Authors
1
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Conservation and Restoration, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan. Iran.
2
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Conservation and Restoration, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
3
Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
10.22084/nb.2023.27264.2540
Abstract
Dalma is a 5th millennium BC archaeological phenomenon and a widespread trans-regional tradition in Southwest Asia. One way this tradition’s material culture is expressed is through pottery. At least six decades have passed since Dalma’s pottery was first identified, but very little is known about the area’s general archaeological context. In addition to the uncertainties and fundamental challenges surrounding its chronology, geographic scope, and distribution, as one of the most essential components of Dalma culture, the question of how it is organized socio-economically is left unsolved. The archaeology of Dalma’s cultural material suggests that the phenomenon’s expanded architectural context has not yet been fully understood; ambiguity surrounds the nature of the residential sites and the settlement hierarchy. The socioeconomic aspects of Dalma should not be ignored despite the lack of data, though. Therefore, it is crucial to select an approach to make the best use of the scant data that is now available. Such an approach should focus on the socioeconomic effects of Dalma pottery as the only abundant and diverse data. This study offers a political economics examination of Dalma pottery as a commodity with a focus on its common characteristics. Using this research, it can be concluded that Dalma pottery was produced by a pottery expert outside of the context of a family. According to qualitative analyses, Dalma pottery has improved from the past, but from the perspective of political economy, it may not have been a costly item. In line with the expansion of Dalma pottery and its geographic scope, the number of settlements shows the substantial abundance of Dalma pottery use. Pottery has, however, generally always been used in a nonhierarchical way. This result, coupled with the scarcity of data on management practices, highlights the difficulties in comprehending Dalma’s socioeconomic and economic characteristics more so than it does its nonhierarchical socioeconomic aspects.
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