Abstract:
A sizeable number of sites with Aurignacian assemblage have recently been discovered in Central Asia, as well as in Iran. At
the same latitude as Europe and widely open to the north of the Black Sea, these sites suggest a clear movement of people westwards,
from Asia to Europe, bringing both new techniques and new populations as early as 40 thousand years ago. As there has been no other
break in the European prehistory since then, all these populations seem to be the real first Indo-Europeans, extending from northern
India to the farthest parts of western of Europe.
Machine summary:
Central Asia as a Core Area: Iran as an Origin for the European Aurignacian Marcel Otte Université de Liège Received: December, 10, 2013 Accepted:January, 10, 2014 A sizeable number of sites with Aurignacian assemblage have recently been discovered in Central Asia, as well as in Iran.
It is thus impossible to understand the European prehistory without awareness of the many preceding events that took place in Central Asia (Otte & Koslowski 2007: Fig. 1).
The tools (narrow points and thick end-scrapers) are similar to the Aurignacian and were widespread along the margins of this immense territory, in Siberia (Ust-Karakol) (Otte & Derevianko 2001: Fig. 3), Uzbekistan (Vandenberghe et al.
Western Iran is equally rich (Solecki 1963) because of the sites protected Marcel Otte Université de Liège 7 Place du XX Août, Bât.
The desert zones of Central Iran and the artesian wells of Uzbekistan also show evidence of open- air occupations where the Aurignacian population lived prior to their western migrations (Otte & Biglari 2004; Vandenberghe et al.
The site of Warwasi in the Iranian Zagros, in particular, contains a very long stratigraphic sequence during which the local Mousterian (called the "Zagros Mousterian"; see Otte 2007) gradually becomes the classic Aurignacian by the production of bladelets and the reduction in Levallois products (Olszewski 1993; Tsanova et al.
S. , 2004 Kara Kamar in Northern Afghanistan: Aurignacian, Aurignacoid, or Just Plain Upper Paleolithic?
Derevianko, 2005-2008) /The Aurignacian of Yafteh Cave and its context (2005-2008 1993 Dating the Middle-to-Upper-Paleolithic Transition at Kara- excavations).