Abstract
Beginning in 1948, archaeological surveys and excavations in northwest Iran brought to light evidence of cultural developments related to the movements of people who colonized vast parts of the Near East from northeast Anatolia to southern Levant in the late 4th and early 3rd millennium B.C., prompted by environmental changes, population boom or shortage of biological resources in their homeland. The period is best known in the archaeological literature as the Early Trans-Caucasian (ETC) or Kura-Araxes culture, and is distinguished, by a disparate black burnished pottery with incised decorations. Here is published for the time a sample of decorative patterns on the related pottery from Yanik Tepe. The main question of the study was: To what extent did the newcomer potters communicated on this pottery the artistic traditions they had brought with themselves from their homeland? Data gathered through museum and library enquiries were used to carry out a comparative study. Data analysis was of qualitative nature, and the study represented one of culture-historical. 
Keywords: Azarbaijan, Yanik Tepe, Early Bronze Age, Pottery, National Museum of Iran.

Introduction
The question central to this study is: Does the Kura-Araxian pottery tradition at Yanik Tepe reflect traits induced by indigenous experimentations, or it was simply developed via foreign inspirations and cultural interactions? 
As stated, the pottery assemblages from Yanik Tepe had remained intact since their initial movement to National Museum of Iran after the close of excavation. Preparatory work was therefore required before deciding on or attempting any sort of study. Accordingly, the whole collection was recorded and washed before the decorated sherds were singled out and sorted into such groups as geometric motifs, animal motifs, plain, and miscellaneous. This was followed by the documentation process that involved photographing, drawing and registering the entire formal and technical attributes of individual pieces. Attempts were made to exclude from the final sample the patterns that were identical to those already published by Burney in various places. Also to meet the diversity criterion, pieces were selected from as varied excavated exposures as Areas or Trenches H, HX, K, L, M, P and different Levels, viz. YT.HX3, YT161HX, YTHX4, YT.HX1, YTK3, YT.HH1, YTH5, YT.HH1A, YT.C5, YT.P2, YT.LIA, YT.HH10, YT.HX1, YT.L3PRMII, YT.P2, YT.39C, and YT.RH13.

Yanik Tepe
A key site in the archaeology of the eastern Urmia Lake Basin, Yanik Tepe is 30 km southwest of Tabriz and 6 km from Khosrowshahr, within the village of Tazeh Kand on the Talkheh Rud. Burney excavated the site in 1960, 1961 and 1962, shortly after its identification in 1958-9. Yanik Tepe consists of a high mound and a low mound, rising 16.5 m and 1.50 m from the surrounding lands, respectively. With an original total area of about 6 hectares, it represents a type-site of the Kura-Araxes culture in Azerbaijan (Burney 1963, 138). Large parts of the site are now destroyed. Typical of the culture that flourished at Yanik Tepe were round and rectilinear houses and a distinct pottery tradition. Most intriguing are those types that resemble the material from the vast cultural horizon of eastern Anatolia and the early Trans-Caucasia of the mid-3rd millennium BC. 
Building on the results of his excavations at Yanik Tepe, Burney divided the whole Kura-Araxes (or the ETC) sequence to the three discrete periods of ETC I, ETC II, and ETC III, where the earliest period marks the birth of the culture in its motherland, the second is associated with round structures and decorated pottery, and the latest sees the predominance of rectilinear architecture and virtual disappearance of decorations on pottery (Summers 2004, 619-620). For a more recent and detailed discussions on the chronology and dates as well as the stratigraphy of Yanik Tepe, the reader is referred to Summers 2013; 2014, 157-159. 
An idiosyncrasy of the Early Bronze Age at Yanik Tepe is the handmade, black or gray burnished pottery with incised patterns. The technique is reminiscent of woodcarving and was presumably inspired by the densely forested landscape of the homeland of bearers of the culture who came to the rather sparsely wooded regions of northwest and west Iran. The technique was widely applied to pottery along with excised patterns, filled with white and occasionally ocher pastes. 
Designs like birds and highly stylized rams or ibexes with curled horns, and bands of geometric motifs were carved on bowls, jars and footed pedestal vessels and small cups, the pottery forms common to the period. 
The Middle Bronze period marks a shift in architectural styles as the related houses were built in a rectilinear plan using mud bricks. The thick walls spoke of two-storied buildings. The use of decorations diminishes, and the so-called graphite burnished technique emerges on a few examples of cups. Vessels are relatively finer, and burnishing is more frequent. Pottery forms show no considerable differences between the two periods (Burney 1962). However, the so-called Nakhichevan lugs, common to the latter period, occur now only in a vestigial form. 

