The Paleolithic of the Iranian Plateau: Hominin occupation history and implications for human dispersals across southern Asia

Shoaee, Mohammad Javad; Nasab, Hamed Vahdati; Petraglia, Michael D.

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101292

Cited by 17 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 106 publications

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“…Thus, a growing number of Paleolithic field investigations have been initiated, and the importance of the region in relation to the dispersal of H . sapiens outside Africa, and our interactions with other hominins in Asia, is becoming increasingly apparent [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining paleoclimatic routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals across Iran

Shoaee

Breeze²,

Drake³

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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Fossil and archaeological evidence indicates that hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia occurred throughout the Pleistocene, including the expansion of Homo sapiens populations out of Africa. While there is evidence for hominin occupations in the Pleistocene in Iran, as evidenced by the presence of Lower to Upper Paleolithic archaeological sites, the extent to which humid periods facilitated population expansions into western Asia has remained unclear. To test the role of humid periods on hominin dispersals here we assess Paleolithic site distributions and paleoenvironmental records across Iran. We developed the first spatially comprehensive, high-resolution paleohydrological model for Iran in order to assess water availability and its influence on hominin dispersals. We highlight environmentally mediated routes which likely played a key role in Late Pleistocene hominin dispersals, including the expansion of H. sapiens and Neanderthals eastwards into Asia. Our combined analyses indicate that, during MIS 5, there were opportunities for hominins to traverse a northern route through the Alborz and Kopet Dagh Mountains and the Dasht-I Kavir desert owing to the presence of activated fresh water sources. We recognize a new southern route along the Zagros Mountains and extending eastwards towards Pakistan and Afghanistan. We find evidence for a potential northern route during MIS 3, which would have permitted hominin movements and species interactions in Southwest Asia. Between humid periods, these interconnections would have waned, isolating populations in the Zagros and Alborz Mountains, where hominins may have continued to have had access to water.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining paleoclimatic routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals across Iran

Shoaee

Breeze²,

Drake³

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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“…In northern Iran, loess deposits are found in the so-called Northern Iranian Loess Plateau (NILP) and along the northern foothills of the Alborz Mountain range (NFAM). These deposits represent outstanding archives of past climate in a region highly sensitive to changes in hydroclimate and potentially important in past human migrations (Shoaee et al, 2021) but otherwise poorly represented by past climate records. The loess units in the area are separated by paleosols showing various development degrees, providing valuable sedimentary archives of loess accumulation, soil, and paleosol formation within the loess units (Kehl et al, 2005;Frechen et al, 2009;Kehl, 2010;Khormali and Kehl, 2011;Ghafarpour et al, 2016Ghafarpour et al, , 2021Vlaminck et al, 2016Vlaminck et al, , 2018Lauer et al, 2017a;Lauer et al, 2017b;Shahriari et al, 2017;Pourmasoumi et al, 2019;Sharifigarmdareh et al, 2020;Kehl et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Pleistocene Climate and Dust Source From the Mobarakabad Loess–Paleosol Sequence, Northern Foothills of the Alborz Mountains, Northern Iran

et al. 2021

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Paleoclimatic investigation of loess-paleosol sequences from northern Iran is important for understanding past changes in a region highly sensitive to shifts in precipitation, and along potential routes of past human migration. Here, we present carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of bulk carbonate (δ13Cbc and δ18Obc, respectively) coupled with particle size distributions of samples from the Mobarakabad section, northern Iran, to study past wind dynamics and hydroclimate. We also present new initial clay-sized Hf-Nd isotope results from key horizons in order to assess general dust sources. Variations of δ13Cbc and δ18Obc values of modern soils compared to paleosols allow reconstruction of late Pleistocene–Holocene climate change in the area. Our results show severe drought during a major eolian deposition phase (EDP) after 34 ka. The thickness and PSD of the C horizon of unit 5 suggest significant shifts in loess sources and depositional environments during this EDP after 34 ka. Indeed, based on our new clay-sized Hf-Nd data, we hypothesize that the loess unit 5 might originate from the young crustal source of the Alborz and Kopet Dagh mountains. In general, the PSD of C horizons in the section is bimodal in the silt fraction and the very small, very fine clay fraction, with a mode at c. 1 μm in the modern soil and paleosols possibly produced by weathering and pedogenic processes. There also appears to be a good correlation between δ13Cbc and δ18Obc values, differentiating phases of loess accumulation and paleosol formation and hence providing quantitative data for reconstructing paleoclimatic conditions in the study area.

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“…Upper Palaeolithic/Epipalaeolithic diagnostic artefacts might be associated with modern human dispersal out of Africa around 70–50 kya, given that evidence of Upper Palaeolithic occupation dated to 40 kya onwards has been documented in numerous caves and rockshelters on the Iranian plateau (Shoaee et al . 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Southern Iran is considered one of the major routes through which hominins repeatedly expanded out of the African continent (Vahdati Nasab et al 2013;Groucutt et al 2021;Shoaee et al 2021). Given that the Persian Gulf has witnessed repeated changes in dimensions throughout the late Pleistocene (Rose 2010;Zadeh & Shafeii 2021), what is today the Strait of Hormuz (Figure 1) could have been used as a corridor for the dispersal of hominins via the Arabian Peninsula.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New evidence of Pleistocene hominin occupations in Kerman Province, southern Iran

Anjomrooz

Nasab²,

Eskandari³

2022

Antiquity

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The Paleolithic of the Iranian Plateau: Hominin occupation history and implications for human dispersals across southern Asia

Cited by 17 publications

References 106 publications

Defining paleoclimatic routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals across Iran

Defining paleoclimatic routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals across Iran

Late Pleistocene Climate and Dust Source From the Mobarakabad Loess–Paleosol Sequence, Northern Foothills of the Alborz Mountains, Northern Iran

New evidence of Pleistocene hominin occupations in Kerman Province, southern Iran

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