The Paleolithic of northwestern Zagros. 2012–2019 MAFGS Survey: Data and preliminary results

Between 2012 and 2019, the surveys conducted by the French archaeological mission of the Soulaimanih Governorate in the Rania and Peshadar plains of Iraqi Kurdistan, previously devoid of Paleolithic records, have yielded numerous lithic assemblages from open-air sites, caves and rock-shelters. We present here six lithic assemblages from the three districts surveyed, Rania, Peshdar and Dukan. Despite the absence of chronostratigraphic contexts and the still fragmentary data, the first typo-technological analyses carried out allow us to propose a first techno-cultural attribution to the Paleolithic and, more specifically for some assemblages, to the Middle Paleolithic. Among the sites uncovered, it is certainly the Paleolithic shelter of Sarsyan-Rostam Agha that was the most distinctive and which represents, with the Shanidar cave, one of the rare Paleolithic sites preserved in the northwestern Zagros. Its preserved Paleolithic sequence, rich in archaeological remains, and explored in a test-pit conducted in 2018, shows clear affinities with the Mousterian Zagros industries, a well-defined entity based on sites such as Shanidar, Bisitun, Warwasi and Mar Tarik.     

The Early Middle Palaeolithic lithic industry of Dederiyeh Cave,Northwest Syria

The Lower-to-Middle Paleolithic transition of the Levant has attracted much attention, particularly because the early Middle Paleolithic is the period when the earliest anatomically modern humans fossils known to date in Eurasia have been attested in that part of Asia . The associated lithic assemblages are a significant source of information for investigating the cultural landscape of this important transition. This paper presents a new dataset from the 2003–2009 excavations at Dederiyeh Cave, northwest of Syria. A techno-typological analysis of the lithic industry reveals a common practice of blade blank production, which corroborates the other known early Middle Paleolithic assemblages of the Levant. However, its strong emphasis on Levallois core reduction and sidescraper manufacturing is noteworthy. The significance of this finding deserves further research from multiple viewpoints, including the functional and spatio-temporal variability of hominin activities in this period. It will be also important to interpret the techno-typological diagnostics of the early Middle Paleolithic assemblage of Dederiyeh considering its geographic location at the northern end of the Levant, distant from the previously known sites in the central and southern Levant.     

L’impact de l’environnement sur l’évolution biologique et culturelle dans les périodes de transition en Préhistoire : Paléolithique ancien/moyen et Paléolithique moyen/supérieur

This paper deals with the environmental changes during two important transitional periods, namely Lower/Middle Paleolithic and Middle/Upper Paleolithic transitions, and with their impact on biological and cultural evolutions, in the context of central, eastern and northwestern Europe, where ice-sheet transgressions induced particular paleogeographical and paleoecological conditions. Another country was studied too, the Balkans, a privileged area for bilateral contacts between Europe and the Near East.     

Techno-économie et signification culturelle de l’occupation moustérienne supérieure de Baume-Vallée (Haute-Loire)

The archaeological units of the Baume-Vallée rock shelter (Haute-Loire) in the South-East of the Massif Central, excavated by A. Laborde (from 1966 to 1973) then by J.-P. Raynal (from 1974 to 1996), have yielded abundant lithic assemblages attributed to the late Middle Paleolithic, characterized by a remarkable diversity of the raw materials used. The lithic industry of the upper units had previously been described as belonging to the Charentian facies lato sensu, then was attributed to the Ferrassie-type Mousterian. The technology and the techno-economic revision of its upper assemblage bring new information on the flaking mechanisms and the steps of the chaînes opératoires. These data tend to include this assemblage in the Levallois techno-complexes with scrappers often observed in late Middle Paleolithic of southeastern France.     

Early evidence of Prunus and Prunus cf. amygdalus from Palaeolithic sites in the Khorramabad Valley,western Iran

Along with the early age obtained for the cultural remains attributed to anatomically modern humans from Kaldar Cave, the archaeological assemblages recovered from both Kaldar and Gilvaran Cave located in the Khorramabad Valley (Iran), have yielded charcoal remains that allow the identification of Prunus spp. These remains correspond to the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, which are the earliest finds attesting to the presence of this taxa in the area. Our anatomical observation of the samples revealed the presence of Prunus spp. (plums) and Prunus cf. amygdalus (cf. almond). This also reflects specific plant communities in the area, characteristic of open forest growing in cool, dry conditions. These results provide new insights into the arboreal cover in this area during an Upper Pleistocene period. Furthermore, anthracological evidence together with other contextual materials provides new clues to assess how Neanderthals and early modern humans adapted to their surrounding landscape, and their relationship with their environment in this region and beyond.     

