The eastern part of Central Gondwana and Eurasia is a tectonically complex region where several large tectonic plates interact – Eurasian, African, Arabian, Aegean-Anatolian, Iranian, and Sinai. However, consideration of only these plate interactions is insufficient. In addition to this interface, other regional geodynamic factors exist: the mantle rotating counterclockwise structure (MRCS), the Ural-African geoid anomaly, and the critical Earth latitude 35°. The Eurasia-Gondwana boundary divides the western part – the Aegean-Anatolian Plate and Mesozoic Terrane Belt (MTB) associated with the comparatively young Neoproterozoic Belt – and the eastern part, the Iranian Plate, whose terranes are fragments of the Archean-Early Proterozoic Arabian craton. The Iranian lithospheric plate, a key player at the boundary between Eurasia and Gondwana, holds significant implications in the tectonic-geodynamic context. It tectonically influenced the South Caspian Basin (SCB) and recently revealed MTB. Novel tectonic, satellite-derived gravity, and magnetic maps of the Iranian Plate have been developed. Geodynamically, the considered tectonic units are located above the central and eastern parts of the MRCS. The Iranian Plate is above the eastern (periclinal) zone of the MRCS and, under its influence, moves northward. The movement of the western part and complex form of the Iranian Plate force the clockwise rotation of the SCB. A complex geodynamic-geophysical interaction of the central tectonic-geodynamic units in the region is shown. The influence of the recent geodynamic event – Akchagylian hydrospheric maximum on the ancient hominin dispersal in the region is exhibited. The carried analysis is essential to understand the role of the complex geodynamic interface in a transition zone between Eurasia and Gondwana.

Keywords: the Eastern Mediterranean mantle structure, the Iranian lithospheric plate, the South Caspian Basin, Eurasia-Gondwana boundary, geodynamic rotation and displacement

REFERENCES

Abdullayev N.R., Guliyev I.S., Kadirov F.A., Huseynova Sh.M., Javadova A.S., Maharramov B.I., Mukhtarov A.Sh. Novel interpretation of the crustal structure and hydrocarbon evolution within the South Caspian and Kura sedimentary basins, Azerbaijan. Geophysical Journal, Vol. 46, No. 3, 2024, pp. 146-161, https://doi.org/10.24028/gj.v46i3.306357.

Abdullayev N.R., Kadirov F.A., Guliyev I.S. Subsidence history and basin-fill evolution in the South Caspian Basin from geophysical mapping, flexural backstripping, forward lithospheric modelling and gravity modeling. In: (Brunet M.-F., McCann T. and Sobel E.R. eds.) Geological evolution of Central Asian Basins and the Western Tien Shan Range, Geol. Soc. Lond., Spec. Publ., Vol. 427, No. 1, 2017, pp. 175-196, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP427.

Alavi M. Tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt of Iran: new data and interpretation. Tectonophysics, Vol. 229, No. 3-4, 1994, pp. 211-238, https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(94)90030-2.

Alemseged Z., Wynn J.G., Geraads D., Reed D., Barr W.A., Bobe R, McPherron, Sh.P., Deino A., Alene M., Sier M.J., Roman D., Mohan J. Fossils from Mille-Logya, Afar, Ethiopia, elucidate the link between Pliocene environmental changes and Homo origins. Nature Communications, Vol. 11 (2480), 2020, pp. 1-12, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16060-8.

Alizadeh A.A. Cretaceous Belemnites of Azerbaijan. Nedra. Moscow, 1972, 280 p. (in Russian).

Alizadeh A.A., Aliyev S.A., Katz Y.I., Gamzayev G.A., Mamedzade A.M. New data on the presence of the Danian stage between the Khacinchai and Terterchai rivers (Lesser Caucasus). Reports of Acad. Sci. Azerb., Vol. 39, No. 1, 1983, pp. 49-51 (in Russian).

Alizadeh A.A., Guliyev I.S., Kadirov F.A., Eppelbaum L.V. Geosciences in Azerbaijan, Vol. II: Geology. Springer. Heidelberg–N.Y., 2016, 239 p., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27395-2.

