Middle Paleolithic Sequence Research Articles

Death at the water hole: Opportunistic hunting and scavenging events in the upper sequence of Middle Paleolithic Nesher Ramla, Israel

Distinguishing between selective and opportunistic hunting is a major challenge in Paleolithic archaeology, requiring the comparison of the human hunting record to the usually unknown natural prey abundance. Open-air hunting camps are ubiquitous in the Eurasian Middle Paleolithic (MP) record, alongside cave sites, and are often dominated by large-bodied species. In the Levant, MP faunal records differ between caves and open-air sites: Caves are dominated by mountain gazelle and fallow deer, while open-air sites are more aurochs-dominated. This discrepancy can be explained by transport patterns, but whether the abundance of aurochs in open-air sites is due to deliberate targeting or natural abundance in the landscape is unclear. The Nesher Ramla open-air site is a natural sinkhole in central Israel with an 8-m-deep MP sequence. Detailed zooarchaeological, dental wear, and isotope analyses of the upper sequence fauna found a highly diverse assemblage dominated by medium-sized ungulates in the uppermost phases (Units I and IIa). Results concerning ungulate dietary niches and isotopic signatures demonstrate that animals from different biomes and topographies congregated at the site. Evidence of human butchery is infrequent and fewer than carnivore modifications. Several articulated vertebral columns attest to in situ preservation. Our results demonstrate that the Nesher Ramla's uppermost sequence formed primarily under natural conditions, suggesting that it was a site of opportunistic hunting by humans and carnivores, probably targeting ungulates that came to the sinkhole to drink. Therefore, we consider this assemblage representative of the site's “natural” environment and use it as a benchmark for comparing assemblages and hunting strategies. Thus, we observe a clear difference between our case study and those recovered from the site's lower layers (Unit IIB and below) and other open-air sites. For the first time, we can show that the abundance of large bovines in MP open-air sites is not necessarily due to their abundance in the environment but to deliberate human planning and selective hunting.

Formation processes, fire use, and patterns of human occupation across the Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 5a-5b) of Gruta da Oliveira (Almonda karst system, Torres Novas, Portugal).

Gruta da Oliveira features a c. 13 m-thick infilling that includes a c. 6.5 m-thick archaeological deposit (the "Middle Palaeolithic sequence" complex), which Bayesian modelling of available dating results places in MIS 5a (layers 7-14) and MIS 5b (layers 15-25), c. 71,000-93,000 years ago. The accumulation primarily consists of sediment washed in from the slope through gravitational processes and surface dynamics. The coarse fraction derives from weathering of the cave's limestone bedrock. Tectonic activity and structural instability caused the erosional retreat of the scarp face, explaining the large, roof-collapsed rock masses found through the stratification. The changes in deposition and diagenesis observed across the archaeological sequence are minor and primarily controlled by local factors and the impact of humans and other biological agents. Pulses of stadial accumulation-reflected in the composition of the assemblages of hunted ungulates, mostly open-country and rocky terrain taxa (rhino, horse, ibex)-alternate with interstadial hiatuses-during which carbonate crusts and flowstone formed. Humans were active at the cave throughout, but occupation was intermittent, which allowed for limited usage by carnivores when people visited less frequently. During the accumulation of layers 15-25 (c. 85,000-93,000 years ago), the carnivore guild was dominated by wolf and lion, while brown bear and lynx predominate in layers 7-14 (c. 71,000-78,000 years ago). In the excavated areas, conditions for residential use were optimal during the accumulation of layers 20-22 (c. 90,000-92,000 years ago) and 14 (c. 76,000-78,000 years ago), which yielded dense, hearth-focused scatters of stone tools and burnt bones. The latter are ubiquitous, adding to the growing body of evidence that Middle Palaeolithic Neandertals used fire in regular, consistent manner. The patterns of site usage revealed at Gruta da Oliveira are no different from those observed 50,000 years later in comparable early Upper Palaeolithic and Solutrean cave sites of central Portugal.

