Coon's book Belt cave excav
Belt Cave on the Caspian Sea
Carleton Coon’s excavations

Coon's map of N Iran Belt cave scenes
Belt Cave and Occupants


Belt Cave
•6 km from Caspian Sea between forest and grassland and marshes
•Wadi in front flooded lower layers
•28 levels, Early Mesolithic, Late Mesolithic and Neolithic
•Lower Mesolithic was “flint factory” with few faunal remains
•Upper Mesolithic had few flints, but lots of bones – a living site

Belt cave plan Belt cave section Belt cave trench
Belt Cave – Upper and Lower Mesolithic


Belt Cave Epipaleolithic
Belt cave-Coon's llithics
1-5 Points and knives
6-14 Backed blades
15-30 Geometrics
31-32 Atypical geometrics
Coon Cave Explorations Plate VIII

Belt Cave Lithic Counts
Belt cave lithic counts


Belt Cave Fauna
Belt cave fauna


Belt Cave Burials
•In base of Upper Mesolithic layer
•3 jumbled skeletons and an isolated skull of a young female.
•Adult male’s bones had red ochre