Kani Mikaiil: a seasonal cave site of the Middle Neolithic period in Kurdestan, Iran. (News & Notes).

Kani Mikaiil: a seasonal cave site of the Middle Neolithic period in Kurdestan, Iran. (News & Notes). After several years of hiatus in Palaeolithic research in Iran,increasing activity in this field began in the early 1990s (see amongothers: Biglari 2000; Biglari & Heydari 2001; Roustaei et al. 2002).Although the Zagros Mountains Zag��ros Mountains?A range of western Iran forming the western and southern borders of the central Iranian plateau and rising to 4,550.6 m (14,920 ft). in western Iran were the main focus of theprevious archaeological fieldwork, there still remain in the regionareas that are not archaeologically well known. With the exception ofthe two sites of Ziwiyeh and Karaftoo cave, the province of Kurdestan inwestern Iran is one of these lesser-known areas. With this problem in mind, when Mr Hassan Rezvani, director of theKaraftoo cave Project, invited us to participate in the excavations, wetook the opportunity to join him to investigate the potential of theregion for archaeological evidence pertaining to Palaeolithic life.Following an initial survey of a number of potential cave sites nearKaraftoo cave, we selected Kani Mikaiil cave for testing. Theexcavations were conducted from early September to mid October 2001. From the beginning, we were aware that because of high elevation(c. 2100 m) the region might not be rich in Palaeolithic remains. Ourreason for this uncertainty was based largely on the fact that,according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. some palaeoclimatic evidence, the snow line in the Zagrosduring the Pleistocene was at about 1200-1800 m a.s.l. (Wright 1983).Even today, Kurdestan is famous for its harsh winters and heavy snowfalls. Kani Mikaiil cave is located some 40 km east of the city of Saqiz,and about 2 km north of Karaftoo cave. Kani Mikaiil lies in a rock cliffat the end of a small side valley. The predominant geological formationof the region is plio-quaternary clay stone, sandy limestone andconglomerate. The entire landscape is composed of rolling hills Rolling hills are like a mountain chain, only a "hill chain" of hills that roll on and on continually. You will often find them in between plains and mountains, near major rivers, or randomly anywhere. The only places without rolling hills are deserts and flood plains. that areinterrupted by small plains. In our survey area, no apparent source ofchert chert:see flint. or other high-quality raw materials for manufacturing stone toolswere found. Kani Mikaiil is a relatively spacious cave (c. 712 sq. m) with twoopenings (FIGURE 1). In plan it is somewhat elliptical el��lip��tic? or el��lip��ti��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or having the shape of an ellipse.2. Containing or characterized by ellipsis.3. a. , about 41 m wide,29 m deep, and with a maximum height of c. 10*5 m in the middle of thecave: An overhang separates the apron of the cave from its rear section,which decreases in height as one proceeds to the back of the cave, andwhich protects this section from the elements. The topography of thecave floor varies considerably; while the rear half of the cave has analmost level floor, the front part is steep toward the main opening(FIGURE 2). A small depression (30x30x20 cm) filled with stagnant wateris located in the back of the cave. According to the locals, thisdepression periodically becomes a small spring during times of highprecipitation; a small stream drains the water through the slope of theapron in the front. Because local shepherds use the cave to sheltertheir herds, its floor is covered with a thick layer of dung. [FIGURES 1-2 OMITTED] We made three small test trenches (TT) in the cave: TT1 (1x3 m),near the smaller opening; TT2 (1*5x1*5 m), a few metres further underthe overhang; and TT3 (1x6.5 m), just beside TT2, between TT1 and TT2.Sounding TT1 yielded exclusively natural deposits. However, to obtaingeological samples, we excavated the sounding to the bed rock, 2 m deep.Soundings TT2 and TT3 yielded cultural remains dating to the Dalma phaseof the Neolithic Zagros (c. 5th millennium BC), as well as to historicaland Islamic periods (FIGURE 3). The distribution of the artefacts in thecave indicated to us that the ancient inhabitants of the cave naturallypreferred the more protected part of the cave, under the overhang. Inboth soundings the thickness of the cultural deposits varied from 50 to80 cm. [FIGURE 3 OMITTED] To extract as much data as possible from the remains, all theexcavated soil was sifted, using two different-sized screens. Potterywas the most common find, including the typical Dalma Impressed andRed-burnished wares. Other finds include a number of stone artefactsmade of flint and obsidian, some pieces of glass, two tiny bronze piecesof uncertain shape, a plain cone-shaped clay spindle whorl whorln.1. A form that coils or spirals; a curl or swirl.2. A turn of the cochlea or of the ethmoidal crest.3. An area of hair growing in a radial manner.4. , and a smalllump of red ochre Red ochre and yellow ochre (pronounced /'əʊk.