Nikolaevo-Otradnoye II—A New Early and Middle Paleolithic Site in the Northeastern Azov Region

We describe materials from a new Paleolithic site, discovered in 2020 on the right bank of Mius estuary, near its confl uence with the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov, in the southern outskirts of the village of Nikolaevo-Otradnoye, which is in the Neklinovksky District of the Rostov Region. The clearing of a 10-meter-high river-bluff revealed a complex stratigraphy of subaqueous and subaerial Late and Middle Pleistocene rocks. Horizons with lithics and faunal remains were identifi ed. Cultural remains found in the coastal exposure and in the stratigraphic section belong to the Early and Middle Paleolithic. The early stage in the peopling of the Northeastern Azov and the Lower Don regions is documented by Early Paleolithic artifacts found in the subaqueous deposits of layers 5 and 6 (MIS 9–11, ~420– 270 ka BP). Heavil y waterworn patinated lithics include a core-shaped artifact, variou s types of side-scrapers, a scaled piece, fl akes, and chips. This complex is an informative addition to known complexes from the region, including contemporaneous ones. The most interesting is the Middle Paleolithic industry of layer 4 under the Kamenka (?) soil— layer 3, MIS 7. The toolkit consists of a diagonal side-scraper and a chip found in the section, as well as radial and Levallois cores, various side-scrapers, a par tly bifacial tool, spalls , and chips found in the denudation. Technological and typological criteria (primarily the Levallois technology) and the tentative date of non-waterworn patinated lithics make it possible to attribute them to the Early Middle Paleolithic of the southern Russian Plain. It is concluded that cultural remains of the Early Middle Paleolithic, dating to ~243–191 ka BP, have been found in the region for the fi rst time, fi lling the gap in the local Early Middle Paleolithic sequence. In adjacent regions, similar industries have been known since the late 1900s.

A step back to move forward: a geological re‐evaluation of the El Castillo Cave Middle Palaeolithic lithostratigraphic units (Cantabria, northern Iberia)

AbstractEl Castillo Cave is one of the most important sites for understanding the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic in Europe. Despite its importance, the absence of a widely used stratigraphic section with detailed lithostratigraphic descriptions and correlations between the different geological and archaeological interpretations has led to confusion in the correct identification of lithostratigraphic units in the lowermost, Middle Palaeolithic sequence. This study establishes a new lithostratigraphic framework for the site, which can be accurately correlated to previous geological and archaeological studies and generates a solid working basis for framing the Mousterian of El Castillo Cave in the Cantabrian region and southwestern Europe. The geological re‐evaluation of Unit XX (‘Mousterian Alpha’) has expanded its chronology, now ranging from 49 130–43 260 cal bp to 70 400 ± 9600 bp. Unit XXII (‘Mousterian Bet’) would consequently yield an age older than 70 400 ± 9600 bp and younger than the underlying speleothem (Unit XXIIIb), dated to 89 000 +11 000/‐10 000 bp.

A new chronological framework and site formation history for Cova del Gegant (Barcelona): Implications for Neanderthal and Anatomically Modern Human occupation of NE Iberian Peninsula

