An Analysis of Natural Factors Affecting the Dispersal and Establishment of Iron Age III (800-550 B.C)Settlements in the Western Zayandeh- Rud River Basin (West and Northwest of Isfahan)

Humans are always effect to their surroundings,which makes it possible to create habitable environments and create habitat patterns that fit the surrounding environment.The interaction between human being and environment either in the form of human effect on the environment or the environment effect on the human,cannot be considered out of the environment.According to this approach in archaeology,environmental factors have an important role in assessing settlements in each period.In addition to the recognition of the degree of environmental impact,this approach makes the degree of adaptation of the habitats with the dominant environmental conditions possible.As geospatial tools become more powerful,GIS archaeology has evolved as well,making it possible to visualize ancient settlements and analyze changes in the use of space over time.By incorporating historic map data,physical details of an area’s landscape and known information about past inhabitants,archaeologists can accurately predict the positions of sites with cultural,historical relevance.In this research Iron Age III(800-550 B.C)sites in the west and northwest of Isfahan were studied via GIS.The area studied is one of the most important but unknown areas of archaeological research due to its location in the center of the Iranian plateau and a link between the north-west and the south-west of the country.The environmental characteristics of the studied area have attracted the attention of humans since ancient times.Therefore,it was considered necessary to conduct archaeological excavations.To achieve this goal,the area was first studied archaeologically.As a result of this survey,approximately 50 ancient sites were identified which included the statistical population used for analysis.The effect of environmental variables including altitude,slope(percentage and direction),climate,geological structure,distances and proximity to water resources,land use and proximity to communication paths on the distribution of settlements in the study area was investigated.Through analytical-descriptive method,the factors affecting the formation and distribution of the establishment patterns of the period in question were examind.After analyzing the information and maps,the results indicated that among all the factors,three environmental factors were the most important in the formation of ancient settlements of the Iron Age III era in the west and northwest of Isfahan:factors relating to water resources,proximity to communication paths,and slope percentage and direction.

Building Pattern Technique of an Indigenous Community - Does Its Appearances a Distinctive Representation?

Bangladesh is enriched with beautiful traditional indigenous cultures.Different indigenous peoples with their distinctive existences also considerably create an enhance values and lifestyles to the socio-cultural sectors of Bangladesh[1].Habitually,these indigenous communities have been comparable to live a large combined family to shear their lifestyles[2].Presently the country has 45 indigenous communities who are living in different locations.All indigenous people within this country have their own style to build their settlements with special techniques to keep them safe and sound from all types of natural and environmental vulnerabilities and also enhance their knowledge of construction techniques and lifestyle.Rakhain is one of them with very small number of people are still living in different regions within the country which have their own system of building techniques.Study found that for several hundreds of years Rakhains are strictly following their indigenous prescription of house and settlement pattern.Although like other indigenous people of this country,they have mountains of problems,such as forced land occupation,lack of security and minority characteristics.Above all,forced political separation has gradually drowned them in the abysmal pit of marginal destiny.This has turned them into exiles in their own land.As a result,many of them are being forced to leave the country and as a result they misplaced their native knowledge and technique to construct.Thus,this study will initially focus on to search for the distinctiveness of their settlement pattern and building construction techniques and lifestyle.Again,in view of their problems,knowledge and experiences concerning archetype,built and house pattern,this study will finally explain how Rakhains accumulate their every distinctiveness from history and for present and future invention.

Indicators of State Formation: With a Discussion of the State Theory Based on the Four-tiered Settlement Hierarchy

In ancient China, in Xia, Shang and Zhou society, the relationship of subordination between the head of a state and the territories or fiefdoms of the nobles was not equivalent to the administrative relationship between the central government and the localities under the system of prefectures and counties introduced in Qin and Han times. Any theory of state formation based solely on a four-tiered settlement hierarchy is limited; it fails to explain the essential question of whether a state has come into being, and thus cannot be regarded as a criterion for judgment. It is true that in integrating settlement archaeology with social morphology in research on the origins of the ancient state and civilization, we need to classify settlement hierarchies. At the same time, however, we still need to conduct extensive research into the appearance of prehistoric social organizations, hierarchies, strata and classes, as well as the evolution of the nature of power, etc. Therefore, it is the emergence of strata and classes and the establishment of a coercive power that stands over and above society that are the mostcharacteristic indicators of state formation. Further, we can provide archaeological grounds and materialized forms for this approach, which thus possesses operability.