Epipaleolithic human appendicular remains from Ein Gev I,Israel

The Upper Paleolithic (Early Epipaleolithic/Kebaran; ∼ 19,000 cal BP) human skeleton, from Layer 3 of Ein Gev I on the western flanks of the Golan Heights adjacent to the Sea of Galilee, retains sufficient limb remains to permit assessment of its body size and proportions, as well as diaphyseal reflections of skeletal hypertrophy. The individual was of modest stature but average mass for a later Upper Paleolithic individual, providing it with the body mass-to-stature body proportions characteristic of later Upper Paleolithic and more recent circum-Mediterranean humans. The humeri exhibit unexceptional diaphyseal asymmetry and robustness for an Upper Paleolithic human, and the femur exhibits similar relative diaphyseal hypertrophy. The humeral midshafts are relatively round, but the femoral and tibial midshafts are pronounced anteroposteriorly. As such, Ein Gev 1 provides additional paleobiological data on the appendicular remains of these Southwest Asian humans prior to the increasing sedentism of the terminal Pleistocene.     

Consider the third dimension: A new approach for measuring the symmetry of the middle Paleolithic points of the Mirak Site

There is evidence that recognizes the importance of symmetry in the study of the evolution of hominid cognition. The development of stone tools parallels the evolution of human cognition. The last three decades have used quantitative methods that the most important of which is Symmetry Index. This paper proposes a new methodology for measuring the deviation of symmetry using 3D comparison. It focuses on the stone points of the largest Middle Paleolithic open-site in Iran, Mirak. Our results show that the index of deviation of symmetry (IDS) assesses all of the points as symmetrical tools, while this number drops to 133 pieces using 3D comparison. In addition, paired samples t-test suggests a positive correlation between the increasing proportion of preparation removals and the decrease in deviation of symmetry on the two sides of the tools. Thus, it is likely that symmetry is affected by the morphology characteristics.     

神农架犀牛洞旧石器时代遗址发掘报告

本文记述犀牛洞旧石器遗址的发掘收获及初步研究成果。该遗址在我国南方旧石器时代遗址中是比较重要的。其文化性质为深入研究南方旧石器的文化类型增添了新材料。遗址海拔2102m,向人们显示出高海拔山地旧石器考古的良好前景。遗址动物群丰富,可使人们对动物群的演变与生态有更深的认识。     

Neanderthal mobility and technological change in the northeastern of the Iberian Peninsula: The patterns of chert exploitation at the Abric Romaní rock-shelter

Understanding the changes in the technological organization of prehistoric hunter–gatherers is important to research into hominin foraging activities. During the Middle Paleolithic, the coexistence or the replacement between Levallois and discoid technologies has frequently been recorded, but there is still no clear understanding of the reasons for their alternating and fragmented use in the archaeological record. This paper aims to contribute with new data to the current debate, by exploring the chert assemblages from levels O and M of the Abric Romaní rock-shelter. The results reveal that the change from Levallois in level O to discoid in level M is accompanied by the use of different axes of mobility, a reduction in the foraging radius and a more careful management of raw materials. A cross comparison with other archaeological evidences indicates the general pattern in the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula during the late Middle Paleolithic, in which the use of Levallois technology is associated with chert and high mobility patterns whereas discoid technology is more closely linked to the use of local raw materials and a lower degree of mobility. The modifications to the mountainous environments and to the distribution of preferred prey animals may have influenced the Neanderthals’ mobility patterns and contributed to modifying their technical behaviours in order to obtain better foraging incomes.     

The open-air Paleolithic site of Mirak,northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert (Semnan,Iran): Evidence of repeated human occupations during the late Pleistocene

The northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert has provided valuable evidence of terminal Pleistocene human settlements. Mirak constitutes one of the largest open-air lithic scatters in the region, consisting of eight natural mounds. Fieldwork was initiated in 2015 by the joint Iranian-French program at Mirak 8. Preliminary results have demonstrated at least three successive phases of human occupation during the MIS3: an upper layer with clear Upper Paleolithic affinities and a maximum age of 28 ky, a lower layer with clear Middle Paleolithic affinities that dates around 47 ky, and an intermediate layer with mixed characteristics that can be seen as an intermediate Paleolithic phase which dates between 28 ± 2 and 38 ± 2 ky. At the time when Upper Paleolithic cultures originated in the Zagros Mountains, cultures with clear Middle Paleolithic affinities persisted nearby along the northern edge of the Iranian Central Plateau.     