The chronological framework for Neanderthal occupation and demise across Europe continues to be debated. In particular, there is still uncertainty regarding the nature, timing and regional expressions of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition associated with the disappearance of Neanderthals and the broader expansion of modern human populations in Europe around 42–40 thousand years ago (ka). The geographical and chronological distribution of Neanderthal populations also remains difficult to evaluate owing to the practical challenges of directly dating human fossils at many sites, and the fact that a large proportion of Neanderthals sites lie close to, or well-beyond, the limits of radiocarbon dating. Cova del Gegant – one of the few sites in north-eastern Iberian Peninsula to yield Neanderthal fossil remains, associated Mousterian archaeological layers, and occupations related to the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic transition – is a key locality for informing these ongoing debates. Here we provide a comprehensive chronological framework for the Cova del Gegant site using multiple radiometric dating techniques (uranium-thorium (U–Th), radiocarbon and luminescence dating), sedimentological and micromorphological analyses, and Bayesian modelling. This integrated chronostratigraphic approach enables us to reliably reconstruct site formation processes and history, and undertake improved correlations with other sites regionally. The results allow us to sub-divide the Cova del Gegant sequence into three sections spanning ∼94 ka to ∼32 ka, namely: a Middle Palaeolithic sequence covering ∼94–59 ka, a Châtelperronian/Aurignacian section spanning ∼43–39 ka, and a Late Aurignacian/Gravettian section spanning ∼34–32 ka. The Neanderthal fossil remains accumulated in the cave between the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5/MIS 4 and the beginning of MIS 3, during two different events dated to ∼72–67 ka and ∼60–52 ka. The chronological framework for Cova del Gegant is in accordance with that reported for other Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites in north-eastern Iberian Peninsula, and reveals a record of successive human occupation coinciding with a period of progressive global cooling and lowering sea levels (end of MIS 5 through to MIS 2). Sedimentological evidence points to the emergence of a coastal platform in front of the cave and indicates that local palaeoenvironmental conditions likely benefited human displacements along the littoral margin, and favoured repeated occupation of the cave during the Late Pleistocene.

The use of the lateral tranchet blow technique at Nesher Ramla (Israel): A new cultural marker in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic?

The open-air Middle Paleolithic site at Nesher Ramla, Israel, dated to the end of Marine Isotope Stage 6 and Marine Isotope Stage 5, is characterized by extensive use of the lateral tranchet blow technique. This technique consists of the removal of an elongated thin spall along the retouched edge of the blank. In Nesher Ramla, this technique is used for producing a specific tool kit component: unifacially retouched tools with a lateral tranchet blow (LTB). The tools with LTB were systematically produced throughout the 8-m-thick Middle Paleolithic sequence of Nesher Ramla representing the major typological category in some of the layers. Together with tools with LTB, the assemblages contain large numbers of LTB spalls. Here we present a detailed techno-morphological analysis of the tools and spalls from Nesher Ramla Unit III, one of the richest archaeological layers of the site. Our results suggest that the goal of the LTB technique at Nesher Ramla was to manufacture a tool with an edge that is partially retouched and partially sharp, i.e., shaped by LTB. The LTB technique employs a long knapping routine, including a series of compulsory and optional steps, implying non-opportunistic behavior. Although on-site use of the LTB technique is attested, the fact that these tools were also often introduced to the site as finished objects further emphasizes their importance and suggests that most of them were not produced on-site in response to an immediate need for sharp edges.This tool type represents a new, previously unreported component in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic toolkit. A comparison with other archaeological units along the 8-m-thick stratigraphy of Nesher Ramla suggests that the LTB technique was one of the major techniques for manufacturing tools at that site and that the tools with LTB represent a cultural marker for Nesher Ramla hominins and possibly a new cultural marker in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic. According to a comparison of tools shaped by LTB from other geographic and temporal contexts, most notably, the central European Keilmesser, the Nesher Ramla tools with LTB were likely designed and used by right-handed hominins in a longitudinal cutting motion.

Crossing taxonomic and isotopic approaches in charcoal analyses to reveal past climates. New perspectives in Paleobotany from the Paleolithic Neanderthal dwelling-site of La Combette (Vaucluse, France)

Robust methodology in charcoal analyses has strong potential in the reconstruction of past environments. However, charcoal assemblages from Pleistocene contexts, particularly those that formed under varying climatic conditions during glaciation and mostly composed of the genus Pinus, can neither express changes in forest density, nor can they reveal climatic conditions. Here, we explore the potential of a combined approach using taxonomic and δ13C isotopic study of archeological charcoal from middle Paleolithic sequence of La Combette. In order to investigate past climate and/or environmental conditions, we focus on charcoal of Pinus spp. from infra stratigraphic units at the site that showed a high potential for isotope analysis. Those isotopic results are consistent with other paleoenvironnemental data (anthracology, micromorphology, palynology, etc.) that are manifested at different time scales. In some cases, isotopic data provide, more accurate information than that derived from taxonomic identifications. This is due to the quicker physiological response of the plants compared to the long-term changes in forest biodiversity under climatic pressure. Subsequently, this first application of cross taxonomic and isotopic approach offers promising and original results and must be applied to different context (low to high taphonomic process). Lastly, the degree of asynchrony or synchrony between taxonomic and isotopic findings allows us to rethink Neanderthal fuel management and mobility patterns and to explain the correlation between Neanderthal occupations of the rock shelter in view of climatic conditions.

