Thus, the argument that links these archaeological patterns with the Iranian migration into the area associates the Iron Age I and II cultures with the early penetration of the Iranians into the more eastern Zagros and with their infiltration westward along the major routes crosscutting the main mountain alignments.
In this paper we consider a crucial issue for survey archaeology: how we identify and make sense of the heterogeneous and often inter-dependent behaviours and processes responsible for apparent archaeological patterns across the landscape.
Furthermore the history, intensity and methodology of the archaeological research in the region influence the known archaeological distribution pattern and therefore an understanding of the archaeological practice in the region is necessary in the study of the past landscapes of that region.
Archaeological distribution patterns are often biased by cultural and environmental processes.
The application of this methodology could contribute to the reconstruction of river histories, a key factor in understanding the distribution of valley floor archaeological settlement patterns.
Key question here is to what extent archaeological settlement patterns are an artefact of landscape change, with deposition obscuring large parts of the ancient Mediterranean landscape.
We compared our archaeological results to patterns of both experimental point breakage and practical morphometric thresholds for successfully hunting deer.
It has been suggested that the introduction of gray and gray-black pottery into western Iran from the northeast, which signals the start of the Iron Age, is the archaeological manifestation of this pattern of a gradual movement of Iranians from east to west.
The study of place names and archaeological evidence indicates a pattern of early Medieval settlement by the Picts, most densely around the north-east coastal plain; early Gaelic settlement was predominately in the western mainland and neighbouring islands.
Settlement pattern archaeology and the investigation of ancient landscapes, especially when systematically implemented, have been some of the most significant archaeological innovations of the last half century.
