No / This paper presents the results of the chemical analysis of materials recovered from two of the earliest agricultural villages in southwestern Iran and a late Neolithic pastoral encampment in nearby Khuzistan. Gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed biomarker compounds characteristic of bitumen in residues from ceramic vessels supporting the excavators¿ contention that the interior surfaces of some vessels were coated with a thin layer of such material and confirmed that ¿fragments¿ collected during excavation were indeed bitumen. Biomolecular and isotopic analysis of the bitumen indicated that the sources utilized lie in the Susa and Deh Luran regions of southwestern Iran. / NERC (MSc); AHRC (PhD)