Bio-archaeological studies at Konar Sandal, Halil Rud basin, southeastern Iran

Recent archaeological discoveries in the Halil Rud valley in the Kerman province of southeastern Iran have shown the existence of an important urban centre during the Early Bronze Age (third millennium BC), with a rich artistic and craft tradition as well as long-distance contacts with both Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. Bioarchaeological studies carried out at Konar Sandal, south of the modern city of Jiroft, allow for the first time a reconstruction of the past environment and subsistence economies in the valley during the Bronze and Iron Ages. While herding relied mainly on sheep and goat and, to a lesser extent, on bovines of which several species are recognised, agricultural activities involved the cultivation of cereals (barley and wheat) and fruits (date palm, grapevine). Significant changes in animal husbandry practices appear through time with an increase of suid remains as well as the appearance of the domestic horse and Bactrian camel in the Iron Age (late second to early first millennium BC). While the exploitation of plants and animals seems to have taken place to a large extent in the alluvial Halil Rud valley, the possibility of pastoral transhumance in surrounding mountain chains is also considered.