Material Culture and Social Behavior: Reconstructing Social Behavior and Personality According to Late Islamic Material Culture in Yazd, Iran

Document Type : Research Article

Author

Department of Archaeology, University of Jiroft, Jiroft, Iran.

Abstract

Cultural and social phenomena in our society have deep roots in the past. In other words, at least in part, the
social behavior of current societies has its roots in their past, institutionalized in the subconscious memory of the
citizens for hundreds or thousands of years. The cognition of social behavior of past societies and their structures
could lead to a deeper and better understanding of contemporary social behavior. One of the most important ways
in reconstructing social behavior of people in the past is the study of architectural and urban spaces. Considering
Iranian cities with historical heritage, the historical texture of the city of Yazd is well preserved. The reconstruction
of the social structure of Yazd (emphasizing social communication) according to the remaining spaces from the
past, with the use of space syntax, will be discussed in this paper. It seems that compact neighborhood, and
some public spaces such as neighborhood mosques could have increased social interaction among neighborhood
residents. Increasing the level of social communication, can not only increase the cohesion and solidarity between
the residents, but also lead to the creation of a kind of informal social control. However, some other architectural
spaces left by them, and some principles of Islamic religion like privacy, indicate the emergence of a different type
of social behavior like pretention and dual character among residents.

Keywords

References

References
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Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies
Volume 12, Issue 2
2022
Pages 105-114

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