Background

The northern coast of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, although it is one of the most important regions for the study of early migration from Africa to western Asia (Reference Bar YosefBar-Yosef 1998; Reference PetragliaPetraglia & Alsharekh 2003; Reference PetragliaPetraglia 2003 & Reference Petraglia2005; Reference BiglariBiglari & Shidrang 2006; Rose 2007) and has great potential for studying hominin dispersal toward the Indian sub-continent, is one of the most unexplored regions in the Palaeolithic period. Most Palaeolithic research in Iran was conducted by foreign scholars before Iran's revolution, focusing mainly on the western part of Iran (Kermanshah, Luristan and Elam provinces) and on certain regions further north (Reference CoonCoon 1951; Reference BraidwoodBraidwood et al. 1961; Young & Smith 1966; Reference HoleHole & Flannery 1967; Reference SmithSmith 1986; Reference MortensenMortensen 1993). After the revolution, Palaeolithic research on the western side of the country was resumed, after a gap of several years, by Iranian archaeologists (Reference BiglariBiglari et al. 2000; Reference BiglariBiglari & Heydari 2001; Reference BiglariBiglari 2001 & Reference Biglari2004; Reference RoustaeiRoustaei et al. 2004). Many Palaeolithic sites in Fars province are the subject of recent research by young Iranian archaeologists (Reference ShidrangShidrang 2004; Reference ConardConard et al. 2004; Reference DashtizadehDashtizadeh 2005, Reference Dashtizadeh2006a, Reference Dashtizadeh2006b & Reference Dashtizadeh2006c; Reference BiglariBiglari 2007; Reference GhitasiGhitasi 2007; Reference DashtizadehDashtizadeh & Hosseini 2008). In the coastal area of southern Iran, geological work was carried out in 1974-76 in the foothills of the Makran Mountains (Reference Vita-finziVita Finzi & Copeland 1980) which also revealed four Middle Palaeolithic sites. In 1977 a joint Iranian-French team, under the direction of Thibault, collected artefacts belonging to the Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic periods (Reference BiglariBiglari & Shidrang 2006). However, there is a lacuna in Palaeolithic research in Iran's southern coastal areas. To address this, an exploratory survey was conducted in 2007, under the direction of the author and supported by the Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research and the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation, in Jam-o-Riz in Bushehr province on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf.

This fieldwork is the first research project focusing on the Palaeolithic cultures of the southern coast of Iran conducted by an Iranian archaeologist for several decades. Its main aim is to characterise the Palaeolithic period in this region and to identify differences and similarities in the typology and technology of the material collected. A further aim was to locate a site for excavation likely to yield good stratigraphic information for the Palaeolithic and to record sites for conservation in the future.

The survey

The plain of Jam-o-Riz is located in the southeast of Bushehr province, 23km from the north coast of the Persian Gulf (Figures 1 & 2). This plain is 60km long, 15km wide and more than 550m above sea level. One of the main entrances to this plain is from the Persian Gulf shore; in the south-east this is channelled though the port of Asaloyeh. Twenty-two sites were explored and material was collected from 9 samples during this fieldwork.

Figure 1.

Location map of the Jam-o-Riz plain, Bushehr Province, Iran, with location of the main sites mentioned in the text.

Figure 2.

The Jam-o-Riz plain with survey grid.

The study area was divided into grids of 2km² (2 x 1km) (Figure 2) and 10 such grid-squares were fieldwalked. The 10 grid-squares were chosen on four criteria: geographical situation, geological position such as distance from outcrops of chert, presence of middle Pleistocene deposits, and geomorphological situation.

The material collected

The material collected in Jam-o-Riz was rich in Levalloisian cores, Levalloisian flakes, blade tools, flake blades and end-scrapers (Figures 3 & 4). The Jam-o-Riz collection contained few types of scrapers, whereas other Middle Palaeolithic sites in Fars province, such as Bab Anar, have produced a variety of scrapers (Reference DashtizadehDashtizadeh & Hosseini 2008).

Figure 3.

Lithics collected in the survey.

Figure 4.

Lithics collected in the survey.

The Jam-o-Riz material was found to be typologically different from that recovered from Epipalaeolithic sites in Fars province (i.e. Kazeroun, Marvdasht, Saadat Shahr and Bab Anar plains). These differences are a lack of thumbnail scrapers, geometric microliths, non-geometric microliths, borers on blade/lets and backed bladelets. The typological differences appear to be closely related to differences in raw materials and ecology. Typo-technologically the material is related to the Middle/Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic periods.

Conclusion and prospect

Because the plain of Jam-o-Riz is the first region to be explored on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf and is environmentally different from other Palaeolithic areas of Iran (to the west and south of the Zagros), it is difficult at present to characterise this region in the Palaeolithic. It would be fruitful to study the southern Iranian coastal Palaeolithic in relation with the Saudi Arabian peninsula and even Oman and Yemen as these regions share some ecological conditions. Conversely, these areas display fewer similarities with the west of Iran. Several studies on the Arabian Peninsula and the coasts of Yemen and Oman have highlighted the importance of the Strait of Hormuz for early human migration (Reference PetragliaPetraglia & Alsharekh 2003; Reference PetragliaPetraglia 2003 & Reference Petraglia2005; Rose 2002, 2004 & 2007). A similar study of the north coast of the Persian Gulf, especially the areas of the Strait of Hormuz and Qeshm Island, should enhance our understanding of early human migration from Africa to western Asia.

Identifying a site for targeted excavation was one priority of the survey: the Mordestan rock shelter (Figures 5 & 6) appears to offer good prospects, as it is in a suitable geographic location and appears to contain deposits in situ. A further important result of the survey was the documentation of sites for the National Heritage Cultural Organization of Iran for their future protection.

Figure 5.

The Mordestan rock shelter.

Figure 6.

Plan of the Mordestan rock shelter.

In sum, the Palaeolithic period of the south coast of Iran and its islands deserves serious study. A start has been made here.