- Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen
- +49(0)7071-29 78 917
- Anthropology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Iranian Prehistoric Archaeology, Neolithic flint procurement, Neolithic, and 20 moreNeolithic Transition, Neolithic Archaeology, Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Ancient Near East, Zooarchaeology of Near East, Upper Paleolithic Epipaleolithic In Southern Levant, Biogeography, Iranian Neolithic studies, Archaeology, Culture, Lithic Raw Material Sourcing, Climate Change, Earth Sciences, Near Eastern Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, Lithic Technology, Archaeological Science, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology, and Mesopotamia Historyedit
Archaeological survey of the Fahraj-Rigan area in Kerman Province revealed new Palaeolithic localities, which suggest great potentials of this region for understanding the dynamics of Pleistocene hominin populations in southeastern Iran.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT The excavation of Ghar-e Boof, a cave in the Zagros Mountains, places the site not only at the center of discussion on the transition to and development of its regional lithic tradition: the Rostamian (37,000–31,000 BP), but also... more
ABSTRACT The excavation of Ghar-e Boof, a cave in the Zagros Mountains, places the site not only at the center of discussion on the transition to and development of its regional lithic tradition: the Rostamian (37,000–31,000 BP), but also in differentiating between plants used by humans or mere traces of the surrounding vegetation. The large pulses of Lathyrus or Vicia sp. recovered from this shallow cave in the southwest of Iran may, for instance, represent food collected from wild stands already in the early Upper Palaeolithic. The seeds of barley (Hordeum sp.), although not all clearly domesticated, are without doubt signs of disturbance or bioturbation since the historic era. Analysis of cave deposits over 30,000 years old raise a number of methodological and interpretive challenges. Human, taphonomic, or biomechanical disturbances impact the deposition of plant remains, as well as affect the composition of the assemblages, undermining spatial and ecological examination of the data set. Comprehension of provenance of the samples, site genesis, and matrix development, through detailed micromorphological and stratigraphical studies, is thus suggested in conjunction with the archaeobotanical analyses, to identify disturbances, define their cause, and treat them appropriately. Numerical studies and ecological interpretations of climate, vegetation composition, or indications of human activity therefore follow specific criteria discussed here. Despite signs of disturbance in the plant assemblages, archaeobotanic research can lead to recognition of environmental conditions, plausible human subsistence, site use and seasonality, and sound vegetation description.
Research Interests: Archaeology and Geology
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The beginnings of agriculture throughout the Fertile Crescent are still not completely understood, particularly at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent in the area of modern Iran. Archaeobotanical samples from Epipalaeolithic/PPNA... more
The beginnings of agriculture throughout the Fertile Crescent are still not completely understood, particularly at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent in the area of modern Iran. Archaeobotanical samples from Epipalaeolithic/PPNA Körtik Tepe in southeastern Turkey and from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites of Chogha Golan and East Chia Sabz in south western Iran were studied in order to define the status of cultivation at these sites. Preliminary results show the presence of abundant wild progenitor species of crops at the Iranian sites before 10600 cal. b.p., and very few wild progenitor species at Körtik Tepe dated to 11700–11250 cal. b.p. The Iranian sites also indicate size increase of wild barley grain across a sequence of 400 years through either cultivation or changing moisture conditions.
Research Interests: Archaeology and Iran
Although Middle Paleolithic (MP) hominin diets consisted mainly of ungulates, increasing evidence demonstrates that hominins at least occasionally consumed tortoises, birds, leporids, fish, and carnivores. Until now, the MP... more
Although Middle Paleolithic (MP) hominin diets consisted mainly of ungulates, increasing evidence demonstrates that hominins at least occasionally consumed tortoises, birds, leporids, fish, and carnivores. Until now, the MP zooarchaeological record in the Zagros Mountains has been almost exclusively restricted to ungulates. The narrow range of hominin prey may reflect socioeconomic decisions and/or environmental constraints, but could also result from a research bias favoring the study of large prey, since archaeologists have undertaken no systematic taphonomic analyses of small game or carnivores in the region. Here, we report on the first comprehensive taphonomic analysis of an MP faunal assemblage from Ghar-e Boof (∼ 81–45 kyr), a Late Pleistocene site in the southern Zagros of Iran. Anthropogenic bone surface modifications point to hominins as the main agent of accumulation. Hominins preyed primarily on ungulates, particularly wild goat. However, we also found evidence for MP ho...
