The cultural transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic, also referred to as the Upper Palaeolithic revolution, is demonstrated first by the technotypological shift of manufacturing stone tools and a little later by the appearance of marine shells as body decorations. The technical and typological transition is best documented in Boker Tachtit in the Negev and Ksar Akil in the Lebanese mountains. Level 1 at Boker Tachtit contains an assemblage that demonstrates mixed characteristics with dominance of tool types such as end scrapers, burins, and new point types. On the one hand, core reduction is dominated by blade production, and on the other hand some of the products bear the forms of Levallois points. These differ from the typical Mousterian Levallois points as they are shaped by bidirectional removals and not by convergent removals like the earlier forms. Similar observations concerning the transitional nature of the core reduction technique were made at Ksar ’Akil. There is little doubt that the earliest layers should be dated to around 47/45 000-43 000 radiocarbon years ago. The particular industries from this phase were grouped under the term ‘transitional industries’ or Emiran, although the preferred term today is Initial Upper Palaeolithic (lUP).
Among the retouched pieces, the Emireh point, known for its basal bifacial shaping, is common only in the central and southern Levant. From the central and northern Levant, blades and flakes with transverse removal at the tip, known as ‘chamfered pieces’ or chanfriens in French, occur in Ksar ’Akil, Abri Antelias, Abu Halka, and Ucagizli Caves. In all cases, they mark the IUP that is also recorded in the el-Kowm Basin (northeast Syria).
The next cultural phase in the Levant is characterized by the blade-dominated assemblages of the Early Ahmarian industry that dates from 43/42 000-34/ 30 000 years BP. In the early assemblages, the striking platforms of the blades bear the same facets similar to Late Mousterian core preparation, while the lipped and punctiform platforms became dominant later. End scrapers and burins are among the common tool types. Numerous open-air sites in the semi-arid areas of Sinai, the Negev, and southern Jordan were excavated and radiocarbon-dated. It seems that from c. 38 000 to 24 000 years BP the steppic zone received a higher amount of annual precipitation than it does today, and became the ‘homeland’ of many groups of Ahmarian foragers. Most sites were located next to water sources. The people gathered seeds, leaves, and fruits, and hunted ibex, gazelle, and aurochs as shown by the uncovered bones.
The Early Ahmarian is poorly known from the northern and central parts of the Levant due to insufficient research and the mobility pattern of those foragers, which did not always incorporate cave-sites or rockshelters. The most impressive archaeological sequence was uncovered in Ksar ’Akil rockshelter. The stratified assemblages and faunal collections make this site unique. It could have served as a location for meetings during many generations. From this site and a few others, we know that the Upper Palaeolithic people hunted the available game in their respective areas: ibex, fallow deer, and roe deer in the Lebanese mountains; gazelle and fallow deer in Mount Carmel; and gazelle, ibex, and aurochs in the Jordan valley. Small game included hare, and trapping for birds is evidenced.
The Upper Palaeolithic sequence in these parts of the Levant was interrupted by the appearance of the Aurignacian that was originally labeled as Levantine Aurignacian although the published assemblages are very similar to the European ones. One of the tool types, an essential Aurignacian component in every assemblage, is the el-Wad point that clearly resembles the Krems point of Central Europe and the Font Yves point in France. Other striking similarities between the European Aurignacian and the Levantine contexts include the body decorations such as beads from deer teeth, as well as the proliferation of bone and antler tools, among which there are samples of split base points. These cultural elements support the identification of the Levantine assemblages with the Auri-gnacian cultural complex. A limestone slab with an incised ‘horse’ from Hayonim cave adds to the artistic aspects of this culture.
The Levantine Aurignacian, dated to c. 34 00029 000 years BP, is geographically limited to the coastal and inland ranges of the central and northern Levant and was not found in the arid zone (although certain assemblages were previously misidentified as Aurignacian). Further dating may reduce this time range. Similar assemblages were reported from the Zagros Mountains but not further east or north (such as in the Caucasus). The Aurignacian penetration probably originated in the Balkans and reached selected parts of the Near East through Anatolia.
The Late Ahmarian (from 30 000 to 20 000 years ago), and the ensuing Epipalaeolithic industries, are characterized by the production of blades and numerous bladelets. The emergence of microlithic forms or small and narrow bladelets precedes what is often called the Epipalaeolithic period in the Levant.
One of the best examples for a camp of hunter-gatherers was exposed in Ohalo I, a waterlogged site discovered when Lake Kinneret regressed. Excavations uncovered a series of brush huts, a wealth of carbonized plant remains including cereals, a large slab stone, on the surface of which starches were found, evidence for grinding seeds. Among the huts, a burial was discovered. The tool assemblage includes microliths, bone and wooden tools, fishing weights, and a wealth of debitage products. Animal bones testify to hunting and ephemeral fishing. The vegetal diet, as suspected for earlier periods, provided most of the calories of those bands of foragers (see Asia, West: Paleolithic Cultures).
World History
