Zagros Mountains

From ArchaeoWiki

The Zagros Mountains (Persian: رشته كوه زاگرس, Kurdish: Çîyayên Zagrosê) are an extensive range of mountains on the western edge of the Iranian Plateau in south-west Asia and represent the largest mountain range in both present-day Iraq and Iran. The Zagros have a total length of approximately 1,500 km from western Iran in the north—specifically the Kurdistan region on the border with Iraq—to their southern portion adjacent to the Persian Gulf. The Zagros Range ends at the Straits of Hormuz. The highest elevation in the Zagros Mountains is Mount Dena at 5,098 metres (16,998 feet).

The Zagros were formed by collision of the Eurasian and Arabian tectonic plates. Stresses induced in the Earth's crust by the collision caused extensive folding of the preexisting layered sedimentary rocks. Subsequent erosion removed softer rocks, such as mudstone (rock formed by consolidated mud) and siltstone (a slightly coarser-grained mudstone) while leaving harder rocks, such as limestone (calcium-rich rock consisting of the remains of marine organisms) and dolomite (rocks similar to limestone containing calcium and magnesium). This differential erosion formed the linear ridges of the Zagros Mountains.

The name Zagros is derived from the Zagarthians / Sagarthians--and Indo-European, Iranic immigrants from Europe who once inhabited the mountains, from the shores of Lake Van to the coasts of Makran. The Zangana and Chigini tribes of the Kurds are the remnants of these ancient Sagarthians. Other explanations, deriving the name from Greek Zagreus, meaning stormy, or the name Za-G'R' means 'great mountain' in the Avestan language, are invalid.

Signs of early agriculture date back as far as 9000 BCE to the foothils of the Zagros Mountains, at village sites such as Jarmo.