google-site-verification=mPlVZxFT00cp3wt61Vyp9f3WIbemYS89aj4HBoXqnpQ
Journal of Sistan and Baluchistan Studies

Journal of Sistan and Baluchistan Studies

BRIDGING THE GAP: NEW PALEOLITHIC EVIDENCE FROM THE MAKRAN CORRIDOR, SOUTHEASTERN IRAN

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors
1 Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Hormozgan Provincial Office, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
2 Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research (ICAR), RICHT, Tehran, Iran.
3 Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum, Department of Archaeometallurgy, Bochum, Germany.
4 Paleolithic Department, National Museum of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
10.22034/jsbs.2026.563591.1127
Abstract
Recent systematic surveys in the Dashtyari Basin, situated along the northern hinterlands of the Makran coast in southeastern Iran, have yielded the first comprehensive body of evidence for Lower and Middle Paleolithic occupations in this strategically significant region. Five key localities were documented and analyzed through a detailed typo-technological study of 225 lithic artifacts. Raw materials predominantly comprise fine-grained chert and siliceous limestone, complemented by minor occurrences of calcareous sandstone, quartzite, and quartz. Technological analysis, utilizing the chaîne opératoire, identifies distinct cultural and technological signatures that provide valuable context for interpreting the patterns of Pleistocene human activity across the Makran corridor. The results establish southeastern Iran, and the Makran region specifically, as a critical, yet underrecognized corridor that facilitated the broader Pleistocene dispersal of populations moving from the Arabian Peninsula and Levant toward South and East Asia. The newly identified industries fill a major geographic and cultural gap between well-documented Paleolithic sequences west of the Western Pakistan and Indus Valley, and emerging evidence along the Strait of Hormuz. This study demonstrates that Makran was not merely a transit zone but a dynamic cultural landscape occupied by hunter–gatherer groups who exploited local raw materials, established repeated activity loci, and contributed to the technological mosaic of Southwest Asia during the Lower, Middle, and potentially early Upper Paleolithic periods.
Keywords

چکیده

کاوش‌های روشمند اخیر در حوضة دشتیاری، واقع در نواحی داخلیِ شمالیِ ساحل مکران در جنوب‌شرقی ایران، نخستین مجموعه شواهد جامع از استقرارهای پارینه‌سنگی زیرین و میانی را در این منطقة راهبردی آشکار کرده‌اند. پنج محوطة کلیدی مستندسازی و از طریق مطالعة‌ دقیقِ تیپو ـ تکنولوژیک بر روی ۲۲۵ قطعه سنگی تحلیل شدند. مواد خام عمدتاً شامل چرت‌های ریزدانه و آهک سیلیسی بوده و در کنار آن‌ها نمونه‌های اندکی از ماسه‌سنگ آهکی، کوارتزیت و کوارتز نیز شناسایی شد. تحلیل تکنولوژیک با بهره‌گیری از رویکرد زنجیرة عملیات (chaîne opératoire)، شاخص‌های فرهنگی و فناورانه متمایزی را شناسایی می‌کند که زمینه مهمی برای تفسیر الگوهای فعالیت انسان‌های پلیستوسن در پهنه مکران فراهم می‌سازد. نتایج، جنوب‌شرقی ایران و به‌ویژه منطقه مکران را به‌عنوان یک گذرگاه حیاتی اما کمتر شناخته‌شده معرفی می‌کند که در جابه‌جایی‌های گستردة انسان‌های پلیستوسن از شبه‌جزیره عربستان و لوانت به سوی جنوب و شرق آسیا نقش‌آفرینی کرده است. صنایع تازه‌شناسایی‌شده، شکاف عمدة جغرافیایی و فرهنگی میان توالی‌های شناخته‌شدة پارینه‌سنگی در غرب پاکستان و درة سند و شواهد نوظهور در تنگة هرمز را پر می‌کنند. این پژوهش نشان می‌دهد که مکران صرفاً یک گذرگاه نبوده، بلکه چشم‌انداز فرهنگی پویایی بوده است که گروه‌های شکارچی ـ گردآورنده در آن به بهره‌برداری از مواد خام بومی، ایجاد کانون‌های فعالیت مکرر، و مشارکت در تنوع فناورانة جنوب‌غرب آسیا طی دوره‌های پارینه‌سنگی زیرین، میانی و احتمالاً اوایل پارینه‌سنگی پسین پرداخته‌اند.

