The Lower Paleolithic of Iran: Probing New Finds from Mar Gwergalan Cave (Holeylan, Central Zagros)

The Lower Paleolithic of Iran: Probing New Finds from Mar Gwergalan Cave (Holeylan, Central Zagros)

D. Davoudi, B. Bazgir, R. Abbasnejad, D. Barsky, A. Ollé, and M. Otte.

The last half of the 20th century has been marked by spectacular new discoveries about the earliest colonization of Western Asia. In lands surrounding Iran, increasing evidence of Lower Paleolithic occurrences highlights this country as a geographical crossroads between Africa, Asia, and Europe. New effort recently accorded to this research has yielded probing surface fi nds from the Mar Gwergalan Cave in Holeylan. This paper provides a detailed description of the artifacts, and discusses them within a larger context of other Lower Paleolithic occurrences—both in Iran and in Western Asia, to ascertain the potential of this area for future research.

Keywords: Lower Paleolithic, stone tools, Mar Gwergalan Cave, Central Zagros, Iran.