ə/, from the Greek ochros, yellow) are pigments made from naturally tinted clay. It has been used worldwide since prehistoric times. . No solid architecture was found; instead, numerousburnt floors and an accumulation of ashes occurred, indicating temporaryuse of the cave. We subjected over 20 litres of sediments to flotation,which yielded only a handful of charred seeds. Analysis of the seedsrevealed that they were domesticated do��mes��ti��cate?tr.v. do��mes��ti��cat��ed, do��mes��ti��cat��ing, do��mes��ti��cates1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic.2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life.3. a. barley (Hordeum vulgare Noun 1. Hordeum vulgare - grass yielding grain used for breakfast food and animal feed and in malt beveragescommon barleybarley, barleycorn - a grain of barleybarley - cultivated since prehistoric times; grown for forage and grain ),domesticated emmer (Triticum dicoccum) and bread/ hard wheat (Triticumaestivum/durum). The faunal remains are being analysed by Dr MarjanMashkour of CNRS CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research, France)CNRS Centro Nacional de Referencia Para El Sida (Argentinean National Reference Center for Aids), Paris. The lithics were studied by Fereidoun Biglari,who also participated in the excavations. As we suspected, no Palaeolithic materials were recovered in thecave. The excavation, however, revealed the oldest known occupation inKurdestan province. In addition,as some researchers previously pointedout (e.g. Henrickson 1985), we now have good evidence of a seasonal caveoccupation of the Middle Neolithic in the Zagros Mountains. While thisevidence could enhance our understanding about the origins of this typeof occupation in western Iran, future research will be concentrated onfinding Palaeolithic sites in the region. Acknowledgements. We wish to thank many individuals who generouslyhelped us during the various stages of research. Abbas Alizadeh(University of Chicago) read the various drafts of this article and tookthe charred seeds for analysis to US. Naomi Miller (MASCA MASCA Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology (University of Pennsylvania Museum)MASCA Miniature Australian Shepherd Club of America (Winter Park, FL)MASCA Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association ) kindlyaccepted to analyse the floral samples; Jalil Golshan (Research Deputyof Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization, ICHO) and Dr Masoud Azarnoush(Director of the Center for Archaeological Research of ICHO) forallowing us to publish our preliminary results; and, finally, MohammadEbrahim Zare'ei and Rasoul Oshtoudan (both of the Cultural HeritageOffice of Kurdestan Province) for encouragement and much support duringthe fieldwork. References BIGLARI, F. 2000. Recent finds of the Palaeolithic period fromBisotun, Central Western Zagros Mountains, Iranian Journal ofArchaeology and History 28: 50-60. (In Persian with an English summary.) BIGLARI, F. & S. HEYDARI. 2001. Do-Ashkaft: a recentlydiscovered Mousterian cave site in the Kermanshah Plain, Iran, Antiquity75: 487-8. HENRICKSON, E.E. 1985. The early development of pastoralism PastoralismArcadiamountainous region of ancient Greece; legendary for pastoral innocence of people. [Gk. Hist.: NCE, 136; Rom. Lit.: Eclogues; Span. Lit. in theCentral Zagros (Luristan), Iranica Antiqua 20: 1-42. ROUSTAEI, K., F. BIGLARI, S. HEYDARI & HAMAD VAHDATI NASAB.2002. New research on the Palaeolithic of Lurestan, West Central Iran,Antiquity 76: 19-20. WRIGHT, H.E. 1983. Climatic change in the ZagrosMountains--revisited, in W. Braidwood, R.J. Braidwood et al. (ed.),Prehistoric archaeology along the Zagros Flanks: 505-10. Chicago (IL):Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. KOUROSH ROUSTAEI, HASSAN REZVANI & SAMAN HEYDARI * * Roustaei & Rezvani, Center for Archaeological Research,Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization, Zanjan Street, Azadi Avenue,Tehran, Iran. Heydari, Center for Palaeolithic Research, National Museumof Iran, Siye Tir St., Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Iran.