Between land and sea. The exploitation of marine shells from the Neolithic to the Iron age in Iran: the site of Ruwar (northwest of Iran)
Entre terre et mer. L’exploitation des coquillages marins du Néolithique à l’âge du Fer en Iran : le site de Ruwar (Nord-Ouest de l’Iran)
Résumé
The relationship between humans and the marine
environment has played a pivotal role in the development
of modern societies. The exploitation of
marine resources for food and for the collection of
raw materials has been an integral part of the development
of human communities near coastal areas
throughout the world. The circulation of raw materials,
such as shells, has allowed the connections
between different groups dating from the Pleistocene to be identified.
These artefacts are markers tracing the circulation “roads” that
resulted in the spread of knowledge and goods between coastal and
inland communities. Here we focus in particular on marine shell
artefacts used for the production of ornamental objects in Iran from
the Neolithic to the Iron Age. The ultimate aim is to synthesise our
understanding of the production of these objects and to establish
the technological characterisation by studying the Iron Age series
from the Ruwar site. This site, which is very distant from the sea,
provides new information on the circulation of marine resources in
the remote mountainous region of western Iran. The ornamental
objects here are composed of shells from the Mediterranean and
the Persian Gulf, demonstrating that geographical distance did not
necessarily prevent contact with neighbouring groups. The shells
are an exception testament to either long-distance interactions or,
more likely, to extensive networks of indirect trade, with repeated
exchanges over short distances, during the Iron Age.
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