Research Interests: Geography and Archaeology
Research Interests: Geology and Stratigraphy
Although Middle Paleolithic (MP) hominin diets consisted mainly of ungulates, increasing evidence demonstrates that hominins at least occasionally consumed tortoises, birds, leporids, fish, and carnivores. Until now, the MP... more
Although Middle Paleolithic (MP) hominin diets consisted mainly of ungulates, increasing evidence demonstrates that hominins at least occasionally consumed tortoises, birds, leporids, fish, and carnivores. Until now, the MP zooarchaeological record in the Zagros Mountains has been almost exclusively restricted to ungulates. The narrow range of hominin prey may reflect socioeconomic decisions and/or environmental constraints, but could also result from a research bias favoring the study of large prey, since archaeologists have undertaken no systematic taphonomic analyses of small game or carnivores in the region. Here, we report on the first comprehensive taphonomic analysis of an MP faunal assemblage from Ghar-e Boof (∼ 81-45 kyr), a Late Pleistocene site in the southern Zagros of Iran. Anthropogenic bone surface modifications point to hominins as the main agent of accumulation. Hominins preyed primarily on ungulates, particularly wild goat. However, we also found evidence for MP hominin exploitation of carnivores and tortoises at the site. Although small game represents only a minor portion of the diet, our results suggest that the hunting behavior of MP hominins in the Zagros was more diverse than previously thought, similar to what we find elsewhere in Eurasia.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Zagros Mountains represent a strategic geographic region near the junction of Africa, Europe, and Asia, and valleys within the mountain range likely correspond to migration corridors used by archaic and modern humans. Ghar-e Boof, a... more
The Zagros Mountains represent a strategic geographic region near the junction of Africa, Europe, and Asia, and valleys within the mountain range likely correspond to migration corridors used by archaic and modern humans. Ghar-e Boof, a key archeological site in the southern Zagros, is located at an altitude of 905 m.a.s.l. in the Dasht-e Rostam region of the Fars Province, Iran. On the basis of lithic artifacts and radiocarbon and luminescence dating, the Late Pleistocene archeological record of the site spans from the Middle Paleolithic (MP) to the Late Epipaleolithic. Ghar-e Boof includes find horizons of the early Upper Paleolithic (UP) Rostamian dating to 42–35 ka cal. BP. These Rostamian-UP assemblages are typically attributed to modern humans. The high-resolution stratigraphy and microvertebrate record offer a unique opportunity for reconstructing the paleoenvironment of the southern part of the Zagros Mountains during the Late Pleistocene and contribute to a better understan...
Research Interests:
In summer 2007 and in the framework of the Saimarreh Dam salvage project, an archaeological survey was conducted in the Saimarreh Dam basin in western Iran. Archaeological survey has provided evidence of human presence in the region from... more
In summer 2007 and in the framework of the Saimarreh Dam salvage project, an archaeological survey was conducted in the Saimarreh Dam basin in western Iran. Archaeological survey has provided evidence of human presence in the region from the early Holocene to the recent times.
