Examination of the Temporal-Spatial Distribution of Ancient Sites in the Qezel Ozan River Basin, the eastern region of Kurdistan Province, Iran (1st Millennium BCE), with a Focus on Geographic Information System (GIS)

Javanmardzadeh, Ardeshir; Shahbazi Shiran, Habib; Rostami, Mozhgan

Examination of the Temporal-Spatial Distribution of Ancient Sites in the Qezel Ozan River Basin, the eastern region of Kurdistan Province, Iran (1^st Millennium BCE), with a Focus on Geographic Information System (GIS)

Document Type : Article extracted from the postdoctoral project

Authors

Ardeshir Javanmardzadeh ¹ ^¶

Habib Shahbazi Shiran ²

Mozhgan Rostami ³

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

³ Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objective: Human societies have long enabled settlements by creating habitable environments that are suitable for their surroundings. In archaeology, this approach emphasizes the significant role of environmental factors in evaluating settlements within each period. Besides identifying the extent of environmental impacts, this perspective reveals the degree of adaptation of habitats to prevailing environmental conditions. As spatial tools have advanced, GIS archaeology has evolved, allowing the visualisation of ancient settlements and the analysis of changes in spatial use over time.
Methodology: This study uses environmental factor analysis to examine the settlement and distribution patterns of 161 ancient sites in the Qezel Ozan Basin with a GIS information system. After the analysis of GIS maps, it assesses and distributes these settlements in relation to the natural environment, focusing on water resources, altitude, slope, and land use.
Results and Findings: Since the 1st millennium BCE, the foothills and plains have seen an expansion in the dispersion of communities. 2. The 1st millennium BCE villages are mostly found at elevations of -2000 m, with an average slope of 5-10. They are situated less than -500 m from rivers, and the choice of land type has been made. A decrease in population and the type of seasonal deployments is indicated by altitude, steep slopes on riverbanks (plains to foothills). 3. Land use: The distribution of ancient sites in the Qezel Ozan river basin is indicated by the rise and development of agriculture, transportation routes along water resources, trade exchanges, and regional and interregional links.The evolution of settlements in the East Kurdistan region from the Chalcolithic to the Islamic era demonstrates the adaptation and competition of inhabitants with the natural environment in the Qezel Ozen basin. It also provides insights into the complex social development of the region.

Keywords

East Kurdistan

Qezel Ozan Basin

Ancient Habitats

Environmental Factors

GIS

Subjects

Physical geogeaphy

Abedini, M., Pasban, A.H. (2026). Assessment of Climatic and Geomorphological Factors in Military Base Site Selection Using Remote Sensing and GIS: (Case Study of the Moghan Plain, Ardabil Province),[In Persian]. Sustainable Urban and Regional Development Studies,7(1).28-43.https://www.srds.ir/article-219193.html?lang=en

Alaei Taleghani, M. (2003). Geomorphology of Iran, [In Persian]. Tehran, Qom.

Alirezazadeh, M; M. Heydarian & A. Khosrowzadeh. (2020). "Application of GIS and Fuzzy Logic in Cultural Resources Management; Presentation of a Prediction Model for Copper and Stone Sites of Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari”, [In Persian], Journ Archaeological Studies 12(3): 193-216. https://doi.org/10.22059/jarcs.2020.269316.142640.

Alizadeh, A. (2007). Theory and Practice in Archaeology, [In Persian], Third Edition. Tehran: National Cultural Heritage Organization, Printing and Publishing Organization of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

Aldenderfer, M,(ed). (2019). Altitude Environments in Archaeology. In: Encyclopedia Of Global Archaeology.Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1-2012-2.

Aman Allahi, H. (2015). Review of the historical, cultural, and research background oTakht Suleiman's historical environment, [In Persian], Journal of Athar (69), 3-20.

