This paper reviews some of the key issues in the study of palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment in the early Holocene of the Central Zagros. It also considers palaeocological research in this and other regions of the Near East, as well as preliminary results from new collaborative excavation and research at the early Neolithic sites of Sheikh-e Abad and Jani in Kermanshah province. The paper concludes with an outline of issues and directions for future research on Holocene palaeoclimate and

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... environment in the Central Zagros. The three key issues in the study of the early Holocene climate and environment examined in this paper are (1) local and regional variation in the nature and rate of climatic change after the end of the Ice Age (2) responses by plant and animal populations to these changes, and (3) and human settlement patterns and ecological strategies.