Intercultural Relations between Southern Iran and the Oxus Civilization. The Strange Case of Bifacial Seal NMI 1660.

A bifacial seal, discovered at Shahr-i Sokhta and now housed in the Bastan Museum, provides compelling evidence for previously unrecognized intercultural relations between southern Iran's Jiroft civilization and the Oxus (Bactria-Margiana) civilization during the III-II millennium B.C. transition period. This artifact challenges the traditional narrative of one-way cultural diffusion from Central Asia to Iran, instead suggesting a complex, bidirectional exchange that shaped artistic and ideological developments across a vast region spanning Margiana, Bactria, Jiroft, and Elam. The seal's unique features—rooted in both southern Iranian and Central Asian traditions—highlight the emergence of a shared cultural source with distinct local adaptations. This finding, derived from new archaeological evidence from Turkmenistan and Iran, redefines our understanding of historical interactions between these civilizations.

Ascalone, E. (2014). Intercultural Relations between Southern Iran and the Oxus Civilization. The Strange Case of Bifacial Seal NMI 1660. Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.22111/ijas.2014.1960