The Sarfirouz Abad plain in Iran, which is located on the east side of Mahidasht and WEST of CENTRAL ZAGROS, has a great potential for the archaeological studies. Nevertheless, due to the lack of archaeological research here, it is now considered to remain archaeologically a less known area. Its geographical location and environmental potentials make it necessary to perform a systematic archaeological research process. Due to this requirement, the SF area was surveyed using an intensive field walking process by a team from Tehran University during a few months in 2009. This fieldwork provided data and for the first time added much useful information to expand our knowledge on the archaeology of the region in general and the Neolithic settlements in particular. From the findings gained through this study, 17 sites were found to have remains attributable to the Neolithic Period. Recent studies show that in SF, settlement began in the early Neolithic Period; three of these sites were identified in various parts of the area. Fifteen locations with settlement and pottery remains showed evidence of the middle and late Neolithic periods. An investigation of the settlement patterns of these Neolithic sites reveals a strong relationship to natural resources, particularly water and sources of flint. With the commencement of pottery in the area, significant changes occurred in the location patterns of the sites. The present study investigates the characteristics of potteries found from site surfaces and developed an interpretation of the Neolithic settlement patterns of the area.

This study examines the history of animal domestication, nomadic tribes’ development, and factors influencing them in CENTRAL ZAGROS according to the archaeological and anthropological studies of Neolithic to Islamic eras. Besides, the migrational tribes of WESTern ZAGROS, specially the tribes of Kermanshah, Eslam - Abad, Shirvan-Chardavol, Aivan, and other tribes of the southern parts of Ilam province, which reside there in hot seasons, are introduced. Through thousands of years, these connections and peaceful coexistence coexistence have led to cultural exchange in the CENTRAL ZAGROS region. Tribe ways, migration roads, and architecture of their homes are also investigated.

The communities of the Kura- Araxes cultural complex with their highly distinctive cultural and economic features represent the occupation of some parts of the Near East and Caucasia during the Bronze Age.  Generally, the origin of this culture is sought in the Southern Caucasus. In Iran, the spread of this cultural tradition represents not only a rupture in the cultural development of the Mesopotamian traditions. Environmental changes linked to Rapid Climate Change (RCC) also forced the population to develop new economic strategies. Until about two decades ago, knowledge of the flourishing Kura Araxes occupation was limited to the north-WEST of the country and to some parts of the CENTRAL ZAGROS, but recent research in the zones south and north of the Alborz Mountain Range, on the northern edge of the CENTRAL Plateau allows by now to present a more detailed picture of the Kura Araxes occupation in both diachronic and synchronic perspective. Recent archaeological excavations in the two sites of Qaleh Tepe and Ali Yourd Tepe revealed some important new data from Kura-Araxes settlements in the corridor of the north CENTRAL Plateau and northWESTern Iran. The two sites are located in the eastern Zanjan Province in the Abhar Rood Basin. This paper aims to update the chronology of the Kura-Araxes culture based on the radiocarbon dates from the two sites of Qaleh Tepe and Ali Yourd Tepe. The stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates of the two sites reveal the beginning of the Kura-Araxes culture in the region from c. 2900 BCE, followed by a quick extension into the northern CENTRAL Plateau, where it is represented by sites such as Shizar, Doranabad, Ostur, and Barlekin. Similarity and diversity characterize the Kura-Araxes cultural complex.  However, based on the current data, the ceramic style represents a common feature, but also the architectural remains indicate a common cultural tradition during the first quarter of the third millennium BCE in the CENTRAL ZAGROS, northWESTern Iran, and on the CENTRAL Plateau

Recent prehistoric research, which involved surveys and excavations in the Kermanshah Region, has focusedon understanding the nature and timing of the Middle Palaeolithic to Upper Palaeolithic transition. This research,conducted as part of the Human Evolution in the ZAGROS Mountains (HEZM) project, specifically targets theNawdarwan area. The Bawa Yawan Rockshelter was selected for further investigation. Over four excavation seasons(2016–2021), evidence of long-term occupation spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Epipaleolithic (EPI)periods has been uncovered. These findings are embedded in five geological horizons, covering a time range from83,000 years ago to 13,400 years ago. These excavations have yielded more than 11,000 lithic artifacts. As one ofthe primary goals of the HEZM project which is conducting comprehensive studies on lithic raw materials in theWEST-CENTRAL ZAGROS region, we have initiated a comprehensive research project centred on the Bawa Yawan siteand around it. This short paper presents our preliminary observations on the variety and extension of stone rawresources used in this key location in ZAGROS.

