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Kadowaki S, Wakano JY, Tamura T, Watanabe A, Hirose M, Suga E, Tsukada K, Tarawneh O, Massadeh S. Delayed increase in stone tool cutting-edge productivity at the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in southern Jordan. Nat Commun 2024; 15:610. [PMID: 38326315 PMCID: PMC10850154 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44798-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Although the lithic cutting-edge productivity has long been recognized as a quantifiable aspect of prehistoric human technological evolution, there remains uncertainty how the productivity changed during the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition. Here we present the cutting-edge productivity of eight lithic assemblages in the eastern Mediterranean region that represent a chrono-cultural sequence including the Late Middle Paleolithic, Initial Upper Paleolithic, the Early Upper Paleolithic, and the Epipaleolithic. The results show that a major increase in the cutting-edge productivity does not coincide with the conventional Middle-Upper Paleolithic boundary characterized by the increase in blades in the Initial Upper Paleolithic, but it occurs later in association with the development of bladelet technology in the Early Upper Paleolithic. Given increasing discussions on the complexity of Middle-Upper Paleolithic cultural changes, it may be fruitful to have a long-term perspective and employ consistent criteria for diachronic comparisons to make objective assessment of how cultural changes proceeded across conventional chrono-cultural boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seiji Kadowaki
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
| | - Joe Yuichiro Wakano
- School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences, Meiji University, Nakano 4-21-1, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, 164-8525, Japan
| | - Toru Tamura
- Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Central 7, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8567, Japan
| | - Ayami Watanabe
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Masato Hirose
- Laboratory of Archaeology, Kiso Regional Union, Nagano, 399-6101, Japan
| | - Eiki Suga
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Kazuhiro Tsukada
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan
| | - Oday Tarawneh
- Department of Antiquities, Third Circle, Jabal Amman, Amman, Jordan
| | - Sate Massadeh
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Third Circle, Jabal Amman, Amman, Jordan
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2
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No direct evidence for the presence of Nubian Levallois technology and its association with Neanderthals at Shukbah Cave. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1204. [PMID: 35075192 PMCID: PMC8786851 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05072-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
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3
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Multiple hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia over the past 400,000 years. Nature 2021; 597:376-380. [PMID: 34471286 PMCID: PMC8443443 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03863-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Pleistocene hominin dispersals out of, and back into, Africa necessarily involved traversing the diverse and often challenging environments of Southwest Asia1-4. Archaeological and palaeontological records from the Levantine woodland zone document major biological and cultural shifts, such as alternating occupations by Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. However, Late Quaternary cultural, biological and environmental records from the vast arid zone that constitutes most of Southwest Asia remain scarce, limiting regional-scale insights into changes in hominin demography and behaviour1,2,5. Here we report a series of dated palaeolake sequences, associated with stone tool assemblages and vertebrate fossils, from the Khall Amayshan 4 and Jubbah basins in the Nefud Desert. These findings, including the oldest dated hominin occupations in Arabia, reveal at least five hominin expansions into the Arabian interior, coinciding with brief 'green' windows of reduced aridity approximately 400, 300, 200, 130-75 and 55 thousand years ago. Each occupation phase is characterized by a distinct form of material culture, indicating colonization by diverse hominin groups, and a lack of long-term Southwest Asian population continuity. Within a general pattern of African and Eurasian hominin groups being separated by Pleistocene Saharo-Arabian aridity, our findings reveal the tempo and character of climatically modulated windows for dispersal and admixture.
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4
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Marder O, Hershkovitz I, Gilead I, Berna F, Barzilai O. Introduction to special issue: In searcrh for modern humans and the Early Upper Paleolithic at Manot Cave, Western Galilee, Israel. J Hum Evol 2021; 160:103053. [PMID: 34456056 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ofer Marder
- Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel.
