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 Thousands
of stone tools belonging to the Aurignacian people
were discovered in a cave in Lorestan dating to
some 30000 years ago by a joint team of Iranian
and Belgian archaeologists.
Aurignacian
is the name of a culture of the Upper Paleolithic
present in Europe and south west Asia including
the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Iran.
It
dates to between 34,000 and 23,000 BC. The
Aurignacians were the first humans who initiated
the production of developed tools and blades and
art. Experts working in the Yafteh Cave near
Khorram Abad of Lorestan are hoping to find more
about the tools and their production technology by
carrying out further laboratory tests.
A
lot of information on the cave is still unknown
despite excavations carried out there since 1967.
According to the Iranian head of the archaeology
team, Fereidoun Biglari, excavations in Yafta Cave
have led to the discovery of 5000 stone tools
measuring between 2 to 7 millimeters.
Yafteh
Cave consists of three meters of archaeological
layers of which only 60 centimeters have been
analyzed by experts in the current excavation
season. Experts believe that by further
stratigraphy works they will reach more ancient
remains in the cave. As Marcel Otte, the Belgian
head of the joint team, explained, the project
aims to find out more about the Aurignacian people
who later on immigrated to Europe.
“The
technology of the tools discovered in Yafteh Cave
is much similar to the archaeological discoveries
of the Aurignacian people in Europe,” added Otte.
The team has also found a lot of coal pieces in
the cave.
Further
studies on the coals will help experts to both
identify the date and the plantation type of the
area. They are now analyzing even the smallest
archaeological bits and pieces found in the area
including minute stones, bones, etc.
Previous
studies carried out on the site by an American
team of archaeologists from Yale University headed
by Frank Hole had also led to the discovery of
remains of Aurignacian settlements in the area,
which they identified as dating back to some
20,000 to 40,000 years ago.
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