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Zamani Dadaneh M, Fazeli Nesheli H, Nokandeh J, Mohammadi Ghasrian S. (2026). Rereading and Identification of RWB Ware Chalcolithic Period Painted Pottery from the Mahidasht Project, Western Central Zagros. Parseh J. Archaeol. Stud.. 10(36), 7-24. doi:10.66224/PJAS.1450.81.8
URL: http://journal.richt.ir/mbp/article-1-1450-en.html

Abstract
The ceramic analyzed in this article, labeled as Red White and Black (RWB) ware in the Mahidasht region, is a painted pottery tradition in the west of central Zagros. Our information regarding this was limited to published information on the Mahidasht 1975-78 project. So, more questions and hesitation remain about this ceramic that should be answered. What are the essential characteristics of Red White and Black pottery?  What is the exact chronology of this ware in the chalcolithic sequence of western Iran? So to answer these proposed questions and also to give an updated view from Red White and Black ceramic in the chalcolithic period studies in the west of Iran, the RWB ware of the Mahidasht project belonging to the Siahbid 1978 excavation stored at the National Museum of Iran was analyzed. In addition to the investigation of RWB ceramics at the National Museum of Iran, the published information concerning the most recent archaeological survey and excavations project done in the western parts of Iran has also been considered. This study has resulted in a complete and updated view concerning the different aspects of the Red White and Black ware studies, like chronology, settlement pattern, ware characteristics, dating. It became clear to us that some of the surveyed and excavated sites in different parts of western Iran date back to the early phases of the Chalcolithic period based on observation of Black On Buff (BOB) ceramics involving Red White and Black (RWB) ware instead of BOB ceramics and dating to later phases of chalcolithic period consequently. in addition to such dating that request future revision, our study on the Red White and Black ceramic in this article yielded more interested results in this regards. 
Keywords: RWB Ware, Mahidasht Project, Central Zagros, Chronology, Late Chalcolithic Period.

Introduction
In the prehistoric archaeology of the western regions of the Central Zagros, and especially the Mahidasht region, various types of engraved pottery have been reported. One of these pottery traditions that is also the subject of the present project is Red White and Black/RWB pottery. This pottery type and the others mentioned are related to the Mahidasht project. It was carried out before the Iranian Revolution and between 1975 and 1978 by the Royal Ontario Museum under the direction of Louis Levin in cooperation with the Iranian Archaeological Research Center. This project identified more than 900 ancient sites from prehistoric times to the Islamic centuries. Due to the Islamic Revolution, the project above was left unfinished. The reviewers remained and could not publish the complete data collected by this project (Levine, 1975; Levine & McDonald, 1977) (Figure 1). After nearly 50 years, a team of Iranian and foreign archaeologists resumed the studies of this project (Renette et al., 2021). Part of this revision project is dedicated to the study of pottery known as J ware in the final stages of the Neolithic and the early stages of the Chalcolithic (Transitional Chalcolithic). Data related to the Chalcolithic period between 5000 and 3200 BC is another doctoral dissertation’s subject (Figure 2). Among the data from this dissertation, which is also the subject of the present article, are the pottery known as Red White and Black/RWB. Given the limited information published, many ambiguities and questions about this pottery type exist. Consequently, to answer the aforementioned ambiguities and questions, the RWB pottery collection, all obtained from the 1978 excavations of the Choqha Maran site and currently preserved in the National Museum of Iran, was studied and examined. A detailed study of this pottery and a summary of recent research and excavations conducted in various parts of western Iran led to new results about this type of pottery. In addition to providing new results about the characteristics and features of this type and also determining the exact period of this tradition in the prehistoric sequence of the region, the results of this research revealed that the scope of this pottery is not limited to the western regions of the Central Zagros and that more areas beyond the western regions of the Central Zagros, such as the sites of Kurdistan Province in the northern part of the Central Zagros, are under the jurisdiction of this pottery tradition.