 کلیدواژه: جنوب‌شرقی ایران، مکران، پارینه‌سنگی زیرین، پارینه‌سنگی میانی، گذار پارینه‌سنگی میانی به پسین، جابه‌جایی‌های پلیستوسن.

Aghanabati, A., Saidi, A. & Ghassemi, M. R. (2023). An Introduction to Geology of Iran. Tehran: Geological Survey of Iran, Research Institute for Earth Sciences.
Ali Talesh, B. (2012). Archaeological Survey of the Central District of Konarak District, Sistan and Baluchestan, 2009: A Preliminary Report. In: Abstracts the 11th Annual Symposium of Iranian Archaeology. p. 335. Tehran: ICAR (RICHTO) (in Farsi).
Bar-Yosef, O. & Belfer-Cohen, A. (2013). Following Pleistocene Road Signs of Human Dispersals across Eurasia. Quaternary International 285: 30–43.
Bar-Yosef, O. & Van Peer, P. (2009). The Chaîne Opératoire Approach in Middle Paleolithic Archaeology. Current Anthropology 50(1): 103–131.
Biglari, F. & Shidrang, S. (2019). Rescuing the Paleolithic Heritage of Hawraman, Kurdistan, Iranian Zagros. Near Eastern Archaeology 82.4: 226-235.
Biglari, F. (2001). Recent Finds of Paleolithic Period from Bisotun, Central Zagros Mountains. Iranian Journal of Archaeology and History 28: 50-60.
Biglari, F., Dashtizadeh, A., Zarei, S., Amini, S. & Ghasimi, T. (2023). Dehtal, Evidence of the Large Flake Acheulean at the North of the Persian Gulf, Iran. Parseh Journal of Archaeological Studies 24: 7-24.
Biglari, F., Javeri, M., Mashkour, M., Yazdi, M., Shidrang, S., Tengberg, M., Taheri, K. & Darvish, J. (2009). Test Excavations at the Middle Paleolithic Sites of Qaleh Bozi, Southwest of Central Iran, A Preliminary Report. In: Otte, M., Biglari, F. & Jaubert, J. (eds.). Iran Paleolithic. pp. 29-38. Oxford: Archaeopress, BAR International Series 1968.
Binford, L. R. (1980). Willow Smoke and Dogs’ Tails: Hunter-Gatherer Settlement Systems and Archaeological Site Formation. American Antiquity 45(1): 4–20.
Boëda, E. (1995). Levallois: A Volumetric Construction, Methods, and Perspectives. In: Dibble, H. & Bar-Yosef, O. (eds.). The Definition and Interpretation of Levallois Technology. pp. 41–68. Madison: Prehistory Press.
Boivin, N., Fuller, D., Dennell, R., Allaby, R. & Petraglia, M. D. (2013). Human Dispersal across Diverse Environments of Asia during the Upper Pleistocene. Quaternary International 300: 32–47.
Burg, J.-P. (2018). Geology of the Onshore Makran Accretionary Wedge: Synthesis and Tectonic Interpretation. Earth-Science Reviews 185: 1210-1231.
Dashtizadeh, A. (2010). Preliminary Report on the Discovery of a Late Lower Paleolithic and Middle Paleolithic Site on the Island of Qeshm, Persian Gulf. Journal of Iranian Archaeology 1: 15-20.
Dashtizadeh, A. (2012a). New Evidence of Early and Middle Paleolithic Periods from Minab Coastal Plain, Hormozgan: an Alternative Look into the Importance of Coastal Migration. In: Abstracts the 11th Annual Symposium of Iranian Archaeology. p. 192. Tehran: ICAR (RICHTO) (in Farsi).
Dashtizadeh, A. (2012b). New Finds from Hormuz Strait, Dash-e Roudan: an Alternative View to the Pleistocene Societies Migration. In: Abstracts the 11th Annual Symposium of Iranian Archaeology. p. 189. Tehran: ICAR (RICHTO) (in Farsi).
