Chogha Golan
چغا گلان · Chogha Golan (Ilam) · Chogha Golan Tell
Pre-Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic (c.11700–3600 BCE)·PPNA → PPNB → Early Chalcolithic (Seimareh Neolithic)·🇮🇷 Ilam Province, Seimareh valley, Iran
About
About Chogha Golan
Seimareh Neolithic tell 1 ha, 8 m stratified (c.11700–3600 BCE) - longest Neolithic sequence in Iran (10,000-yr), PPNA–PN (10.7–8.2 ka plant management intensification) with pisé, 12000 archaeobotanical samples (barley, wheat, legume), obsidian, and early goat. Excavated 2011– by N. Conard & A. Zeidi shows 11 occupation horizons, plant cultivation trajectory independent of Fertile Crescent heartland. Hearth and midden chronology bridging Bus Mordeh to Chalcolithic.
Why it mattersIran's longest Neolithic sequence; independent plant management before Fertile Crescent core.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why 10kyr continuity here?
- 02Goat herding onset timing?
Theories
- 01Seimareh basin cultivation refugium
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.11700 cal BP PPNA pit-houses
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic (c.11700–3600 BCE)
- Culture
- PPNA → PPNB → Early Chalcolithic (Seimareh Neolithic)
- Builders
- Seimareh early farmer-herders
- Purpose
- Long-term farming village tracing plant management intensification
- Abandoned
- c.3600 BCE Chalcolithic
- Rediscovered
- 2011 Conard–Zeidi
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.11700 cal BP
PPNA pit-houses founded
c.8500 cal BP
PPNB plant management intensifies
c.3600 BCE
Chalcolithic abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
33.1200° N · 47.5000° E · 680 m · 3 mapped features
Chogha Golan — PPNB plant layer
layerHorizon III with 12000 seeds (barley intensive)
33.1205° N · 47.5000° EChogha Golan — PPNA pit-houses
housePPNA pisé pit-houses, base horizon
33.1200° N · 47.5005° EChogha Golan — Chalcolithic pit
pitLate Chalcolithic storage pit, top
33.1195° N · 47.4995° E
Gallery