The Latest Lithic Industry of Zagros Pleistocene: Ambiguities and Contradictions in Zarzian Studies

The final phase of Late Paleolithic of Zagros Mountains has been introduced as the Zarzian of the Epipaleolithic (EP), which was defined based on the assemblage from type site of Zarzi Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. This techno-complex has been much less investigated and introduced in comparison to the earlier groups of Upper Paleolithic. The Zarzian is a microlithic industry with small (thumbnail) scrapers, backed bladelets and geometric forms. Although the type site of the Zarzian, i.e. Zarzi Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan, was excavated 90 years ago, few other Zarzian sites have been excavated in Zagros and there are only two absolute dating available, both of which from sites outside political borders of Iran excavated in 1960s. In 2012 Deborah I. Olszewski provided a comprehensive review on the background of research on the Zarzian, although she did not have full access to information on newly found sites, probably because most of them have been published in Persian language or because there have been many Paleolithic surveys conducted in the last decade by local archaeologists making them difficult to follow comprehensively. In this article, a critical review of Zarzian research is presented with regard to the finds from the most important sites, with the goal of defining Zarzian nature and limiting it in a framework of its unique characteristics.

Although the research on Zagros EP started in early 20th century, there is not enough information regarding even absolute chronology and few sites have been excavated with Zarzian cultural deposits. Nevertheless, the terminology is used extensively across Zagros Mountains for Late Paleolithic assemblages despite their heterogeneity. In many recent surveys, especially in Central Zagros, caves and rock shelters as well as open sites have been attributed to EP and/or Zarzian based on surface lithics (references in this regard are provided in Persian extended text), but the increase in the number of EP/Zarzian sites has not contributed much in clarifying the debates regarding technological aspects of the period (e.g. the explanation for the presence/absence of geometric/non-geometric elements as a chronological criterion or a functional pattern), let alone the more complicated notions such as transition from UP to EP in the region, or identifying cultural groups and their interrelations. It is clear that there are variations in lithic industries attributed to Zarzian, and even EP, in central and Southern Zagros. Either some of attributions should be re-evaluated, or there exist variations in the techno-complexes of the period.

When the Zarzian was first introduced by Dorothy Garrod, it was described as an “industry of the final stage of Upper Paleolithic”. In fact, the detailed configuration of Zarzian Industry was established in 1990s based on chipped stone assemblage from Warwasi rock shelter by Deborah Olszewski. The lithic industry is characterized as having non-geometric microliths, mainly Dufour bladelets, and thumbnail scrapers in the earliest phases and introduction and increase in geometric microliths (i.e. scalene triangles and lunates) in the course of later phases. Despite limited number of excavated sites and lack of reliable chronological framework and ambiguities in sequential phases based on lithic industry, the terminology has been even applied in Southern Zagros sites.

Interpretive approach to Zarzian lithic industry has been developed only in a handful of sites, including Zarzi, Shanidar, Warwasi and a small assemblage form Ghar-e Khar and few of these sites have been radiocarbon dated and all of them were excavated more than 50 years ago (Zarzi in 1928; Shanidar in 1950s; Warwasi in 1960; Ghar-e Khar in 1965) with methods that were not only inaccurate in comparison to methods applied today, but also different from site to site; Statistical information is not available in publications on assemblages such as Pa Sangar in Khorramabad Valley and even Shanidar. As a result, when Warwasi assemblage was introduced in detail in 1990s, almost immediately it turned into the only reliable source of Zarzian research in the region, regardless of the fact that the function of the site has been introduced as a “game overlook/butchering station” and even if such a recognition would be accepted, its characteristics could not be exclusively generalized to other types of hunter-gatherers spatial locations. It should be also noticed that most lithic analysis of Zarzian assemblages are focused on tools typology and composition and few research take technological aspects into account (e.g. core morphology and technology are introduced in Zarzian assemblages from Pa Sangar and Warwasi).Another point is that the UP-EP transition has only been briefly mentioned in few sites with cultural materials of both periods, the most important of which being still Warwasi rock shelter in Central Zagros. As mentioned previously lack of excavations in stratified EP sites and scarce absolute dating of these site, as well as lack of interest in the cultural period among Paleolithic archaeologists make any attempt to understand the long-term changes of the Zarzian group extremely difficult, if not inconclusive.

The main goal of this review is to emphasise the difference of the nature of what we consider “Epipalaeolithic” and what is defined as “Zarzian” as an identity within the limits of Epipalaeolithic culture; hence, it is important to restrict the attribution of Epipalaeolithic finds to “Zarzian”and set up a limit for what we can consider as Zarzian. Considering various aspects of Zarzian other than lithic technology, makes it clear that Zarzi could not be defined as an Epipalaeolithi culture, first because we do not have enough finding regarding its chronology and different aspects of cultural charachteristics of hunter-gatherers to which Zarzi is attributed; and second because what is already understood regarding their subsistence, economic and social relations is not exclusively limited to Zarzian sites and could be defined in a wider framework as every EP culture. Accordingly, for the moment and until new evidence, we have to limit the attribution only to lithic industry with specific characteristics mentioned in the article.