Research Interests:
TB 75 (Haji Baharami Cave) is the most conspicuous cave in the Bolaghi Valley, with an opening that measures about 9 m wide and 2.8 m high. It was chosen for excavation because of its strategic location in the valley and because of the... more
TB 75 (Haji Baharami Cave) is the most conspicuous cave in the Bolaghi Valley, with an opening that measures about 9 m wide and 2.8 m high. It was chosen for excavation because of its strategic location in the valley and because of the presence of prehistoric material on the surface. We dug three trenches (Trenches A, C and D, totalling 10 m 2) inside the cave and one 2 × 1 m trench (Trench B) in the middle of the terrace slope. We reached virgin soil at a depth of about 2 m in the cave 1 With the collaboration of Akira Tsuneki, Kazuya Yamauchi, and Shin'ichi Nishiyama.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Ghār-e Boof is a Paleolithic cave site in Iran well known for its rich early Upper Paleolithic Rostamian assemblages. The site is located on the edge of the Dasht-e Rostam plain in the southern Zagros. Recent excavations by the members of... more
Ghār-e Boof is a Paleolithic cave site in Iran well known for its rich early Upper Paleolithic Rostamian assemblages. The site is located on the edge of the Dasht-e Rostam plain in the southern Zagros. Recent excavations by the members of the Tübingen-Iranian Stone Age Research Project at Ghār-e Boof also recovered well-stratified Middle Paleolithic assemblages. Here, we provide the first detailed luminescence chronology for the Middle and Upper Paleolithic of the site. More generally, our work is the first luminescence chronology for a Middle and Upper Paleolithic site in the Zagros Mountains region in Iran. The luminescence ages for the Upper Paleolithic of Ghār-e Boof agree with published 14C dates. We applied Bayesian models specifically designed for luminescence dating using the R package 'BayLum' to incorporate the well-established stratigraphic constraints, as well as the published 14C ages with our optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages to improve the precision of the chronological framework. The Bayesian chronology shows a significantly improved precision of the OSL ages in particular for the upper part of the sequence where 14C ages were available. The Bayesian OSL ages for the Rostamian horizons, archaeologicalhorizon (AH) III (a-b-c), and AH IV, fall in the range of 37-42 ka (68% credible interval [CI]). Moreover, we determined a series of dates between 45 and 81 ka (68% CI) for the Middle Paleolithic strata from AH IVd to AH VI. Our results point to a demographic shift in the populations responsible for the Middle Paleolithic and the Rostamian within three millennia. This major technological change accompanied by the rise of symbolic artifacts such as personal ornaments, may or may not reflect a replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans. While we are confident that the Rostamian was made by modern humans, available information does not allow us to be sure who made the local Middle Paleolithic.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Engineering and Bay
Research Interests:
The so-called Triticoid-type grains are known from several prehistoric sites in southwest Asia and their identification has long been unclear. They resemble the grains of wheats and researchers suggested they may represent an extinct... more
The so-called Triticoid-type grains are known from several prehistoric sites in southwest Asia and their identification has long been unclear. They resemble the grains of wheats and researchers suggested they may represent an extinct Triticeae species, possibly closely related to wild crop progenitors. In this study we identify the Triticoid-type grains as Heteranthelium piliferum (Banks & Sol.) Hochst. and describe the key identification criteria. The identification is based on morphological analyses of modern and archaeological material from several grass species and was first achieved with well-preserved specimens from Early Neolithic Chogha Golan, Iran. We further examined the Triticoid-type grains from recently excavated samples from Early Neolithic Ganj Dareh, Iran, and archived samples from Late Chalcolithic and Late Bronze Age Tell Brak in northeast Syria, confirming their identification as H. piliferum. Based on the study of herbarium specimens at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew,...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Fars province is quintessentially Persian. Its name is the modern version of ancient Parsa, the homeland, if not the place of origin, of the Persians, one of the great powers of antiquity. From here, the Persian Empire ruled much of... more
Fars province is quintessentially Persian. Its name is the modern version of ancient Parsa, the homeland, if not the place of origin, of the Persians, one of the great powers of antiquity. From here, the Persian Empire ruled much of Western and Central Asia, receiving ambassadors and messengers at Persepolis. It was here that the Persian kings were buried, both in the mountain behind Persepolis, and in the rock face of nearby Naqsh-e Rustam.
Research Interests:
The present study investigates the occurrence of wild grasses at Epipalaeolithic and aceramic Neolithic sites in the Near East in order to assess their role in subsistence economies alongside the emergence of cereal cultivation. We use... more
The present study investigates the occurrence of wild grasses at Epipalaeolithic and aceramic Neolithic sites in the Near East in order to assess their role in subsistence economies alongside the emergence of cereal cultivation. We use Chogha Golan in the foothills of the central Zagros Mountains (ca. 11.7-9.6 ka cal. BP) as a case study, where the archaeobotanical data suggest the frequent exploitation of a complex of wild grasses for almost 2,000 years. Domesticated emmer replaced these wild grasses as the major food resources towards the end of occupation at the site (ca. 9.8 ka cal. BP). We discuss possible implications of this development and conclude that the traditional concept of pre-domestication cultivation seems unsuited for explaining the patterns from Chogha Golan. These data are in good accordance with the overall picture in the Zagros Mountains, where wild grasses were routinely gathered throughout the early Holocene. In contrast, wild grasses were gradually replaced ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition is often linked with a bio-cultural shift involving the dispersal of modern humans outside of Africa, the concomitant replacement of Neanderthals across Eurasia, and the emergence of new... more
The Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition is often linked with a bio-cultural shift involving the dispersal of modern humans outside of Africa, the concomitant replacement of Neanderthals across Eurasia, and the emergence of new technological traditions. The Zagros Mountains region assumes importance in discussions concerning this period as its geographic location is central to all pertinent hominin migration areas, pointing to both east and west. As such, establishing a reliable chronology in the Zagros Mountains is crucial to our understanding of these biological and cultural developments. Political circumstance, coupled with the poor preservation of organic material, has meant that a clear chronological definition of the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition for the Zagros Mountains region has not yet been achieved. To improve this situation, we have obtained new archaeological samples for AMS radiocarbon dating from three sites: Kobeh Cave, Kaldar Cave, and Ghār-e Boof (Iran)....