Alizadeh A.A., Guliyev I.S., Mamedov P.Z., Aliyeva E.G.-M., Feyzullayev A.A., Huseynov D.A., Eppelbaum L.V. Pliocene Hydrocarbon Sedimentary Series of Azerbaijan. Springer. Heidelberg – N.Y., 2024, 514 p.

Amirkhanov H.A. Paleolithic culture of the Caucasus at the end of the Eopleistocene: Oldovan, Early Acheulean, transitional stage? Russian Archaeology, Vol. 2, 2020, pp. 7-21, https://doi.org/10.31857/S086960630008862-7(in Russian)

Arkell W.J. Jurassic geology of the world. Olivier and Boyd. London, 1956, 808 p.

Artyushkov E.V. Formation of the South Caspian Basin as a result of phase transitions in the lower continental crust. Doklady Earth Sciences (Springer), Vol. 417, No. 8, 2007, pp. 1141-1146, https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X07080016.

Bagheri S., Gol S.D. The eastern Iranian orocline. Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 210, 103322, 2020, pp. 1-43, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.earscirev.2020.103322.

Belyaeva E.V. History of Acheulean studies in Armenia and VP Lyubin’s contribution. In: (Lapshin V.A. chief ed.), Trans. of the Institute for the History of Material Culture of Russ. Acad. Sci., St. Petersburg, 2020, pp. 55-69 (in Russian).

Ben-Avraham Z. and Ginzburg A. Displaced terranes and crustal evolution of the Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean. Tectonics, Vol. 9 (4), 1990, pp. 613-622, https://doi.org/10.1029/ TC009i004p00613.

Ben-Avraham Z., Ginzburg A., Makris J., Eppelbaum L. Crustal structure of the Levant basin, Eastern Mediterranean. Tectonophysics, Vol. 346, 2002, pp. 23-43, https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0040-1951(01)00226-8.

Brunet M.-F., Korotaev M.V., Ershov A.V., Nikishin A.M. The South Caspian Basin: a review of its evolution from subsidence modelling. Sedimentary Geology, Vol. 156, Nos. 1-4, 2003, pp. 119-148, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(02) 00285-3.

Cooper G.A. Jurassic brachiopods of Saudi Arabia. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, Vol. 65, 1989, 213 p.

Corchete V. A new 3D S‑velocity model for the lithosphere‑asthenosphere system of the Arabian Peninsula and the Iranian plateau. Jour. of Seismology, Vol. 29, 2025, pp. 21-30, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-024-10253-0.

Derevianko A.P., Anoykin A.A., Kazansky A.Yu., Matasova G.G. New Data to Justify the Age of Early Paleolithic Artifacts of Rubas-1 Site (Seaside Dagestan). Historical Sciences and Archaeology, No. 1, 2015, pp. 78-83, https://doi.org/ 10.14258/izvasu(2015)3.2-11  (in Russian).

Eppelbaum L.V. Processing and interpreting magnetic data in the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea: A review. AIMS Geosciences, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2024, pp. 333-370, https://doi.org/10.3934/geosci.2024019.

Eppelbaum L.V., Ben-Avraham Z., Katz Y., Cloetingh S., Kaban M. Giant quasi-ring mantle structure in the African-Arabian junction: Results derived from the geological-geophysical data integration. Geotectonics (Springer), Vol. 55, No. 1, 2021, pp. 67-93, https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852121010052.

Eppelbaum L.V., Katz Y.I. Key Features of Seismo-Neotectonic Pattern of the Eastern Mediterranean. Izv. Acad. Sci. Azerb. Rep., Ser.: Earth Sciences, No. 3, 2012, pp. 29-40.

Eppelbaum L.V. and Katz Yu.I. Eastern Mediterranean: Combined geological-geophysical zonation and paleogeodynamics of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic structural-sedimentation stages. Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 65, 2015, pp. 198-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.04.008.

Eppelbaum L.V., Katz Yu.I. A New regard on the tectonic map of the Arabian-African Region inferred from the satellite gravity analysis. Acta Geophysica, Vol. 65, 2017, pp. 607-626, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11600-017-0057-2.

