Identificador: TDX:2689
Autores: Bazgir, Behrouz
Resumen:
This PhD thesis deals with a goal-oriented research towards understanding the transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic in the Zagros Mountains and its implications in global debates. This research is the result of a comprehensive field work carried out in four Paleolithic sites: Gilvaran, Ghamari and Kaldar caves and Gar Arjeneh rock shelter, located in the Khorramabad Valley; western Iran. We re-excavated Kaldar Cave in larger scale that led to the discovery of cultural remains generally associated with anatomically modern humans (AMH) as well as evidence of a probable Neanderthal-made industry. In Kaldar excavation we achieved four thermoluminescence dates for Layer 4, ranging from 23,100 ± 3300 to 29,400 ± 2300 BP, and three AMS radiocarbon dates yielding ages of 38,650–36,750 cal BP, 44,200–42,350 cal BP, and 54,400–46,050 cal BP. With the available data, 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. I present the results from both the excavation seasons which includes detailed description of each site stratigraphy, quantified results from the lithic assemblages, faunal remains, taphonomic aspects, interpretation of the regional paleoenvironment and geochronologic data from Kaldar Cave. Apart from the published results presented here in this thesis (Bazgir et al. 2014, 2017; Davoudi et al. 2015; Becerra-Valdivia et al. 2017), I provided more details from our excavations as well as some of our multidisciplinary analysis carried out on techno-typological and functional analysis on the lithic industries as well as anthrachological analysis on the recovered charcoals from Gilvaran and Kaldar caves.
Repositori URV