Human Mobility at Qareh Tepe, Iran, During the Iron Age ( c. 1200–750 BCE)

ABSTRACT We investigate patterns of human mobility in the Qazvin Plain, NW Iran, in the transitional period of the Iron Age ( c. 1200–750 bce), preceding the emergence of the Median confederacy. Radiogenic strontium isotope analysis ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) was conducted on dental enamel from 60 individuals, including 25 males and 11 females, excavated at the Iron Age cemetery of Qareh Tepe. Furthermore, the samples of 13 plants were collected in order to assess local and regional ranges of bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios. The results reveal some distinction between local and regional strontium isotopic values. The majority of individuals (~80%) exhibit local 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios. Nine individuals (~15%) display regional strontium values, indicating limited intra‐regional mobility, whereas three outliers (~5%) likely originated from areas beyond the Qazvin Plain. Our data, combined with light stable isotope analysis, suggest that the Qazvin Plain in the Iron Age was most likely not inhabited by mobile pastoralists, but rather by a sedentary population that practiced a kind of agropastoralism, with some intra‐regional mobility.