Palegawra cave, alongside its neighbouring Zarzi, has been an emblematic site of the Epipalaeolithic (Zarzian) cultural horizon in the NW Zagros of Southwest Asia ever since its first exploration in 1951 by Bruce Howe and Robert Braidwood in the context of the Iraq-Jarmo project. At the time scientific excavation, sampling and analysis methods were either under-developed or did not exist. In this paper we present the first results of new excavations at Palegawra conducted in 2016–2017 by the Eastern Fertile Crescent (EFEC) project, a research collaboration of the University of Liverpool and the Sulaymaniyah Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage. Our research has produced the first radiometric evidence pushing back the chronology of the NW Zagros Epipalaeolithic to the Last Glacial Maximum, thus fully aligning it with Epipalaeolithic facies until now known only from the Levant and the south Anatolian coast. We have also unearthed, for the first time in the Palaeolithic of the Zagros, direct archaeobotanical evidence for hitherto elusive Zarzian plant exploitation and the vegetation of the NW Zagros piedmont zone from the LGM to the end of the Lateglacial (~19,600–13,000 cal BP). The new Palegawra chronology alongside our detailed studies of its material culture and faunal and botanical assemblages suggest that the prevailing Epipalaeolithic habitation pattern in the NW Zagros (centred on generalised persistent occupations of small caves and rock-shelters alongside task-oriented ephemeral open-air campsites) remained an enduring characteristic of the Zarzian horizon throughout this period. The Palegawra data clearly show that neither resource levels and climate conditions nor geographic and/or cultural isolation provide adequate explanations for the stability and longevity of Zarzian lifeways during this long timespan. More fieldwork is required, including the discovery, excavation and intensive sampling of other Zarzian sites, for reaching a data-informed understanding of the nature and evolution of the NW Zagros Epipalaeolithic.

自从 1951 年布鲁斯·豪 (Bruce Howe) 和罗伯特·布雷德伍德 (Robert Braidwood) 在伊拉克-雅尔莫 (Iraq-Jarmo) 项目中首次勘探以来，帕勒加瓦拉 (Palegawra) 洞穴及其邻近的扎尔齐 (Zarzi) 一直是西南亚扎格罗斯西北地区古石器时代 (Zarzian) 文化地平线的标志性遗址。当时科学发掘、取样和分析方法要么不发达，要么不存在。在本文中，我们介绍了东新月沃地 (EFEC) 项目于 2016 年至 2017 年在帕勒加瓦拉进行的新发掘的首批结果，该项目是利物浦大学和苏莱曼尼亚古物与遗产管理局的一项研究合作项目。我们的研究产生了第一个辐射证据，将西北扎格罗斯表古石器时代的年代推回至末次盛冰期，从而将其与迄今为止仅从黎凡特和安纳托利亚南部海岸得知的表古石器相完全一致。我们还首次在扎格罗斯旧石器时代发掘了迄今为止难以捉摸的扎尔吉安植物开发的直接考古植物学证据，以及从末次盛冰期到晚冰期末（~19,600-13,000 cal BP）西北扎格罗斯山麓地区的植被）。新的帕勒加瓦拉年代学以及我们对其物质文化以及动物和植物组合的详细研究表明，扎格罗斯西北部盛行的旧石器时代居住模式（以小洞穴和岩石庇护所以及以任务为导向的临时露天露营地的普遍持续居住为中心） ）在整个时期仍然是扎尔赞地平线的持久特征。帕勒加瓦拉的数据清楚地表明，无论是资源水平和气候条件，还是地理和/或文化隔离，都无法充分解释扎尔齐亚人的生活方式在这么长的时间跨度内的稳定性和寿命。需要进行更多的实地工作，包括对其他扎尔吉亚遗址的发现、挖掘和密集采样，以通过数据了解西北扎格罗斯表古石器时代的性质和演化。