Abstract
Interpreting human behavioral patterns during the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant is crucial for better understanding the dispersals and evolution of Homo sapiens and their possible interactions with other hominin groups. Here, we reconstruct the technological behavior, focusing on the centripetal Levallois method at Nesher Ramla karst sinkhole, Israel. Nesher Ramla karst sinkhole is dated to the Marine Isotope stages (MIS) 6 and 5 and represents one of the oldest occurrences of the centripetal Levallois reduction strategy in the Near East. The Levallois centripetal technology is often seen as a marker of human dispersals and adaptations in the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age of Africa and the Near East. This technology is documented in East African sites as early as 300 kya and in the Levant as early as 130 kya. However, the degree of similarity between African and Levantine centripetal technology and whether it originates from the same source remain under debate. In this paper, we focus on describing the lithic organization at Unit III of Nesher Ramla (dated to MIS 5), which is dominated by the centripetal Levallois method in association with other reduction sequences. Both preferential and recurrent centripetal Levallois modes were used at the site to produce oval and rectangular flakes. Other minor reduction sequences include unidirectional convergent method for Levallois points production and a specific method for the manufacture of naturally backed knives. The lithic data from Unit III of Nesher Ramla is further used in inter-site comparisons suggesting that the mid-Middle Paleolithic sites in the Near East possess common technological characteristics, especially the use of the centripetal Levallois method as predominant reduction strategy. This trend differs from what is usually observed in Africa and Europe, where the centripetal Levallois method is modestly represented during MIS 5 and is accompanied by other, more dominant, reduction strategies.
Highlights
IntroductionNew insights into early Marine Isotope stages (MIS) 5 lithic technological behavior in the Levant
The present study covers only a single unit of the site, it significantly contributes to the understanding of the Levantine mid-Middle Paleolithic (MP) techno-complex
The study suggests that complete reduction sequences took place at the site, from the initial decortications to the retouching and retooling activities
Summary
New insights into early MIS 5 lithic technological behavior in the Levant. The Levant plays a major role in this debate due to its location on the crossroads between Africa and Eurasia and because of the remains of modern humans and Neanderthals that were found in several caves and open-air sites in the region. Lithic artefacts are the most common cultural remains that are used as a proxy to characterize variability in human behaviors and to assess hominin dispersal patterns. On the basis of lithic record, the Levantine Middle Paleolithic (MP; ca 250–40 kya; [1,2,3,4,5]) was divided into the Early MP (EMP), mid-MP, and late MP (LMP), or according to the tripartite Tabun model in Tabun D, C and B [6,7]. The makers of the EMP assemblages were unknown; the recent discovery of a human mandible in the EMP layer of Misliya Cave suggests that this assemblage was associated with H. sapiens [13]
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