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Traces of Civilization Iran in the Second Half the Fifth 
and Beginning of the Fourth Millennia B.C. 

The Period of the Buff Ware Culture 

The remains of the Buff Ware Culture have been found in many other areas besides the south and southwest of Iran, for in its period of expansion and at its height this culture existed throughout the whole breadth of the ancient world. It began in the first part of the fifth millennium B.C., living remains in the ancient mounds of the Khuzestan plain and the surrounding regions. Gradually the distribution of its artifacts, and in particular its pottery, underwent expansion, and in the latter parts of the fifth millennium and the beginning of the fourth millennium B.C. the Buff Ware Culture extended over all of Iran and the neighboring regions, that is, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus Valley. The influence of the pottery of this culture in the Iranian plateau manifested itself during the period of the Hesar Culture. Although the remains and artifacts of this culture have been found throughout the ancient world, to a degree they have been influenced by local artistes styles. The most beautiful examples of the pottery of this culture at its height have been found in the mounds of Shush Bakun, Seyalk and Saggez Abad. 

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The Iranian Plateau in the Third and Second Millennia B.C. 

The archaeological evidence which has thus far come to light shows that the people of Iran possessed an extremely advanced civilization as long ago as 7000 years. The western part of the Iranian plateau entered the historical era about 5000 years ago when the cuneiform script was invented. The people of the eastern sections of the plateau, however, remained without the advantages of this Elamites form of writing, and the only information we have about them is the remains founds in tombs. These show that the remains of Iran in the third and second millennia B.C. were people of a peace - loving, agricultural and artistic nature. Nevertheless, the number of tombs excavated until now is not sufficient to come to any exact and comprehensive conclusions. In many areas of Iran there are archaeological remains relevant to these two millennia which for various reasons have not yet come to light. Thus it must not be thought that the inhabited areas of the Iranian plateau in the third and second millennia B.C. were limited to those indicated on the map. It is probable that eventually the whole surface of the map will be covered by points which will gradually be discovered. 
From the middle of the third millennium B.C. the form, design and coloring of implements and the manner of burying the dead gradually changed, so that by the end of this millennium the appearance of graves and of the artifacts found within them had taken to itself a completely new aspect. We can conclude from these changes that new peoples had gradually entered Iran from the east, for in the east the intensity of these changes is greater than in the west, and farther we move from the northeast towards the central regions of Iran such as Kashan and Nahavand, the less is the intensity. In the middle of the second millennium Iran was invaded from several directions by peoples from the north. 
First, groups of Aryans who had been occupied with grazing their flocks of sheep and goats in the wide pasturelands located to the northeast of the Iranian plateau entered the plateau itself. A number of these groups went with their flocks to the fertile areas around the shores of the Caspian Sea and settled in the area between the peaks of the Alborz mountain range and the edge of the Caspian forests, which contained excellent pasturage. In the beginning of the second millennium B.C. the Hittites crossed the Bosporus straits and entered Asia Minor, the Mitannis found their way through the Caucasus into the Anatolian Peninsula and the Kassites came Downward by the same route towards the Zagros Mountains and settled in the western regions of the Iranian plateau. Other Aryan peoples also entered Iran from the northeast during the second half of the second millennium B.C. and gave their name to the land. In this way during the last parts of the second millennium B.C. the Iranian plateau was made ready for the great monarchy which came into being during the following millennium. Gradually all of the scattered centers which had come into being separately during the space of 3000 years were brought under the control of a central government. 

Source: 
Historical Atlas of Iran, University of Tehran, Institute of Geography

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