Amud Cave Research Articles

New Data from Shovakh Cave and Its Implications for Reconstructing Middle Paleolithic Settlement Patterns in the Amud Drainage, Israel

This study presents the geoarchaeological and geochronological aspects of Shovakh Cave and the first comparative context to the nearby Amud Cave (~ 500 m downstream), providing an exceptional opportunity to explore the range of human behaviours within a small geographic area. Sediment samples from two newly excavated areas at the rear and entrance of the cave were analysed using infrared spectroscopy, micromorphology and phytolith analysis and dated through uranium-thorium and luminescence techniques. The rear of the cave shows carnivore activity and low artefact concentrations. It also exhibits a shift in sedimentation from wind-blown deposits to colluviation of terra rossa. Direct dating of the deposits associated with the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) occupation at this area could not be obtained due to the breccia forming at the lower part of the excavation area. However, the later phases of the Middle Palaeolithic occupation at this area gave an age estimate of 45.5 ± 3.7 ka. At the entrance of the cave, there are relatively more residues associated with human use of fire. Post-depositional processes in this area include decalcification of the upper layer, cementation of the lower layer and phosphatisation due to guano decomposition, which indicates that this area was probably roofed. The ages obtained in this area range between 67.5 ± 5.5 to 56.2 ± 5.9 ka, overlapping with the occupation time of Amud cave. The evidence from Shovakh Cave presents lower intensity of occupation compared to Amud, indicating variable modes of site use by humans in the Amud drainage during the Late Middle Palaeolithic.

Archaeomagnetism of burnt cherts and hearths from Middle Palaeolithic Amud Cave, Israel: Tools for reconstructing site formation processes and occupation history

Apart from magnetostratigraphy, archaeomagnetism is rarely used in Middle and Late Pleistocene sites. Here we present detailed palaeomagnetic analyses of cemented hearths and burnt chert items from Amud Cave, Israel (68–55 ka) - two types of materials common in Levantine Middle Palaeolithic cave sites. Both materials are shown to be recorders of the geomagnetic field and were used to reconstruct either the ancient field direction (for cemented hearths) or intensity (palaeointensity) (for chert) at the time of the last burning or shortly after. We test the utility of palaeomagnetic data to further our understanding of temporal aspects of occupations in the cave by comparing the dispersion of the palaeomagnetic data to the known characteristics of geomagnetic secular variation in the Holocene. We show that divergent palaeointensities can help identify diachronic burning events, suggesting different activity patterns in two areas of the cave. Additionally, we used palaeomagnetic directional vectors to distinguish between a well-preserved hearth and one that had been mixed prior to cementation. Using rock magnetic investigations, we demonstrate that magnetic methods can be used as a relatively fast and inexpensive method to identify burning of cherts in antiquity above 500 °C. The palaeomagnetic results are in agreement with results of previous studies at Amud Cave, obtained by other independent methods. This study shows that palaeomagnetic methods can serve as a powerful tool in the study of Palaeolithic sites.

Excavation of the Amud Cave site by the team of the Tokyo University Scientific Expedition to Western Asia

Excavation of the Amud Cave site by the team of the Tokyo University Scientific Expedition to Western Asia

Local and Nonlocal Procurement of Raw Material in Amud Cave, Israel: The Complex Mobility of Late Middle Paleolithic Groups

Studying the distribution of lithic raw materials around prehistoric sites, their procurement, transport, and use, are important for understanding organizational decisions of hunter‐gatherers. Here we examine lithic technological organization in two stratigraphic subunits B4 and B1 (dated ∼ 68 and ∼ 55 ka, respectively) at the Neanderthal site of Amud Cave. The lithic assemblages are made exclusively of flint. An ArcGIS model is used to create a predictive model for daily exploitation territories (DETs) around the site. Using a battery of statistical methods (ANOVA, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis), we link flint visual types with geochemical characteristics (obtained through inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry and ICP atomic emission spectrometry) of both geological and archaeological flints. Results indicate that local materials are abundant in both subunits. Nonlocal raw materials (from areas beyond the modeled DET) amount to 30–40% across all technological categories, suggesting long‐distance transport. The technological patterns of the nonlocal raw material differ between the two subunits. Pending results of additional work, we suggest that nonlocal flint types were likely obtained from distances >60 km. Mobility patterns inferred from this study suggest that Amud Cave was a focal location within its settlement system during both occupation periods, but the manner of site use and mobility patterns changed through time.

