Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 43 (1) 2015

Annotation:  The Lower Paleolithic of Iran: Probing New Finds from Mar Gwergalan Cave (Holeylan, Central Zagros) The Mesolithic of the Forest-Steppe Don Area: Retrospective and Prospective Reviews Morphology and Decoration of Ceramics from Novoilyinka III—A Chalcolithic Settlement in Northern Kul Two New Finds of the Chalcolithic–Bronze Age from the Fars River in the Northwestern Caucasus Late Bronze Age Burial Complexes of the Pakhomovskaya Culture, Eastern Variant (Site of Grishkina Za Weaponry, Adornments, and Garment Accessories from the Krasnyi Stroitel Site in the Chuy Valley of K Pendant Cross from Fort Albazin: Problems of Attribution Kholyato-1 Ritual Complex on the Yamal Peninsula The Medieval Metal Face from Novosibirsk Region as an Item of the Transcultural Material Complex in Johann Georg Gmelin and Tomskaya Pisanitsa (to the Three Hundred and Fifth Anniversary of the Resear Vegetation Reconstruction in the Ufa II Fortifi ed Settlement and in Adjacent Landscapes According t Stable-Isotope Analysis as a Method of Taxonomical Identifi cation of Archaeozoological Material Siberian Folklore and the Na-Dené Origins “As the Measure and Beauty Suggest”: Traditional Principles of Geometry in Russian Orthodox Churches The Burial at Ak-Alakha-3 Mound 1, Gorny Altai: New Findings   

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.