Banerjee, S, S. Nath & S. Banerjee. (1986). Characteristics of the Soils Under Different Vegetation in the Tarai Region of Kurseong Forest Division, West Bengal.Reprinted from The indian Forester. V(113).N(3).March1987.191-201.

Burney, C.A. (1973). Excavation at Haftavan Tepe. First Preliminary Report II, Iran, XIII1975,149.164.-

Badiei, R. (1999). Detailed Geography of Iran, Physical Geography, [In Persian]. Tehran: Iqbal.

Bahar, M. (1998). From Myth to History, [In Persian], Seventh Edition. Tehran: Cheshme.

Behnia, A. (2009). Archaeological Field survey of Qorveh city (Sarishabad district), [In Persian] Archive of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Kurdistan Province, Unpublished Report.

Copper and Stone Sites of Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari", Journal of Archaeological Studies 12(3):193-216. https://doi.org/10.22059/jarcs.2020.269316.142640.

Conolly, J & M. Lake. (2006). Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511807459.

Cheng, P., H. Liu & L. Zhang. (2024). Research on the Spatial-Temporal Distribution And Morphological Characteristics of Ancient Settlements in the Sichuan Basin. Land13(10): 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101622.

Dehkordi, M. T & A. Alian. (2021). An Analysis of Natural Factors Affecting the

Dispersal and Establishment of Iron Age III (800-550 BC) Settlements in the Western Zayandeh-Rud River Basin (West and Northwest of Isfahan). Journal of Geographical Research 4(1): 75-87. https://doi.org/10/35564/jgr.v4i1.2630.

Delphos, O. (1995). Geographical space (S. Sahami, Trans.). Mashhad: Publishers Nika.

Esfandyari Darabad, F, Behrouz Nezafat Takle, B., Mostafazadeh, R. (2025).Assessment and prioritization of the Water Security Index (WSI) in the Qarasu watershed sub-basins in Ardabil province, Sustainable Urban and Regional Development Studies 7(1). 1-12.

https://www.srds.ir/article216671.html?lang=en

Ellis, L. (2003). Archaeological Method and Theory: An Encyclopedia.London: Routledge.

Faramarzi, A., and Haghighat Naini, G.R. (2013). Locating public shelters with a Passive defense approach in District 12 of Tehran, [In Persian], Passive Defense, 13(3), 25-36.

https://jms.ihu.ac.ir/article-206108.html

Gao, H; C. Zhu & W. Xu, W. (2007). Environmental Change and Cultural Response Around 4200 cal. Yr BP in the Yishu River Basin, Shandong. Geographical Sciences 5( 17): 285-292. https://doi.org/10.1007/sl l442-007-0285-5.

Gholami, F, M. Maghsoudi & S. Mohammadkhan. (2023). The Role of Natural Factors in the Settlement of Ancient Sites in the Payab basin of Seymareh 2, [In Persian], Physical Geography 16(62): 15-1

Garavand, A., A. Abedi & F. Malekpour. (2021). Explaining the Settlement and Cultural Patterns of the Northwest of Lake Urmia in the Chalcolithic and Stone Age based onGIS Analyses. [In Persian]. Journal of Research on Archaeometry 7(1): 187-204.

https://doi.org/10.52547/jra.7.l.l.187.

Geographical culture of settlements in Kurdistan province. (2014). Geographical culture of settlements in Kurdistan province.National Management and Planning, [In Persian].Organization, General Population and Housing Census.

Heidari Dastnaei, M & M. Dana. (2022), Settlement Patterns and Distribution of Iron Age Sites in the Middle Atrak watershed, [In Persian]. Journal of Research on Archaeometry 8(1): 45-65.https://doi.org/10.52547/jra.8.1.45.

Heydarian, M; A. Khosrowzadeh; M. Sarikhani & F. Amanollah. (2013). Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Ancient Sites in Sanqroqliyya County in GIS, [In Persian], Physical Geography Research 45(3): 47-64.

https://doi.org/10.22059/jphgr.2013.35834.

