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This is the final report on ISAC's 2004-2006 excavations at three major prehistoric population centres in northern Susiana, Iran.
During two seasons in 2004-2006, the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures excavated three major prehistoric population centres in northern Susiana, in the modern-day province of Khuzestan, Iran: KS-04 (Chogha Do Sar), KS-59 (Abu Fanduweh), and KS-108 (Beladieh). The three sites were chosen because of their large size and the prominent role they have played in analyses of the pottery typology, chronology, and politics of fourth-millennium BCE Susiana. Most researchers consider the fourth millennium to be a pivotal period in the development of state-level organization in southwestern Iran. During this time, KS-04, KS-59, and KS-108, along with Chogha Mish and Susa, constituted the region's major polities.
Whereas much of the theoretical framework concerning the local origins of sociopolitical complexity has been based on excavated materials from Susa and Chogha Mish, interpretations of KS-04, KS-59, and KS-108 have largely been derived from surface surveys. ISAC's stratified excavations at these three population centres have now provided important contextual evidence for the processes underlying sociopolitical and economic complexity in prehistoric lowland Susiana.
During two seasons in 2004-2006, the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures excavated three major prehistoric population centres in northern Susiana, in the modern-day province of Khuzestan, Iran: KS-04 (Chogha Do Sar), KS-59 (Abu Fanduweh), and KS-108 (Beladieh). The three sites were chosen because of their large size and the prominent role they have played in analyses of the pottery typology, chronology, and politics of fourth-millennium BCE Susiana. Most researchers consider the fourth millennium to be a pivotal period in the development of state-level organization in southwestern Iran. During this time, KS-04, KS-59, and KS-108, along with Chogha Mish and Susa, constituted the region's major polities.
Whereas much of the theoretical framework concerning the local origins of sociopolitical complexity has been based on excavated materials from Susa and Chogha Mish, interpretations of KS-04, KS-59, and KS-108 have largely been derived from surface surveys. ISAC's stratified excavations at these three population centres have now provided important contextual evidence for the processes underlying sociopolitical and economic complexity in prehistoric lowland Susiana.
Price: £115.00
Pages: 375
Publisher: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
Imprint: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
Series: ISAC Publications
Publication Date:
31 October 2026
ISBN: 9781614911517
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
Abbas Alizadeh is a research associate professor of Iranian archaeology and director of the Iranian Prehistoric Project at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. A leading specialist in the archaeology of prehistoric and ancient Iran, he has conducted extensive archaeological excavations and surveys across Iran, Iraq, Anatolia, and the Levant, with a particular focus on the development of early complex societies, settlement systems, craft production, and the long-term history of human communities in southwestern Iran.
Foreword
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Plates
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Introduction
1. Khuzestan’s Environment
2. Lowland Susiana in the Fourth and Early Third Millennia BCE
3. Surveys and Excavations
4. Pottery
5. Administrative Technology
6. Small Objects
Appendix A. Robert McCormick Adams’s 1960–61 Survey of Khuzestan
Appendix B. Faunal Remains of KS-59 (Abu Fanduweh)
Appendix C. Existing Fauna of Northern Khuzestan
Appendix D. Existing Flora of Northern Khuzestan
Plates