Abstract
Far'ah II is an open-air site in the north western Negev desert (Israel). Previous excavations in the 1970’s revealed a rich, in situ Middle Paleolithic (MP) assemblage composed of flint and limestone artifacts, animal bones and charcoal. Renewed excavation at the site were undertaken in 2017, to re-date it and provide a more accurate constrain to the sites’ age, as well as collect samples for paleoclimatic proxies. Our new Optically Stimulated Luminescence and 14C ages together with the stable oxygen isotope signature of the loess sediments, constrain the age of the upper archaeological horizon to <49 ka. This age agrees with the younger limit of 60–50 ka, obtained by Electron Spin Resonance ages, measured in the 1990’s. The heavy δ18O values in carbonates point to cooler climatic conditions than those that prevailed during the preceding short, warm episode between 58 and 49 ka. The fauna, pollen and charcoal collected during the excavation portray a savanna-like environment with a mix of Irano-Turanian and Saharo-Arabian elements and a minor Mediterranean component. The lithic assemblage exhibits large technological variability typical of the Late MP (LMP), amongst which are technological traits that are clearly present in the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) assemblages at the nearby, and roughly contemporaneous, site of Boker Tachtit. If population replacement was the trigger to the MP-UP transition, we would have expected to see a clear break in the cultural material at the onset of the Upper Paleolithic. The semi-arid north western Negev, as an interim region between the Mediterranean and Saharo-Arabian ecozones could have facilitated interaction between populations moving north or south due to fluctuating climatic conditions and changes in population pressures, possibly leading to the emergence of new technological traditions that are observed in the later UP.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 106304 |
Journal | Quaternary Science Reviews |
Volume | 237 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jun 2020 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Funding
Excavation permission at Far’ah II was granted to M.G-G by the Israel Antiquities Authority permit no. G-90/2017 and the Israel Parks Authority permit no 057–17. The 2017 excavation season was funded by The Leakey Foundation . The lithic and faunal assemblage analysis from the 1976–78 excavations is an ongoing research project funded by the Fritz-Thyssen Foundation granted to I. Gilead and M.G-G. The Radiocarbon research is supported by the Exilarch’s Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS). E.B and V.C research is supported by the Kimmel Centre of Archaeological Science, MPWCIAA and the George Schwartzman Fund for Archaeology. Elisabetta Boaretto is the incumbent of the Dangoor Professorial Chair of Archaeological Sciences. We would like to offer special thanks to: Ron Lavi for his help and valuable insights during excavation; Prof. I. Gilead for his ongoing support of the Far’ah II and Wadi Besor projects and for granting us permission to work at the site and on the assemblages from his 1976-78 excavation seasons; Gali Beiner and Ron Kehati for cleaning and curating the faunal remains; Petrus Chakane for processing the pollen samples at the University of the Free State with support from the National Research Foundation , South Africa (Grant no. 85903 to L.S); and the volunteers and students without whom this excavation could not have happened. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments contributed to improving the manuscript. Excavation permission at Far'ah II was granted to M.G-G by the Israel Antiquities Authority permit no. G-90/2017 and the Israel Parks Authority permit no 057?17. The 2017 excavation season was funded by The Leakey Foundation. The lithic and faunal assemblage analysis from the 1976?78 excavations is an ongoing research project funded by the Fritz-Thyssen Foundation granted to I. Gilead and M.G-G. The Radiocarbon research is supported by the Exilarch's Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS). E.B and V.C research is supported by the Kimmel Centre of Archaeological Science, MPWCIAA and the George Schwartzman Fund for Archaeology. Elisabetta Boaretto is the incumbent of the Dangoor Professorial Chair of Archaeological Sciences. We would like to offer special thanks to: Ron Lavi for his help and valuable insights during excavation; Prof. I. Gilead for his ongoing support of the Far'ah II and Wadi Besor projects and for granting us permission to work at the site and on the assemblages from his 1976-78 excavation seasons; Gali Beiner and Ron Kehati for cleaning and curating the faunal remains; Petrus Chakane for processing the pollen samples at the University of the Free State with support from the National Research Foundation, South Africa (Grant no. 85903 to L.S); and the volunteers and students without whom this excavation could not have happened. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments contributed to improving the manuscript.
Funders | Funder number |
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Israel Antiquities Authority | G-90/2017 |
Israel Parks Authority permit no 057? | |
Leakey Foundation |
Keywords
- Middle east
- Negev desert
- Paleoenvironment
- Pleistocene
- Prehistoric hunter-gatherers
- Stable isotopes