Darband Cave, Paleolithic cave in Rudbar County, Iran.
Darband Cave is a paleolithic site in Rudbar County, northern Iran, made up of two connected chambers: the larger Kavilgar section and the smaller Darband B section. Both entrances open onto a deep side canyon of the Siahrud River and face south.
Excavations in 2012 uncovered stone tools and animal fossils from the late Middle Pleistocene, making this the earliest known site of human cave occupation in Iran. The finds placed early human groups in this northern region during one of the oldest periods of settlement on record.
The finds from the cave show what early people hunted and how they used stone tools in this part of northern Iran. Standing at the entrance today, visitors can look out over the same canyon those early groups once moved through.
Reaching the cave entrances requires hiking down into a deep canyon with steep and uneven ground, so sturdy footwear is a must. The path is not accessible to everyone, and visiting in dry conditions makes the descent noticeably safer.
The cave holds a large number of bear bones with no signs of butchering, suggesting the site was used mainly as a natural den by animals well before humans arrived. The shift from animal shelter to human dwelling can be read directly in the layers of the cave floor.
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