Paleolithic settlement patterns in the Marv Dasht, Fars Province, Iran.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Rosenberg, Michael.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Archaeology.

0324.

Local Subjects:

0324.

Physical Description:

798 pages

Contained In:

Dissertation Abstracts International 49-06A.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

A 1978 survey of the lower Kur River valley resulted in the discovery of 29 sheltered Paleolithic sites, 14 major open air scatters, and numerous minor scatters and single finds. No Proto- or Aceramic Neolithic sites were found. The survey was interrupted by the Iranian Revolution. Consequently, the survey data suffer from a number of empirical deficiencies. However, to varying degrees, they nevertheless suggest a number of points regarding the early prehistory of the Kur River valley.

The survey data suggest that the valley was occupied continuously from the Late Middle Paleolithic through the Late Epi-Paleolithic, but only sporadically before that; that the Late Middle Paleolithic inhabitants may have preferred sites situated near the forested parts of the survey area; that the Upper Paleolithic inhabitants may have preferred sites situated in the vicinity of watercourses, perhaps for the few remaining forests such areas fostered; and that the Epi-Paleolithic coincided with a pronounced change from a number of preceding patterns. Henceforth, there is only a single major site, nearby surrounding sites appear to be largely abandoned, and site elevation seems to become a less important factor in site selection. They also suggest that the open air aspect of the Zagros Mousterian is not, the so-called 'coarse' Mousterian. Finally, the apparent absence of sites indicating the indigenous development of food production, suggest that food production was introduced from elsewhere at the beginning of Mushki-Jari.

Theoretically, the survey data suggest that the commonly used 1 person/sq. mile estimate of Paleolithic population densities may be excessive and that apparent hunter-gatherer preferences for sites situated at or near ecotones may extend back as far as the Late Middle Paleolithic. Finally, the apparent failure of food production to develop in a "marginal" area, such as the Kur valley, calls into question a basic feature of the Binford-Flannery model for the origins of food production. It is, however, consistent with an allocation model, which, if not used in conjunction with the Binford-Flannery model, calls for food production to first develop in "optimal" zones.

Notes:

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-06, Section: A, page: 1500.

Supervisor: Jacques Bordaz.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1988.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175.

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.