New Data on the Animal Exploitation at Shahri-i Sokhta (Iran): First Results from the Analysis of the Animal Remains Found at Workshop 33

This paper presents the results of recent zooarchaeological analyses carried out at Shahr-i Sokhta (Iran) as part of the MAIPS project, which developed from the cooperation between the University of Salento and the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research. Its aim is to apply a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the Hilmand valley, Shahr-i Sokhta and their archaeological contexts. Between 2017 and 2019, archaeological research was carried out in the area known as Workshop 33, bringing to light stratigraphic deposits and domestic features dated to the site periods III and II (c. 3000 to 2450 BC). More than 2,000 animal remains were analysed; they allow us to develop a better understanding of the animal exploitation at the site from the 4th to the 2nd millennia BC. A more refined chronology, based on new archaeological excavations and 14C dates, allowed us to group the faunal data into four main chronological phases and to establish the broad stability of husbandry strategies over time.