A new study on obsidian procurement at the Early Neolithic site of Chogha Golan in western Iran has just been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. The article is now available online: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Fereidoun Biglari
@fbiglari.bsky.social
Paleolithic archaeologist, Head of Paleolithic Department and Deputy for Cultural Affairs, National Museum of Iran.
Today is International Tiger Day. The Caspian (Persian/Mazandaran) Tiger once roamed Iran’s Hyrcanian forests. It vanished from Iran by the 1950s, with the last confirmed individual killed in Golestan. A 6th–7th century bowl at the Met depicting a tiger.
26 July 2026: UNESCO lists Alamut Castle & 6 related fortifications as Iran's 30th World Heritage site. Spread across the Alborz Mountains, these 7 strongholds are a masterpiece of medieval Persian military architecture. Photo: Alireza Javaheri #UNESCO #AlamutCastle #Iran
Now open access: The American Institute of Iranian Studies: Half a Century of Foundational Research, ed. Erica Ehrenberg (Penn State UP). Surveys the Institute’s history and its support for U.S. research in Iran across archaeology, and etc. muse.jhu.edu/book/129492
A new study reports extensive #Acheulean assemblages from Jiroft in southeastern Iran, including large cores, bifaces, cleavers, and picks. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The PDF of The Acheulean and Bifacial Industry in Africa and Asia: The Levant, Arabia, Iran, India, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia Island is freely available. Download it here: old.archaeology.nsc.ru/glob_human_m...
Tule'i Tepe (Khuzestan, SW Iran), excavated by Frank Hole in the 1970s, is a seasonal campsite dated to ca. 6200–5900 BCE. A new study by Hadian & Azizi (2026) on 41 ceramic samples using spectrophotometry, pXRF, and XRD is published. journal.richt.ir/mbp/article-...
In Memoriam: Esmaeil Yaghmaei Today, Iran lost a true defender of its cultural heritage. For over six decades, he excavated, documented, and protected our past—from Susa to Bardak Siah. His legacy lives on in every site, every book, and every archaeologist he inspired.
New paper on the Middle Paleolithic rockshelter of Rostam Agha (Iraqi Kurdistan): hal.science/hal-05690025v1 Fig. 2 contains a geographic error. It places Humian and Mar Tarik between Lorestan and Fars, whereas Humian is in NW Lorestan and Mar Tarik is in NE Kermanshah.
Prehistoric Sites of the Khorramabad Valley and Iran’s deep past on UNESCO World Heritage List www.tehrantimes.com/news/528173/...
A new PNAS study reports an intentionally incised flint flake bearing a cross‑hatched geometric pattern from Üçağızlı II Cave (Hatay, Türkiye), dated to ~59–77 ka. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Shattered tiles, trembling domes: An inside look at how the war has damaged Iran’s historic sites www.reuters.com/investigates...
Iran : le musée du #Paléolithique du Zagros, un patrimoine en péril après les frappes du 9 mars. www.faton.fr/iran-le-muse...
The virtual exhibition " #Hormuz : Maritime Highway" opened today at the National Museum of Iran. In-person and online. Four sections: archaeology, heritage, human and sea, intangible heritage. A story of life along the #PersianGulf.
The Zagros #Paleolithic Museum in Kermanshah — home to Paleolithic/Neolithic lithic artifacts and faunal remains — has been damaged by blast waves from recent US airstrikes www.tehrantimes.com/news/526652/...
#AlmostAdam – an American anthropologist in Africa, a tribe that might rewrite evolution, and a 90s thriller. Picked this up at a used bookshop in Tehran.
After seeing the Spanish works (including Picasso) at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, the spring sky was partly cloudy and blue — a rare clarity over Tehran.
#Neanderthal child's upper premolar #Wezmeh Cave (Zagros, Iran) | ~40–70 ka First direct evidence of Neanderthals on the Iranian Plateau. Associated #Mousterian lithics indicate the cave was used sporadically by Neanderthals. 📷 Iran National Museum, no. 2121 | Size: 16×12×8 mm
New evidence from Iran's Makran coast documents Lower & Middle Paleolithic occupations in a key Pleistocene dispersal corridor. The Makran region bridged Arabia/Levant to South/East Asia, filling a major gap between Pakistan & the Strait of Hormuz. www.academia.edu/165986821/Br...
Resources, Networks and Transformations in Southeastern Iran: Anthropological and Archaeological Perspectives, edited by Wulf-Marten Frauen, Sabine Klocke-Daffa, and Mohammad Karami. Available for free download at: publikationen.uni-tuebingen.de/xmlui/handle/10900/170764
The latest Journal of Iran National Museum (Vol. 4, Iss. 1) is out now! Read it for free, and don't miss the Call for Papers for our next issue (Deadline: March 2026). 👉 jinm.irannationalmuseum.ir?lang=en
Iran’s Neolithic communities excelled in antler craft, research shows. www.tehrantimes.com/news/523956/...
Interdisciplinary bioarchaeological research (lipid residues analysis of prehistoric pottery, faunal and human remains) document Neolithic consumption of caprine milk 9000 years ago in the Iranian Plateau. @umr-bioarch.bsky.social @cnrs.fr & @mnhn.fr) #LSCE. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Caprine dairy exploitation on the Iranian Plateau from the seventh millennium BC - Nature Human Behaviour
Using food residues on pottery vessels and dental calculus, and faunal remains, Casanova et al. find evidence that Neolithic communities in Iran were milking goats or sheep as early as the seventh mil...
nature.com
The edited volume ResourceScapes in the Iranian Highlands: Soils, Water, Wind and Minerals as Factors of Appropriation and Integration has recently been published by Sidestone Press Academics (2025). This work, the third in the series The Iranian Highlands.
In the Aknoon studio, I had the unique experience of a two-hour, in-depth conversation with Soroush Sehat on Paleolithic Iran, Neanderthals, and the dawn of human art in Iran. #aknoon #soroushsehat