Single-grain OSL dating of the Middle Palaeolithic site of Galería de las Estatuas, Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain)

This study presents single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronologies for the archaeological site of Galeria de las Estatuas – the first systematically excavated Middle Palaeolithic site within the karst system of the Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological complex, northern Spain. The single-grain OSL ages are compared with paired single-grain thermally transferred OSL (TT-OSL) dating results for a selection of samples in order to better assess quartz signal bleaching characteristics of endokarstic deposits preserved at Atapuerca. In total, seven luminescence dating samples were collected from four lithostratigraphic units exposed in two excavation pits (GE-I and GE-II). The single-grain OSL equivalent dose (De) distributions are characterised by generally low overdispersion (20–30%), suggesting appropriate bleaching at deposition. The resultant single-grain OSL ages reveal that the sediment sequence and archaeological remains excavated in pit GE-I accumulated 80–112 ka, while the upper layers of excavation area GE-II were deposited 70–79 ka. The replicate single-grain TT-OSL ages are in agreement with the OSL chronologies at 2σ for three of the four samples investigated; although in all cases the TT-OSL ages were systematically older than their single-grain counterparts. Apparent TT-OSL residual doses (i.e., TT-OSL De values in excess of their corresponding OSL De values) of 9–65 Gy were observed for all samples. These excess TT-OSL De values are generally low in comparison to the natural dose ranges of TT-OSL dating applications undertaken elsewhere in the Atapuerca karst system. The single-grain TT-OSL and OSL dating comparisons build on daylight bleaching experiments and modern analogue studies performed on other Atapuerca exogeneous infill deposits and suggest reasonable potential for TT-OSL signal resetting down to relatively low levels for at least some sediments preserved in the Atapuerca karstic cavities. The quartz single-grain OSL chronologies obtained in this study place the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Galeria de las Estatuas within marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 and the beginning of MIS 4, and provide firm evidence for human occupation of the Sierra de Atapuerca during a previously unreported time period.

New chronological constraints for Middle Palaeolithic (MIS 6/5-3) cave sequences in Eastern Transylvania, Romania

The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition is one of the crucial periods of change in the prehistory of Europe due to the full emergence, continent-wide, of modern human lithic technologies, and detrimental of Neanderthal survival. Knowledge about the transition is growing, however, the evidence for cultural and technological developments for the Middle Palaeolithic in the Carpathian – Lower Danube Basin is still rather sparse. Here we discuss latest findings arising from a chronological investigation of Middle Palaeolithic assemblages within the Varghis karst, Eastern Transylvania, Romania. Combining our first chronological results with information from previous excavations, we can distinguish two main stages of habitation (albeit Middle Palaeolithic lithics and faunal remains appear scattered throughout the investigated profile) within the Abri 122 rock shelter. In order to augment the typological cultural considerations, we applied direct radiocarbon dating on bones and charcoal from within the occupation layers. Radiocarbon dating of bones suggests that the Middle Palaeolithic sequence is older than the upper dating limit of the method, whereas direct luminescence ages on the lowermost productive horizon and immediately above it indicate surprisingly old ages of ca. 106–141 ka (OSL – optically stimulated) or 99–174 ka (IRSL – infrared stimulated). Multiple-protocol dating of charcoal found within the two habitation layers produced ages >38 14C ka BP, also suggesting that the lowermost lithic-rich horizon pertains to the Middle Palaeolithic industries. Overall, the recovered lithics, currently forming one of the most significant collections for Romania, are fully consistent with two main habitation phases connected to Middle Palaeolithic cultural affinities. The occurrence of a volcanic ash layer within Ursului Cave and originating from the Ciomadul volcanic complex (Carpathians) is first reported here. Recently dated to ∼ ≥ 43 (−50) ka, it might represent an important marker horizon, providing that it is identified within other Palaeolithic cave assemblages.

