Peri Ali Beg Cave — Rawanduz Gorge
Middle Paleolithic to Neolithic (80000–7000 BCE)·Zagros Paleolithic (Hazar Merd group)·🇮🇶 Erbil Governorate, Iraq
About
About Peri Ali Beg Cave — Rawanduz Gorge
Peri Ali Beg Cave — Rawanduz Gorge in Erbil Governorate, Iraq is a Middle Paleolithic to Neolithic (80000–7000 BCE) cave attributed to Zagros Paleolithic (Hazar Merd group). Gorge cave with Mousterian and Zarzian levels above Rawanduz river. Ras Sham cave with Zarzian microliths and Shanidar-like deposits.
Why it mattersKey Zagros Paleolithic (Hazar Merd group) 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. 70000 BCE Mousterian
- Period
- Middle Paleolithic to Neolithic (80000–7000 BCE)
- Culture
- Zagros Paleolithic (Hazar Merd group)
- Purpose
- Gorge cave with Mousterian and Zarzian levels above Rawanduz river
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 70000 BCE Mousterian
Initial construction
c. 1960 CE
Modern excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
36.6100° N · 44.5200° E · 900 m · 3 mapped features
- Peri Ali Beg Cave — Rawanduz Gorge — Cave Entrance GallerygalleryMouth gallery36.6101° N · 44.5201° E
- Peri Ali Beg Cave — Rawanduz Gorge — Deep ChamberchamberInner chamber with burials and hearth36.6098° N · 44.5202° E
- Peri Ali Beg Cave — Rawanduz Gorge — Talus MiddenmiddenScree slope midden with microliths36.6104° N · 44.5198° E
Gallery