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.CAIS NEWS© ARCHAEOLOGICAL & CULTURAL NEWS OF THE IRANIAN WORLD |
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Burnt City Inhabitants Used their Teeth for Basket Weaving
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10 January 2007 |
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LONDON,
(CAIS) -- The team of anthropologists studying skeletal remains at the
prehistoric site of Burnt City, southeast Iran, succeeded in revealing more
secrets about the city’s inhabitants through paleopathological studies on 40
teeth unearthed in the Burnt City’s cemetery. Evidence shows that the
inhabitants of Burnt City used their teeth as a tool for weaving to make baskets
and other handmade products some 5000 years ago.
In
an interview with Persian service of CHN, Farzad Forouzanfar, director of the
Anthropology Department of Iran’s Archaeology Research Centre and head of the
anthropology team at Burt City, said: “More than 40 teeth lesions have been
identified, among which one of the most prominent ones belongs to a young woman
who used her teeth as a tool for weaving baskets and similar products.”
The
studies are currently underway by anthropologists from Iran’s Archaeology Research centre and the Newcastle University (UK). Anthropologists are hoping
that studying the bone fragments and teeth found in various parts of the Burnt
City, especially those unearthed in its cemetery, would unravel mysteries about
some of the most common occupations practiced by the region’s inhabitants.
“The
use of teeth as a tool in the Burnt City is seen in both males and females of
different age groups. Evidence shows that weaving was not just a hobby at this
prehistoric city; rather it was one of the most common professions that required
a special skill practiced by Burnt City inhabitants who used their teeth to make
different weaving products such as carpet and baskets”, added Frouzanfar.
Recently,
anthropological studies on skeletal remains belonging to a man from the 3rd
millennium BCE by the same team at Burnt City resulted in finding evidence of
bone trauma which showed that he was a professional rider who spent most of his
life more likely on camelback.
More
than 600 skeletal remains have been unearthed in the cemetery of Burnt City so
far. The remains are now being kept under special conditions by experts.
Located
in the Iranian southeastern province of Sistan va Baluchestan, Burnt City is one
of the most important prehistoric sites in Iran. The number of archaeological
findings at this prehistoric city has surpassed that of any other archaeological
site in Iran, making this region an important source of information for
archaeologists.
Covering an area of 151 hectares, Burnt City used to be one of the world’s largest cities at the dawn of the urban era. It was built around 3200 BCE and destroyed nearly a millennium later in 2100 BCE. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times. Since it was not rebuilt after the last time it has been named the Burnt City.
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Extracted From/Source: Cultural Heritage News Agency (CHN) Please
note
the above-news is NOT a "copy & paste" version from
the mentioned-source. The news/article above has been modified with
the following interventions by CAIS: Spelling corrections;
-Rectification and correction of the historical facts and data; -
Providing additional historical information within the text; -Removing any
unnecessary, irrelevant & repetitive information. All these measures have been taken in order to ensure that the published news provided by CAIS is coherent, transparent, accurate and suitable for academics and cultural enthusiasts who visit the CAIS website.
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"History is the Light on the Path to Future" |
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Encyclopaedia Iranica
The British Institute of Persian Studies "Persepolis Reconstructed"
The British Museum
The Royal Asiatic Society
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