| | - Israel Hershkovitz
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, POB 39040, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Isaac Gilead
- Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel
| | - Francesco Berna
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Omry Barzilai
- Archaeological Research Department, Israel Antiquities Authority, POB 586, Jerusalem 91004, Israel
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5
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Directional changes in Levallois core technologies between Eastern Africa, Arabia, and the Levant during MIS 5. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11465. [PMID: 34075081 PMCID: PMC8169925 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90744-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, ~ 130 to 71 thousand years ago, was a key period for the geographic expansion of Homo sapiens, including engagement with new landscapes within Africa and dispersal into Asia. Occupation of the Levant by Homo sapiens in MIS 5 is well established, while recent research has documented complementary evidence in Arabia. Here, we undertake the first detailed comparison of Levallois core technology from eastern Africa, Arabia, and the Levant during MIS 5, including multiple sites associated with Homo sapiens fossils. We employ quantitative comparisons of individual artefacts that provides a detailed appraisal of Levallois reduction activity in MIS 5, thereby enabling assessment of intra- and inter-assemblage variability for the first time. Our results demonstrate a pattern of geographically structured variability embedded within a shared focus on centripetal Levallois reduction schemes and overlapping core morphologies. We reveal directional changes in core shaping and flake production from eastern Africa to Arabia and the Levant that are independent of differences in geographic or environmental parameters. These results are consistent with a common cultural inheritance between these regions, potentially stemming from a shared late Middle Pleistocene source in eastern Africa.
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6
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Groman-Yaroslavski I, Zaidner Y, Weinstein-Evron M. Complexity and sophistication of Early Middle Paleolithic flint tools revealed through use-wear analysis of tools from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. J Hum Evol 2021; 154:102955. [PMID: 33831631 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The Early Middle Paleolithic (EMP) is a less-studied phase of the Levantine Middle Paleolithic, attributable to the small number of sites discovered. Drawing on the dense archaeological accumulations at Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel, the present study seeks to trace EMP daily activities and behavioral patterns through the prism of use-wear analysis. The emergence of the laminar and Levallois technologies that form the EMP toolkit is investigated to reveal other dimensions of tool novelties. Through microscopic analyses, integrated with experimentation, the most outstanding aspect revealed in this study is the extensive evidence of hafting, which included the use of binding together with various techniques for tool design. A unique treatment was identified, never reported before, entailing the abrasion of cortical surfaces and protruding dorsal ridges. Other aspects include the clear preference for pointed tools as a leading morphological trend and the use of retouch as a mean to create durable working edges and facilitate grip arrangements. The analysis demonstrates the venue of use-wear to trace a wide variety of practices, including consumption-related (processing hunted game and edible plants) and craft-related (hide processing, woodworking, and perhaps stone working) activities that otherwise hardly leave a trace in the archaeological record. By exploring these features, the research provides important insights into early hominin behavior and way of life during the EMP, emphasizing the novelties brought by the earliest Homo sapiens out of Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yossi Zaidner
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
| | - Mina Weinstein-Evron
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 3498838 Haifa, Israel
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7
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Yeshurun R, Malkinson D, Crater Gershtein KM, Zaidner Y, Weinstein-Evron M. Site occupation dynamics of early modern humans at Misliya Cave (Mount Carmel, Israel): Evidence from the spatial taphonomy of faunal remains. J Hum Evol 2020; 143:102797. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2020] [Accepted: 03/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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8
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Prévost M, Zaidner Y. New insights into early MIS 5 lithic technological behavior in the Levant: Nesher Ramla, Israel as a case study. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231109. [PMID: 32243464 PMCID: PMC7122790 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Prévost
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yossi Zaidner
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel
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9
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Climate variability in early expansions of Homo sapiens in light of the new record of micromammals in Misliya Cave, Israel. J Hum Evol 2020; 139:102741. [PMID: 32062432 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2019] [Revised: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we provide the first taphonomic and taxonomic descriptions of the micromammals from Misliya Cave, where recently a Homo sapiens hemimaxilla has been reported. This finding significantly extends the time frame for the out-of-Africa presence of anatomically modern humans. It also provides an opportunity to reassess variation in early modern human population responses to climate change in the Levantine sequence. Information on species ranking and diversity estimations (Shannon functions) is obtained from quantitative data across 31 Levantine assemblages and investigated in a broad comparative frame using multivariate analyses. Recent models of human-climate interactions in the late Early-Middle Paleolithic of the southern Levant have drawn heavily on on-site associations of human fossils with remains of micromammals. However, there has been little, if any, attempt to examine the long-term picture of how paleocommunities of micromammals responded qualitatively and quantitatively to climatic oscillations of the region by altering their compositional complexity. Consequently, our understanding is vastly limited in regard to the paleoecosystem functions that linked past precipitation shifts to changes in primary producers and consumers or as to the background climatic conditions that allowed for the development of highly nonanalog ancient communities in the region. Although previous studies argued for a correspondence between alternations in H. sapiens and Neanderthal occupations of the Levant and faunal shifts in key biostratigraphic indicator taxa (such as Euro-Siberian Ellobius versus Saharo-Arabian Mastomys and Arvicanthis), our data indicate the likelihood that early H. sapiens populations (Misliya and Qafzeh hominins) persisted through high amplitudes of paleoecological and climatic oscillations. It is unlikely, given these results, that climate functioned as a significant filter of early modern human persistence and genetic interactions with Neanderthals in the Levant.
