The Early Middle Palaeolithic lithic industry of Dederiyeh Cave,Northwest Syria

The Lower-to-Middle Paleolithic transition of the Levant has attracted much attention, particularly because the early Middle Paleolithic is the period when the earliest anatomically modern humans fossils known to date in Eurasia have been attested in that part of Asia . The associated lithic assemblages are a significant source of information for investigating the cultural landscape of this important transition. This paper presents a new dataset from the 2003–2009 excavations at Dederiyeh Cave, northwest of Syria. A techno-typological analysis of the lithic industry reveals a common practice of blade blank production, which corroborates the other known early Middle Paleolithic assemblages of the Levant. However, its strong emphasis on Levallois core reduction and sidescraper manufacturing is noteworthy. The significance of this finding deserves further research from multiple viewpoints, including the functional and spatio-temporal variability of hominin activities in this period. It will be also important to interpret the techno-typological diagnostics of the early Middle Paleolithic assemblage of Dederiyeh considering its geographic location at the northern end of the Levant, distant from the previously known sites in the central and southern Levant.     

Origins of prehistoric flints: The neocortex memory revealed by scanning electron microscopy

Flint has been widely used during prehistoric times and the question of determining the origin of specific pieces is recurrent in archaeological discussions. We have run a scanning electron microscope examination of the surfaces of both natural flints from geological deposits and flaked artefacts excavated from prehistoric sites in the Massif Central (France). These samples exhibit mineralogical textures resulting from genomorphic and phenomorphic processes, dispersed alteration in the form of erosion as well as the dissolution and migration of more or less mobile elements. Rocks used to manufacture artefacts at Sainte-Anne 1 (Haute-Loire, France) and Payre (Ardèche, France) show various kinds of alteration related to the range of phases of transport and deposition to which they were subjected, beginning with their first exposure in a geological context and following through to the post-depositional phase, (i.e., following abandonment as artefacts in an archaeological site). Later phenomena do not however completely obliterate stigma imprinted prior to their prehistoric collection, because the main late-phase change that occurs on flat surfaces prior to their collection is preserved in the hollows of remnant natural surfaces on archaeological tools. With the scanning electron microscope, five distinct morphologies representative of different environments have been characterised by establishing associations between the different forms and by plotting their regional distribution.     

A Levalloisian jasper cache from the Arts Bogdyn Nuruu massif in the Gobi Altai Mountains,southern Mongolia

A Pleistocene deposit of jasper cores was discovered in the Gobi Altai Mountains, within the Arts Bogdyn Nuruu massif in southern Mongolia. It was situated on a mountain ridge above the Khutul Usny valley at a height of ca. 1500 m a.s.l., away from human settlement (N44°16′09.3″, E102°53′41.5″). Examination of traces of the artefacts’ use proved that at least some of them display evidence of working. Technological analysis of the artefacts revealed that the find should be related to the Levallois-Mousterian population of the central Asian Middle Palaeolithic. The cache from Arts Bogdyn Nuruu is the first discovery of this type recorded within the Gobi Desert. It is a potential source of information contributing to the discussion of the specific nature of raw material exploitation, the dynamics of settlement and hunting strategies in the Altai region.     

The open-air Paleolithic site of Mirak,northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert (Semnan,Iran): Evidence of repeated human occupations during the late Pleistocene

The northern edge of the Iranian Central Desert has provided valuable evidence of terminal Pleistocene human settlements. Mirak constitutes one of the largest open-air lithic scatters in the region, consisting of eight natural mounds. Fieldwork was initiated in 2015 by the joint Iranian-French program at Mirak 8. Preliminary results have demonstrated at least three successive phases of human occupation during the MIS3: an upper layer with clear Upper Paleolithic affinities and a maximum age of 28 ky, a lower layer with clear Middle Paleolithic affinities that dates around 47 ky, and an intermediate layer with mixed characteristics that can be seen as an intermediate Paleolithic phase which dates between 28 ± 2 and 38 ± 2 ky. At the time when Upper Paleolithic cultures originated in the Zagros Mountains, cultures with clear Middle Paleolithic affinities persisted nearby along the northern edge of the Iranian Central Plateau.     

La macrofaune du Pléistocène supérieur d’El Harhoura 2 (Témara, Maroc) : données préliminaires

The El Harhoura 2 cave is situated in the commune of El Harhoura in the Temara region (Morocco). The entrance faces west, towards the ocean, around 200 m away from the current shoreline and about 16 m above sea level. The stratigraphy has currently 11 levels numbered from top to bottom. Level 1 is attributed to the early Neolithic. The archaeological material from level 2 places it within the Upper Palaeolithic (Iberomaurusian). Levels 3 to 11 are assigned to the Middle Palaeolithic (Aterian). Since 1977, a surface of 37 m² has been excavated, yielding particularly abundant remains of a large mammal fauna study in this paper.     