Landscapes, depositional environments and human occupation at Middle Paleolithic open-air sites in the southern Levant, with new insights from Nesher Ramla, Israel

Middle Paleolithic human occupation in the Levant (250–50 ka ago) has been recorded in roofed (cave and rockshelter) and open-air sites. Research at these different types of sites yielded different perspectives on the Middle Paleolithic human behavior and evolution. Until recently, open-air Middle Paleolithic sites in the Levant were found in three major sedimentary environments: fluvial, lake-margin and spring. Here we describe a unique depositional environment and formation processes at the recently discovered open-air site of Nesher Ramla (Israel) and discuss their contribution to understanding site formation processes in open-air sites in the Levant. The site is 8-m-thick Middle Paleolithic sequence (OSL dated to 170–80 ka) that is located in a karst sinkhole formed by gravitational deformation and sagging into underground voids. The sedimentary sequence was shaped by gravitational collapse, cyclic colluviation of soil and gravel into the depression, waterlogging, in situ pedogenesis and human occupation. Original bedding and combustion features are well-preserved in the Lower archaeological sequence, a rare occurrence in comparison to other open-air archaeological sites. This phenomenon coincides with episodes of fast sedimentation/burial, which also allowed better preservation of microscopic remains such as ash. The Upper archaeological sequence does not exhibit bedding or preservation of ash, despite presence of heat-affected lithic artifacts, which makes it similar to other open-air sites in the Levant. We suggest that rate of burial is the major factor that caused the difference between the Upper and Lower sequences. The differences in the burial rate may be connected to environmental and vegetation changes at the end of MIS 6. We also identified an interplay between sediment in-wash and density of human activity remains, i.e. during episodes of low natural sediment input the density of artifacts is higher relative to episodes with high rate of sediment in-wash. The detailed analysis of natural and anthropogenic processes at Nesher Ramla suggests a much wider spectrum of processes than previously reported for southern Levantine Paleolithic sites. Nesher Ramla shares certain depositional and post-depositional characteristics with both cave and open-air sites and provides a better insight into processes which control both types of sites.

The Middle Paleolithic sequence of Wadi Mushkuna Rockshelter and its implications for hominin settlement dynamics in western Syria

Abstract The Tubingen-Damaskus Ausgrabungs-und Survey Projekt (TDASP) conducted Paleolithic field work in the Damascus Province of western Syria between 1999 and 2010. The TDASP team excavated four stratified sites dating to the Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic. Here we report on Wadi Mushkuna Rockshelter, a well stratified Middle Paleolithic sequence excavated by TDASP. Specifically, we focus on diachronic changes of technological characteristics and settlement behavior and test if they co-vary throughout the sequence of 20 archaeological horizons (AH) spanning about 4 m of deposits. Our results on technological characteristics indicate continuity over large parts of the sequence with a gradual change observed towards the top. To explore hominin settlement behavior we analyzed artifact densities and ratios between tools and flakes for each of the layers. In contrast, the data on settlement behavior point to clear differences between the strata above and below layer AH VI. From these results we conclude that the sequence at Wadi Mushkuna provides no evidence for co-variation of technological change and settlement behavior.

