The Iranian Plateau at the end of the Quaternary: new synthesis of geological, archaeological and historical data
Subject Areas :Hamid Nazari 1 , Elahe Najar 2 , Jean franscois Ritz 3 , Mohammad Ali Shokri 4 , aram fathian 5 , fereidon Rezaei 6 , Alireza Rahim 7 , Hasan Fazali nashli 8 , Khalil Baharfirouzi 9 , hamed vahdatinasab 10 , alireza shahidi 11 , mahdi borzooii 12 , Elnaz Aghaali 13
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8 - University of Tehran
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10 - Tarbiat Modares University
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Keywords: Paleoclimate, Paleolithic, Paleolake, Iranian Plateau, Neolithic.,
Abstract :
Via combining the geological, geochronological data with archaeological and historical data synthesis, it is shown that the northern part of the central plateau of Iran corresponded to a large lake, at the very end of the Pleistocene-early Holocene period.The morphological and stratigraphic markers of this ancient lake are still visible in some areas of the central plateau of Iran, especially in the Kavir desert, the Qom-Aran desert and the region of Masileh.The Paleo shorelines located at altitude of ~1100 m found in many places around the current Great Kavir depression is one of the most important signs that confirms the existence of an integrated lake, especially during the younger Dryas.Our geochronological data suggest that between the beginning of the Holocene (~11.5 ka) and 8 ka, the lake level gradually decreased by 250 m, to reach the altitude of 850 m.It is suggested that the cause of this lowering is the evaporation due to warmer and drier climate. According to absolute archaeological dating, the northern part of the Central Plateau has been inhabited by human communities for 50,000 years. From early Holocene; the first sedentary communities around 9,000 years ago provided the structure of rural communities in this part of Iran. From an environmental point of view, part of the water resources of these ancient settlements originated from the mountains of southern Alborz. Based on the newly found evidence of the present article, it can be assumed that in the current location of the Great Central Desert in the ancient world, freshwater lake or lakes provided suitable habitat, rich in biological resources, for prehistoric inhabitants.
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