Hazar Merd Cave — Sulaymaniyah
Middle Paleolithic to Neolithic·Zagros Paleolithic type-site Zarzian·🇮🇶 Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq
About
About Hazar Merd Cave — Sulaymaniyah
Hazar Merd Cave — Sulaymaniyah in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq is a Middle Paleolithic to Neolithic cave attributed to Zagros Paleolithic type-site Zarzian. Twin caves Hazar Merd with Aurignacian 12,000 tools, type-site for Zarzian microliths. Garrod Hazar Merd type-site Zarzian 9000 BCE microlith tradition.
Why it mattersKey Zagros Paleolithic type-site Zarzian site informing Central Asian prehistory
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology refinement
- 02Metallurgy evidence
Theories
- 01Long-distance trade route
- 02Urbanism genesis
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 40000 BCE
- Period
- Middle Paleolithic to Neolithic
- Culture
- Zagros Paleolithic type-site Zarzian
- Purpose
- Twin caves Hazar Merd with Aurignacian 12,000 tools, type-site for Zarzian microliths
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 40000 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1960 CE
Modern excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
35.4500° N · 45.1500° E · 800 m · 3 mapped features
Hazar Merd Cave — Sulaymaniyah — Cave Entrance Gallery
galleryMouth gallery
35.4501° N · 45.1501° EHazar Merd Cave — Sulaymaniyah — Deep Chamber
chamberInner chamber with burials and hearth
35.4498° N · 45.1502° EHazar Merd Cave — Sulaymaniyah — Talus Midden
middenScree slope midden with microliths
35.4504° N · 45.1498° E