Isotopic evidence for Last Glacial climatic impacts on Neanderthal gazelle hunting territories at Amud Cave, Israel

The Middle Paleolithic site of Amud Cave, Israel, was occupied by Neanderthals at two different time periods, evidenced by two chronologically and stratigraphically distinct depositional sub-units (B4 and B2/B1) during MIS 4 and MIS 3, respectively. The composition of both hunted large fauna and naturally-deposited micromammalian taxa is stable at the site over time, despite a ∼10 ky gap between the two occupation phases. However, while gazelle is the most ubiquitous hunted species throughout the occupation, isotopic analysis showed that there is a marked change in Neanderthal hunting ranges between the early (B4) and late (B2/B1) phases. Hunting ranges were reconstructed by comparing oxygen, carbon, and strontium isotopes from gazelle tooth enamel with modern isotope data from the Amud Cave region. This region is characterized by extensive topographic, lithological, and pedological heterogeneity. During the early occupation phase negative oxygen isotope values, low radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and low Sr concentrations reveal restricted gazelle hunting in the high elevations west of Amud Cave. In the late occupation phase, hunting ranges became more diverse, but concentrate at low elevations closer to the site. Climatic proxies indicate that conditions were drier in the early occupation phase, which may have pushed gazelle populations into higher, more productive foraging areas. This study showed that Neanderthals adjusted their hunting territories considerably in relation to varying environmental conditions over the course of occupation in Amud Cave. It highlights the utility of multiple isotope analysis in enhancing the resolution of behavioral interpretations based on faunal remains and in reconstructing past hunting behaviors of Paleolithic hominins.

Paleoclimate during Neandertal and anatomically modern human occupation at Amud and Qafzeh, Israel: the stable isotope data

The δ 13C(en) and δ 18O(en) values of goat and gazelle enamel carbonate indicate that Neandertals at Amud Cave, Israel (53–70 ka) lived under different ecological conditions than did anatomically modern humans at Qafzeh Cave, Israel (approximately 92 ka). During the Last Glacial Period, Neandertals at Amud Cave lived under wetter conditions than those in the region today. Neither faunal species ate arid-adapted C 4 plants or drought-stressed C 3 plants. The variation in gazelle δ 18O(en) values suggests multiple birth seasons, which today occur under wetter than normal conditions. The magnitude and pattern of intra-tooth variation in goat δ 18O(en) values indicate that rain fell throughout the year unlike today. Anatomically modern humans encountered a Qafzeh Cave region that was more open and arid than Glacial Period Amud Cave, and more open than today's Upper Galilee region. Goat δ 13C(en) values indicate feeding on varying amounts of C 4 plants throughout the year. The climate apparently ameliorated higher in the sequence; but habitats remained more open than at Amud Cave. Both gazelles and goats fed on C 3 plants in brushy habitats without any inclusion of C 4 plants. The magnitude of intra-tooth variation in goat δ 18O(en) values, however, suggest that some rain fell throughout the year, and the relative representation of woodland dwelling species indicates the occurrence of woodlands in the region. Climate differences affecting the distribution of plants and animals appear to be the significant factor contributing to behavioral differences previously documented between Neandertals and anatomically modern humans in the region. Climate forcing probably affected the early appearances of anatomically modern humans, although not the disappearance of Neandertals from the Levant.

Ecological change and the extinction of the Levantine Neanderthals: implications from a diachronic study of micromammals from Amud Cave, Israel

