Zarzi culture

Zarzi culture is an archaeological culture of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic in Iran , Iraq and Central Asia. It existed 18-8 thousand years ago. Replaces the Baradostic culture from which it may have evolved. The name was given to the place of finds in the Zarzi cave (near Suleimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan ). The parking in the cave of Shanidar and others is also known.

Up to 20% of finds are products made of microliths , which are in the form of short asymmetric fragments of flint in the form of triangles and trapezoid with holes for fastening. The culture has much in common with the neighboring Kebar culture in the Levant and in the late period of its existence it is adjacent to the Natufi culture , but is not identical to it. Although the sites are scattered at a considerable distance from each other, they are very rare, and the population density was apparently low. The carriers adhered to the lifestyle of hunters and gatherers. Objects of hunting: deer, wild donkey and goats ^[1] . The remains of a domestic dog, as well as bows and arrows, were found in the parking lots. Presumably a predecessor of the later cultures of the eastern part of Iran ^[2] , including Elam ^[3] .

Probably, a part of the population of the South Caspian along the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea migrated to the South Trans-Urals, where a Mesolithic Yangelsk culture with asymmetric forms of geometric microliths developed ^[4] .