Late Pleistocene dispersal corridors across the Iranian Plateau: A case study from Mirak, a Middle Paleolithic site on the northern edge of the Iranian Central …
[en] This paper has two objectives. Mirak is a major Middle Paleolithic open-air site on the northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert. Flake-based blank production, an abundance of prepared and châpeau de gendarmeplatforms, a significantly high value for the Levallois index, the presence of tools typical of Mousterian’ technology, and the near-total absence of Upper Paleolithic diagnostics all indicate that Mirak dates to the Middle Paleolithic (ca. 250e47 ka BP in the Levant). Although clearly a palimpsest, a case is made for high compositional integrity at Mirak, and a relative lack of disturbance. Second, this paper proposes three major migratory corridors used by foragers during the Upper Pleistocene and early Holocene. Identification of those corridors is based on survey data acquired since the mid-1990s, the distribution of other known Paleolithic sites on the Iranian Plateau, and sparse data from geography, geology, and geomorphology. Route A follows the north coast of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in
southern Iran, Route B skirts the southern shore of the Caspian Sea in northern Iran, and Route C runs between the southern foothills of the Alborz Mountains and northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert
Disciplines :
Archaeology
Author, co-author :
Vadati Nasab, Hamed
Clark, Geoffrey A
Torkamandi, Shirin ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Form. doct. hist., hist. art & archéo. (paysage)
Language :
English
Title :
Late Pleistocene dispersal corridors across the Iranian Plateau: A case study from Mirak, a Middle Paleolithic site on the northern edge of the Iranian Central …
Publication date :
2013
Journal title :
Quaternary International
ISSN :
1040-6182
eISSN :
1873-4553
Publisher :
Elsevier, United Kingdom
Volume :
30
Pages :
1-15
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Name of the research project :
Late Pleistocene dispersal corridors across the Iranian Plateau: A case study from Mirak, a Middle Paleolithic site on the northern edge of the Iranian Central desert (Dasht-e Kavir)