Formation processes and stratigraphic integrity of the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic sequence at Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Southeastern Prepyrenees of Lleida, Iberian Peninsula)

Sediments from Cova Gran de Santa Linya (Southeastern Prepyrenees of Lleida, Iberia) are investigated by geoarchaeological means.Micromorphological, textural, quartz grain morphoscopy and geochemical analyses are coupled with stratigraphic and sedimentary macroscopic data to provide new insights into the formation processes and the integrity of the occupation layers and embedded sterile deposit documented at the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic boundary.Direct indicators of the anthropogenic and natural dynamics involved in the deposition and alteration of the sediments investigated are provided.Results reveal the presence of in situ combustion structures as a major sedimentary indicator of human activity and occupation surfaces at the site. The overall good preservation of the combustion residues indicates that occupation layers have been preserved in their original context of deposition. Traits of surface exposure in parallel to progressive lessening of evidence related to human activity at the top of the Middle Palaeolithic sequence suggest discontinuity in the occupation of the site and a possible abandonment of the rock-shelter at the end of this period.Formation processes of the sterile deposit documented between the Mousterian and the Early Upper Palaeolithic levels involved the accumulation of debris from local sediments and soils as well as from the structure of the rock-shelter.Soil-forming dynamics related to palaeoenvironmental moisture fluctuations have also been recorded throughout the sequence investigated and indicate periods of surface stability during the formation of the sterile deposit.Environmental dynamics active during the formation of the sterile partially disturbed the top of the Mousterian layer, however, our data indicate that such dynamics did not substantially affect the overall integrity of the archaeological record.Our results highlight the crucial contribution of geoarchaeology and microstratigraphy to the characterisation and assessment of the anthropogenic and natural dynamics involved in the accumulation and taphonomy of Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic sequences.

The recycling of flint throughout the Lower and Middle Paleolithic sequence of Tabun Cave, Israel

Tabun Cave provides an opportunity to examine transformations in the methods and intensity at which hominins recycled flint items along a sequence of ca. 500 ky from the Lower Paleolithic to the Middle Paleolithic periods. The studied sequence is composed of results from Jelinek's excavations and Ronen's excavations which sampled different parts of the stratigraphic section of Tabun Cave, together covering 16 m depth of superimposed archaeological layers. The recycling of flint is examined using three aspects: (1) the presence of patinated items, (2) the phenomenon of ‘handaxes with a preferential flake scar’ along with other aspects indicating the recycling of handaxes as cores, and (3) the presence of items which are both cores-on-flakes and tools, indicating a complex life-history. The changes in their frequencies and characteristics along the sequence are presented through a study of 20 assemblages spanning from the Acheulean, Lower Paleolithic to the early Middle Paleolithic.

Tephra correlations and climatic events between the MIS6/5 transition and the beginning of MIS3 in Theopetra Cave, central Greece

Three cryptotephra layers associated with important periods of climatic change were identified in the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Theopetra Cave, Greece. The lower cryptotephra layer, THP-TII5, is correlated with the P-11 Pantellerian eruption dated to ∼128–131 ka. This cryptotephra postdates a thick sequence of combustion layers that show a complex vegetation succession quite similar to that of the last deglaciation succession in the cave. Two other cryptotephras, THP-TII10 and THP-TII12, are correlated with the Nisyros Upper Pumice and the Pantellerian Y6/Green Tuff, dated to >50 ka and 45.7 ka, respectively. This sequence confirms the position of the Nisyros Upper tephra, below the Pantellerian Green Tuff, in the volcanic event stratigraphy of the Mediterranean. Moreover, these two upper cryptotephras bracket an extended combustion layer with interstadial vegetation characteristics that may be coincident with the complex Greenland Interstadial 13–14. On the basis of this new chronology it can be deduced that the intensity of occupation and presence or absence of humans in the cave were closely related to climatic changes. In addition, a remarkable similarity in the pattern of occupational intensity during the last two deglaciations can be suggested.

New radiocarbon data from Micoquian layers of the Kůlna Cave (Czech Republic)

The Kůlna Cave is a significant site due to the stratigraphic sequence documenting the development of Palaeolithic in the Central European territory. Despite large-scale interdisciplinary research, the chronological classification of the individual Middle Palaeolithic cultural horizons is unsatisfactory. Within a new grant project, 43 samples were taken for dating with a preference for bones with anthropic impact and a documented exact position of each sample. To a certain extent this enabled control of possible contamination, and at the same time diminished the negative impact of carnivores linked with the deposition of bones in the cave. Radiocarbon data were obtained for the upper layers of the Middle Palaeolithic sequence that contains Micoquian artefacts, corroborating the former chronological position of layer 7a in spite of a large quantity of ante quem data. Layer 6a, which is of key significance for the solution of issues relating to the Middle/Upper Palaeolithic transition, falls before the Hengelo Interstadial, and therefore it is older than the known EUP industries in Moravia.