de la Torre, I. (2011). The Origins of Stone Tool Technology in Africa: A Historical Perspective. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 366: 1028–1037.
Dennell, R. & Petraglia, M. D. (2012). The Dispersal of Homo Sapiens across Southern Asia: How Early, How Often, How Complex. Quaternary Science Reviews 47: 15–22.
Dennell, R. (2009). The Palaeolithic Settlement of Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dibble, H. & Bar-Yosef, O. (eds.) (1995). The Definition and Interpretation of Levallois Technology. Madison: Prehistory Press.
Field, J.S., Petraglia, M. D. & Lahr, M.M. (2007) The Southern Dispersal Hypothesis and the South Asian Archaeological Record: Examination of Dispersal Routes through GIS Analysis. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26: 88–108.
Hessari, M. (2018). Systematic Archaeological Survey at Dashtyari, Chabahar County. Zahedan: Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Sistan and Baluchestan Provincial Office (unpublished) (in Farsi).
Hublin, J-J. (2015). The Modern Human Colonization of Western Eurasia: When and Where?. Quaternary Science Reviews 118: 194–210.
Jaubert, J., Biglari, F., Mourre, V., Bruxelles, L., Bordes, J.-G., Shidrang, S., Naderi, R., Mashkour, M., Maureille, B., Mallye, J.B., Quinif, Y., Rendu, W. & Laroulandie, V. (2009). The Middle Paleolithic Occupation of Mar-Tarik, A New Zagros Mousterian Site in Bisotun Massif (Kermanshah, Iran). In: Otte, M., Biglari, F. & Jaubert, J. (eds.). Iran Paleolithic. pp. 7-27. Oxford: Archaeopress, BAR International Series 1968.
Kuhn, S. L. & Zwyns, N. (2014). Rethinking the Initial Upper Paleolithic. Quaternary International 347: 29–38.
Kuhn, S. L. (2003). In What Sense is the Levantine Initial Upper Paleolithic a “Transitional” Industry?. In: Zilhão, J. & D’Errico, F. (eds.). The Chronology of the Aurignacian and of the Transitional Technocomplex: Dating, Stratigraphies, Cultural Implications. pp. 61-69. Instituto Portugês de Arqueologia.
Kuhn, S. L. (1995). Mousterian Lithic Technology: An Ecological Perspective. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
McCall, G. J. H. (2002). A Summary of the Geology of the Iranian Makran. Geological Society. 195: 147-204.
Mellars, P., Gori, K. C., Carr, M., Soares, P. A. & Richards, M. B. (2013). Genetic and Archaeological Perspectives on the Initial Modern Human Colonization of Southern Asia. PNAS 110(26): 10699–10704.
Pappu, S., Gunnell, Y., Akhilesh, K., Braucher, R., Taieb, M., Demory, F. & Thouveny, N. (2011). Early Pleistocene Presence of Acheulian Hominins in South India. Science 331(6024): 1596-1599.
Petraglia, M. D. & Alsharekh, A. M. (2003). The Middle Palaeolithic of Arabia: Implications for Modern Human Origins, Behaviour and Dispersals. Antiquity 77(298): 671–684.
Petraglia, M. D. & Rose, J. I. (eds.) (2009). The Evolution of Human Populations in Arabia: Paleoenvironments, Prehistory and Genetics. Dordrecht: Springer.
Rahmati, M. & Dashtizadeh, A. (2019). Report on Survey and Excavation at Bam-e Qeshm Paleolithic Site, Qeshm Island. In: Proceedings of the 16th Annual Symposium of Iranian Archaeology (2015-2016). pp. 181-184. Tehran: ICAR (in Farsi).