This paper provides some documents to reintroduce the active faults and their ability to generate strike-slip earthquakes in WEST-CENTRAL ZAGROS Fold and Thrust Belt (ZFTB). For this purpose, the structural and geomorphic arguments were presented to improve the fault kinematics and segmentation need for calculation of the largest magnitude due to their reactivation within interested area. Slip rates along strike slip faults, which have already been estimated, are used to estimate the probable recurrence interval time of the events. The strike-slip faults extend in N-S direction around 52°E from frontal part of ZFTB to the north and continued along the strike of the Belt, i.e. the Main Recent Fault (MRF), at the rear of the belt. The MRF has been considered as a major dextral strike-slip fault in the context of the tectonic model of the strain partitioning. It was shown that MRF is not unique in the strain partitioning system, but the High ZAGROS Fault (HZF) in the domain of the High ZAGROS Belt (HZB) is contributing in the partitioning of strain of the Arabian plate oblique convergence. Therefore, bo th of HZF and MRF can potentially cause the strike-slip events. Our data shows that the lengths of fault segments along MRF increase toward northWESTward. In case of HZF and Kazerun faults, the segments' lengths increase in southeast and northward, respectively. The growth of the length of the segments is in accordance with the increase of the slip-rate. Consequently, it was expected that the seismicity would increase in these directions.

Up to now, two areas of northern and WEST-CENTRAL ZAGROS Mountains (ZM) have produced better information concerning the development of techno-typology of lithic artefacts during the Epipaleolithic period (EP) compare to the other part of this region. Although several caves and rockshelters associated with EP deposits are found in this region (Map 1), but they were not subject to study for the relationship between climate effect on cultural developments like the neighbored area of Levant. this deficiency can be attributed to a) the low number of excavated sites, b) poor stratigraphic control, and c) the lack of a sufficient number of absolute dates. Recent absolute date achievements from the EP site of Palegawra cave [17]. locates on the northern ZM alongside Paleoclimatic reconstruction in Hashilan wetland [8] based on the palynological studies have improved our understanding from Epipaleolthic cultural and environmental events for the region.

Purpose-The Khezel tribe is one of the most populous tribes living in the northern regions of Ilam, which in the past had a nomadic way of life, and today they live in Shirvan Cherdavel and Ilam cities, as well as large parts of it in the provinces of Kermanshah, Hamadan, WEST Azarbaijan and Kurdistan (Chardoli). , Fars and in Iraqi Kurdistan.There is little information about the origin of this tribe. But according to the evidence, its history reaches at least the Safavid period and it has gone through various changes in the later periods. The structure of this tribe is descended from the father and has many tribal, cultural, social and political ties with the neighboring tribes in the past. So that some of these tribes reach a common ancestor, and by its chiefs, treaties were signed to deal with enemy or rival tribes with neighboring. Generally, this tribe had a contract with the Valian (governors) and was considered their allies. It has its own social structure, political hierarchy and power structure. These structures guaranteed the survival of the tribe in times of crisis. In terms of social structure, it consists of Mal-Bane Mal-Hoz, Kheil and Tokhmeh-Tayefah-Tirah and Ile, and in terms of political structure it includes Rish Sefid or Sarmal, Kalin or Kalanter, Kadkhoda, Kadkhoda , head of the tirah and Teshmal respectively (One or two people or more) who were in charge of the head of the tribe jointly and included in the highest level of power Hava negarah or the confederation of the tribe headed by the Vali (governor) (before the first Pahlavi period). The Khezel tribe has 5 tirah, each of these tirah has its own territory and consists of several tayefah. They speak the Southern Kurdish dialect and today they follow the Shiite religion. In this article, we examine the socio-political structure, power hierarchy and the place of religion in The Khezel tribe until the end of the first Pahlavi period, based on field research, that is, on the basis of conversations and narratives that have been narrated by poets and elders in various rituals. The presence in various rituals and also during the archaeological surveys of numerous cemeteries related to the tirah(s) and tayefe(s) of the Khezel tribe and other tribes (which could show the material aspect of this structure) were investigated, and then each of the aforementioned factors was investigated to achieve socio-political structures.Methodology- Along with library studies, travelogues and reports written in the past were discussed. In this article, the author has used the emic method (viewpoint and thought of the studied people) and the etic method (researcher's view), are common methods in anthropology, along with library studies and in combination.Findings-The findings of this research show the existence of a systematic socio-political structure in the Khezel tribe, that structures in communication and interaction with each other have been able to maintain the unity of the tribe against other tribes and as a coherent and homogeneous unit both outside and inside and and help maintain order and solve problems

