Abstract
The Gesher Benot Ya'aqov archaeological site in the northern Dead Sea Rift of Israel contains Acheulian artifacts and middle Pleistocene fossils. Initial results of a new interdisciplinary study have shown that fluviolacustrine sediments of the Benot Ya'aqov Formation, which contains several archaeological occupations, were deposited in an embayment of the Hula Basin. They were subsequently deformed by tectonic activity associated with the Dead Sea Rift. Biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and K-Ar dating serve to constrain the age of the Benot Ya'aqov Formation to between 240,000 and 730,000 yr B.P. Archaeological excavation of three areas and two trenches at the new study area have produced abundant basalt, flint, and limestone artifacts, mammalian and avian fossils, and considerable plant material. The lithic materials provide an excellent opportunity to study large assemblages of in situ Acheulian artifacts, a rare phenomenon in the middle Pleistocene Levantine record. In addition, the organic materials will facilitate paleoenvironmental reconstructions from an ecological-floral perspective.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 117-128 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Quaternary Research |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 1992 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study was supported by the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation, Care Archaeological Foundation, National Geographic Society. The Hebrew University, the Basic Research Foundation administered by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and an anonymous donor. We thank J. C. Vogel for his help and H. P. Schwartz and Marcy Wiseman for their sug-gestions. P. Claeys and R. Balzer assisted with the paleomagnetic measurements. Figures 1,3, and 4 were drawn by G. Hivroni and Z. Vitelzon and Figures 6 and 7 by Y. Moshcovich.
Funding
This study was supported by the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation, Care Archaeological Foundation, National Geographic Society. The Hebrew University, the Basic Research Foundation administered by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and an anonymous donor. We thank J. C. Vogel for his help and H. P. Schwartz and Marcy Wiseman for their sug-gestions. P. Claeys and R. Balzer assisted with the paleomagnetic measurements. Figures 1,3, and 4 were drawn by G. Hivroni and Z. Vitelzon and Figures 6 and 7 by Y. Moshcovich.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| CARE Archaeological Foundation | |
| Leakey Foundation | |
| National Geographic Society |