Marjan Mashkour ( fa, مرجان مشکور) is an archaeologist and member of the

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

. She is the first

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

to specialize in the field of zooarchaeology and has been engaged in many field and laboratory projects in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

Thesis

Mashkolur received her Ph.D. in

zooarchaeology Zooarchaeology (sometimes called archaeozoology), also known as faunal analysis, is a branch of archaeology that studies remains of animals from archaeological sites. Faunal remains are the items left behind when an animal dies. These include bon ...

from the University of Paris I-Sorbonne) in 2001. Her thesis was ''"Chasse et élevage du Néolithique à l’Âge du Fer dans la plaine de Qazvin (Iran). Étude archéozoologique des sites de Zagheh, Qabrestan et Sagzabad"'', (''"Hunting and farming from the Neolithic to the Iron Age in the plain of Qazvin (Iran). Archaeozoological study sites Zagheh, and Qabrestan Sagzabad"'')

Research interests

Mashkour has published widely on the archaeology of the Near East, including editing 'Zooarchaeology of the Ancient Near East' with Mark Beech. Her research interest is the late

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

fauna of the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgro ...

and the

domestication Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. ...

of the

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threatene ...

in Iran. Research in 2006 focussed on the role of pigs and boars on the ancient Iranian plateau. She has also published new collaborative research onto the origins of the donkey. Recent research has explored the domestication of dogs in the near east. As well as researching the physicality of ancient animals, Mashkour also researches how herds may have behaved in the ancient past. This leads into her wider research on palaeo-diet. This has led to further research looking at coat colour variation in ancient canids. She is helping the

National Museum of Iran The National Museum of Iran ( fa, موزهٔ ملی ایران ) is located in Tehran, Iran. It is an institution formed of two complexes; the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of Islamic Archaeology and Art of Iran, which were opened in 1937 ...

to establish a center for zooarchaeology and was involved in the setting up of the

Zagros Paleolithic Museum Zagros Paleolithic Museum ({{Lang-fa, موزه پارینه‌سنگی زاگرس) is a museum in Kermanshah, Iran, established in 2008. The museum contains a large collection of stone tools and animal fossil bones from various Paleolithic sites i ...

. She edited a volume on osteological collections of the National Museum of Iran entitled "Human and Animal Interactions in the Iranian Plateau: Research Conducted by the Osteology Department of Iran National Museum," which was published in 2021.

Excavations

Places and areas that Mashkour has excavated or suveryed include: * Yafteh Cave, Lorestan, Iran *Upper

Khuzestan Khuzestan Province (also spelled Xuzestan; fa, استان خوزستان ''Ostān-e Xūzestān'') is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the southwest of the country, bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and it covers ...

, south-west Iran *Qazvin Plain, Iran *

Darband Cave Darband Cave is a Lower Paleolithic site in the Gilan Province in northern Iran, located on the north side of a deep tributary canyon of the Siahrud River, a tributary of the Sefīd-Rūd River that flows into the Caspian Sea. The cave contains ...

, Iran *Cherabad Salt Mine, Iran *Wezmeh Cave, western Iran

References

External links

The Development of Nomadism in Northern Syria in the 3rd Millennium B.C.
Iranian archaeologists Iranian women archaeologists Living people University of Paris alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{archaeologist-stub