Description : Tepe Yahya (Persian: تپه یحیی) is an archaeological site in Kermān Province, Iran, some 220 kilometres (140 mi) south of Kerman city, 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Baft city and 90 km south-west of Jiroft. Habitation spans the 6th to 2nd millennia BCE and the 10th to 4th centuries BCE. In the 3rd millennium BCE, the city was a production center of chlorite stone ware; these carved dark stone vessels have been found in ancient Mesopotamian temples. "Elaborate stone vessels carved with repeating designs, both geometric and naturalistic, in an easily recognizable “intercultural style”, were made primarily of chlorite; a number were produced at the important site of Tepe Yahya (Yaḥyā) southeast of Kermān in the middle and late 3rd millennium b.c.e. Some of these vessels were painted natural color (dark green) and inlaid with pastes and shell, and some have even been found with cuneiform inscriptions referring to rulers and known Sumerian deities. More than 500 vessels and vessel fragments carved in this style have been recovered from sites ranging from Uzbekistan and the Indus Valley (e.g., Mohenjo-daro) in the east to Susa and all the major Sumerian sites in Mesopotamia, including Mari, in the west and to the Persian Gulf, particularly Tarut and the Failaka Islands, in the south." Steatite was also very common at this site. Nearby, a steatite mine has been discovered. Over a thousand steatite pieces belonging to Period IVB were found, indicating local manufacturing. The distribution of these vessels was very wide. They were found not only in Mesopotamia, but also in Bampur IV, and in Shahr-i Sokhta. They were also found in the lower levels at Mohenjodaro. Steatite bowls with similar motifs are also found on Tarut island, and copies have been found at Umm-an Nar in the Persian Gulf. The period of Proto-Elamite influence lasted from about 3400 to 2500 BC. Periodization is as follows: Period I Sasanian pre: 200 BC-400 A.D. Period II Achaemenian(?): 275-500 B.C. Period III Iron Age: 500-1000 B.C. Period IV A Elamite?: 2200-2500 B.C. IV B Proto-Elamite: 2500-3000 B.C. IV C Proto-Elamite: 3000-3400 B.C. Period V Yahya Culture: 3400-3800 B.C. Period VI Coarse Ware-Neolithic: 3800-4500 B.C. Period VII: 4500-5500 B.C.
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