Discussion
As mentioned, the Red White and Black/RWB pottery is among the painted pottery of the Late Chalcolithic of the Mahidasht Project in the western central Zagros regions. The name of this type, like other painted pottery types of the western central Zagros regions, such as Black On Buff/BOB, Red On Buff/ROB, or Black On Red/BOR, is derived from the technical and visual characteristics of the pottery. The adjective Red refers to the color of the core of this type. The adjective White refers to the white covering of the body of this pottery, and the adjective Black refers to the black patterns on the white covering. In short, this type of pottery is made with Red core and white covering with black patterns on the white covering (Henrickson, 1985) (Figure 3). All information about this pottery type in the Mahidasht Project is limited to these general descriptions and a few black and white plates. This is while all the RWB pottery fragments obtained from the 1978 excavations of the Choqha Maran site are currently kept in the National Museum of Iran (Figure 4). A close study of this type, along with a summary of the results of the latest research and excavations carried out in western Iran, has provided a good opportunity to introduce this type fully and to resolve all ambiguities and questions about this type of pottery about its precise chronology, precise technical specifications and features of the pottery, distribution range, etc. What follows is to present an updated and new picture of RWB pottery in the prehistory of western Iran. In continuing to describe this type of pottery, it should be noted that the white clay covering of this type of pottery is of the evanescent type and, in some cases, is very weak, so that sometimes nothing of this covering remains on the surface of the pottery. However, the patterns are healthier, and in some cases, the pattern and the covering have disappeared. Most RWB pottery is made using the wheel-made technique, which has not been mentioned in previous descriptions. Forms in many cases include vessels with turned-out rims and vessels with flat rims. The designs on these Pottery are also often geometric with parallel bands and stripes, hanging triangles, successive quotation marks, irregular vertical stripes and chevron hatching and in some cases animal designs (often goats with round horns and snakes) in a geometric frame and sometimes plant designs (Figs. 4,5,6) (Table 1,2).

Conclusion
The pottery traditions in the western Central Zagros region, about which little information has been published, are the pottery type known as RWB. This pottery type is well-made with a red core, a white covering, and black patterns. Most of the published information about this type is limited to the Mahidasht project between 1975 and 1978. As a result, complete information about this project and, consequently, the RWB ware pottery has not been fully published, and there are many questions and ambiguities about this pottery style. It should be noted that the data of the Mahidasht project are currently kept in the repository of the National Museum of Iran. As a result, the Mahidasht revision project has allowed the study of these data and the RWB pottery closely and in detail. By summarizing the studies and investigations conducted on this pottery and the results of new excavations and research conducted in western Iran, a new and updated picture of this type of pottery was provided in the archaeology of the Late Chalcolithic period of Western Iran. Some of the results obtained in this research, especially the information related to the distribution range of this culture in western Iran, and provide new information. RWB pottery is placed in the prehistoric sequence of western Iran after the Siahbid horizon and in the Maran horizon in the early stages of the Late Chalcolithic 2 (LC2). Some Late Chalcolithic sites in western Iran, especially the Late Chalcolithic sites in Kurdistan province, have been attributed to black-patterned pea-like pottery known as Black On Buff/BOB. However, by obtaining RWB pottery and studying it closely, it was found that these sites were incorrectly dated and that their Black On Buff/BOB pottery belongs to the RWB pottery tradition. In addition, this research found that the range of RWB pottery is not limited to the western regions of the Central Zagros and its neighboring regions in southwestern Iran, but covers much broader areas of western and southwestern Iran. The tradition extends from the south to the Hakalan and Parcinah cemeteries in the Ilam province in southwestern Iran. This tradition extends from the north to the city of Marivan in Kurdistan province (Fig. 7-11). In general, what was presented in this research is the most recent and up-to-date picture available of the RWB pottery tradition in the archaeological studies of the Western Late Chalcolithic in Iran.