Animal resources and subsistence strategies

Several faunal assemblages excavated in deposits of different antiquity (from Lower Paleolithic to Bronze Age), located in Northern, Central and Southern Italy, were studied from the archeozoological and taphonomic point of view. Data obtained by different Authors allow reconstruction of subsistence strategies adopted by prehistoric humans in these areas and through time, in particular as far as the exploitation of animal resources is concerned. The following assemblages were considered: Isernia La Pineta (Molise; Lower Paleolithic), Grotta Breuil (Latium; Middle Paleolithic), Grotta della Ghiacciaia (Verona; Middle Paleolithic), Riparo di Fumane and Riparo Tagliente (Verona; Middle and Upper Paleolithic), Riparo Mochi (Liguria; Upper Paleolithic), Grotta della Continenza (L'Aquila; Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic), Grotta dell'Edera (Trieste; Mesolithic and Neolithic), Grotta della Cala at Marina di Camerota (Salerno; Eneolithic), Contraguda (Sassari; Neolithic), Castellaro Lagusello (Mantova; Bronze Age). Exploitation of the vegetal resources has been analyzed in the Neolithic sites of Colle Santo Stefano (Fucino), Settefonti (L'Aquila) and Catignano (Pescara).     

Leporids as a potential resource for predators (hominins,mammalian carnivores,raptors): An example of mixed contribution from level III of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3, Barcelona,Spain)

Apart from humans, other predators can take part in creating bone accumulations by generating waste materials that may have been mixed with those produced by hominids and leading to the formation of palimpsests. This is discussed here in the case of Middle Paleolithic leporid assemblages, to which carnivores have frequently contributed. Level III of Teixoneres Cave (MIS 3) is a sample that can be used to address the origin of leporid assemblages in archaeological contexts. Applying an archaeozoological and taphonomical methodology has made it possible to state that the assemblage of leporids in the site has been generated by a mix of contributions, in which small mammal carnivores and nocturnal raptors seem to play an important role, together with occasional hominid inputs. The aim of this paper is to present new data about Neanderthal activities at this site and support the hypothesis related to short-term human occupations in the cave.     

Patterning of the early Middle Paleolithic occupations at Douara Cave and its implications for settlement dynamics in the Palmyra basin,Syria

This paper examines spatial patterning and settlement dynamics of early Middle Paleolithic hominins at Douara Cave, located on the northern edge of the Syrian Desert. The analyzed material came from our 1984 excavations of Horizons IVB–IVD, techno-typologically assigned to the Tabun D-type Levantine Mousterian (ca. 250 to 130 ka). Two findings are reported. One is the existence of spatial organization in the cave interior. Analysis of the field records shows that the occupation floor of the early Middle Paleolithic at Douara was well-organized into specific activity areas with a focal area of intensive activities close to the back wall. This suggests that the organized use of space known at late Middle Paleolithic sites like Tor Faraj, Jordan, is also applicable to the early Middle Paleolithic. Second, this paper discusses the functional role of this cave within the regional settlement system. A range of features characterizing its living floor(s) point to a very low occupational intensity, undoubtedly reflecting adaptation and particular land use patterns in the arid environments of this region. Moreover, this pattern, along with the division of interior space, seems to have remained consistent through multiple early Middle Paleolithic levels (IVB–IVD). These observations suggest that Douara Cave was a short-term camp embedded in a regional settlement system in the arid environments of this period.     

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages of the Middle and Upper Jurassic sediments from the northeastern Alborz and western Koppeh Dagh,Iran: Systematic palaeontology and palaeoecology

This research is focused on a poorly studied Jurassic sequence in the eastern part of Alborz and Western Koppeh Dagh basins. The foraminifera are reported from Callovian (Middle Jurassic) to Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) sediments of the Farsian and Chaman Bid formations. The benthic foraminiferal associations belong to the families Ammodiscidae, Epistominidae, Hauerinidae, Hormosinidae, Ichthyolariidae, Lagenidae, Nodosariidae, Nubeculariidae, Ophthalmidiidae, Polymorphinidae, Rhabdamminidae, Saccamminidae, Spirillinidae, Spirocyclinidae, Textulariidae, Trocholinidae, and Vaginulinidae. In the studied area, the foraminifera are dominated by the families Nodosariidae, Vaginulinidae and Epistominidae. Palaeoecological analysis of the foraminiferal assemblages from the Farsian Formation indicates that these sediments were deposited on the inner to mid shelf environment, with normal salinity (euhaline), and relatively well oxygenated waters, with eutrophic conditions in the Goznawwi area and oligotrophic conditions in the Chaman Bid area. The foraminiferal assemblages in this study are the first record from Jurassic sediments of the eastern part of the Alborz and Koppeh Dagh basins in northern Iran.     