Saadatian, D. (2018). The Historical Port of Tis from an Archaeological Perspective. Zahedan: Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Sistan and Baluchestan Provincial Office (in Farsi).
Scerri, E. M. L., Shipton, C., Clark-Balzan, L., Frouin, M., Schwenninger, J.-L., Groucutt, H., Breeze, P., Parton, A., Blinkhorn, J., Drake, N. A., Jennings, R., Cuthbertson, P., Omari, A. A., Alsharekh, A. M. & Petraglia, M. D. (2018). The Expansion of Later Acheulean Hominins into the Arabian Peninsula. Nature, Scientific Report 8: 17165.
Shea, J. J. (2016) Stone Tools in Human Evolution: Behavioral Differences among Technological Primates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shidrang, S. (2014). Middle East Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transitional Industries. In: Smith, C. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. pp. 4894-4907. Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Thibault, C. (1977). Préhistoire de la région de Minab (Iran). Rapport dact., Institut de Préhistoire et de Géologie du Quaternaire, Université de Bordeaux 1, Talence.
Vita-Finzi, C. & Copeland, L. (1980). Surface Finds from Iranian Makran. Iran XVIII: 149-155.
Zarei, S. (2019). Paleolithic Researches in Northern Persian Gulf and Oman Sea: New Finds in Hormozgan. In: Khosheghbal, H. & Aarab, A. (eds.). The 7th International Congress of Young Archaeologists - Abstracts. p. 262, Tehran: University of Tehran, RICHT, ICAR (in Farsi).
Zarei, S. (2021a). Lithic Industries of Pleistocene Communities on the Northern Littoral of the Strait of Hormuz and Oman Sea: a review of a lithic collection from the survey of Thibault and Kadjar, 1977). Parseh Journal of Archaeological Studies 19: 7-23 (in Farsi).
Zarei, S. (2021b). Quartz Usage as a Raw Material and Its Influences on the Strategy of Lithic Technology: Thibault’s Survey Assemblage at the Northern Littoral of Strait of Hormuz 1977; Collection of Iran National Museum. Journal of Iran National Museum 2: 13-26.
Zarei, S. (2021c). The First Evidence of the Pleistocene Occupation in the Hormuz Island: a preliminary report. Bulletin of Miho Museum 21: 101-110.
Zarei, S. (2022). Giant Cores and Large Flake Production at Dehtal: An Acheulean Site in the Northern Hinterland of Persian Gulf, Iran. Journal of Iran National Museum 4 & 5: 5-20.
Zarei, S., Barahouie, G. & Sarhadi Moqadam, H. (2013). Study on Lithic Industries of Pleistocene Communities in the Southern Makran: Archaeological Evidence of Out-of-Africa Hypothesis. In: Hashemi Zarjabadi, H., Qoreyshi, S. M. H. & Masoudi, Z. (eds.). Abstract of National Congress on Archaeology of Iran (Achievements, Chances, Losses). pp. 39, Birjand: University of Birjand (in Farsi).
Zarei, S. (n.d.). The Pleistocene Occupations of the Northern Littoral of Strait of Hormuz and Oman Sea: Revisiting Lithic Collection of Thibault's Survey in Hormozgan, 1977. In: Biglari, F., Shidrang, S. & Mashkour, M. (eds.). The Pleistocene Archaeology of Zagros, and the Neighboring Regions. Tehran: National Museum of Iran (in press).
Volume 6, Issue 1
June 2026
Pages 63-91

  • Receive Date 02 December 2025
  • Revise Date 14 February 2026
  • Accept Date 16 February 2026
  • Publish Date 01 June 2026