This study questions the validity of the temporal and cultural gap between the Neolithic Hajji Firuz and Chalcolithic Dalma traditions, which is assumed to span a gap of about five hundred to one thousand years. Rather, the data obtained from previous and newly available evidence point to continuity from Hajji Firuz to Dalma cultures from both temporal and cultural aspects. It is possible that the Dalma tradition spanned a long period, including the Early Chalcolithic period in northwestern Iran, and an earlier part of the Chalcolithic period in the Central Zagros region. Dalma ceramic evidence analogous with those found in northern and western Iran demonstrates antiquity and continuity of this tradition. It seems that the Dalma tradition continued after the Hajji Firuz tradition in northwestern Iran without a gap and began earlier than what was previously assumed in the eastern part of the Central Zagros region. To address this issue further, we used absolute and relative dating and the archaeological evidence obtained from western and northwestern Iran, Mesopotamia, Caucasus, and the northern part of the central Iranian Plateau.
