Iranian Archaeology, No. 3 Iranian Archaeology, No. 3 A Reconsideration of the Purported Epipaleolithic Assemblage of Qaleh Asgar, Alborz Mountains Fereidoun Biglari 1 The open-air site of Qaleh Asgar was identified by Enayatollah Amirlou during an archaeological survey of the Damavand region, south of the Alborz range in 1989 (Fig.1). The site was subsequently excavated in 1990 and yielded a lithic industry characterized by blade/bladelet production. The remains of a hearth, a fragment of a stone vessel with decorated flat rim and a fragment of a figurine (goat’s horn) were among other finds at the site. Except for a small number of Islamic period sherds, no Neolithic pottery was found. The faunal remains were highly fragmented and poorly preserved (M. Mashkour, pers. com 2009). Amirlou published a short note in which he attributed the site and its lithic assemblage to the Epipaleolithic period (Amirlou 1990, 1991) .Unfortunately Amirlou’s untimely death meant that the final report of the excavations was never published. Since then, the site has been mentioned in a number of publications as an attested Epipaleolithic occupation on the south-central Alborz Mountains. The lithic assemblage and other finds were transferred to Paleolithic Department of the National Museum of Iran in 2008 whereupon a preliminary examination of the lithic assemblage was conducted. It was observed that it had clear techno-typological affinities with Neolithic assemblages of the region. Later, a detailed analysis of the assemblage including raw material classification, metrical analysis, and technological attribute analysis was completed. Figure 1. Map of eastern and central parts of Alborz Mountains showing location of Qaleh Asgar. The results of this study, and the analysis of the faunal remains, combined with sourcing of obsidian specimens and AMS dating of bone collagen, now being carried out, will be published in near future (Biglari et al. forthcoming). The raw material used in the assemblage is mainly green to gray fine- 1. Paleolithic Department, National Museum of Iran, f.biglari@nationalmuseumofiran.ir grained, homogeneous chert. A smaller number of other stone types such as silicified tuff and obsidian are also found in the assemblage. The assemblage includes blade/bladelet and flake cores, blade/bladelets, core shaping and rejuvenation elements, knapping debris and a hammer stone (Fig. 2). Blade/bladelet production is the main manufacturing process. Both the indirect percussion and pressure technique have been used to produce blade and bladelets. Most of the blade/bladelet cores are single platform with prepared sides and backs. Bladelets with straight and parallel edges and dorsal ridges and cores with parallel and straight scars show clear evidence of the use of the pressure knapping technique (Fig. 2). Use of direct percussion (hard hammer) is also evident in the industry. Only a small number of products show retouch, use retouch, or have sheen on their lateral or distal edges. Some of the specimens show numerous potlids on their surfaces indicating exposure to fire. The techno-typological characteristics of the industry suggest a Neolithic occupation or occupations at the site. Consequently Qaleh Asgar should be removed from the list of Epipaleolithic sites in the Alborz Mountains. Figure 2. Selected lithic artifacts from Qaleh Asgar. Acknowledgements I would like to thank M. Mashkor, and B. Moradi for their help and G. Watson for English editing. References: Amirlou, E. 1990 Archaeological survey of Damavand. Iranian Journal of Archaeology and History 7:78-79.(In Persian) Amirlou, E. 1991 Excavation at Damavand. Iranian Journal of Archaeology and History 8-9:90. (In Persian) Biglari, F., M. Mashkour, B. Gratuze, and B. Moradi Forthcoming, New evidence for Neolithic occupation of the south-central Alborz Range, Iran, in The Neolithic of the Iranian Plateau, Recent Research and Prospects, K, Roustaei, M. Mashkour, and F. Biglari (eds.), SENEPSE series, ex oriente. Berlin.