It has been hypothesized that the climate shift associated with the Heinrich 5 event (H5) and the decrease in productivity throughout MIS 4 contributed to the demise of Neanderthals from the Levant. The Middle Paleolithic stratigraphic sequence of Amud Cave (Israel) spans MIS 4 and the transition to MIS 3 and contains Neanderthal skeletal remains as well as microfaunal assemblages, often used in the literature as reliable paleoecological proxies. This combination offers a unique case study to address the question of the effects of climate on Neanderthal population dynamics. Here we present a diachronic study of the rodent assemblages from Amud Cave, Israel, using taphonomic and nested hierarchical paleoecological models to test the hypothesis of a decrease in environmental productivity throughout the Amud sequence. Results suggest that there is no change in high-level presence–absence and rank abundance of rodent species throughout the sequence of Amud Cave, but there is change in low-level relative abundance of four taxa. Paleoecological analysis suggests that while all the stratigraphic sub-units of Amud Cave can be assigned to a Mediterranean biome, an apparent trend of decrease in grasslands proportions throughout the sequence is discordant with other regional paleoecological proxies. Taphonomic analysis reveals that this may be attributed to specific predator preferences of rodent prey, and thus does not reflect the true shift in paleoecology throughout the temporal sequence represented in the cave. The high-level overall stability in rodent community suggests that climatic shifts during the MIS 4–3 transition were of a magnitude that did not have a major impact on small mammals in the region. Such results are consistent with evidence from analysis of large mammal community and vegetal remains in Amud and contemporaneous Middle Paleolithic cave sites, and suggest that climate change may not have had the hypothesized effect on Neanderthal extinction in the Levant.

Formation processes of cemented features in karstic cave sites revealed using stable oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses: A case study at middle paleolithic Amud Cave, Israel

AbstractHearths are important archaeological features, serving to infer past practices related to hominin subsistence and social behaviors. The identification of hearths is not always straightforward due to post‐depositional processes. In karstic cave environments in particular it is not always easy to distinguish, in the field or in the laboratory, between geogenic and anthropogenic cemented features because both are composed of calcite. Here we present a novel study in which bulk oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses were used in order to unequivocally identify anthropogenic calcite derived from hearths in the Neanderthal site of Amud Cave (Israel). We demonstrate that the isotopic composition of wood ash is distinctively different from that of geogenic calcite. The linear relationship observed between carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of the various sediment types in Amud Cave is interpreted as a mixing line between wood ash and geogenic calcite, thus enhancing our understanding of the origins of sedimentological variability at the site and showing that not all of the cemented sediments in Amud Cave should be regarded as hearths. Our study suggests that the relative abundance of validated hearths in the various areas of the cave may be associated with Neanderthal use of space in Amud Cave. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Faunal analysis from Amud Cave: preliminary results and interpretations

AbstractThe Late Mousterian Neanderthal site of Amud Cave (dated ca. 70–55 kyr) is situated on the margins of the Dead Sea Rift, about 5 km northwest of the Sea of Galilee. Recent excavations at the site yielded rich lithic, faunal and human skeletal assemblages. This paper presents some characteristics of the faunal assemblages from Amud Cave, combined with pertinent results of taphonomic and micromorphological studies, and places them in the context of other Late Mousterian archaeofaunas in the southern Levant. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Exploitation of Plant Resources by Neanderthals in Amud Cave (Israel): The Evidence from Phytolith Studies

The depositional environments of Amud Cave indicate that phytolith assemblages retrieved from the cave's sediments are an integral part of the Middle Palaeolithic sequence. As such, they provide direct evidence for plant use. The Amud Neanderthals emphasized both wood and grass exploitation. Ligneous parts of trees and shrubs were used mainly for fuel. Herbaceous plants were used for bedding, possibly fuel, and for food. There is clear and repetitive evidence for the exploitation of mature grass panicles, inferred to have been collected for their seeds. These findings suggest that, as with the pattern recently discerned for faunal resources, a broad spectrum of plants has been exploited from at least the end of the Middle Palaeolithic. Phytolith analysis now provides a tool for testing models explaining subsistence and mobility patterns during the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic and for better understanding the role of vegetal resources in shaping these patterns.