The onset of Late Paleolithic in North China: An integrative review of the Shuidonggou site complex,China

Shuidonggou (SDG) attracts scholars who are interested in Late Paleolithic of China, even east Asia, from generation to generation since 1923 when rich lithic artifacts and animal fossils were discovered at locality 1. During the past almost one century, many excavations have been conducted by different institutes at different localities of SDG. Numerous data has been obtained and tens of thousands of artifacts were yielded. The understanding of nature and context of SDG is increasing gradually with the repeated excavation and in-depth research. The present paper reviewed the formal excavations and achievements in SDG. Especially, a series investigations and excavations since 2002 have been emphasized. After this long-term fieldwork, the geographic range of SDG has extended far beyond the range suggested by previous findings. The presence of discrete cultural horizons at various SDG localities indicate repeated use and occupation of the area by early human groups between 50–10 kya with a gap in LGM. During the repeated occupations, diverse and complex behaviors including gathering various plants, heat treatment preparation for knapping, making ornaments, engraving were identified using different kinds of methods and techniques by scholars. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on pollen analysis suggests that late Pleistocene/early Holocene human utilization of the SDG area occurred primarily around 32–24 kya and 13–11 kya when climatic conditions were more favorable. Years of excavations and researches make progress with nature of SDG. However, the issues about Initial Upper Paleolithic assemblages in SDG, origin/disappearance of Levallois-like technology in China are still open to debate. Further excavation and research at SDG1 will clarify these issues.     

L’industrie du site néandertalien de la grotte de Vindija (Croatie) : une révision des matières premières lithiques

The new analysis of the Middle Paleolithic industry from the cave Vindija (Croatia), showed a necessity of revision of the previous obtained data especially considering the use and origin of the raw materials (Kurtanjek and Marci, 1990). The results presented in this study pointed out some new aspects of interpretation. First, the significance of quartz in the Middle Paleolithic was underestimated. At the same time it is obvious that the major change in the use of the raw material was at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic and of the Epigravettian, especially in the use of chert. The second change is registered in the use of chert between Middle and Upper Paleolithic: the chalky nodules of chert are more frequent in the Upper Paleolithic then the river pebbles used in the production of Middle Paleolithic artefacts. Still, the origin of this new raw material is at the moment unknown.     

La religiosité au Paléolithique

During the oldest periods of the Palaeolithic, evidence of distinct behaviours related to technicity, hunting and settlement patterns is difficult to clearly interpret. Yet such evidence increases from the Lower to Middle Palaeolithic, with the appearance of the first incontestable burials and symbolic representations, in the form of collected shells and colorants. With the Upper Palaeolithic, the archaeological record is more abundant. It is then possible to address spiritual aspects, the component of non-technological human behaviour beyond subsistence, lithic reduction or hafting techniques. Figurative art appears, in both mobile and parietal form, the iconography and organisation of which are structured. Painted caves seem to have been places for ritual practices in addition to having been selected for art alone. Evidence of visits and archaeological deposits reflect a space for possible exchanges between the human and spirit worlds in the framework of an animist world view. In the religious domain, such data allow the reconstruction of some elements of mythical thought, analogous to that described by ethnologists and historians of religions in other contexts. Their study does not allow precise recovery of the myths themselves, but rather consideration of their existence and structuring function within these prehistoric societies.     

Reassessment of TL age estimates of burnt flints from the Paleolithic site of Tabun Cave, Israel

The stratigraphy of Tabun Cave (Mt. Carmel), which comprises one of the longest sequences of Lower and Middle Paleolithic of the Near East, is widely used as a reference in debates on the evolution of Paleolithic industries and on the origin of modern humans and their relationship to the Neandertals. Considering the methodological improvements during the last ten years, the thermoluminescence (TL) dates of heated flints frequently quoted in the literature require an update. New TL results are discussed and compared with radiometric data recently obtained for this site, in particular by the ESR method, and with those obtained for other Levantine sites. The chronological framework previously proposed for the Paleolithic industries of the area is then re-examined.     

Exploring Neanderthal skills and lithic economy. The implication of a refitted Discoid reduction sequence reconstructed using 3D virtual analysis

Lithic refitting studies have consistently contributed to address two specific research aims: the intra-site mobility and identification of preferential areas or latent structures, and the in-depth analysis of the knapping technologies and core reduction strategies. Multiple refits, in particular, can produce highly detailed data on knapped stone technology. Elucidating human skills and lithic economy, a potential still rarely evaluated for Discoid technology: a stone knapping method largely spread across the Middle Paleolithic of Europe. The opportunity to explore Neanderthal knapping behavior is provided from the remarkable discovery of a primary lithic waste concentration in the Mousterian Discoid level of the Grotta di Fumane, Italy, dated to at least 47.6 ky cal BP. With a combined approach that included the 3D virtual interaction, we were able to reproduce a complete reduction sequence that supports the technological analysis conducted on the lithic assemblage. Results lead to a better comprehension of the knapper's technological and technical behavior, including the detection and quantification of economic objectives and productivity.