Prospections sur les plateaux désertiques du désert libyque égyptien (Abydos, Moyenne Égypte). Quelques exemples de technologies lithiques

Recent work in the high desert west of the historic site of Abydos has revealed a number of technologies that date from the Middle Paleolithic through later periods. The earliest of these include both Nubian and classical Levallois technologies, which are abundant and demonstrate virtually all stages of production. Presumed later technologies include both large blade production technologies as well as more expedient reduction methods. Although results are still preliminary, the lack of significant taphonomic disturbance, the abundance of refits (including many discrete flintknapping episodes), and the high visibility of the archaeological remains make this an ideal area to reconstruct the techniques of lithic reduction in use.     

Contribution à la reconnaissance d’une microproduction au Paléolithique moyen : les industries de la grotte des Ramandils (Port-La Nouvelle, Aude, France)

The Ramandils Cave is a key archeological site situated on the Mediterranean coast. The importance of this site derives not only from its geographical and chronological position, but also from the density of the artefacts left by Neandertal populations who settled there on several occasions as early as isotopic stage 5. This study concerns 29,997 lithic objects from five stratigraphical units. The industries, mainly in flint, are all small sized (< 30 mm). The Ramandils Cave lithic assemblage fits within the variability of Middle Paleolithic sites, however differing by a characteristic size reduction in knapping economy, in matrix and resulting products production. How might we interpret this small size characteristic: as a purely cultural factor or as a result of circumstances? Results show that this micro-production does appear to be predetermined. The characteristics of the lithic assemblage from Ramandils Cave give them a special status in the debate regarding the definition of micro-Mousterian and in the identification of technocomplexes geared towards micro-production.     

L’industrie microlithique du Paléolithique inférieur de Bizat Ruhama, Israël

Bizat Ruhama is a lower Palaeolithic site in the southern coastal plain of Israel. The site was recently dated to ca. 1ma. In terms of lithic industry, Bizat Ruhama is a unique phenomenon amongst the Lower Palaeolithic sites in the Levant. The lithic assemblage of the site is characterized by the production of small (ca. 25mm) tools, flakes and cores. An in-depth technotypological study was made in attempt to reconstruct the production mode of these artifacts. The results presented here reveal a well-developed cognitive production process, which includes selection of special-sized raw material, production of desired blanks and their subsequent shaping into tools. The implications of this study contribute significantly to our understanding of the phenomenon of lower Palaeolithic microlithic industries in Eurasia.     

Palynological evidence of anthropogenic pressure: effect on pollination dynamics in the Evian area since the middle Neolithic: the pollen record of La Beunaz (971 m a.s.l., northern Alps, France)

This paper presents a pollen diagram from La Beunaz peat-bog (southeast of Evian, Haute-Savoie, France), which provides the first detailed record of human impact on vegetation of the southern bank of Lake Geneva since the Middle Neolithic. The radiocarbon-dated pollen profile is correlated with micro-charcoal record and archaeological data. The results suggest that several phases of deforestations since 4615+75/-70 years BP occurred, in relation to human activities (agriculture, pastoralism). Tombs and vestiges of lacustrine villages indicate that the region was intensively and recurrently occupied by man during at that time.     

The onset of Late Paleolithic in North China: An integrative review of the Shuidonggou site complex,China

Shuidonggou (SDG) attracts scholars who are interested in Late Paleolithic of China, even east Asia, from generation to generation since 1923 when rich lithic artifacts and animal fossils were discovered at locality 1. During the past almost one century, many excavations have been conducted by different institutes at different localities of SDG. Numerous data has been obtained and tens of thousands of artifacts were yielded. The understanding of nature and context of SDG is increasing gradually with the repeated excavation and in-depth research. The present paper reviewed the formal excavations and achievements in SDG. Especially, a series investigations and excavations since 2002 have been emphasized. After this long-term fieldwork, the geographic range of SDG has extended far beyond the range suggested by previous findings. The presence of discrete cultural horizons at various SDG localities indicate repeated use and occupation of the area by early human groups between 50–10 kya with a gap in LGM. During the repeated occupations, diverse and complex behaviors including gathering various plants, heat treatment preparation for knapping, making ornaments, engraving were identified using different kinds of methods and techniques by scholars. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction based on pollen analysis suggests that late Pleistocene/early Holocene human utilization of the SDG area occurred primarily around 32–24 kya and 13–11 kya when climatic conditions were more favorable. Years of excavations and researches make progress with nature of SDG. However, the issues about Initial Upper Paleolithic assemblages in SDG, origin/disappearance of Levallois-like technology in China are still open to debate. Further excavation and research at SDG1 will clarify these issues.