Abstract

The land of Kurdistan was distinguished by variations in terrain, environment and climate. The natural and climatic characteristics had a great influence in creating environments suitable for settlement. This helped to provide the basic necessities for living and its sources of water, plants and animals. It provided a home for early hunters and collectors of food to benefit from the rich environment resources. This led to the emergence of the first signs of the human pioneers, and the oldest evidence of human settlement in this area was found at the Burdat Balka site in the form of axes and shrapnel. The discovery of remnants of many civilized materials in the open and caves of the region, most of which contain stone tools for hunting activities. Indicates that hunting was a basic pattern of economic life for the first human groups during the ancient stone ages. The Shanidar Cave is one of the ancient caves within the northwestern extension of the Zagros Mountains, which was settled by humans during the Paleolithic period due to the suitability of the climatic condition of the cave site and the richness of the region with livelihoods and with springs and streams and the availability of hunting animals. This will deal with extensive research in order to contribute to giving a clear picture of the distinguished role of this region in the record of human civilization.