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The impact of geology and geomorphology on cave and rockshelter archaeological site formation, preservation, and distribution in the Zagros mountains of Iran
Author(s) -
Heydari Saman
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.20179
Subject(s) - cave , geology , karst , archaeology , prehistory , sedimentary depositional environment , geomorphology , paleontology , geography , structural basin
Abstract This paper is a first attempt to explore the impact of geological and geomorphological settings on formation processes of shelter sites in the karstic Zagros Mountains of Iran. In general, the Zagros Mountains can be divided geologically and geomorphologically into two main zones, highland and folded, which are located parallel to each other and run from the northeast to the southwest in western Iran. Both the geological and geomorphological zones have implications for the formation processes of archaeological deposits at shelter sites. These environmental differences also influence the preservation of archaeological deposits at these types of sites. It is suggested that apart from site formation and post‐depositional processes, the local geological and geomorphological structure might also have had some influence on the distribution of prehistoric sites in the region. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.