Eppelbaum L., Katz Yu. Akchagylian hydrospheric phenomenon in aspects of deep geodynamics. Stratigraphy and Sedimentation of Oil-Gas Basins, No. 2, 2021, pp. 8-26.

Eppelbaum L.V., Katz Yu.I. African-Levantine areal of ancient hominin dispersal: A new look derived from comprehensive geological-geophysical integration. In: (A.F. Yousef ed.), Emerging issues in environment, Geography and Earth Science, Vol. 7, BP International, London, 2024, pp. 151-222, https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/eieges/v7/1184G.

Eppelbaum L.V., Katz Y.I., Ben-Avraham Z. A review of geodynamic aspects of magnetic data analysis and tectonic-paleomagnetic mapping in the Easternmost Mediterranean. Applied Sciences, Spec. Issue “Ground-Based Geomagnetic Observations: Techniques, Instruments and Scientific Outcomes”, Vol. 13, No. 18, 2023, pp. 1-44, https://doi.org/ 10.3390/app131810541.

Eppelbaum L.V., Katz Y.I., Ben-Avraham Z. The reasons for enormous accumulation of the geodynamic tension in Eastern Turkey: a multidisciplinary study. Geology Geophysics and Earth Science, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2024a, pp. 1-28, https://doi.org/ 10.58396/gges020202.

Eppelbaum L.V., Katz Y.I., Kadirov F.A. The relationship between the paleobiogeography of the northern and southern sides of the Neotethys and the deep geodynamic processes. ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences, No. 2, 2024b, pp. 57-76, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33677/ggianas20240100109.

Eppelbaum L.V., Katz Y.I., Kadirov F.A., Guliyev I.S., Ben-Avraham Z. Why is the South Caspian Basin clockwise rotating? Trans. of the 20^h EUG Meet., Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vienna, Austria, Vol. 27, 2025, pp. 1-2, https://doi.org/ 10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1841.

Eppelbaum L., Katz Yu., Klokochnik J., Kosteletsky J., Zheludev V., Ben-Avraham Z. Tectonic Insights into the Arabian-African Region inferred from a Comprehensive Examination of Satellite Gravity Big Data. Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 171, 2018, pp. 65-87, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2017.10.011.

Eppelbaum L.V., Nikolaev A.V., Katz Y.I. Space location of the Kiama paleomagnetic hyperzone of inverse polarity in the crust of the eastern Mediterranean. Doklady Earth Sciences (Springer), Vol. 457, No. 6, 2014, pp. 710-714, https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X14080212.

Eppelbaum L.V., Pilchin A.N. Methodology of Curie discontinuity map development for regions with low thermal characteristics: An example from Israel. Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters, Vol. 243, No. 3-4, 2006, pp. 536-551, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.epsl.2006.01.003.

Feldman H.R. A new species of the Jurassic (Callovian) Brachiopod Septirhynchia from the Northern Sinai. Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 61, No. 6, 1987, pp. 1156-1172, https://www.jstor.org/ stable/1305203.

Goutorbe B., Poort J., Lucazeau F., Raillard S. Global heat flow trends resolved from multiple geological and geophysical proxies. Geophys. Jour. Intern., Vol. 187, 2011, pp. 1405-1419, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2011.05228.x.

Grine F.E., Leakey M.G., Gathago P.N., Brown F.H., Mongle C.S., Yang D., Jungers W.L., Leakey L.N. Complete permanent mandibular dentition of early Homo from the upper Burgi Member of the Koobi Fora Formation, Ileret, Kenya. Jour. of Human Evolution, Vol. 131, 2019, pp. 152-175, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.017.

Guliyev I.S., Fyodorov D.L., Kulakov S.L. Oil and gas potential of the Caspian Region. Nafta Press. Baku, 2009, 409 p. (in Russian).

Hall J.K., Krasheninnikov V.A., Hirsch F., Benjamini C. and Flexer A. (еds.). Geological Framework of the Levant. The Levantine Basin and Israel. Jerusalem, Vol. II, 2005, 827 p.

