CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

IRAN AND ITS NEIGHBORS



C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky

T

he emergence of Mesopotamian civilization, contrary to the manner in which it

is typically portrayed, was not a solo performance. It did not appear sui generis,

fulfilling its own destiny in the absence of “the other.” From at least the middle of the

fourth millennium, Mesopotamia experienced continuous contact with the indigenous

cultures of its southern neighbor, the Arabian Peninsula, the northern reaches of

Anatolia and the Caucasus, and to the east with the numerous and distinctive cultures

of the Iranian Plateau, the Indus Valley, and Central Asia. The nature, chronology, and

extent of these cultural contacts form the substance of an extensive literature and

debate. This chapter shall emphasize the substance as well as the theory that char-

acterized these contacts during the third millennium.

PROLOGUE

Stretching across the seventh millennium landscape, from the Euphrates River to Central

Asia and the Indus River, are distinctive archaeological cultures. Contact and interaction

between these largely self-sufficient communities remained a local affair. There is little

evidence to support the presence of substantial interaction tying the communities into

networks of trade and exchange. That there was communication, however, is supported

by the fact that virtually all settlements shared a common technique for the production

of pottery (Vandiver 1987 ) and the manufacture of metal artifacts (Thornton 2009 ). If

important technologies were shared so too was their dependence upon a common sub-

sistence economy: domesticated sheep, goat, cattle, and cereal production.

By the middle of the fifth millennium substantial changes were underway. On the

one hand, Mesopotamia was blessed with rich agricultural potential able to support a

burgeoning population. On the other hand, it was virtually devoid of natural resources,

save for clay, reeds, and some stones. Mesopotamia’s emerging demand for copper,

timber, a variety of desirable stones, that is, lapis lazuli, carnelian, turquoise and agate,

as well as silver and gold, guaranteed Mesopotamia as an important center of economic

demand and the Iranian Plateau as a significant source of supply. By the end of the

fifth millennium, the domestication of the donkey facilitated the transport of goods

while specialized routes of communication, across the Zagros Mountains, brought

Mesopotamia into increasing contact with the east (D. Potts 1999 : 10 – 42 ; T. Potts 1994 :

36 – 49 ).