An Ethnoarcheological Study of the Architectural Relationship Between Settlement and Cemetery Sites in a Remote Iranian Village

ABSTRACT

In 2014–2015 we combined questionnaires with direct observation to study the architectural transition of a remote Iranian village in order to assess the relationship between the layout and architecture of the settlement and the cemetery, and to assess the ways the characteristics of the settlement were or were not reflected in the cemetery. The architecture of the settlement site in Makhunik has undergone considerable transformation from its inception to the present and this is still visible in the current architecture; however, changes in the cemetery are limited.

KEYWORDS:

• Transition
• makhunik architecture
• settlement and cemetery sites
• transition
• Makhunik
• archaeology
• village

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the people of Makhuik, especially Mr Ahmad Rahnama’s family, for their assistance with this project. The local informants include Mahmod Makhuniki, Ahmad Rahnama, and Ahmad Rasolinejad. Special thanks are due to the sponsors of the research, including my dear sister, Zahra Rahimkhani. I would also like to thank Michael Deal and Dr Young for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Tahereh Rahimkhani has graduated from Birjand University with master's degree in 2015. She is working in the field of archaeology.

Hadi Sabori is a PhD student in Isfahan University. He is working in field of archaeology.