Last Neanderthal and early Homo sapiens occupations in the Bawa Yawan Rockshelter, Kermanshah, West-Central Zagros Mountains (Iran).

尼安德特人的命运以及他们被解剖学上的现代人（AMH）所取代成为古人类学家和考古学家最感兴趣的问题。最近的古遗传学分析证明AMH与包括尼安德特人和丹尼索瓦人在内的古人类杂交。与旧石器时代研究相关的遗传学研究表明，AMH和尼安德特人之间的最后一次接触发生在晚更新世（MIS 3）的欧亚大陆西部。最近对40个遗址的重新定年分析表明，Mousterian技术的终结和尼安德特人的消失并不局限于特定地区，而是发生在41-39 kya之间的欧亚大陆西部的不同地方。研究还表明，气候变化和AMH竞争条件的结合灭绝了尼安德特人。长期以来，扎格罗斯山脉是一个处于现代研究方法之外的关键领域。近年来，申请人在扎格罗斯山脉中西部的克尔曼沙阿地区启动了一个项目，目的是追踪旧石器时代中期到旧石器时代晚期的过渡时期。这项新的研究发现了260多个洞穴，岩石掩体和露天遗址，与MP，UP和Epipalaeolithic职业有关，面积约为150至100公里。在研究的第二阶段，在克尔曼沙阿地区的Bawa Yawan岩棚进行了试挖。该遗址两个季节的挖掘导致：a）发现了一系列三个考古技术复合体，即MP、UP和Epipalaeolithic，它们嵌入六个地质层位（GH），B）恢复了一颗尼安德特人的牙齿，c）揭示了一个带有MP和UP石制品的过渡层，d）GH 5牙齿周围的一些木炭样本的年代在40至45千年之间，表明尼安德特人晚期曾在此居住巴瓦亚万的这些初步结果表明，在西亚的一个关键地区，尼安德特人的命运和AMH人群的替代过程方面，其进一步研究的潜力很大。拟议项目将采用多学科方法，包括现代挖掘方法、超滤AMS放射性碳测年、U系列和OSL、遗址形成过程、遗址内部空间分析、石器和动物群分析。这些学科是回答以下问题所必需的：a-巴瓦亚万考古沉积物的时间顺序如何？B-GH 2中MP和UP石制品的存在是两个不同的古人类群体同时使用该遗址的结果，还是不同人群在不同季节使用该遗址的结果？Bawa Yawan的生长激素是否符合基于世界范围记录的大陆气候变化模型，或者研究区域是否受到当地气候条件的影响？ 尼安德特人的牙齿是一个单一的发现，还是有更多的人类骨骼遗骸等待在一个扩大挖掘发现？

The fate of Neanderthals and their replacement by anatomically modern humans (AMH) became of greatest interest among paleoanthropologists and archaeologists. Recent palaeogenetics analyses have proved that AMH interbred with ancient humans including Neandertals and Denisovans. Genetic studies associated with Palaeolithic researches indicate that last contacts between AMH and Neanderthals have occurred in western Eurasia during Late Pleistocene (MIS 3). A recent re-dating analysis of 40 sites shows that the end of Mousterian technology and most probably the disappearance of Neanderthals are not limited to specific areas, but occurred in a period between 41–39 kya in different places across Western Eurasia. Researches also suggest that a combination of climatic changes and competitive condition with AMHs extirpated Neanderthals. A key area that was outside of modern research methods for a long time, is the Zagros Mountains. During recent years the applicant has started a project in the region of Kermanshah in the West-Central Zagros Mountains, which aims to track the transitional period between Middle (MP) to Upper Palaeolithic (UP). The new research resulted into the discovery of more than 260 caves, rockshelters and open-air sites associated with MP, UP and Epipalaeolithic occupations in an area of around 150 to 100 km. In the second phase of the research a test excavation in Bawa Yawan Rockshelter in the Kermanshah Region was conducted. Two seasons of excavation in this site resulted in: a) the discovery of a sequence of three archaeological techno-complexes namely MP, UP and Epipalaeolithic embedded in six geological horizons (GH), b) the recovery of a Neanderthal tooth, c) revealing a transitional layer with MP and UP lithic artefacts, d) a few charcoal samples around the tooth in GH5 were dated between 40 to 45 kya, indicating a late Neanderthal occupation in the area. These preliminary results in Bawa Yawan show its high potential for further research in respect of Neanderthal’s fate and replacement process by AMH population in one of the key areas in Western Asia. The proposed project will use multidisciplinary approaches including modern excavation methods, ultrafiltration AMS radiocarbon dating, U-series and OSL, site formation processes, intra-site spatial analyses, analysis of lithic artefacts and faunal. These disciplines are necessary to answer the following questions:a- How is the chronological sequence of the archaeological deposits in Bawa Yawan?b- Is the presence of MP and UP lithic artefacts in GH2 the result of using the site by two different hominin groups simultaneously or in different seasons by different populations? c- Do the GHs in Bawa Yawan fit into the continental climatic change model based on the world-wide records or was the study area affected by local climatic condition? d- Is the Neanderthal tooth a single find or are there more hominin skeletal remains waiting to be discovered in an extended excavation?