Prehistoric Iran
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Prehistoric Iran
The prehistory of the Iranian plateau, and the wider region now known as Greater Iran, as part of the prehistory of the Near East is conventionally divided into the Paleolithic, Epipaleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age periods, spanning the time from the first settlement by archaic humans about a million years ago until the beginning of the historical record during the Neo-Assyrian Empire, in the 8th century BC. Paleolithic One of the potential routes for early human migrations toward southern and eastern Asia is Iran, a country characterized by a wide range of geographic variation and resources, which could support early groups of hominins who wandered into the region. Evidence for the presence of these early populations in Iran includes some stone artifacts discovered from gravel deposits along the Kashafrud River Basin in eastern Iran, the Mashkid and Ladiz Rivers in the southeast, the Sefidrud River in the north, the Mahabad River in the northwest, ...
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Iranian Plateau
The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian plate, and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate. The plateau is situated between the Zagros Mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Köpet Dag to the north, the Armenian Highlands and the Caucasus Mountains to the northwest, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf to the south, and the Indian subcontinent to the southeast. As a historical region, it includes Parthia, Media, Persis, and some of the previous territories of Greater Iran."Old Iranian Online"
, University of Texas College of Liberal Arts (retrieved 10 February 2007)
The Zagros form the plateau's western boundary, and its eastern slopes may also ...
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Ganj Par
Ganj Par () is a Lower Paleolithic site located in the Gilan province in northern Iran. Located on an old western terrace of the Sefīd-Rūd River, the site was discovered by a team of archaeologists from the Center for Paleolithic Research of the National Museum of Iran in 2002. The Lower Paleolithic cave site of Darband Cave is located east of Ganj Par. Artefacts About 150 stone artifacts — handaxes, cleavers, a pick, choppers, and smaller flake tools — made of limestone, igneous rocks, and sandstone have been found at the site. There are some similarities between these Acheulian stone tools with those found in Caucasus region. The Discovery of Ganj Par thus indicates that Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ... is part of the Acheulian terr ...
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Khorramabad
Khorramabad (; ) is a city in the Central District of Khorramabad County, Lorestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Situated in a scenic valley surrounded by mountains, the city lies approximately 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) east of the Iraqi border. History Hazaraspids The founder of the Hazaraspid dynasty was Abu Tahir ibn Muhammad, a descendant of the Shabankara chieftain Fadluya. Fadluya was initially a commander of the Salghurids of Fars and was appointed governor of Kuhgiluya, but eventually gained independence in Lorestan and extended his realm as far as Isfahan. Safavid era During the Safavid era, Khorramabad was the administrative center of Lorestan province. In the wake of the demise of the Safavids, after the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople (1724) with Imperial Russia, the Ottomans conquered Khorramabad on the 6 September 1725. Demographics Language The city population is predominantl ...
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Zagros
The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of southeastern Turkey and northeastern Iraq. From this border region, the range continues southeast to the waters of the Persian Gulf. It spans the southern parts of the Armenian highlands, and the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau, ending at the Strait of Hormuz. The highest point is Mount Dena, at . Geology The Zagros fold and thrust belt was mainly formed by the continental collision, collision of two tectonic plates, the Eurasian Plate and the Arabian Plate. This collision mainly happened during the Miocene (about 25–5 mya or million years ago) and folded the entirety of the rocks that had been deposited from the Paleozoic (541–242 mya) to the Cenozoic (66 mya – present) in the passive continental ...
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Epipaleolithic
In archaeology, the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic (sometimes Epi-paleolithic etc.) is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age. Mesolithic also falls between these two periods, and the two are sometimes confused or used as synonyms. More often, they are distinct, referring to approximately the same period of time in different geographic areas. Epipaleolithic always includes Epipalaeolithic Near East, this period in the Levant and, often, the rest of the Near East. It sometimes includes parts of Southeast Europe, where Mesolithic is much more commonly used. Mesolithic very rarely includes the Levant or the Near East; in Europe, Epipalaeolithic is used, though not very often, to refer to the early Mesolithic. The Epipalaeolithic has been defined as the "final Upper Palaeolithic industries occurring at the end of the final Last glacial period, glaciation which appear to merge technologically into the Mesolithic". The period is general ...
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Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity in early modern humans. It is followed by the Mesolithic. Anatomically modern humans (i.e. ''Homo sapiens'') are believed to have emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago. It has been argued by some that their ways of life changed relatively little from that of archaic humans of the Middle Paleolithic, until about 50,000 years ago, when there was a marked increase in the diversity of Artefact (archaeology), artefacts found associated with modern human remains. This period coincides with the most common date assigned to early human migrations, expansion of modern humans from Africa throughout Asia and Eurasia, which may have contributed to the Neanderthal extinction, extinction of th ...
