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27 - Kebara Cave

from Part III: - Archaeology of Human Evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2017

By
L. Meignen ,
O. Bar-Yosef ,
A. Belfer-Cohen ,
J.D. Speth  and
B. Vandermeersch
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

The Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Kebara cave include numerous fireplaces for most of the Middle Palaeolithic sequence. These layers are followed by more geogenic sediments (end of Middle Palaeolithic, Ahmarian and Aurignacian) under relatively wetter conditions. Radiocarbon ages indicate the appearance of the Ahmarian lithic industries between 48.5-46.5 Ka cal BP, the earliest in the Levant. Lithic, archaeozoological, palaeobotanical and combustion feature densities data and spatial organization of activities, indicate a change through the sequence, from repetitive, intensive, long-term occupations of the cave by Mousterian populations with Levallois technology (units XI-VIII), to more ephemeral occupations by the end of the Middle Palaeolithic (units VI-V). The cave was then used for limited initial carcass processing of Gazelles and Persian fallow deer. During the Early Upper Palaeolithic (units IV to I), hunting economy remained similar, despite radical changes in lithic technology. A well preserved adult burial (Unit XII) provided detailed information on the series of gestures involved in the mortuary practice.
Type
Chapter
Information
Quaternary of the Levant
Environments, Climate Change, and Humans
 , pp. 241 - 250
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2017

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References

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