Interpreting Radiocarbon Dates from the Paleolithic Layers of Theopetra Cave in Thessaly, Greece

Theopetra Cave is a unique prehistoric site for Greece, as the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods are present here, bridging the Pleistocene with the Holocene. During the more than 20 yr of excavation campaigns, charcoal samples from hearths suitable for 14C dating were collected from all anthropogenic layers, including the Paleolithic ones. Most of the samples were initially dated using the ABA chemical pretreatment protocol in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos, Greece, and the Radiocarbon Dating and Cosmogenic Isotopes Laboratory of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. The 14C results, which were not always consistent versus depth, showed that the earliest limit of human presence is ∼50,000 yr BP, thus reaching the age limits of the 14C dating method. However, 10 TL-dated burnt flint specimens unearthed from the lower part of the Middle Paleolithic sequence of the cave gave ages ranging between ∼110 and 135 kyr ago. These results are in disagreement with the 14C dates, as they support a much later date for these layers. In order to clarify the situation further, charcoal samples originating from hearths were conventionally dated in the Laboratory of Archaeometry of NCSR Demokritos using the ABA pretreatment. Additionally, hand-picked charcoal fragments also underwent 14C dating by AMS in the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit using the acid-base wet oxidation (ABOX-SC) pretreatment protocol. The 14C dates from the cave's Paleolithic layers obtained by both pretreatment protocols suggest a probable charcoal diagenesis affecting the 14C results of these very old samples. However, the dates obtained with ABOX-SC pretreatment are considered more reliable and in the younger stratigraphic part produced consistent results with the TL dating.

Thermoluminescence dates for the Middle Palaeolithic site of Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (France)

Thermoluminescence dating of heated flint artefacts from the Middle Palaeolithic sequence of Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (France) places an assemblage of Quina type Mousterian into MIS 4, while the overlying assemblage of Denticulate Mousterian which is followed by two layers with Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition are all assigned to MIS 3. TL dating is used to verify the mixed nature of deposits from which diagnostic Middle as well as Upper Palaeolithic tools were recovered. The TL ages are significantly different for samples from this layer and broadly agree with the archaeological attributions. While the study is generally limited by the low number of heated samples available, a correlation with a generalized chronostratigraphic sequence is possible by including proxy data from the faunal remains associated with the lithic assemblages in question. The Quina Mousterian in southwestern France, therefore, can be placed by chronometric dating methods in MIS 4 to MIS 3.

Radiocarbon dates for the late Middle Palaeolithic at Pech de l'Azé IV, France

This paper reports a series of radiocarbon dates on bone samples coming from the Mousterian of Acheulian Tradition (MTA) Layer 3 at the top of the Pech de l'Azé IV (Pech IV, France) Middle Palaeolithic sequence. All of these samples showed evidence of human impact, and they were prepared using current pre-treatment techniques to remove or identify contamination. The results indicate that the MTA at Pech IV started prior to the current limit of radiocarbon calibration (circa 50 ka BP) and ended by 45 ka cal. BP. These dates are supported by additional TL and ESR dates from the sequence, confirm previously suggested correlations between Pech I and IV, and generally fit within the known age range for the MTA. The oldest dates reported here may also lend support to still older TL dates for the MTA that taken together suggest that the MTA extended from late MIS 4 or early OIS 3 through to the end of the Middle Palaeolithic in southwest France.