Hoelzmann, P.; B. Keding; H. Berke; S. Kröpelin & H.J. Kruse. (2001). Environmental Change and Archaeology: Lake Evolution and Human Occupation in the Eastern Sahara during the Holocene. Paleogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology169(3/4):193-217.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-0182(01)00211-5

Hoffmann, T; V.R.Thorndycraft; A.G. Brown; T.J. Coulthard; B. Damnati; V.S. Kale; H. Middelkoop; B. Notebaert & D.E. Walling. (2010). Human Impact on Fluvial Regimes and Sediment Flux during the Holocene: Review and Future ResearchAgenda. Global and Planetary Change 72(3): 87-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.04.008

Levine, L. (1973). Geographical studies in the Neo-Assyrian Zagros, IRAN 11: 1-27.

Levine, L. D.1974. Geographical studies in the Neo-Assyrian Zagros II, IRAN 12: 99-

124.

Li, F; L. Wu; C. Zhu; C. Zheng; W. Sun; X. Wang; S. Shao; Y. Zhou; T. He & S. Li. (2013). Spatial-Temporal Distribution and Geographic Context of Neolithic Cultural Sites in the Hanjiang River Basin, Southern Shaanxi, China. Journal of Archaeological Science 40(8): 3141-3152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.04.010

Lippert, A. (1976). Vorbericht der Österreichischen Ausgrabungen am Kordlar Tepe in Persisch-Aserbaidschan: Kampagne 1974, Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien (106), 83–122.

Llobera, M. (2011). Archaeological Visualization: Towards an Archaeological Information Science (AISc). Archaeological Method and Theory 18(1): 193-223.

https://doi.org/10.1007/sl0816-010-9098-4

Levin, L. (2001). Iron Age, in the Archaeology of Western Iran, edited by Frank Hole,translated by Zahra Biesti, Tehran, Samt. 448-496.

Julai, V; R. Rezaloo; K. Hajizadeh & B. Afkhami. (2019).“Analysis of the Role of Natural Environment Factors in the Settlement System of Ancient Settlements (Case Example: Iron Age Sites of 3 Mahabad Plains)”, [In Persian]. Quarterly of Geography and Regional Planning 11(4): 47-71.https://doi.org/10.22034/jgeoq.2021.128868

Marchant, R. & H. Hooghiemstra. (2004). Rapid Environmental Change in African and South American Tropics Around 4000 Years Before Present: A Review. Earth-Science Reviews 66(3/4): 217-260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2004.01.003

Maschner, H. D. (1996). Geographic Information Systems in Archaeology. Carbondale: Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University.

Muscarella, O. W. (1974). The Iron Age at Dinkha Tepe, Iran, Journal Metropolitan Museum, (9), 35-90.

Mercuri, A. M. (2008). Human Influence, Plant Landscape Evolution, and Climate Inferences from the Archaeobotanical Records of the Wadi Teshuinat Area (Libyan Sahara). Journal of Arid Environments 72(10): 1950-1967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2008.04.008

Mahmoudi, F. (1973). Regional Geography of Qorveh-Bijar-Divandarreh. TehranUniversityof Tehran and the Institute of Geography. [In Persian].

Motarjem, A & T. Almasi. (2014). Study of Cultural Changes in the Kangavar Plain from the Chalcolithic Period to the End of the Bronze Age Based on Settlement Models, [ In Persian], Pazhohesh-ha-ye Bastanshenasi Iran 3(5): 51-62.

Mohajerinezhad, A. (2014). Melamcheh Cemetery, Kurdistan, in M. Mosli (ed), Exhibition Catalog of a Selection of the Findings of Archaeological Research in Iran. 2012.Tehran: Research Institute of Archeology, 35-38.

Mojard, F., Hemmati, S. (2013), Evaluation of wind energy capabilities in Kermanshah and Kurdistan provinces, [In Persian]. Applied Research in Geographical Sciences, 13(29), 137-157.https://jgs.khu.ac.ir/article-1-1517-fa.html

Najafi, Y. (1990). General Geography of Kurdistan Province, [In Persian]. Tehran:

Amirkabir.

