Purpose: This study examines indicators of the emergence of power and domination mechanisms in pre-governmental societies of southwestern Iran during the late fifth millennium BCE, with a focus on mortuary and bioarchaeological data from the Tol-e Chega Sofla.

Methodology: Utilizing interdisciplinary sciences alongside archaeological, bioarchaeological data and theoretical frameworks (notably Antonio Gramsci’s concept of cultural hegemony) related to cultural hegemony. It aims to explore the potential reinterpretation of certain mortuary practices, cranial modifications, and possible ritual sacrifices as processes of meaning-making and social order production and reproduction. This approach seeks to uncover the gradual processes of social organization, legitimacy, and cultural consent at the Tol-e Chega Sofla. The main objective of the research is to reconstruct the likely mechanisms through which death rituals, the sacralization of the body, and sacrificial practices became symbolic instruments for producing social status and ritual acceptance during the transitional phase of pre-state societies. Within this framework, the burial of “Khātoūn” is analyzed not as a symbol of absolute authority, but as a focal point of cultural and gendered meanings—potentially acting as a mediating element in the emergence of hegemonic logic in southwestern Iran. Analyzing this burial and distinguishing it from other graves, as a case study, allows the formulation of hypotheses regarding the roles of the body, gender, and ritual in the formation of early logics of legitimacy.

Findings: The study’s findings are as follows: 1) Field data from the Tol-e Chega Sofla cemetery excavations, including grave structures, spatial organization of burials, arrangement of grave goods, and evidence related to sacrificial rituals, based on published documentation. These data were analyzed to identify recurring patterns, ritual distinctions, and signs of symbolic organization that structured the mortuary order. 2) Bioarchaeological data, including evidence of intentional cranial modification, trauma, and biological characteristics of the burials, were examined to explore the relationships between the body, ritual, and social status. These data were particularly used to assess hypotheses regarding bio-social differentiation and the role of the ritualized body—especially the female body—in the representation of power and sanctity. 3) Data on animal sacrifice rituals, including the types of animals, their health status, placement, and spatial relationships with human burials, were analyzed to understand the symbolic functions of sacrifice in regulating violence, producing meaning, and reproducing ritual consent, drawing on interpretive frameworks from the anthropology of ritual and sacrifice. 4) Integrated archaeological and bioarchaeological findings were interpreted within the theoretical framework of cultural hegemony, emphasizing Gramsci’s conceptualization and its archaeological elaboration in Routledge’s work. Ultimately, the findings were analyzed at three levels: material (graves, objects, bodies), symbolic (rituals, sanctity, gender), and experiential (consent, acceptance, and social order), allowing the proposal of a refined concept of “pre-state cultural hegemony.

Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the Tol-e Chega Sofla data can reflect indicators of pre-state hegemonic processes. However, these interpretations remain tentative and require broader comparative studies with contemporaneous sites in southwestern Iran.