Description : Tappeh-ye Choghā Mīsh (Persian language; چغامیش čoġā mīš) dating back to 6800 BC, is the site of a Chalcolithic settlement in Western Iran, located in the Khuzistan Province on the Susiana Plain. It was occupied at the beginning of 6800 BC and continuously from the Neolithic up to the Proto-Literate period (Uruk period), thus spanning the time periods from Archaic through Elamite. Later, the nearby Susa became culturally dominant in this area. Settlement began after the caprids and cattle were domesticated, and it probably spanned the later time in which pigs and horses were domesticated. There was also a period of Achaemenid occupation. The site was occupied continuously, and played a central role in the cultural and social development of the region from approximately 6900 BCE (Archaic Susiana) to 5000 BCE (the Middle Susiana period). Nearby, Chogha Bonut is an even earlier site. In the early part of the fifth millennium BCE, the Chogha Mish main monumental building was destroyed. This became known as the 'Burnt Building'. This destruction of Chogha Mish also coincided with the abandonment of some other sites on the eastern part of the Susiana plain. This took place in the middle of the fifth millennium BCE. The new pottery associated with this period was of the Late Susiana 1 type, featuring the 'dot motif'. The settlements of the subsequent period shifted more to the west. This is associated with the activities of the highland mobile pastoralists in the eastern part of the area. Around 3400 BCE, during the Late Uruk phase, more occupants returned to the area.
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