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One important aspect affecting variability in core reduction technology is the degree of expertise of knappers. In the present paper, we show that, at the Middle Palaeolithic open-air site of Nesher Ramla, the degree of expertise of ancient knappers played a major role in shaping the composition of the lithic assemblage. Using robust markers of knapping skill, such as the frequency and reiteration of decision mistakes in the knapping process, allowed us to establish that a clear relationship exists between the degree of structuring of core technologies and the degree of expertise of the knapper at Nesher Ramla. Simple core technologies (e.g. pebble and multiple surface cores) can be linked to the work of novices, while more structured technologies (e.g. Levallois) are linked to the work of more experienced individuals. In addition, we apply for the first time a 3D-based procedure for identifying the causes that possibly lead to knapping accidents, specifically potential errors in the evaluation of the reduction surface exterior platform angle and/or its profile. Tying simple core technologies with the work of unexpert knappers allowed us to explore otherwise elusive social-cultural aspects of past hunter-gatherer societies such as age structuring. Specifically, we suggest that during the most intense phases of occupation in Nesher Ramla, children and/or young adults were present at the site alongside adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Levantine Early Upper Paleolithic (ca. 45-30 ka) has been a focus of research because of its unique position as a conduit of human, flora, and fauna species between Africa and Eurasia. Studies have mainly focused on the Early Ahmarian and Levantine Aurignacian, two entities, the former endemic and the latter foreign, which are considered to have coinhabited the region during that period. However, other cultural entities, such as the Atlitian in the Mediterranean region and the Arkov-Divshon in the arid regions of the southern Levant received less attention, and accordingly, suffer from broad definitions and chronological insecurity. These cultures hold potential insights regarding nuanced adaptations, reciprocal influences, and diachronic assimilation processes. The recently discovered site of Nahal Rahaf 2 Rockshelter in the Judean Desert provides integral information on one of these entities-the Arkov-Divshon. Two excavation seasons revealed a sequence of archaeological layers, with lithic assemblages in which laterally carinated items were prominent. Alongside rich faunal assemblages, other components of the material culture include perforated marine shells and bone tools, marking the first association of these elements with Arkov-Divshon and implying some degree of contact with the Mediterranean regions of the Levant. Good preservation of organic materials allowed radiocarbon dating of the human occupation at the site to ca. 37.5-34.0 ka cal BP, indicating chronological overlap with the Levantine Aurignacian, and possibly also with the latest phases of the Early Ahmarian. Thus, challenging the validity of the widely accepted 'Two Tradition' Model of the Levantine Upper Paleolithic. Lithic analyses suggest the use of one main reduction sequence and the primary production of bladelets from carinated items. Faunal remains suggest targeted hunting of ibex and gazelle. Botanical remains and sedimentary analyses suggest roughly similar environmental conditions, with a possible woodier environment in the surroundings of the site., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There is no conflict of intrest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The end of the Lower Paleolithic in the Levant is marked by the emergence of a new techno-complex known as Acheulo-Yabrudian (350–250 ka BP). Stratigraphically placed at the transition between the Acheulian and Mousterian techno-complexes, the Acheulo-Yabrudian is crucial for the understanding of biological, cultural and behavioral evolution from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant. Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, is one of the rare Levantine sites in which both the Acheulo-Yabrudian and Early Mousterian are present, allowing direct comparison between the two industries. Here we present the analysis of an Acheulo-Yabrudian lithic assemblage from the site and discuss its place within Levantine technological and cultural frameworks. Three technological systems were identified in Misliya Acheulo-Yabrudian assemblage: 1) Bifacial shaping. 2) Production of thin flakes from hierarchical-surfaces cores – The hierarchical-surfaces cores exhibit some of the criteria of the Levallois concept but lack the major characteristics of the Levallois, namely the preparation of the flaking surface and predetermination. The thin-flake production phenomenon has not been previously discussed in relation to the Acheulo-Yabrudian. The large quantities of simple thin flakes at Misliya Cave indicate their relative importance in hominin subsistence strategies. 3) Production of large and thick, often cortical, flakes from unprepared cores – The flakes were used for manufacturing handaxes or large scrapers by Quina or semi-Quina retouch. The two former systems are well-known from the Upper Acheulian assemblages in the Levant, suggesting regional continuity, while the production of Quina scrapers seems to be a major technological innovation of the Acheulo-Yabrudian. The three Acheulo-Yabrudian technological systems described above were not identified in the Early Middle Paleolithic assemblages of Misliya Cave. Moreover, Levallois and laminar technologies, and production of retouched points that mark the emergence of the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant, are absent from the Acheulo-Yabrudian of Misliya Cave, further supporting the view that a marked technological break in the region occurred ca. 250 ka ago with the onset of the Middle Paleolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new results of a lithic study of two distinct lithic assemblages from the Qesem Cave “Shelf” area in the northwestern part of the cave – one Yabrudian and one Amudian, both older than 300 ka. The two assemblages exhibit clear stratigraphic relations, the Yabrudian being deposited on top of the Amudian. A detailed techno-typological study of the two assemblages (n = ∼30,000 artifacts) is presented as well as a comparative analysis between them. The results indicate that the Yabrudian and Amudian of the “Shelf” area are part of the same technological system sharing similar techno-typological features. Differences are mainly at the relative frequency level and in the density of the various elements of the assemblages. These results suggest that