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کشفرود | |
| Region | Iran |
|---|---|
| Type | Archaeological site |
| History | |
| Periods | Lower Paleolithic |
Kashafrud Basin(کشفرود) is anarchaeological site inIran, known for theLower Palaeolithic artifacts collected there; these are the oldest-known evidence for human occupation of Iran.Kashafrud includes a cluster of sites which are located 35 km to 85 km southeast ofMashhad, near the Kashfarud River. The French geologist Claude Thibault, in collaboration with the Iranian geologist Ali Ariai, conducted surveys in the Kashfrud basin east of Mashhad in 1974–75, during which 80 stone artifacts were collected from seven open areas.[1]
The largest of these collections were found near the village of Abravan and other large collections in Chahak and Baghbaghu. The survey identified three majoralluvial units that are roughly attributed to the Lower, Middle, and upperPleistocene. Many of the findings are attributed to the Lower Pleistocene gravel layer that lies on a thick layer of sand. In an article, Thibaut published the results of a preliminary study of stone artifacts and their geological context in 1977.
The discovered collection was sent to theNational Museum of Iran after the examination. The collection was transferred to the Paleolithic Department of the Museum in the early 2000s and was re-examined byFereidoun Biglari. His re-analysis of the collection revealed that some of the specimens are naturally broken quartz fragments.[2] But most specimens are man-made and includecore-chopper,simple flakes, and tools such asscrapers,notches, andborers.
On the basis of their geological contexts, this collection is more than 800,000 years old.[3] Thus, Kashfar Rud is one of the oldest human settlements in Iran.A number of stone tools discovered by Kashafrud are displayed in the Paleolithic Hall of the National Museum of Iran.See.
There are some collections of simple core and flake stone artifacts collected by C. Thibault in 1974–75. The tools areOlduwan-like and mainly made ofquartz. Thibault suggested aLower Pleistocene age (more than 800,000 years ago) for the localities. The lithic assemblages were re-analyzed inNational Museum of Iran and the results are published in a general synthesis about Iranian Lower Paleolithic.[2]