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10
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Meignen L, Bar-Yosef O. Acheulo-Yabrudian and Early Middle Paleolithic at Hayonim Cave (Western Galilee, Israel): Continuity or break? J Hum Evol 2020; 139:102733. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 11/18/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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11
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Ekshtain R, Malinsky-Buller A, Greenbaum N, Mitki N, Stahlschmidt MC, Shahack-Gross R, Nir N, Porat N, Bar-Yosef Mayer DE, Yeshurun R, Been E, Rak Y, Agha N, Brailovsky L, Krakovsky M, Spivak P, Ullman M, Vered A, Barzilai O, Hovers E. Persistent Neanderthal occupation of the open-air site of 'Ein Qashish, Israel. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0215668. [PMID: 31242180 PMCID: PMC6594589 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the last two decades, much of the recent efforts dedicated to the Levantine Middle Paleolithic has concentrated on the role of open-air sites in the settlement system in the region. Here focus on the site of ‘Ein Qashish as a cases study. Located in present-day northern Israel, the area of this site is estimated to have been >1300 m2, of which ca. 670 were excavated. The site is located at the confluence of the Qishon stream with a small tributary running off the eastern flanks of the Mt. Carmel. At the area of this confluence, water channels and alluvial deposits created a dynamic depositional environment. Four Archaeological Units were identified in a 4.5-m thick stratigraphic sequence were dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to between—71 and 54 ka, and probably shorter time span–~70-~60 ka. Here we present the diverse material culture remains from the site (lithics, including refitted sequences; modified limestone pieces; molluscs; faunal remains) against their changing paleogeographic backdrop. Skeletal evidence suggests that these remains were associated with Neanderthals. The large-scale repeated accumulation of late Middle Paleolithic remains in the same place on the landscape provides a unique opportunity to address questions of occupation duration and intensity in open-air sites. We find that each occupation was of ephemeral nature, yet presents a range of activities, suggesting that the locale has been used as a generalized residential site rather than specialized task-specific ones. This role of ‘Ein Qashish did not change through time, suggesting that during the late Middle Paleolithic settlement system in this part of the southern Levant were stable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravid Ekshtain
- The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- * E-mail:
| | - Ariel Malinsky-Buller
- MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Germany
| | - Noam Greenbaum
- Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Netta Mitki
- The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Ruth Shahack-Gross
- Department of Maritime Civilizations, Recanati Institute of Maritime Studies, Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Nadav Nir
- The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Naomi Porat
- Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Reuven Yeshurun
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ella Been
- Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel
| | - Yoel Rak
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Nuha Agha
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | | | - Masha Krakovsky
- The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Micka Ullman
- The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ariel Vered
- Department of Bible, Archaeology, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | | | - Erella Hovers
- The Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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12
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Ekshtain R, Tryon CA. Lithic raw material acquisition and use by early Homo sapiens at Skhul, Israel. J Hum Evol 2019; 127:149-170. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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13
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Malinsky-Buller A, Hovers E. One size does not fit all: Group size and the late middle Pleistocene prehistoric archive. J Hum Evol 2019; 127:118-132. [PMID: 30777353 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The role of demography is often suggested to be a key factor in both biological and cultural evolution. Recent research has shown that the linkage between population size and cultural evolution is not straightforward and emerges from the interplay of many demographic, economic, social and ecological variables. Formal modelling has yielded interesting insights into the complex relationship between population structure, intergroup connectedness, and magnitude and extent of population extinctions. Such studies have highlighted the importance of effective (as opposed to census) population size in transmission processes. At the same time, it remained unclear how such insights can be applied to material culture phenomena in the prehistoric record, especially for deeper prehistory. In this paper we approach the issue of population sizes during the time of the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition through the proxy of regional trajectories of lithic technological change, identified in the archaeological records from Africa, the Levant, Southwestern and Northwestern Europe. Our discussion of the results takes into consideration the constraints inherent to the archaeological record of deep time - e.g., preservation bias, time-averaging and the incomplete nature of the archaeological record - and of extrapolation from discrete archaeological case studies to an evolutionary time scale. We suggest that technological trajectories of change over this transitional period reflect the robustness of transmission networks. Our results show differences in the pattern and rate of cultural transmission in these regions, from which we infer that information networks, and their underlying effective population sizes, also differed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Malinsky-Buller
- MONREPOS, Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, 56567, Neuwied, Germany.