Research Interests:
The evidence for the slow development from gathering and cultivation of wild species to the use of domesticates in the Near East, deriving from a number of Epipalaeolithic and aceramic Neolithic sites with short occupational... more
The evidence for the slow development from gathering and cultivation of wild species to the use of domesticates in the Near East, deriving from a number of Epipalaeolithic and aceramic Neolithic sites with short occupational stratigraphies, cannot explain the reasons for the protracted development of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent. The botanical and faunal remains from the long stratigraphic sequence of Chogha Golan, indicate local changes in environmental conditions and subsistence practices that characterize a site-specific pathway into emerging agriculture. Our multidisciplinary approach demonstrates a long-term subsistence strategy of several hundred years on wild cereals and pulses as well as on hunting a variety of faunal species that were based on relatively favorable and stable environmental conditions. Fluctuations in the availability of resources after around 10.200 cal BP may have been caused by small-scale climatic fluctuations. The temporary depletion of resources ...
Research Interests: Geography, Archaeobotany, Environmental Archaeology, Archaeological Science, Iranian Archaeology, and 15 moreBiology, Ecology, Agriculture, Medicine, Environmental Change, GE, Iranian Prehistoric Archaeology, Domestication, Anthracology, Biomed, Anthracologie, Multidisciplinary Approach, Domestication of Plants and Animals, Aceramic Neolithic in the Fertile Crescent, and Cc
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Geography, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Geochemistry, Archaeobotany, and 9 moreArchaeological Science, Morphology, Neolithic Archaeology, Paleoethnobotany, Plant domestication (Prehistoric Archaeology), Identification, Domestication, Carbonization, and Aceramic Neolithic in the Fertile Crescent
Research Interests:
Early Farmers? What was the role of the eastern Fertile Crescent (which includes southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq, and western Iran) in the transition from foraging to farming? Riehl et al. (p. 65 ; see the Perspective by Willcox )... more
Early Farmers? What was the role of the eastern Fertile Crescent (which includes southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq, and western Iran) in the transition from foraging to farming? Riehl et al. (p. 65 ; see the Perspective by Willcox ) investigated an archaeobotanical assemblage from Chogha Golan, in modern Iran over an apparently continuous occupation of the site over 2000 years, which captures the transition from foraging to farming. The rich archaeobotanical remains suggest the use of a wide array of plant species, including the progenitors of key crop plants (wheat, barley, and large-seeded legumes). Residents of the eastern Fertile Crescent thus appear to have been involved in plant management and possibly in the domestication of wild crop plants.
Research Interests:
Page 1. 147 Chapter 6. Survey of Dasht-e Rostam-e Yek and Dasht-e Rostam-e Do M. Zeidi, B. McCall and A. Khosrowzadeh 6.1. Introduction and Background As part of the ICAR-University of Sydney Mamasani Archaeological ...
This is the report of a series of archaeological excavation to revise the chronology of the four important prehistoric sites of Tall-e Bakun A and B, Tall-e Jari and Tall-e Mushki in the Marv Dasht (Peresepolis) plain of Fars. We also... more
This is the report of a series of archaeological excavation to revise the chronology of the four important prehistoric sites of Tall-e Bakun A and B, Tall-e Jari and Tall-e Mushki in the Marv Dasht (Peresepolis) plain of Fars. We also wanted to find evidence of subsistence economy of these sites and reconstruct ancient environment in prehistoric Fars.
In summer 2011 the authors visited the prehistoric site of Tappeh Poustchi in Shiraz. The site is located in the southwestern part of the city and has recently been scraped off at its apex by a bulldozer.