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24 - Tabun Cave in the Carmel Culture Sphere

from Part III: - Archaeology of Human Evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2017

By
Avraham Ronen
Edited by
Yehouda Enzel  and
Ofer Bar-Yosef
Yehouda Enzel
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ofer Bar-Yosef
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
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Summary

Tabun Cave sediments in the west slope of Mt. Carmel are 25 m thick. The lower 10 m are wind-born quartz sand. A 2-m thick wind-born silt followed. Last, some 10-m thick alluvial clay penetrated the cave. The oldest occupation (800 and 630 ka), a pre-Acheulean flake industry, was sparse. An Upper Acheulean assemblage followed (600-450 ka) characterized by 30% handaxes. A Yabrudian assemblage (415-250 ka) is a flake industry of few handaxes (5%) and 50-70% racloirs, made on thick, side-struck flakes and shaped by invasive Quina retouch. The Amudian assemblage is a short intra-Yabrudian episode. The Levallois-Mousterian (250-100 ka) is dominated by the Levallois knapping method. Neanderthal remains (100/120 ka) and modern human remains (130/150 ka) testify to their co-existence. Attempts were made to view the Acheulean, Yabrudian and Amudian as functional facies of a single culture. While tool types are function-dependent, blank production technique is not. Techno-typological norms play a role in the cultural heritage. A Yabrudian racloir and an Amudian blade are tools and culture icons. The Tabun assemblages represent distinct cultures created by distinct social groups.
Type
Chapter
Information
Quaternary of the Levant
Environments, Climate Change, and Humans
 , pp. 215 - 224
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2017

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