the differences between the assemblages might be related to differences in human activities in the different strata of the “Shelf” area using different tool-kits and not to differences in technology or any other cultural conception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on Kaizer Hill, a quarry site located in the vicinity of the city of Modiin where remains of a single prehistoric cultural entity assigned to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A were discovered. A systematic survey revealed that large-scale quarrying activities have left damage markings on the bedrock of the Hilltop and its slopes. We aim to present here our findings from the Hilltop, which are concerned with the human impact on rock surfaces and the lithic artifacts retrieved during the survey. It is evident that the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A inhabitants of the area changed their landscape forever, “stripping” the caliche surface and penetrating it in search of flint bedded in the bedrock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qesem Cave is a Middle Pleistocene site in Israel assigned to the Acheulo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex (AYCC). The cave reveals a suite of innovative behaviors including intensive flint recycling activities. In this paper, we present a new classification system, developed for the study of lithic recycling at Qesem Cave. Through the careful technological analysis of hundreds of recycled items we have identified several recycling modes at Qesem Cave, including a specific production trajectory of blades and knives recycled from “old” flakes. We argue that the study of lithic recycling provides a significant glance at human decision-making processes and the technological repertoire of the late Lower Paleolithic, which are particularly pronounced when practiced within a lithic economy that enjoyed abundance rather than scarcity of stone. Our observations provide a more coherent view of AYCC lithic recycling which might be applied to the study of lithic recycling in other Paleolithic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tabun Cave provides an opportunity to examine transformations in the methods and intensity at which hominins recycled flint items along a sequence of ca. 500 ky from the Lower Paleolithic to the Middle Paleolithic periods. The studied sequence is composed of results from Jelinek's excavations and Ronen's excavations which sampled different parts of the stratigraphic section of Tabun Cave, together covering 16 m depth of superimposed archaeological layers. The recycling of flint is examined using three aspects: (1) the presence of patinated items, (2) the phenomenon of ‘handaxes with a preferential flake scar’ along with other aspects indicating the recycling of handaxes as cores, and (3) the presence of items which are both cores-on-flakes and tools, indicating a complex life-history. The changes in their frequencies and characteristics along the sequence are presented through a study of 20 assemblages spanning from the Acheulean, Lower Paleolithic to the early Middle Paleolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Bronze (EB) Ih Temple of Megiddo Level J-4, with its complex architecture, marks an important threshold in the devehpment of complex societies that characterized the Early Bronze Age of the Levant. The temple was abandoned at the end of the EB lb, leaving behind few traces of the activities performed within– the primary remains being deposits of animal-bone sacrificial waste fo und in different localities within the structure and its vicinity. Chipped stone tools and production waste were fo und together with these and other deposits nearby. Considering the paucity of other finds among the temple's assemblages, the chipped stone items constitute important evidence for activities within its vicinity, and perhaps its role in relation to the community within which it functioned. The lithic assemblage includes a wide range of tool types and waste indicating that knapping and a variety of activities occurred nearby the temple. The range of activities represented is characteristic of earlier Neolithic and Chalcolithic, as well as Bronze Age, cult buildings in the Mediterranean world. Overall, the architectural and lithic evidence demonstrates that while the Great Temple of J -4 represents major innovations in the organization of cult that will become characteristic of the Bronze Age, there were also certain profane activities associated with the temple, as in other early sacred spaces. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the potential that lithic assemblages have for contributing to the understanding of the dynamic roles of cult buildings in general from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age and how the mundane and sacred commingle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Middle Paleolithic (EMP) lithic assemblage of Misliya Cave, dated to 240–150 ka, is associated with one of the earliest occurrences of Homo sapiens outside Africa. Our research provides a detailed technological study of the lithic assemblage of stratigraphic unit 5–6c of the site, using the chaîne opératoire approach, to characterize the technological behavior of the early H. sapiens. Our results indicate that both Levallois and laminar volumetric concepts were used. The Levallois reduction strategy involved preparing subtriangular cores with steep distal edges that allowed producing a series of triangular/subtriangular Levallois blanks using a unidirectional convergent method. Laminar débitage constitutes a semirotating/rotating method. The results of our study and comparisons with other Levantine sites indicate that the EMP represents a distinct entity within the Levantine Middle Pleistocene record that can be distinguished by the earliest occurrence of a full-fledged Levallois technology in the region, laminar technology, and a distinct tool kit dominated by elongated retouched points. The level of core management involved in producing convergent Levallois products and in preparing laminar cores points to a major conceptual change from the preceding Acheulian and Acheulo-Yabrudian. This suggests a break in knapping strategies between the Lower and the Middle Paleolithic. The finding of a H. sapiens maxilla at Misliya Cave in association with the EMP industry supports the hypothesis that the introduction of the Levallois technology in the Near East was associated with an early dispersal of H. sapiens from Africa. A comparison between the Levantine EMP and other regional records indicates that different Levallois methods were routinely used by hominins from the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic and the Middle Stone Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]