Neolithization Process in the central Zagros: Asiab and Ganj Dareh Revisited

In the 1960–70s, fieldwork in the central Zagros Mountains produced evidence of early Holocene Neolithic settlements in this mountainous zone along the ‘Eastern wing’ of the Fertile Cre-scent. Following a long hiatus in fieldwork, new investigations have highlighted once more the po-tential of the transitional Neolithic (c. 9600–8000 BC) and early Neolithic (c. 8000–7000 BC) se-quence in this region. However, some of the pivotal sites that had originally been excavated in the 1960–70s were not published in adequate detail, leaving many questions unanswered. Recent field-work at Asiab and Ganj Dareh directed by the authors has sought to address the issues raised by these previously unpublished excavations. Here we summarise the results of our recent work at these two sites and discuss their implications for our understanding of neolithisation in the central Zagros.