Late and final mousterian setting in the Fossellone Cave (Latium, Italy): Patterns of settlement, micro-environmental factors and evidence of coloured material in a transitional context

The Fossellone Cave (San Felice Circeo - Central Italy) is one of the prehistoric sites that constitute the extraordinary group of Mount Circeo caves in the Southern Latium. The archaeological, geostratigraphical and ecological (paleoenvironmental) features of this settlement make it a natural centre of scientific interest. The study of the later part of the Middle Paleolithic sequence (layers F27–F23 of the stratigraphical deposit in the central slope), which started in 1989, has been an opportunity for analysis of the lithic assemblages belonging to late and final facies of the Mousterian complex. The lithic industries of F27–F23 layers indicate the transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic and a change in occupancy from Homo neanderthalensis to Homo sapiens sapiens. The reconstruction of the environmental context and the systematic analysis of raw materials used for industry has been also carried out. The study of patina on artifacts indicates the effects of water circulation and abrasive action of wind in the cave. The evidence of a coloured powder (from yellow to ochre) on tools surfaces in squares β and γ of the digging grid of all layers studied suggests the choice of a specific place of the cave where this material was stored from the inhabitants of the cave. The mineral comes from an outcrop far from the Fossellone Cave, in the Mount Circeo area. The spatial distribution of the mineral coloured remains and the frequence of its occurrence in the archeological deposit of the Fossellone Cave suggests its intentional use by the Neanderthalian group inhabiting the area.

Étude préliminaire des industries archaïques de faciès Oldowayen du site de Hummal (El Kowm, Syrie centrale)

The spring site of Hummal is located in Central Syria, near the village of El Kowm between the Euphrates basin and the desert steppe stretching from Palmyra to Deir-ez-Zor. In 1966 the well was noted in a survey as Bir Onusi and a short preliminary study was carried out at the beginning of the 1980s. Since 1997, the Institute for Prehistory and Archaeological Science of the University of Basel has undertaken a complete interdisciplinary research program of this major site under the direction of J.M Le Tensorer, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and associated with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria under the direction of S. Muhesen. The site of Hummal is a prominent mound at an artesian spring built out of the sediments, which piled up during the whole Quaternary. Tectonic faults in the bed rock enabled the underlying water in a karstic system to flow out into a dolina, which trapped lacustrine, limnic and aeolian sediments since the Oldest Pleistocene. The impressive stratigraphy – 20 m high – comprises 23 geological units preserving a great number of archaeological levels. It covers an extremely long period of time ranging from the Oldest Palaeolithic (Oldowan) to Upper Palaeolithic (Aurignacian) over more than a million years. This impressive Old and Middle Palaeolithic sequence comprises several layers of Oldowan-like assemblage (23-16), an Acheuleo-Tayacian complex (14-13), five layers of Yabrudian (12-8) at least four levels of Hummalian (7, 6c, 6b, 6a) and a thick sediment complex with 8 Mousterian layers, each of them liable to be subdivided into several sublayers. The lithic industry in the lowest levels of the Hummal sequence, associated with abundant remains of large mammals, can be characterized by non-modified, quite fresh flakes, with, once in a while, traces of use but never bearing intentional retouches. Theses flakes are found with pebble-tools: choppers, chopping-tools, polyhedrons, bolas and core-like artifacts. This assemblage is typical in a broad sense of archaic Palaeolithic whose debitage corresponds to mode 1. From a techno-typological point of view, this industry tallies quite well with the so-called Oldowan stage. It shows remarkable similarities with the oldest assemblages at Ubeidiya but, so far, with no occurrence of bifacial knapping. If the layers 17 and 18 of Hummal relate to this period dating back to 1.6 to 1.2 million years, these levels would be the oldest ones ever found in central Syria. However, as we have no absolute dating at our disposal so far, we will remain careful in assigning a chronological time span for these layers. For this area, from a stratigraphic point of view, the Oldowan levels of Hummal occur before the Acheulean and certainly before the Acheulean sequence of El Meirah (region of El Kowm) which is itself related to the period before Matuyama-Brunhes paleomagnetic reverse. Dating of the lowest sequence of Hummal is underway. If we take into account stratigraphic and techno-typological observations, we assume that the Oldowan-like levels of the site should be older than one million years at least. The sequence of Hummal is one of the largest in the Near-East. Therefore, it can be regarded as a key-site for world prehistory.