TY - JOUR
T1 - Dating the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition in the Levant
T2 - A view from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel
AU - Valladas, Hélène
AU - Mercier, Norbert
AU - Hershkovitz, Israel
AU - Zaidner, Yossi
AU - Yeshurun, Reuven
AU - Vialettes, Laurence
AU - Joron, Jean Louis
AU - Reyss, Jean Louis
AU - Weinstein-Evron, Mina
N1 - Funding Information: The authors are grateful to CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique – France) and CEA (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives – France) for supporting the analytical work. The Misliya Cave project is supported by the Dan David Foundation , the Irene Levi-Sala Care Archaeological Foundation , the Leakey Foundation and the Faculty of Humanities – the University of Haifa . Israel Antiquities Authority permit numbers for the Misliya Cave excavations: G-16/2001, G-39/2002, G-14/2003, G-29/2004, G-12/2005, G-12/2006, G-4/2007, G-54/2008, G-52/2009, G-50/2010. Figures were drawn by Anat Regev-Gisis. The Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 1104/12 ). LSCE reference: 5003.
PY - 2013/11
Y1 - 2013/11
N2 - The transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant is a crucial event in human evolution, since it may involve the arrival of a new human population. In the current study, we present thermoluminescence (TL) dates obtained from 32 burnt flints retrieved from the late Lower Paleolithic (Acheulo-Yabrudian) and Early Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) layers of Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Early Middle Paleolithic industries rich in Levallois and laminar products were assigned mean ages ranging from ~250 to ~160ka (thousands of years ago), suggesting a production of this industry during MIS 7 and the early part of MIS 6. The mean ages obtained for the samples associated with the Acheulo-Yabrudian (strengthened by an isochron analysis) indicate a production of this cultural complex ~250ka ago, at the end of MIS 8. According to the Misliya TL dates, the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the site took place at the limit MIS 8/7 or during the early part of MIS 7. The dates, together with the pronounced differences in lithic technology strongly suggest the arrival of a new population during this period.
AB - The transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant is a crucial event in human evolution, since it may involve the arrival of a new human population. In the current study, we present thermoluminescence (TL) dates obtained from 32 burnt flints retrieved from the late Lower Paleolithic (Acheulo-Yabrudian) and Early Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) layers of Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Early Middle Paleolithic industries rich in Levallois and laminar products were assigned mean ages ranging from ~250 to ~160ka (thousands of years ago), suggesting a production of this industry during MIS 7 and the early part of MIS 6. The mean ages obtained for the samples associated with the Acheulo-Yabrudian (strengthened by an isochron analysis) indicate a production of this cultural complex ~250ka ago, at the end of MIS 8. According to the Misliya TL dates, the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the site took place at the limit MIS 8/7 or during the early part of MIS 7. The dates, together with the pronounced differences in lithic technology strongly suggest the arrival of a new population during this period.
KW - Early Middle Paleolithic
KW - Human migration
KW - Middle East
KW - Thermoluminescence (TL) dating
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885373123&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.07.005
DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.07.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 24034982
SN - 0047-2484
VL - 65
SP - 585
EP - 593
JO - Journal of Human Evolution
JF - Journal of Human Evolution
IS - 5
ER -