Univarsity of Tehran Journal of Archaeological Studies 2251-9297 11 1 2019 05 22 The Contribution of Archaeozoology for the Understanding of the Botkhaneh Cave in Central Zagros-Iran The Contribution of Archaeozoology for the Understanding of the Botkhaneh Cave in Central Zagros-Iran 75 94 71099 10.22059/jarcs.2019.71099 FA Roya Khazaeli Department of Archaeology,University of Tehran Marjan Mashkour Professor, National Center for Scientific Research, National Museum of Natural History of France 0000-0003-3630-9459 Homa Fathi BA student of Rural Geography, Payame Noor University Morteza Garavand Ph. D Candidate, Department of Archaeology, University of Tehran Journal Article 2017 06 19 Botkhaneh Cave located at 21 km southwest of Kuhdasht, is one of the archaeological sites which has probably been occupied by mobile pastoralists which through the time the cave was deeply looted. During a rescue archaeological operation the material culture was collected by the last author and his team. The results of the pottery analysis and the occupation pattern in the adjacent sites represent the continuity of a temporary occupation in the cave. In this paper, we assess the characteristics of this site through an archaeozoological study of the animal remains. The faunal assemblage of this site is composed of domestic and wild. Caprines (sheep and goat) followed by bovines and equids are the most represented taxa while a considerable amount of donkey remains could be identified. We also developed analysis for the kill-off patterns for Caprines and some other taphonomic variations. These observations help to better understand the faunal accumulation in the Botkhaneh Cave in relation to the other archaeological materials. Botkhaneh Cave located at 21 km southwest of Kuhdasht, is one of the archaeological sites which has probably been occupied by mobile pastoralists which through the time the cave was deeply looted. During a rescue archaeological operation the material culture was collected by the last author and his team. The results of the pottery analysis and the occupation pattern in the adjacent sites represent the continuity of a temporary occupation in the cave. In this paper, we assess the characteristics of this site through an archaeozoological study of the animal remains. The faunal assemblage of this site is composed of domestic and wild. Caprines (sheep and goat) followed by bovines and equids are the most represented taxa while a considerable amount of donkey remains could be identified. We also developed analysis for the kill-off patterns for Caprines and some other taphonomic variations. These observations help to better understand the faunal accumulation in the Botkhaneh Cave in relation to the other archaeological materials. https://jarcs.ut.ac.ir/article_71099_c092e5c10eb9d5469e87a0df04c26314.pdf