfer of production knowledge) influenced by the Potters of the Kor River Basin.