Sailk And Ilam civilisation (Pre-History):
Metal Ages
The precedence of metal utensils from "Marlik", which have been discovered in a hill with the same name in "Roudbar" (a district in Gilan) is about three thousand years before Christ (the end of second millenniums and the beginning of the first.) These utensils, which had been made and ornamented with gold, silver and metal, introduce the art of a race that the archaeologists believe "they have joined to other groups of Indo-Europeans, who lived on the Iranian plateau and established a powerful "Mad" Empire in Iran in the beginning of the first thousand years before Christ"
At the edge of the central desert of Iran, near "Kashan" and in a district called "Sialk," there have been found traces of the first people's residence in the central plain of Iran. Discovered objects in "Sialk" graveyard symbolize the artistry of the prehistoric people in Iran.
"Sialk" dwellers had been making all of
their tools and instruments by stone, but little-by-little they had started to
use metal for making their implements. The artistic taste of these people has
been found through the engraving on bones which had been carried out for the
first time and through the designs on their pottery".
In "Avesta," the holy book of ancient Iranians, four kinds of metals, gold, silver, steel and a kind of Iron-alloy are mentioned.
"It is correct the statement which said
Iran had been the first country in which metal was used. Because, unlike "Beinolnaherin"
(Mesopotamia), Egypt and the "Sind Valley" this country has been rich in mines
of metal. Metals like gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, had been quarried in
Iran and mostly in an area called "Carmania".
Ancient discoveries in different parts of Iran tell us that the people of this land in addition to the exploration of different kinds of metals were skillful in making varieties of metallic objects and alloys. They also invented the first kind of copper forge in order to form metal.
Golden cup- Gilan (2000-1000 B.C.)
From the fifth thousand years (BC) little copper objects have been found in "Sialk" of "Kashan", which were formed by hammering. The dwellers of this area were aware of forming characteristic of copper. In order to melt the copper, they needed to have forges with a temperature of about 1,200 degree centigrade, but their primary forges failed to reach such a temperature. In the fourth to the second thousand years (B.C.) they invented bellow and by using this device air was passed into the forge forcefully to raise the temperature up to 1200'.
Explorations about civilization belonging to "Sialk," "Hasanlue," "MarIik," and "Ziwiye" showed that metal work was widespread among the people of these areas and that the artisans of this races were skillful artists.
Neclace made of gold and precious stones (1000 B.C.)
Silver hollow head (300-200 B.C.)
The history of the art of pottery in Iran goes back into ancient time. When agriculture came into existence and cultivation started on Iran's plateau by me primitive races of this land, people made utensils of killed clay in order to meet their needs. Fingerprints of primitive natives of Iran can be seen on these earthenware. The first earthenware were two kinds, black utensils and red ones, both of these had very simple construction.
Gradually, simple earthenware, were being deco rated by geometric designs. Studying these designs shows us that Iranians were very skillful in making designed earthenware and represented these designs in a very lively and beautiful manner. Iran could be called the main birth place of designed earthenware utensils. Designing earthenware in Iran started about 4 thousand years BC
The earthenware belonging to four thousand year BC had been killed more carefully in newly made kilns. The shapes and forms of these earthens show that, invention of the pottery rotating machine must have been done in that time.
One of the oldest known dwelling places of Mian on the plain is "Sialk Hill" in south of Kashan. The board of archaeologists of "Louvre Museum" have found many earthen utensils through the excavation of this hill. In the earthens, found in Sialk, there are,snakes, wild goats and horses as well as geometric designs on these earthenware.
During the past hundred years, many valuable remnants earthenware from different civilizations have been found in "Sialk" "Tape Misar", "Shush" "Tepe Gyan" 'Tape Hasanlu" and 'TalBacon" in Takhte-Jamshid. Studying these works will reveal the changing process of art of pottery in Iran. Images of horns of cows and reindeers, wings of birds and shouts of lions are some kind of decorative design of pottery in fourth Thousand Year BC The strength and durability of this art caused its glory and spread all over Iran's plateau and even beyond there.
The sun and horse are the symbol of Indo-European tribes. The other designs found on Sialk's earthens are simple lines curved lines, intersecting lines, plants and flowers and simple geometric designs. The earthen works of Sialk belong to 10th up to 9th century BC.
More earthenware than any other thing were found in Sialk graves and these made a lot of information accessible. Everything in these earthens, the strength of their paste, kilning temperature, enameled color surface, designs and styles which have symbolic values are novel, each sign symbolized a man, some of these earthens were used in shrouding and burial ceremonies. There are images of a hunter, warrior and a roaring lion, painting on two pieces of engraved earthenware belonged to Sialk. In addition to these some "Plytons" were found in the form of animals and specially birds, among the earthen utensils of Sialk.
Marlic golden
cup (2000-1000 B.C.)
Silver cup- Marvdasht
(End 0f 3000 B.C.)
The name of Iran means the land of Aryans and is derived from the name of the tribes which were settled on the plateau of Iran. This plateau is an old mountainous residence for a people aged longer than ten thousands years. The farming villages of these people consisted of small houses with stone foundations and walls of mashed clay. These houses aged 6 to 8 thousands years. These monuments are discovered by Professor Bridewood, the head of scientific board at Chicago University".
These residences were clearly located in two mountainous ranges in Iran. The foot of the Zagros mountain chain and the Alborz chain.
Archaeological excavations have been carried out in these two regions, the most important works of art, consist of cavemen's paintings, household and metal utensils, pottery, tools and instruments of war. Agriculture techniques belonging to prehistoric ages were also discovered.
"The Zagros mountains chain with a length of about one thousand kilometers and a width of about two hundred, was the center for different mountainous tribes. Without any doubt most of the metal objects from late in the second millenniums, which are very famous and important today, have been produced in Lorestan district.
An important part of the works of prehistoric people acquired from "Zagros" is held in museums of Iran and of the world as the cultural heritage of Lorestan.
Lorestan is the name of the central part of "Zagros" mountainous chain and the discovered works of this region is well known by this name in the world of archaeology.
One of the progressing processes of this land should be the dehiscence period of its art and metal working, from the beginning of third thousand years up to the first thousand years before Christ. Some archaeologists believe that the art of Lorestan is the real art of Iran.
Before this era (the third thousand years before Christ), the painting works of cavemen in Lorestan have a great importance. The paintings discovered in a cave called "Doshah" located in the district called "Chegeni" in Lorestan are one of the most important prehistoric remnants that have been remained from artist dwellers of this mountain.
Other mountainous region in Iran, which is also very important in the art history of this land, and a lot of valuable works are found at the foot of its mountains, is the "Alborz" chain. Archaeological discoveries shows that the northern slopes of the Alborz chain located in Gilan and Mazandaran (two provinces in the north of Iran) was another residence for ancient Persian races.
Horse mouth piece-
Lorestan (700-800 B.C.)
Metallic statute of human- Lorestan (2000 B.C.)
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