The Paleolithic Site of Mirak, Semnan: Preliminary Results of the 2015 and 2016 Excavations

The open air Paleolithic site of Mirak belongs to the late Pleistocene and located at the northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert. This site is currently situated at an arid plain in the southern part of modern city of Semnan and had witnessed repeated human occupations during the MIS3. Rapid climate change (through millennia and centuries) is one of the main aspect of this site, which had caused severe changes in the landscape. Sedimentological data indicates repeated climate fluctuations in the area leaving diagnostic layers of fluvial and alluvial sediments. Consequently, a shift in fauna and flora of the region has been inevitable. On the other hand, the last glacial cycle has had global effect, which had affected the Iranian central plateau in the form of formation of dispersed landscapes. Therefore, the northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert had been a barrier or corridor for human populations from time to time. Ecological patterns in such circumstances imply that the best approach to deal with such climatic condition was to adapt high mobility strategies. It seems data derived from analysis of lithics from Mirak is in support of such claim.