Harmand S., Lewis J.E., Feibel C.S., Lepre C.J., Prat S., Lenoble A., Boës X., Quinn R.L., Brenet M., Arroyo A., Taylor N., Clément S., Daver G., Brugal J.-P., Leakey L., Mortlock R.A., Wright J.D., Lokorodi S., Kirwa C., Kent D.V., Roche H. 3.3-million-year-old stone tools from Lomekwi 3, West Turkana, Kenya. Nature, Vol. 521, 2015, pp. 1-6, https://doi.org/10.1038/ nature14464.

Hirsch F. Jurassic biofacies versus sea level changes in the Middle eastern Levant (Ethiopian province). Trans. of the 2^nd Intern. Symp. of Jurassic Stratigraphy, Lisbon, 1988, pp. 963-981.

Hirsch F., Picard L. The Jurassic facies in the Levant. Jour. of Petroleum Geology, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1988, pp. 277-308, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-5457.1988.tb00819.x.

Ismail-Zadeh A.T. Migration of seismic activity in the Caspian Sea. Comput. Seism. Geodyn., Vol. 3, 1996, pp. 125-129, https://doi.org/10.1029/CS003p0125.

Issayeva M.I., Khalafli A.A. Paleomagnetic Studies of the Caucasian segment of the Alpine Fold Belt. In: Ismail-Zadeh, A. (Ed.), Proceed. of the Intern. Workshop on recent geodynamics, georisk and sustainable development in the Black Sea to Caspian Sea region (Baku, 2005), Amer. Inst. of Physics, Melville, 2006, pp. 132-135, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2190740.

James G.A. and Wynd J.G. Stratigraphic Nomenclature of Iranian Oil Consortium Agreement Area. AAPG Bulletin, Vol. 49, 1965, pp. 2182-2245, https://doi.org/10.1306/A663388A-16C0-11D7-8645000102C1865D.

Jimenez-Munt I., Sabadini R., Gardi A. Active deformation in the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Anatolia inferred from numerical modeling and geodetic and seismological data. Jour. of Geophysical Research, Vol.  108, No. B1, 2006, pp. 1-24, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB001544.

Johanson D. The paleoanthropology of Hadar, Ethiopia. Comptes Rendus Palevol., Vol. 16, 2017, pp. 140-154, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.crpv.2016.10.005.

Kadirov F.A. Gravity Field and Models of Azerbaijan’s Deep Structure. Nafta Press. Baku, 2000, 126 p. (in Russian).

Kadirov F.A., Klokočník, J., Eppelbaum L.V., Kostelecký, J., Bezděk A. Integration of the Bouguer gravity data with satellite gravity transformation integration in the Caspian region: An introduction. ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences, No. 1, 2023, pp. 11-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33677/ggianas20230100089.

Kadirov F.A., Floyd M., Reilinger R., Alizadeh Ak.A., Guliyev I.S., Mammadov S.G., Safarov R.T. Active geodynamics of the Caucasus region: Implications for earthquake hazards in Azerbaijan. ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences, No. 3, 2015, pp. 3-17.

Kadirov F.A., Gadirov A.N. A gravity model of the deep structure of South Caspian Basin along submeridional profile Alborz–Absheron Sill. Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 114, 2014, pp. 66-74.

Kadirov F., Yetirmishli G., Safarov R., Mammadov S., Kazimov I., Floyd M., Reilinger R., King R. Results from 25 years (1998-2022) of crustal deformation monitoring in Azerbaijan and adjacent territory using GPS. ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences, No. 1, 2024, pp. 28-43, DOI: https://doi.org/10.33677/ggianas20240100107.

Kazmer M. Pygopid brachiopods and Tethyan margins. In: (Palfy, J., Voros, A., eds.) Mesozoic brachiopods of Alpine Europe. Hungarian Geolog. Soc., Budapest, 1993, pp. 59-68.

Kaz’min V.G., Verzhbitskii E.V. Age and origin of the South Caspian Basin. Oceanology, Vol. 51, No.1, 2011, pp. 131-140, https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437011010073.

Khain V.E. The problem of the origin and the age of the South Caspian Basin and its possible solutions. Geotectonics, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2005, pp. 34-38 (in Russian).