-Polyak, V. J & Y.Asmerom. (2001). Late Holocene Climate and Cultural Changes in the Southwestern United States. Science 294(5540): 148-151.

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1062771

PourKarimi, P.; K. Hajizadeh; R. Rezaloo & B. Afkhami. (2020). Analyze the Role of Natural Factors in the Spatial Distribution of Castle Settlements in Ardabil Province Using GIS and AHP. [In Persian]. Journal of Archaeological Studies, 12 (1), 19-40.

https://doi.org/10.22059/jarcs.2020.261578.142594

Raum, S. (2020). Land-Use Legacies of Twentieth-Century Forestry in the UK: A Perspective. Landscape Ecology 35(4): 2713-2722. https://doi.org/10.1007/sl0980-020-01126-1

Rosen, A. M. (2008). The impact of environmental change and human land use on alluvial valleys in the Loess Plateau of China during the Middle Holocene. Geomorphology, 101(1-2), 298-307.

Rezvani, H. (2004), Field Research Report of the First and Second Seasons of the Kul Tarike Cemetery in Kurdistan (Proceedings of the International Conference on Iranian Archaeology: Northwest Area), [In Persian]. Tehran, Publications of the Archaeological Research Institute, Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Institute, 83-85-86.

Rezvani, H, & K. Roustaei. (2007). “A Preliminary Report on Two Seasons Excavations at Kul Tarike Cemetery, Kurdestan, Iran”, Iranica Antiqua 42 (1):139-184.

https://doi.org/10.2143/lA.42.0.2017874

Rajabion, Z; A. Behnia & A. Saed Mocheshi. (2020). Study and Analysis of Settlement Patterns of Parthian Sites in Qorveh County, [ In Persian], Parseh Archaeological Studies 4(1): 91-113. https://dx.doi.org/10.30699/PJAS.4.11.91.

Rostami, M; A. Javanmardzadeh; A. Saedmuchashi; M.E. EliYasvand & A. Behnia. (2022). Studying the Settlement Patterns of Iron Age Sites in Bijar County, Kurdistan Province, [ In Persian], Pazhohesh-ha-ye Bastanshenasi Iran14(42):7 38.

https://doi.org/10.22084/nb.2022.25848.2458

Sowers, G. F. (1994). Geotechnical Issues in Site Selection and Project Development. Bulletin of the Association of Engineering Geologists 31(2): 209-216.

Wu, L.; X. Wang; K. Zhou; D. Mo; C. Zhu; C. Gao; G. Zhang; L. Li; L. Liu & W. Han. (2010). Transmutation of Ancient Settlements and Environmental Changes Between 6000–2000 aBP in the Chaohu Lake Basin, East China. Geographical Sciences 20(5): 687-700.

https://doi.org/10.1007/sll442-010-0804.

Sharifi, F, & M.E. Zarei. (2021). “Human Interaction and Environment in the Islamic Period of the Qorwa Plain, Northwest of the Sanandaj-Sirjan Area”, Journal of Archaeological Studies 13 (3). 117-140.https://doi.org/10.22059/jarcs.2020.297419.14848

Shamsaie Zafarqandi, F. (2012). An Introduction to Planning and Location, First Edition, Tehran, Imam Hussein University Press. [In Persian].

Tohidi, F. (1999), Report of life-saving Excavation of the Zagros Cemetery, Sanandaj, [In Persian]. Archive of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts of Kurdistan Province.

Zhu, J.; L.Yu; Y. Nie; F. Liu; Y. Sun; Y. Zhang & W. Song (2019). Ancient Environmental Preference and the Site Selection Pattern Based on the Edge Effect and Network Structure in An Ecosystem. Sustainability 12(1): 328. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010328.