Dating the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition in the Levant: A view from Misliya Cave,Mount Carmel,Israel

The transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant is a crucial event in human evolution, since it may involve the arrival of a new human population. In the current study, we present thermoluminescence (TL) dates obtained from 32 burnt flints retrieved from the late Lower Paleolithic (Acheulo-Yabrudian) and Early Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) layers of Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Early Middle Paleolithic industries rich in Levallois and laminar products were assigned mean ages ranging from ∼250 to ∼160 ka (thousands of years ago), suggesting a production of this industry during MIS 7 and the early part of MIS 6. The mean ages obtained for the samples associated with the Acheulo-Yabrudian (strengthened by an isochron analysis) indicate a production of this cultural complex ∼250 ka ago, at the end of MIS 8. According to the Misliya TL dates, the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the site took place at the limit MIS 8/7 or during the early part of MIS 7. The dates, together with the pronounced differences in lithic technology strongly suggest the arrival of a new population during this period.     

Gc (vitamin D binding protein) subtype polymorphism and variants distribution among Saharan,Middle East,and African populations

This article presents the results obtained by electrophoretic analysis of the group specific component polymorphism in more than 1,250 serum samples from populations living in the Sahara, the Middle East, and equatorial Africa. In addition to the alleles Gc^IF and Gc^IS, five variants, including one previously unknown, were found. The distribution of the alleles herein described permits speculation on exchanges and relation among the groups considered. The lowest frequencies of the gene Gc² correspond to regions where sunlight is stronger. There is also a north-south gradient in the Gc^IF gene frequency. This seems to parallel the gradient seen in skin pigmentation.     

Faunal remains from Porc-Epic: paleoecological and zooarchaeological investigations from a Middle Stone Age site in southeastern Ethiopia

The Middle Stone Age (MSA) sediments of Porc-Epic Cave near Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, have produced a large assemblage of archaeofaunal remains dating to the later periods of the Late Pleistocene. As one of the few MSA faunal assemblages from East Africa subject to detailed analysis, it provides rare insight into the foraging behavior of the early modern humans in this region. The MSA fauna include taxa that were not historically present in the area, with the occurrence of reduncines and alcelaphines indicating widespread grasslands and proximity to a perennial source of water. The faunal analysis examined several lines of evidence, including breakage patterns, surface modification, and skeletal-element representation. By incorporating comparisons with multiple actualistic data sets, the analysis of the assemblage demonstrates that, while the influence of carnivores and other biotic agents was evident, the faunal remains were accumulated primarily by hominid activity. The skeletal-element representation at Porc-Epic includes an abundance of high utility bones, in contrast to the predominance of "head-and-foot" elements documented at other MSA and Middle Paleolithic (MP) sites. The MSA occupants of Porc-Epic effectively exploited a wide range of prey with more emphasis on small- and medium-sized mammals.     

Windborne moth migration over the Middle East

Abstract.

• 1 From 10 years' records of moths caught in a light trap at Eilat, Israel, eleven selected occasions with sudden increases in catch involving seventeen species were related to accompanying changes in wind.
• 2 At all times of the year examined, sudden increases in catch of all species were associated with winds changing direction to blow from the Nile Delta or from the Levant.
• 3 All seventeen species are inferred to be windborne over at least several hundred kilometres.
• 4 The results are consistent with huge plumes of moths streaming downwind each night from the Delta and the Levant, sometimes crossing Eilat, sometimes crossing the Mediterranean, but more often passing into the deserts.
• 5 Plumes are produced throughout the breeding season of each species.
• 6 The results are probably representative of migration elsewhere from the southern limits of breeding on rain-fed vegetation, with inferred widespread adult mortality and renewed breeding most likely after migration on brief spells of southerly winds.