Geology

Archaeology

Cave

Aurignacian

Assemblage (archaeology)

Biology

Geography

Sequence (biology)

Genetics

Antiquity

The Yafteh cave in Iran has an intact Aurignacian sequence over 2m deep. First explored by Frank Hole and Kent Flannery in the 1960s, its strata and assemblage are here re-evaluated at first hand by a new international team. The authors show that the assemblage is genuine Aurignacian and dates back to about 35.5K uncal BP. They propose it as emerging locally and even as providing a culture of origin for modern humans in West Asia and Europe.

The Aurignacian in the Zagros region: new research at Yafteh Cave, Lorestan, Iran