Electron spin resonance (ESR) and thermal ionization mass spectrometric (TIMS) 230Th/234U dating of teeth in Middle Paleolithic layers at Amud Cave, Israel

AbstractElectron spin resonance (ESR) dating and thermal ionization mass spectrometric 230Th/234U dating was conducted on six teeth from the prehistoric site of Amud Cave. By combining the ESR and 230Th/234U analyses, we obtained burial ages for teeth in various layers of the site. Layer B1/6–7, from which the Amud I Neanderthal skeleton was recovered, is dated to 53 ± 8 ka. Layer B2/8, which yielded other important human remains including the Amud 7 skeleton, gives a mean burial age of 61 ± 9 ka. One tooth from the lowest layer (B4) yielded a date of 70 ± 11 ka, but another tooth from this layer gave an 113 ± 18 ka. Despite this discrepancy, these ages agree with previously published TL ages on heated flints for the corresponding layers. This agreement between ESR on tooth enamel and TL on burned flint is also seen at all other sites studied with both methods in Israel. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

TL Dates for the Neanderthal Site of the Amud Cave, Israel

Age-estimates ranging from 50 to 70ky were obtained for the Mousterian deposits of Amud Cave in Israel from thermoluminescence measurements performed on 19 burnt flints. The late dates obtained for the stratigraphic layers bearing hominid remains confirm the evidence for the late presence of Neanderthals in the Levant. The dates enable a more effective comparison of the lithic assemblages from Amud Cave with those of other contemporaneous sites and underline the variability within Mousterian lithic industries at the end of the Middle Palaeolithic in the Levant.

On the Charred Seeds from Epipalaeolithic Abu Hureyra: Food or Fuel?

Reponse a l'article de Miller (CA 37: 521-28) concernant la decouverte de plantes non-cultivees qui selon l'A resulteraient de la combustion du fumier animal, plus que d'un choix delibere de la part des Epipaleolithiques

Hominid Remains from Amud Cave in the Context of the Levantine Middle Paleolithic

The evolutionary and behavioral implications of the hominid remains from the old and new. Amud Cave excavations are discussed in this paper and viewed against the archaeological record of the Levantine Middle Paleolithic. On the biological level, the finds from Amud support the view that Neanderthals were a different species from Homo sapiens. While it is fully acknowledged that behavioral differences can not support or refute the claims for taxonomie differentiation, the analysis of mortuary practices indicates that both strong similarity and subtle differences between Neanderthals and АМН occur in this realm of symbolic behavior.

A Neandertal infant from Amud Cave, Israel

A newly discovered partial skeleton of an infant from the Amud Cave, Israel, displays an array of anatomical features that help to establish its taxonomic status as Homo neanderthalcrisis: the absence of a mental protuberance on the anterior mandibular corpus, the extreme oval shape of the foramen magnum, and the presence of a medial pterygoid tubercle on the internal aspect of the mandibular ramus. Present on a 10-month-old individual, these traits must be ascribed to genetic origins; as such, they attest to the degree of phylogenetic differentiation of Neandertals from modern as well as Mousterian Homo sapiens . The recovery of this specimen thus reconfirms the presence of Neandertals in the Middle Paleolithic in the Near East while the taphonomic circumstances lend support to the claim of intentional burial by this group.

Reexamination of the Lithic Artifacts from Layer B (Square 8-19) of the Amud Cave, Israel

Après réexamen du matériel lithique de la couche В d'Amud Cave, on peut conclure qu'il ne s'agit pas d'un matériel de transition entre le Paléolithique Moyen et le Paléolithique Supérieur du Levant. L'association existant entre des éléments Levalloiso-Moustériens et du Paléolithique Supérieur n'est pas convaincante. Ce matériel est caractérisé par des pointes Levallois et pseudo-Levallois, et des éclats laminaires rappelant de longues pointes Levallois. Il peut être décrit comme une variante du Moustérien Levantin, avec des formes d'outils non caractéristiques du Paléolithique Supérieur, et des nucleus produisant des éclats et pointes Levallois dont la taille tend à se réduire.

Uranium-series dating of bone samples from the Amud Cave site.

Uranium-series dating of bone samples from the Amud Cave site.

Control Precision in the Flaking of Levallois Points from the Amud Cave ; A Technological Approach to the Study of Early Man's Manual Dexterity

RÉSUMÉ Série de mesures sur des éclats levallois d'un certain type, éclats pointus avec enlèvement central sur la face supérieure qui appartiennent à l'industrie de transition entre la paléolithique moyen et supérieur de la grotte de l'Amud (Israel). Le but de cette analyse est de mettre en évidence avec objectivité et de façon quantitative la dextérité manifestée lors du débitage. L'uniformité dans l'épaisseur de l'éclat et le parallélisme entre ses deux plans sont les facteurs considérés comme reflétant la précision du contrôle manuel.