Khorrami F., Philippe V., Masson F., Nilfouroushan F., Mousavi Z., Nankali H., Saadat A.S., Walpersdorf A., Hosseini S., Tavakoli P., Aghamohammadi Z., Alijanzade M. An up-to-date crustal deformation map of Iran using integrated campaign-mode and permanent GPS velocities. Geophysical Jour. International, Vol. 217, 2019, pp. 832-843, https://doi.org/ 10.1093/gji/ggz045.

Klokočník J., Kostelecký J., Eppelbaum L., Bezděk A. Gravity Disturbances, the Marussi Tensor, Invariants and Other Functions of the Geopotential Represented by EGM 2008. Journal of Earth Science Research, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2014, pp. 88-101, https://doi.org/10.18005/JESR0203003.

Koshnaw R.I., Kley J., Schlunegger F. The Miocene subsidence pattern of the NW Zagros foreland basin reflects the southeastward propagating tear of the Neotethys slab. Solid Earth, Vol. 15, 2024, pp. 1365-1383, https://doi.org.10.5194/se-15-1365-2024.

Larrasoaña J.C., Waldmann N., Mischke S., Avni J., Ginat H. Magnetostratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of the Kuntila Lake Sediments, Southern Israel: Implications for Late Cenozoic Climate Variability at the Northern Fringe of the Saharo-Arabian Desert Belt. Frontiers in Earth Sci., Sec. Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism, Vol. 8, 2020, pp. 1-12, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00173.

Leonov Yu.G., Volozh Yu.A., Antipov M.P., Bykadorov V.A., Kheraskova T.N. The consolidated crust of the Caspian region: Experience of zonation. GEOS. Moscow, 2010, 64 p. (in Russian).

Le Pichon X., Gauler J.-M. The rotation of Arabia and the Levant fault system. Tectonophysics, Vol. 153, 1988, pp. 271-294, https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(88)90020-0. 

Le Pichon X., Şengör A.M.C., İmren C. A new approach to the opening of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the origin of the Hellenic Subduction Zone. Part 1: the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Canadian Jour. Earth Sci., Vol. 56 (8), 2019, pp. 1190-1204, https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0128.

Lordkipanidze D., Jashashvili T., Vekua A., de León M.S.P., Zollikofer C.P.E., Pontzer H., Ferring R., Oms, O., Tappen M., Bukhsianidze M., Agusti J., Kahlke R., Kiladze G., Martinez-Navarro B., Mouskhelishvili A., Nioradze M., Rook L. Postcranial evidence from early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia. Nature, Vol. 449, 2007, pp. 305-310, https://doi.org/ 10.1038/nature06134.

Makridin V.P., Katz Y.I., Kuzmicheva E.I. Principles, methodology, and significance of fauna of coral constructions for zoogeographic zonation of Jurassic and Cretaceous seas of Europe, Middle Asia, and adjacent countries. In: (Smirnov, G.A. and Kluzhina, M.L., Eds.), Fossil Organogenic Constructions and Methods of Their Studying. Ural Branch of the USSR Acad. of Sci., 1968, pp. 184-195 (in Russian).

Malekzade Z. Block rotation induced by the change from the collision to subduction: Implications for active deformations within the areas surrounding South Caspian Basin. Marine Geology, Vol. 404, 2018, pp. 111-129, https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.margeo.2018.07.002.

Mangino S., Priestley K. The crustal structure of the southern Caspian region. Geophysical Jour. Intern., Vol. 133, 1998, pp. 630-648, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-246X.1998.00520.x.

Mattei M., Cifelli F., Alimohammadian H., Rashid H., Winkler A., Sagnotti L. Oroclinal bending in the Alborz Mountains (Northern Iran): New constraints on the age of South Caspian subduction and extrusion tectonics. Gondwana Research, Vol. 42, 2017, pp. 13-28, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2016.10.003.

Mattei M., Visconti A.L., Cifelli F., Nozaem R., Winkler A., Sagnotti L. Clockwise paleomagnetic rotations in northeastern Iran: Major implications on recent geodynamic evolution of outer sectors of the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. Gondwana Research, Vol. 71, 2019, pp. 194-209, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.gr.2019.01.018.