| | - Erella Hovers
- The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel; International Affiliate, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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14
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Been E, Hovers E, Ekshtain R, Malinski-Buller A, Agha N, Barash A, Mayer DEBY, Benazzi S, Hublin JJ, Levin L, Greenbaum N, Mitki N, Oxilia G, Porat N, Roskin J, Soudack M, Yeshurun R, Shahack-Gross R, Nir N, Stahlschmidt MC, Rak Y, Barzilai O. The first Neanderthal remains from an open-air Middle Palaeolithic site in the Levant. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2958. [PMID: 28592838 PMCID: PMC5462778 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-03025-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of caves and open landscape sites. The fossil record shows that two types of hominins occupied the region during this period—Neandertals and Homo sapiens. Until recently, diagnostic fossil remains were found only at cave sites. Because the two populations in this region left similar material cultural remains, it was impossible to attribute any open-air site to either species. In this study, we present newly discovered fossil remains from intact archaeological layers of the open-air site ‘Ein Qashish, in northern Israel. The hominin remains represent three individuals: EQH1, a nondiagnostic skull fragment; EQH2, an upper right third molar (RM3); and EQH3, lower limb bones of a young Neandertal male. EQH2 and EQH3 constitute the first diagnostic anatomical remains of Neandertals at an open-air site in the Levant. The optically stimulated luminescence ages suggest that Neandertals repeatedly visited ‘Ein Qashish between 70 and 60 ka. The discovery of Neandertals at open-air sites during the late MP reinforces the view that Neandertals were a resilient population in the Levant shortly before Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens populated the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ella Been
- Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Professions, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, 55107, Israel. .,Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel.
| | - Erella Hovers
- Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel.,Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 874101, Tempe, AZ, 85287-4101, Israel
| | - Ravid Ekshtain
- Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel
| | - Ariel Malinski-Buller
- MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, D - 56567, Neuwied, Germany
| | - Nuha Agha
- Israel Antiquities Authority, P.O. Box 586, Jerusalem, 91004, Israel
| | - Alon Barash
- Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar Ilan University, Zefat, 13115, Israel
| | - Daniella E Bar-Yosef Mayer
- Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel.,Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lihi Levin
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Noam Greenbaum
- Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Netta Mitki
- Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel
| | - Gregorio Oxilia
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo, 12, 50122, Firenze, Italy
| | - Naomi Porat
- Luminescence Dating Lab, Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, 95501, Israel
| | - Joel Roskin
- Department of Maritime Civilizations, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel.,School of Sciences, Achva Academic College, Shikmim Mobile Post 79800, Shikmim, Israel
| | - Michalle Soudack
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621, Israel.,Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Reuven Yeshurun
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Ruth Shahack-Gross
- Department of Maritime Civilizations, University of Haifa, Haifa, 3498838, Israel
| | - Nadav Nir
- Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel
| | | | - Yoel Rak
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Omry Barzilai
- Israel Antiquities Authority, P.O. Box 586, Jerusalem, 91004, Israel
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15
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Stutz AJ, Shea JJ, Rech JA, Pigati JS, Wilson J, Belmaker M, Albert RM, Arpin T, Cabanes D, Clark JL, Hartman G, Hourani F, White CE, Nilsson Stutz L. Early Upper Paleolithic chronology in the Levant: new ABOx-SC accelerator mass spectrometry results from the Mughr el-Hamamah Site, Jordan. J Hum Evol 2015; 85:157-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2014] [Revised: 02/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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16
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Zaidner Y, Frumkin A, Porat N, Tsatskin A, Yeshurun R, Weissbrod L. A series of Mousterian occupations in a new type of site: The Nesher Ramla karst depression, Israel. J Hum Evol 2014; 66:1-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2013] [Revised: 05/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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17
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Wurz S. Technological Trends in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa between MIS 7 and MIS 3. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1086/673283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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18
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Clark JL, Kandel AW. The Evolutionary Implications of Variation in Human Hunting Strategies and Diet Breadth during the Middle Stone Age of Southern Africa. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1086/673386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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de la Torre I, Martínez-Moreno J, Mora R. Change and Stasis in the Iberian Middle Paleolithic. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1086/673861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Kuhn SL, Hovers E. Alternative Pathways to Complexity: Evolutionary Trajectories in the Middle Paleolithic and Middle Stone Age. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1086/673501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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