Hazar Merd is a group of Paleolithiccave sites excavated by Dorothy Garrod in 1928. The caves are located southwest of Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq.[1] Garrod's soundings in two caves in the Hazar Merd group provided evidence of Middle and Epi-Paleolithic occupation. it is referred to as Ashkawty Tarik in Kurdish, which means Dark Cave, it also has a commanding view over the valley and it's close to a small spring and a village with the same name.
Hazar Merd 1928, three Kurdish boys standing on different levels of excavation trenches
Dark Cave has a single lofty chamber 11 by 12 m wide. The Mousterian layer, level C, is over 3 m thick, containing many hearths and burnt flints and bones. The stone tool assemblage, of flint and chert, is dominated by side scrapers and Mousterian points, with no evidence of the Levallois technique. In the lowest reaches of level C, but still within Mousterian layers, two hand-axes were found. Side-scrapers slightly decrease in popularity towards the top of level C.
The faunal assemblage, although fragmentary, again shows a completely modem aspect, with bones from wild goat, red deer, gazelle, field mouse, mole rat, hare, bat and several birds of woodland and scrub habitat. This evidence, and that from the presence of snails of the species Helix salomonica, indicates a mixed environment of woodland, grassland and scrub, much as exists today. A smaIl sounding in the adjacent Water Cave also revealed evidence of Mousterian occupation.
Garrod did not keep all the excavated material and she only kept those pieces that were topologically informative. Remaining pieces were thrown away at the site.
^Amin, OSM. "The dark cave of Hazar Merd Group of Caves". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
Garrod, D.A.E. (1930): The Palaeolithic of Southern Kurdistan: Excavations in the Caves of Zarzi and Hazar Merd. Bulletin of the American School of Prehistoric Research, No. 6, pp. 9–43.
Matthews, R.J.,(2000) The Early Prehistory of Mesopotamia 500000 to 4500 bc. Subartu V
Davies, W. and Charles, R. (eds) (1999) Dorothy Garrod and the Progress of the Palaeolithic: Studies in the Prehistoric Archaeology of the Near East and Europe. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
External linksedit
Media related to Hazar Merd at Wikimedia Commons
December 07, 2023
hazar, merd, cave, hazar, merd, group, paleolithic, cave, sites, excavated, dorothy, garrod, 1928, caves, located, southwest, sulaymaniyah, kurdistan, region, iraq, garrod, soundings, caves, hazar, merd, group, provided, evidence, middle, paleolithic, occupati. Hazar Merd is a group of Paleolithic cave sites excavated by Dorothy Garrod in 1928 The caves are located southwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region Iraq 1 Garrod s soundings in two caves in the Hazar Merd group provided evidence of Middle and Epi Paleolithic occupation it is referred to as Ashkawty Tarik in Kurdish which means Dark Cave it also has a commanding view over the valley and it s close to a small spring and a village with the same name Hazar Merd CaveHazar Merd Caveslocation in IraqLocationSouthwest of SulaymaniyahRegionSulaymaniyah Governorate Kurdistan Region IraqCoordinates35 28 56 N 45 16 38 E 35 48222 N 45 27722 E 35 48222 45 27722Hazar Merd 1928 three Kurdish boys standing on different levels of excavation trenchesDark Cave has a single lofty chamber 11 by 12 m wide The Mousterian layer level C is over 3 m thick containing many hearths and burnt flints and bones The stone tool assemblage of flint and chert is dominated by side scrapers and Mousterian points with no evidence of the Levallois technique In the lowest reaches of level C but still within Mousterian layers two hand axes were found Side scrapers slightly decrease in popularity towards the top of level C The faunal assemblage although fragmentary again shows a completely modem aspect with bones from wild goat red deer gazelle field mouse mole rat hare bat and several birds of woodland and scrub habitat This evidence and that from the presence of snails of the species Helix salomonica indicates a mixed environment of woodland grassland and scrub much as exists today A smaIl sounding in the adjacent Water Cave also revealed evidence of Mousterian occupation Garrod did not keep all the excavated material and she only kept those pieces that were topologically informative Remaining pieces were thrown away at the site Hazar Merd and Shanidar Cave are the only excavated Middle Palaeolithic sites in Iraqi Kurdistan References edit Amin OSM The dark cave of Hazar Merd Group of Caves World History Encyclopedia Retrieved 29 March 2015 Garrod D A E 1930 The Palaeolithic of Southern Kurdistan Excavations in the Caves of Zarzi and Hazar Merd Bulletin of the American School of Prehistoric Research No 6 pp 9 43 Matthews R J 2000 The Early Prehistory of Mesopotamia 500000 to 4500 bc Subartu V Davies W and Charles R eds 1999 Dorothy Garrod and the Progress of the Palaeolithic Studies in the Prehistoric Archaeology of the Near East and Europe Oxford Oxbow Books External links edit nbsp Media related to Hazar Merd at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hazar Merd Cave amp oldid 1171931819, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