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Warwasi
Warwasi is a Paleolithic rockshelter site located at north of Kermanshah in western Iran. It was excavated by Bruce Howe under direction of late Robert Braidwood in the 1960s. This site contains a rich archaeological sequence from Middle Paleolithic to late Epipaleolithic In archaeology, the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic (sometimes Epi-paleolithic etc.) is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age. Mesolithic also falls between these two periods, and the two are someti .... References *Braidwood, R. J. (1960) Seeking the World's First Farmers in Persian Kurdistan: A Full-Scale Investigation of Prehistoric Sites Near Kermanshah. The Illustrated London News no. 237, pp. 695–97. *Dibble, H.L., & S.J. Holdaway (1993). The Middle Paleolithic Industries of Warwasi. In The Paleolithic Prehistory of the Zagros-Taurus, edited by D.I. Olszewsky and H.L. Dibble, pp. 75–99. Philadelphia: University Museum Symposium Series, V ...
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Qaleh Bozi
Qal'eh Bozi is a complex of caves and rock shelters sites located about south-southwest of Isfahan, Iran; northeast of Dizicheh and north of Hassanabad. The site includes two rock shelters and a cave located at altitudes between above sea level. The caves are found on the southern face of a limestone mountain of lower Cretaceous Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker * Lower (surname) * Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) * Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also * Nizhny {{Disambiguation ... age that rises to more than above the plain floor. From the cave entrance there is a commanding view of the plain below and of the Zaiandeh Rud River flowing about to the south and southeast. Following the cave site's discovery three seasons of archaeological excavation have been undertaken there, the most recent in 2008. They discovered that the Qaleh Bozi caves attracted human groups due to proximity to freshwater in the form of ...
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Bisitun Cave
Bisitun Cave (also called "Hunter's cave", Bisotun arsi Bisetoun urdish Bisitoun, or Behistoun) is an archaeological site of prehistoric human habitation in the Zagros Mountains in the Kermanshah province, north-west Iran. Bisitun Cave is one of five caves situated at the base of The Rock of Bisitun, a high cliff within the Chamchamal Plain. It was first excavated in 1949 by Carlton Coon, and is notable for the discovery of Mousterian stone tools of the Middle Paleolithic, as well as the remains of 109 identifiable species of Pleistocene mammals, and hominid remains. Harold Dibble described the stone tools as having strong Levallois components. All artefacts are apparently from the same period. It has not been possible to discern a geological age of the Middle Paleolithic levels at Bisitun Cave. However, the relative abundance of ''Cervus'' in the deposits suggests a nearby woodland, and such vegetation is indicative of a warmer later Pleistocene phase. In Southwestern Asia i ...
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Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleolithic in African archeology. The Middle Paleolithic broadly spanned from 300,000 to 50,000 years ago. There are considerable dating differences between regions. The Middle Paleolithic was succeeded by the Upper Paleolithic subdivision which first began between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago. Pettit and White date the Early Middle Paleolithic in Great Britain to about 325,000 to 180,000 years ago (late Marine Isotope Stage 9 to late Marine Isotope Stage 7), and the Late Middle Paleolithic as about 60,000 to 35,000 years ago. The Middle Paleolithic was in the geological Chibanian (Middle Pleistocene) and Late Pleistocene ages. According to the theory of the recent African origin of modern humans, anatomically modern humans began migrat ...
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Neanderthal
Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Pleistocene. Neanderthal extinction occurred roughly 40,000 years ago with the immigration of modern humans (Cro-Magnons), but Neanderthals in Gibraltar may have persisted for thousands of years longer. The first recognised Neanderthal fossil, Neanderthal 1, was discovered in 1856 in the Neander Valley, Germany. At first, Neanderthal 1 was considered to be one of the racial hierarchy, lower races in accord with historical race concepts. As more fossils were discovered through the early 20th century, Neanderthals became characterised most especially by Marcellin Boule as a unique species of underdeveloped human. By the mid-20th century, human evolution was described as progressing from an apelike ancestor, through a "Neanderthal phase", ending ...
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Mousterian
The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an Industry (archaeology), archaeological industry of Lithic technology, stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and with the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and Western Asia, West Asia. The Mousterian largely defines the latter part of the Middle Paleolithic, the middle of the West Eurasian Old Stone Age. It lasted roughly from 160,000 to 40,000 Before present, BP. If its predecessor, known as Levallois technique, Levallois or Levallois–Mousterian, is included, the range is extended to include as early as  300,000–200,000 BP. The main following period is the Aurignacian (c. 43,000–28,000 BP) of ''Homo sapiens''. Naming The culture was named after the type site of Le Moustier, three superimposed rock shelters in the Dordogne region of France. Similar Flintknapping, flintwork has been found all over Holocene glacial retreat, unglaciated Europe and also the Near East and North Afri ...
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