McDougall I., Brown F.H., Fleagle J.G. Sapropels and the age of hominins Omo I and II, Kibish, Ethiopia. Jour. of Human Evolution, Vol. 55(3), 2008, pp. 409-420, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.05.012.

Moghadam H.S., Stern R.J. Ophiolites of Iran: Keys to understanding the tectonic evolution of SW Asia: (I) Paleozoic ophiolites. Jour. of Asian Earth Sciences, Vol. 91, 2014, pp. 19-38, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2014.04.008.

Motaghi K., Tatar M., Priestley K., Romanelli F., Doglioni C., Panza G.F. The deep structure of the Iranian Plateau. Gondwana, Vol. 28, 2015, pp. 407-418, https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.gr.2014.04.009.

Mousavi N., Ardestani V.E. 3D map of surface heat flow, low-temperature basins and Curie point depth of the Iranian plateau: Hydrocarbon reservoirs and iron deposits. Jour. Earth Space Phys., Vol. 48(4), 2023, pp. 137-150, https://doi.org/ 10.22059/ jesphys.2023.348000.1007453.

Mousavi N., Fullea J. 3D thermochemical structure of lithospheric mantle beneath the Iranian plateau and surrounding areas from geophysical-petrological modeling. Geophys. J. Intern., Vol. 222(2), 2020, pp. 1295-1315, https://doi.org/ 10.1093/gji/ ggaa262.

Mukhtarov A.S.  Shallow and deep temperatures in the South-Caspian Basin. International Journal of Terrestrial Heat Flow and Applications, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2018, pp. 23-29, https://doi.org/ 10.31214/ijthfa.v1i1.13.

Nalbant S., McCloskey J., Steacy S., Barka A.A. Stress accumulation and increased seismic risk in eastern Turkey. Earth and Planet Sci. Lett., Vol. 195, 2002, pp. 291-298, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/S0012-821X(01)00592-1.

Nouri A., Rahimi B., Vavryčuk V., Ghaemi F. Tectonic stress around the South Caspian basin deduced from earthquake focal mechanisms. International Geology Review, Vol. 66 (17), 2024, pp. 3075-3092, https://doi.org/10.1080/00206814.2024. 2315556.

Ozherel'yev D.V., Trifonov V.G., Chekik H., Trihunkov Ya.I. New evidence of the Early Paleolithic in the Mountain Systems of Eastern Anatolia and the Lesser Caucasus. In: (Lapshin, V.A., Chief Ed.) The Earliest Occupation of the Caucasian Region. Transactions of the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russ. Acad. of Sci., Sankt-Petersburg, 2020, pp. 99-127 (in Russian).

Plummer T.W., Oliver J.S., Finestone E.M., Ditchfield P.W., Bishop L.C., Blumenthal S.A., Lemorini C., Caricola I., Bailey S.E., Herries A.I.R.et al. Expanded geographic distribution and dietary strategies of the earliest Oldowan hominins and Paranthropus. Nature, Vol. 379, 2023, pp. 561-566, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo7452.

Rashidi A., Kianimehr H., Yamini-Fard F. et al. Present Stress Map and deformation distribution in the NE Lut Block, Eastern Iran: Insights from Seismic and geodetic strain and moment rates. Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 179, 2022, pp. 1887-1917, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-022-03015-x.

Reilinger R.E., McClusky S., Vernant P., Lawrence S., Ergintav S., Cakmak R., Ozener H., Kadirov F., Guliyev I. et al. GPS constraints on continental deformation in the Africa-Arabia-Eurasia continental collision zone and implications for the dynamics of plate interactions. Jour. of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111(BO5411), 2006, pp. 1-26, https://doi.org/10.1029/ 2005JB004051.

Sandwell D.T., Smith W.H.F. Global marine gravity from retracked Geosat and ERS-1 altimetry: ridge segmentation versus spreading rate. Jour. of Geophysical Research, Vol. 114(B01411), pp. 1–18, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JB006008.

Scardia G., Parenti F., Miggins D.P. et al. Chronologic constraints on hominin dispersal outside Africa since 2.48 Ma from the Zarqa Valley, Jordan. Quaternary Sci. Reviews, Vol. 219, 2019, pp. 1-19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.007.