Jahrum Formation has deposited Paleocene to Eocene in ZAGROS Basin (mainly Fars area). At the first time, the type section of this formation was introduced in the Tang-e-Ab at the northern limb of Jahrum Mount by James and Wynd (1965). In the type section, Jahrum Formation is located on the Sachun Formation with a conformable contact and has discontinuous contact with the Asmari Formation at the top (Motiei.1372). The carbonate Asmari Formation Oligocene to Miocene age, is the most important reservoirs rock of Basin ZAGROS. Richardson (1924) measured the type section of this formation in Asmari Mount (Tang-e-Goltorsh). Asmari Formation has different characteristics lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy at the different parts of ZAGROS Basin. The studied sections have not been investigated biostratigraphy formations, So far. In this research, an attempt has been made to study biostratigraphy, presentation suitable biozones, and determinate age’s deposits of Asmari and Jahrum formations, in Isa Abad and Imamzadeh Gahroo sections in CENTRAL ZAGROS.

Up to now, various graveyards from Iron Age in the WEST CENTRAL ZAGROS have been examined and some burial goods specific to women have been found. However, researchers have only described the data obtained not dealing with the issue of women's rank in this period. This is due to the fact that among the buried objects any inscription related to these graves has not been found. Moreover, women studies have recently been posed within archeological literature. Researchers have ascribed these graves to semi nomads; a style of living in the form of tribal living which still exists in this region. Therefore, it can be said that with regard to the geographical similarity and the same living style of these people with the tribes living in this region, and also continuation of the traditions in CENTRAL ZAGROS, some of which have been shown in this paper such as the burial type, women's rank during Iron Age has been dealt ethno-archeologically, In this paper, woman's burial in 14 graveyards, taking into account that women ranking in these tribes are seen in the family form which is affected by numerous social, political, and economic factors, has been studied. Finally, a conclusion will be presented.

The late Pleistocene period witnessed significant shifts in human lifestyle and behaviour across various regions in the Old World, as indicated by prehistoric archaeological evidence. These shifts reflect a transition from hunting to a greater emphasis on activities related to gathering plants. Archaeological findings demonstrate the utilization of plants in diverse forms, including the emergence of Bedrock Ground Stone (BGS) at prehistoric sites. In the realm of archaeological research, these remains are deemed crucial man-made artefacts, shedding light on essential aspects such as nutrition, culture, vegetation, food processing, and the presence of medicinal and toxic substances within ancient human societies. Given the existing research gap and the paramount significance of these artefacts in archaeological and anthropological studies, the Diyarmehr Institute for Paleolithic Research, for the first time in Iran, has committed to undertaking comprehensive and scientific investigations of the BGS in the Nawadrwn valley in the  Kermanshah region. Owing to its geographical positioning and environmental abundance, the WEST-CENTRAL ZAGROS range has historically attracted and served as a conducive habitat for diverse human groups across various epochs. This study represents a multi-disciplinary research endeavour focused on 24 bedrock groundstones (BGS) discovered in the Prehistoric Bawa Yawan rockshelters within Nawdarwan valley. Detailed morphological and geochemical analyses have unveiled their multifaceted utility, encompassing purposes such as herbal processing and extraction, and their use in three instances as stone lamps.