Evolving landscape and cultural change during the Middle Palaeolithic in Southeast Zagros (Iran): Insights from a micromammal assemblage
Juan Rofes
(1, 2)
,
Emmanuelle Stoetzel
(3)
,
Jamshid Darvish
(4)
,
Roya Khazaeli
(5)
,
Morteza Djamali
(6)
,
Amaia Ordiales
,
Katsuhiko Ohnuma
(7)
,
Akira Tsuneki
(8)
,
Marjan Mashkour
(1)
1
AASPE -
Archéozoologie, archéobotanique : sociétés, pratiques et environnements
2 UP Diliman - University of the Philippines Diliman
3 HNHP - Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique
4 FUM - Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
5 University of Tehran
6 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale
7 Kokushikan University
8 Université de Tsukuba = University of Tsukuba
2 UP Diliman - University of the Philippines Diliman
3 HNHP - Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique
4 FUM - Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
5 University of Tehran
6 IMBE - Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale
7 Kokushikan University
8 Université de Tsukuba = University of Tsukuba
Juan Rofes
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1218428
- ORCID : 0000-0003-0085-9061
Emmanuelle Stoetzel
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 176261
- IdHAL : emmanuelle-stoetzel
- ORCID : 0000-0002-2724-5994
- IdRef : 155636413
Amaia Ordiales
- Fonction : Auteur
Résumé
The Iranian Zagros is a remarkable zone to study Middle and Upper Palaeolithic human occupations and Tang-e Shikan (Arsanjan) is a strategic cave site which archaeological evidence can be taken as a proxy for the southeast portion. Micromammals have been extensively used as palaeoecological indicators and here we use the assemblage from Tang-e Shikan to infer the landscape and environment that framed and arguably triggered cultural change. A thorough taphonomic analysis was undertaken prior to any interpretation. Fourteen taxa have been identified: two “insectivores” s.l., nine rodents, two lagomorphs, and unidentified chiropterans. The remains would be the digestion by-products of a category 5 opportunistic predator: either an avian raptor or a mammalian carnivore. Our results show that shrubland and grassland dominated the distribution of habitats in the area during the Middle Palaeolithic (MP), followed by moderate rocky, desert, and steppe components, and sparse patches of woodland. The younger period of the MP occupation (NMP: ~55-45 ka BP) would be somewhat wetter than the older period (OMP: ~70-55 ka BP). Within a general environmental stability, slight changes between OMP and NMP are reasonably correlated with a shift in certain cultural patterns, as the use of a water reservoir and a stone drainage system during the OMP or the increase of hunting and moderate change in lithic technology and raw material acquisition during the NMP. Our environmental inferences are further supported by palynological data and match a regional trend towards wetter habitats in moving from the MP to the present.
Domaines
Archéologie et Préhistoire Biodiversité et Ecologie Milieux et Changements globaux Paléontologie Zoologie des vertébrés BiodiversitéFormat du dépôt | Fichier |
---|---|
Type de dépôt | Article dans une revue |
Résumé |
en
The Iranian Zagros is a remarkable zone to study Middle and Upper Palaeolithic human occupations and Tang-e Shikan (Arsanjan) is a strategic cave site which archaeological evidence can be taken as a proxy for the southeast portion. Micromammals have been extensively used as palaeoecological indicators and here we use the assemblage from Tang-e Shikan to infer the landscape and environment that framed and arguably triggered cultural change. A thorough taphonomic analysis was undertaken prior to any interpretation. Fourteen taxa have been identified: two “insectivores” s.l., nine rodents, two lagomorphs, and unidentified chiropterans. The remains would be the digestion by-products of a category 5 opportunistic predator: either an avian raptor or a mammalian carnivore. Our results show that shrubland and grassland dominated the distribution of habitats in the area during the Middle Palaeolithic (MP), followed by moderate rocky, desert, and steppe components, and sparse patches of woodland. The younger period of the MP occupation (NMP: ~55-45 ka BP) would be somewhat wetter than the older period (OMP: ~70-55 ka BP). Within a general environmental stability, slight changes between OMP and NMP are reasonably correlated with a shift in certain cultural patterns, as the use of a water reservoir and a stone drainage system during the OMP or the increase of hunting and moderate change in lithic technology and raw material acquisition during the NMP. Our environmental inferences are further supported by palynological data and match a regional trend towards wetter habitats in moving from the MP to the present.
|
Titre |
en
Evolving landscape and cultural change during the Middle Palaeolithic in Southeast Zagros (Iran): Insights from a micromammal assemblage
|
Auteur(s) |
Juan Rofes
1, 2
, Emmanuelle Stoetzel
3
, Jamshid Darvish
4
, Roya Khazaeli
5
, Morteza Djamali
6
, Amaia Ordiales
, Katsuhiko Ohnuma
7
, Akira Tsuneki
8
, Marjan Mashkour
1
1
AASPE -
Archéozoologie, archéobotanique : sociétés, pratiques et environnements
( 118105 )
- Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle - Case postale 56 - 55 rue Buffon - 75005 Paris
- France
2
UP Diliman -
University of the Philippines Diliman
( 577036 )
- Quezon City, 1101 Philippines
- Philippines
3
HNHP -
Histoire naturelle de l'Homme préhistorique
( 121947 )
- Institut de Paléontologie Humaine - 1, rue René Panhard - 75013 Paris
- France
4
FUM -
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
( 563075 )
- Mashhad
- Iran
5
University of Tehran
( 301046 )
- 16th Azar St., Enghelab Sq., Tehran
- Iran
6
IMBE -
Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale
( 188653 )
- Aix Marseille Université, Campus Etoile, Faculté St-Jérôme case 421 Av. . escadrille Normandie-Niemen 13397 MARSEILLE CEDEX 20
- France
7
Kokushikan University
( 1163972 )
- Japon
8
Université de Tsukuba = University of Tsukuba
( 1061308 )
- 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577 Japan
- Japon
|
Langue du document |
Anglais
|
Nom de la revue |
|
Date de publication |
2024-06
|
Volume |
333
|
Page/Identifiant |
108657
|
Vulgarisation |
Non
|
Comité de lecture |
Oui
|
Audience |
Internationale
|
Domaine(s) |
|
DOI | 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108657 |
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