Iranian-British Experts to Study Ancient Children's Growth Rates at Burnt City

Iranian-British Experts to Study Ancient Children's Growth Rates at
Burnt City

http://www.cais-soas.com/News/2005/November2005/30-11-iranian.htm

30 November 2005 - In 2006, a joint team from the Archaeological
Research Center of Iran (ARCI) and Britain's University of Newcastle
plans to begin a study to determine the reasons for the variations in
the growth rates of children in ancient times at the 5200-year-old
Burnt City in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.



Archaeologists have discovered over 400 graves during the eight phases
of excavations at the ancient city. Most of the children's skeletons
indicate a fluctuation in their physical growth rate which experts have
not been able to explain.



"The skeletons show positive and negative growth in children's
bodies, and it is very important for experts to find a reason for this
fact," ARCI anthropologist Farzad Foruzanfar told the Persian service
of the Cultural Heritage News (CHN) agency on Tuesday.



Sometimes, changes in growth occur suddenly, with causes other than
genetic and cultural factors, and the joint team aims to study this
subject, he added.



The British team is led by Dr. Kirsi Lorentz, who is an expert in
environmental archaeology. She joined Iranian experts working at the
3000-year-old cemetery of the ancient site of Kharand in Semnan
Province in early November to determine the process of maturation of
the region's children during ancient times and to study the impact of
the environment on this process.



The Burnt City covers an area of 150 hectares and was one of the
world's largest cities at the dawn of the urban era. It was built
circa 3200 BC and destroyed some time around 2100 BC. The city had four
stages of civilization and was burnt down three times. Since it was not
rebuilt after the last time it was burnt down, it has been named the
Burnt City.



Although many studies have been carried out on the Burnt City, so far
experts have not been able to determine the ethnicity and language of
the city's inhabitants.

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