The biological and cultural evolution of hominins in Asia is a central topic of paleoanthropology. Yet, the Paleolithic archaeology of key regions of Asia, including the Iranian plateau, have not been integrated into human evolutionary studies. Here, we examine the prehistory of the Iranian plateau with a focus on Iran, one of the largest and archaeologically best-known countries in the region. After approximately eight decades of professional fieldwork on the Paleolithic in Iran, a broad outline of the occupation history of the region has been achieved, though significant gaps remain in understanding the evolution and behavior of hominins in the region. Here we examine the history of Paleolithic investigations, synthesizing key archaeological information from the Lower Paleolithic to the EpiPaleolithic, placing emphasis on archaeological sites with stratified deposits and dated finds. We collect and summarize information on site locations, chronologies, rare hominin fossils, the more common lithic assemblages, and scarce worked items and symbolic objects. Our study documents considerable chronological and archaeological gaps in the Lower Paleolithic record, although Acheulean sites with characteristic lithics are present signaling the early colonization of the region by early hominin ancestors. The early Middle Paleolithic is poorly known owing to dating lacunae, although more abundant evidence is available from younger sites after 50,000 years ago (ka), spanning the late Middle Paleolithic, the Upper Paleolithic and the EpiPaleolithic. The fossil and archaeological evidence indicates the presence of Neanderthals in the Iranian plateau and later, Homo sapiens. The distribution of Lower to EpiPaleolithic sites are examined here, indicating both overlaps and divergences in the use of geographic areas, while pointing to large-scale research gaps in archaeological coverage. Key dispersal models are summarized, illustrating alternative views on the routes of human expansions in the Late Pleistocene, and how the Iranian plateau situates relative to the Levant, Arabia and Central Asia.

亚洲人类的生物和文化进化是古人类学的中心议题。然而，包括伊朗高原在内的亚洲主要地区的旧石器时代考古学尚未纳入人类进化研究。在这里，我们考察了伊朗高原的史前历史，重点是伊朗，该地区是该地区最大的考古学最著名的国家之一。在对伊朗旧石器时代进行了大约八十年的专业实地考察之后，该地区的占领历史已大致勾勒出来，尽管在了解该地区人类的进化和行为方面仍存在巨大差距。在这里，我们考察了旧石器时代的研究历史，综合了从下旧石器时代到EpiPaleolithic的关键考古信息，重点放在具有分层沉积和过时发现的考古遗址上。我们收集并汇总有关站点位置，时间顺序，稀有人化石化石，更常见的石器组合以及稀缺的工作物品和象征性物品的信息。我们的研究记录了下旧石器时代记录中的大量时间和考古学空缺，尽管目前存在具有特色石器时代的阿契勒人遗址，这标志着早期人种祖先对该地区的早期定居。尽管有50,000年以前（ka）的年轻遗址提供了更多的证据，涵盖了中旧石器时代晚期，上旧石器时代和EpiPaleolithic时期，但中古石器时代的早期由于年代间隔不足而鲜为人知。化石和考古证据表明尼安德特人存在于伊朗高原，后来，智人。在这里检查了下古石器时代遗址到上古石器时代遗址的分布情况，表明了在地理区域使用上的重叠和分歧，同时指出了考古学研究领域的大规模研究空白。总结了主要的扩散模型，阐明了关于晚更新世人类扩张途径以及伊朗高原相对于黎凡特，阿拉伯和中亚的处境的不同观点。