Kura-Araxes Pottery of Yanik Tepe
This section gives a description of the pottery with a special focus on decorations, along with a series of so far unpublished illustrations, which besides enriching the existing literature on the pottery history, are intended to improve the current picture of the evolution of pottery styles through the long Kura-Araxian horizon at Yanik Tepe. It is notable that, as stated earlier, the pieces and decorations published here have not been introduced in any earlier publications and have been selected from various trenches and levels to ensure a representative sample to the possible extent. 
The Kura-Araxian pottery, coming in disparate wares and decorations, represent a new style that newcomer artisans had brought with themselves to northwest Iran. It is characterized by dark gray or shiny black or light brown color; vessels are handmade, contain mineral tempers, and show a burnished surface bearing an assortment of motifs such as spirals, “ram horns” and concentric circles or “eyes” (Burney and Lang 1971). In the Kura-Araxes Period I, rail rims were common, the Nakhichevan lugs were not yet emerged, and some Chalcolithic forms and decorative techniques persisted (Glumac and Anthony 1992). Related material occurs at most sites in Caucasia, the eastern fringes of Anatolia, and Geoy Tepe K1 (Sagona 2000).
The Period II is distinguished by the abundance of elbow handles and advent of semi-circular Nakhichevan lugs; the rail rims are utterly absent (Seyedov 2000). Notable in the assemblages is the ubiquitous concentric circles or “eyes” and incised triangles or chevrons. The pottery with its distinctive incised decorations shows influences from neighboring spheres. Various motifs are discernible. Animals, birds and fish occur in abundance. Birds appear as stylized representations on jars and bowls with decorations always reserved for the base or close to it. Also present are very simple geometric designs, bands raging from plain examples of undulating lines to those of a very intricate combination of nested designs, horizontal grooves or hatches, zigzags and doted patterns, rows of geometric motifs like lozenges with adjoining triangles filled with a various combinations of incised dots in diverse arrangements, swastikas, small lozenges and slanting motifs. Spirals and concentric circles were applied in incised form and evolved into an excised form with the related patterns filled with a white paste or lime. A frequent motif is the sharply angled triangles evoking the mountain motif as is the incised patterns imitating cuneiform signs. They are much finer compared with the ordinary handmade pieces. The Kura-Arax II material from Yanik Tepe find parallels in Geoy K1, Yakhvali, Ravaz (Kohna Shahar), Baruj, Haftavan VII and Godin IV (Burney 1961, 1962; Kleiss and Kroll 1979; Asurov 2000).
Typical to the Kura-Araxes III assemblages are the incised spirals and loop handles attached to the rim. The concentric circles occur in a higher frequency (Burney and Lang 1971, 67; Seyedov 2000, 19). Nakhichevan lugs show a gradual decline. Related pottery is known from Geoy K3, Godin IV, Shengavit IV, Kul Tepe of Nakhichevan, Kvatskhelebi in Georgia and sites in the Koban area of East Anatolia (Burney 1961, 1962; Burney and Lang 1971; Sagona 2000).

Stamp seals constitute one of the most enduring elements of administrative traditions in the Central Zagros of western Iran. However, the uneven archaeological record has generated ongoing debate regarding continuity and discontinuity in their use, particularly during the late fourth and early third millennia BCE, when securely stratified evidence remains limited. Drawing on newly published materials from Tepe Tyalineh, Godin Tepe, Chogha Maran, and Dehsavar, this study reassesses the evolution of stamp seal traditions between ca. 5000 and 2500 BCE within an updated regional chronological framework. By examining the style, iconography, and archaeological contexts of stamp seals and seal impressions from a comparative perspective, the article evaluates competing interpretations of the development of administrative practices in the Central Zagros. The evidence indicates that stamp seals and seal impressions were employed in the region from the Early Chalcolithic (5000–4600 BCE) through Late Chalcolithic phases 1–3 (4600–3700 BCE), during which they continued to develop locally while interacting with broader supra-regional networks. Although the archaeological record suggests an apparent gap during Late Chalcolithic phases 4–5 (3700–3100 BCE), stamp seal traditions persisted into the Early Bronze Age (3100–2500 BCE). While these traditions underwent significant transformation and were increasingly overshadowed by cylinder seals and supra-regional administrative systems during the later fourth millennium BCE, they nevertheless continued to play a role in local administrative practices in the Early Bronze Age. The analysis suggests that this apparent gap is more plausibly explained by biases in archaeological visibility, preservation, excavation coverage, and chronological resolution than by an actual interruption in the production and use of stamp seals. Overall, the study supports a model of relative continuity accompanied by stylistic, iconographic, and administrative transformation within the Central Zagros glyptic tradition. These findings underscore the active role of Central Zagros communities in the development of administrative practices and contribute to broader discussions of cultural continuity, interregional interaction, and the emergence of sociopolitical institutions in prehistoric Southwest Asia.

The archaeological sites of the Ardabil Plain provide essential evidence for understanding the cultural sequences of northwestern Iran and its interactions with the Iranian Plateau, the South Caucasus, and eastern Anatolia. Among these sites, the mound of Qaleh Yeri–Kuraim is of particular significance. This paper presents the results of the first season of stratigraphic excavations conducted in 2023, based on two test trenches. Test Trench I (TTI) was opened to establish a comprehensive cultural sequence at the site, while Test Trench II (TTII) targeted deposits associated with the Transcaucasian/Kura Araxes Early Bronze Age horizon. The excavations revealed substantial archaeological evidence, including dry stone and mudbrick architectural remains, industrial installations such as kilns, metallurgical evidence, and extensive ceramic assemblages. In TTI, a long and well defined stratigraphic sequence of approximately 14.6 meters was documented, containing successive and occasionally alternating layers with Islamic, historical, and Bronze Age pottery. This sequence represents one of the most continuous stratigraphic records in the eastern sector of northwestern Iran. TTII yielded significant evidence of metallurgical activities, including furnace remains, slag, copper ore fragments, ceramic molds, and crucibles, indicating metal smelting, refining, and production during the Early Bronze Age. Eco-factual evidence, including animal remains (primarily sheep and cattle) and plant remains (notably wheat and barley), reflects a subsistence economy based on mixed farming and animal husbandry. Special finds such as obsidian tools, spindle whorls, grinding stones, bone implements, and clay figurines demonstrate a range of domestic, economic, and symbolic activities from the Bronze Age through the historical and Islamic periods. In the absence of absolute dating, the site’s chronology currently relies on relative dating and ceramic typology. The results indicate long term occupation interrupted by two major hiatuses, likely linked to tectonic, environmental, and historical changes.