Scotese C.R. Jurassic and Cretaceous plate tectonic reconstructions. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol. 87, 1991, pp. 493-501, https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(91)90145-H.

Schelinsky B.E. The Early Acheulean of Western Ciscaucasia. The Inst. of the Material Culture History, Russian Acad. of Sci., Sankt-Petersburg, 2021, 132-140 (in Russian).

Semaw S., Simpson S.W., Quade J., Renne P.R., Butler R.F., McIntosh W.C., Levin N., Dominguez-Rodrigo M., Rogers M.J. Early Pliocene hominids from Gona, Ethiopia. Nature, Vol. 433(7023), 2005, pp. 301-305, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03177.

Şengör A.M.C., Tüysüz O., İmren C., Sakınç M., Eyidoğan H., Görür N., Le Pichon X. and Rangin C. The North Anatolian Fault: A new look. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., Vol. 33, 2005, pp. 37-112, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.32. 101802.120415.

Stampfli G.M. and Borel G.D. A plate tectonic model for the Paleozoic and Mesozoic constrained by dynamic plate boundaries and restored synthetic oceanic isochrons. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 196(1–2), 2002, pp. 17-33, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012- 821X(01)00588.

Stampfli G.M., Kozur H.W. Europe from the Variscan to the Alpine cycles. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, Vol. 32, 2006, pp. 57-82, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.MEM.2006. 032.01.04.

Teknik V. The improved Moho depth imaging in the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone: A machine learning approach integrating seismic observations and satellite gravity data. Tectonophysics, Vol. 893, 230553, 2014, pp. 1-21, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.tecto.2024.230553.

Teknik V., Ghods A., Thybo H., Artemieva I.M. Crustal density structure of northwestern Iranian Plateau. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 56, 2019, pp. 1347-1365, https://doi.org/ 10.1139/cjes-2018-0232.

Trifonov V.G. Sokolov S.Yu., Sokolov S.A., Hessami K. Mesozoic–Cenozoic structure of the Black Sea–Caucasus–Caspian Region and its relationships with the Upper mantle structure. Geotectonics, Vol. 54, No. 3, 2020, pp. 331-355, https://doi.org/ 10.1134/S0016852120030103.

Tselentis G.-A. and Drakopoulos J. Stress transfer and nonlinear stress accumulation at the North Anatolian Fault, Turkey. PAGEOPH, Vol. 132, No. 4, 1990, pp. 699-710, https://doi.org/ 10.1007/BF00876814.

Tugend J., Chamot-Rooke N., Arsenikos S., Blanpied C., Frizon de Lamotte D. Geology of the Ionian Basin and Margins: A key to the East Mediterranean Geodynamics. Tectonics, Vol. 38, 2019, pp. 2668-2702, https://doi. org/10.1029/2018TC005472.

Veliyev C.C., Aleskerov B.D., Tagiyeva E.N. The age of the Azykh site and climatic factors of migration to the Caucasus of the most ancient people. Karabakh in the Stone Age. Proceed. of the Intern. Scientific Conf. dedicated to the 50th anniversary of discovering the Paleolithic cave site of Azykh in Azerbaijan. Tek Nur.  Baku, 2010, pp. 46-62.

Vergés J., Saura E., Casciello E., Fernàndez M, Villaseñor A., Jiménez-Munt I., García-Castellanos D. Crustal-scale cross-sections across the NW Zagros belt: implications for the Arabian margin reconstruction. Geological Magazine, Vol. 148 (5-6), 2011, pp. 739-761, https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0016756811000331.

Wilson J.T. Did the atlantic close and then re-open? Nature, Vol. 211 (5050), 1966, pp. 676-681, https://doi.org/10.1038/211676a0.

Zakariadze G.S., Dilek Y., Adamia S.A., Oberhänsli R.E., Karpenko S.F., Bazylev B.A., Solov’eva N. Geochemistry and geochronology of the Neoproterozoic Pan-African Transcaucasian Massif (Republic of Georgia) and implications for island arc evolution of the Late Precambrian Arabian-Nubian Shield. Gondwana Research, Vol. 11, 2007, pp. 92-108, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2006.05.012.