Characterization of Bedrock Features at Paleolithic and Epipalaeolithic Archaeology of Izeh Plain, Northeastern Khuzestan

Bedrock features are grinding surfaces in the form of rock alteration. They first appear in Paleolithic contexts and in some parts of the world they were used until the ۲۰th century. Many bedrock features are found on exposed rock floors of rock shelters and caves and thus lack clear association with datable remains. In this research, bedrock features found during an archaeological survey of Paleolithic caves and rock shelters of Izeh Plain, in northeastern Khuzestan, are investigated in order to find out about their morphological variation and relative dating. ۳۹ rock cut installations (cup-marks, bedrock mortars and basins) were recorded during the last season of archaeological survey in Izeh Plain, most of them in the outer area of the sites. Similar features have been reported from Late Paleolithic sites of Zagros. Nevertheless, the most numerous specimens are found in Epiplaeolithic Natufian sites, located in wide geographical and ecological ranges, including the Mediterranean eco-zone, the Negev desert, the Jordan Valley and the high sand stone mountains in southwestern Jordan. The presence of various shapes of bedrock features in the vicinity of caves and rock shelters of Izeh Plain is in accordance with the relative dating of these archaeological sites which indicates an intensive settlement of the region during the latest Paleolithic and earliest Neolithic. These features might have well played a major role in the semi-sedentism subsistence of the latest hunter-gatherers and continued to be utilized during the onset of Neolithic Period and even later occupations of the region.

کلیدواژه ها:

Bedrock Features ، Izeh Plain ، Epipalaeolithic ، Upper Palaeolithic ، Ground Stone Industry