The Deh Luran Plain is a microcosm of Mesopotamia and important for the study of a variety of processes in cultural evolution. In this volume (the first of three planned on this project), the authors present a detailed archaeological survey covering periods from the earliest occupation of the plain up to the mid-third millennium BC.

The site of Tepe Farukhabad, in southwestern Iran, dates to the fourth millenium BC. In this monograph, editor Henry T. Wright presents archaeological data from the Tepe Farukhabad excavations. For each phase of the site, the authors give detailed descriptions of the structures and artifacts, including ceramics, stone, bone, metal, textile, and faunal remains. With his interpretation of this data, Wright advances our understanding of early exchange in southwest Asia and of development of early states.

The Deh Luran Plain, nestled in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains close to the modern border between Iraq and Iran, had a long and rich prehistory, beginning with the local development of villages dependent upon rainfall farming and herding in the 8th millennium BC. This volume continues the account of the plain from the later 3rd millennium BC to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. It contains detailed site maps and descriptions, aerial and satellite images of major sites, statistics and drawings of ceramics, and discussions of the historical sources.

In the early 1960s, archaeologists Frank Hole, Kent V. Flannery, and James A. Neely surveyed the prehistoric mounds in Deh Luran and then excavated at two sites: Ali Kosh and Tepe Sabz. The researchers found evidence that the sites dated to between 7500 and 3500 BC, during which time the residents domesticated plants and animals. This volume, published in 1969, was the first in the Museum’s Memoir series—designed for data-rich, heavily illustrated archaeological monographs.

In 1968 and 1969, Frank Hole directed the excavation of Chagha Sefid, a prehistoric site on the Deh Luran plain in Iran occupied from about 7000 to 3500 BC. This volume contains an analysis of the architecture, burials, and artifacts uncovered on the site. Contributions by M. J. Kirkby and Colin Renfrew.