Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of 11,000-year-old feasting rituals in western Iran, involving wild animals transported from distances up to 70 kilometers. The findings, centered around the site of Asiab, suggest complex social practices and the deliberate effort to gather animals for communal events, potentially even sacrifice, predating agriculture.
This study uses ecological niche modeling to reconstruct the palaeodistribution of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans during Marine Isotope Stage 5, identifying the Zagros Mountains as a potential contact and interbreeding zone.
