Understanding the emergence of modern humans and the disappearance of Neanderthals: Insights from Kaldar Cave (Khorramabad Valley, Western Iran)

Abstract

Kaldar Cave is a key archaeological site that provides evidence of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition in Iran. Excavations at the site in 2014–2015 led to the discovery of cultural remains generally associated with anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and evidence of a probable Neanderthal-made industry in the basal layers. Attempts have been made to establish a chronology for the site. These include four thermoluminescence (TL) dates for Layer 4, ranging from 23,100 ± 3300 to 29,400 ± 2300 BP, and three AMS radiocarbon dates from charcoal samples belonging to the lower part of the same layer, yielding ages of 38,650–36,750 cal BP, 44,200–42,350 cal BP, and 54,400–46,050 cal BP (all at the 95.4% confidence level). Kaldar Cave is the first well-stratified Late Palaeolithic locality to be excavated in the Zagros which is one of the earliest sites with cultural materials attributed to early AMHs in western Asia. It also offers an opportunity to study the technological differences between the Mousterian and the first Upper Palaeolithic lithic technologies as well as the human behaviour in the region. In this study, we present a detailed description of the newly excavated stratigraphy, quantified results from the lithic assemblages, preliminary faunal remains analyses, geochronologic data, taphonomic aspects, and an interpretation of the regional paleoenvironment.

A Neanderthal from the Central Western Zagros, Iran. Structural reassessment of the Wezmeh 1 maxillary premolar

“…A number of sites in Central and Southern Zagros have yielded variably rich Mousterian lithic assemblages (e.g., Biglari, 2007;Otte et al, 2009;Scott and Marean, 2009;Bazgir et al, 2014Bazgir et al, , 2017Shidrang et al, 2016;Becerra-Valdivia et al, 2017;Heydari-Guran and Ghasidian, 2017).…”

Middle and Late Pleistocene mammal fossils of Arabia and surrounding regions: Implications for biogeography and hominin dispersals

“…Sus scrofa dominates the Palearctic and Oriental regions and is also known from El Harhoura 2 Cave, Morocco (Michel et al, 2009). In the eastern Saharo-Arbian region, Delagnes et al (2012) reported nine suid teeth and tooth fragments from Western Yemen, and Sus remains were also reported from Jordan (Martin et al, 2010) and Iran (Trinkaus et al, 2008;Bazgir et al, 2017).…”

“…Both Ce. elaphus and Capreolus capreolus are known from eastern Saharo-Arbian in Iran (Trinkaus et al, 2008;Bazgir et al, 2017) and represent the only known cervids from this region during the Late Pleistocene.…”

Do Bayesian methods lead to more precise chronologies? ‘BayLum’ and a first OSL-based chronology for the Palaeolithic open-air site of Mirak (Iran)

“…However, so far, the Late Pleistocene human remains in Iran (Trinkaus and Biglari, 2006;Zanolli et al, 2019) are scarce. On the contrary, considerable lithic assemblages associated to the Middle Palaeolithic (Zagros Mousterian; Dibble, 1984) and Upper Palaeolithic (Zagros Aurignacian: Olszewski and Dibble, 1994;Baradostian: Solecki, 1958;Rostamian: Conard and Ghasidian, 2011 ) are known to be concentrated in the Zagros foothills (mainly in caves and rock shelters) (e.g., Biglari, 2001;Otte et al, 2007;Shidrang et al, 2016;Bazgir et al, 2017;Heydari-Guran and Ghasidian, 2017). Beyond the Zagros foothills, several open-air sites in stratigraphic context have recently been discovered in the northern and western edges of the Iranian Central plateau, as well as the central Alborz (e.g., see Berillon et al, 2007;Berillon and Asgari Khaneghah, 2016;Conard et al 2009;Heydari-Guran et al 2014;Vahdati Nasab and Hashemi 2016;Vahdati Nasab et al, 2013;2019).…”