Abstract
The Levant is one of the key regions to document hominin dispersal from Africa into Eurasia. The number of dispersals, continuity of populations within the region, and the role of the region as a corridor or as a ‘cul de sac’ are focal questions in understanding the scenario of early hominin adaptability in the Lower Paleolithic, and specifically, during the transition between the Early and Middle Pleistocene.
Mammalian taxa differ in their ability to respond to ecological change. While some have a low threshold for climatic and environmental change, others can tolerate a wide range of habitats. Humans are highly adaptable to a wide range of habitats. Nonetheless, local distribution of populations and settlement patterns may be affected by environmental change. To understand transitional patterns in early hominin populations, we must place them within the context of the environment in which they lived. This paper describes the faunal turnovers that occurred during the Early to Middle Pleistocene transition of the Levant and discusses the relationship between these changes and the distribution of human populations in the region.
The presence-absence of fauna at ten Levantine archaeological sites was analyzed using the range through method. A sharp faunal turnover is apparent at the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary (0.78 Ma). Minor turnover events may be present at the Jaramillo paleomagnetic episode (1.1 Ma) and at the mid-Brunhes climate event (0.43 Ma).
Despite variability in lithic assemblages among sites, all Early Pleistocene lithic traditions are within a similar cultural milieu (Levantine Acheulean). However, following the faunal turnover of 0.78 Ma, there is an appearance of a novel cultural tradition, which is associated with a new dispersal event out of Africa and the local disappearance of earlier Levantine Paleolithic cultures. This suggests that while local populations of hominins were able to withstand small level climate shift (i.e., the Jaramillo and Mid-Brunhes), populations may not have adapted as well to the environmental changes that coincided with the Matuyama-Brunhes Boundary faunal turnover.
This study exemplifies how early hominins may have tolerated low and medium level environmental changes but not larger ones. The continued presence of hominins in the Levant during the early Pleistocene was a process of several dispersal events, rather than a long continuous occupation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Antón, S.C., and Swisher, C.C., 2004, Early Dispersals of Homo from Africa. Annual Review of Anthropology 33:271–296.
Antón, S.C., Leonard, W.R., and Robertson, M.L., 2002, An Ecomorphological Model for the Initial Hominid Dispersal from Africa. Journal of Human Evolution 43:773–785.
Arribas, A., and Palmqvist, P., 1999, On the Ecological Connection between Saber-tooths and Hominids: Faunal Dispersal Events in the Lower Pleistocene and a Review of the Evidence of the First Human Arrival in Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science 26:571–585.
Azzaroli, A., De Giuli, C., Ficcarelli, G., and Torre, D., 1988, Late Pliocene to Early Mid-Pleistocene Mammals in Eurasia: Faunal Succession and Dispersal Events. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 66:77–100.
Barkai, R., Gopher, A., Lauritzen, S.E., and Frumkin, A., 2003, Uranium Series Dates from Qesem Cave, Israel, and the End of the Lower Paleolithic. Nature 423:977–979.
Barnosky, A.D., Hadly, E.A., and Bell, C.B., 2003, Mammalian Response to Global Warming on Varied Temporal Scales. Journal of Mammalogy 84:354–368.
Barry, J.C., Morgan, M.E., Flynn, L.J., Pilbeam, D., Jacobs, L.L., Lindsay, E.H., Raza, S.M., and Solounias, N., 1995, Patterns of Faunal Turnover and Diversity in the Neogene Siwaliks of Northern Pakistan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 115:209–226.
Bar-Yosef, O., 1998a, Early Colonizations and Cultural Continuities in the Lower Palaeolithic of Western Asia. In Early Human Behaviour in Global Context: The Rise and Diversity of the Lower Palaeolithic Record, edited by M.D. Petraglia, and R. Korisettar, pp. 221–279. Routledge, London.
Bar-Yosef, O., 1998b, Chronology of the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant. In Neanderthals and Modern Humans in Western Asia, edited by T. Akazawa, K. Aoki, and O. Bar-Yosef, pp. 39–56. Plenum, New York.
Bar-Yosef, O., 1995, The Origins of Modern Humans. In Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land, edited by T.E. Levy, pp. 110–123. Facts on File, New York.
Bar-Yosef, O., 1994, The Lower Palaeolithic of the Near East. Journal of World Prehistory 8:211–265.
Bar-Yosef, O., 1987, Prehistory of the Jordan Rift. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 36:107–119.
Bar-Yosef, O., and Belfer-Cohen, A., 2001, From Africa to Eurasia—Early Dispersals. Quaternary International 75:19–28.
Bar-Yosef, O., and Goren-Inbar, N., 1993, The Lithic Assemblages of ‘Ubeidiya’, a Lower Paleolithic Site in the Jordan Valley. The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem.
Bar-Yosef, O., and Tchernov, E., 1972, On the Palaeo-Ecological History of the Site of ‘Ubeidiya’. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Bar-Yosef, O., and Vandermeersch, B., 1993, Modern Humans in the Levant. Scientific American 268:94–100.
Behrensmeyer, A.K., and Dechant Boaz, D.E., 1980, The Recent Bones of Amboseli Park, Kenya, in Relation to East Africa Paleoecology. In Fossils in the Making. Vertebrate Taphonomy and Paleoecology, edited by A.K. Behrensmeyer, and A.P. Hill, pp. 72–92. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Belmaker, M., Forthcoming, Early Pleistocene Faunal Connections Between Africa and Eurasia: An Ecological Perspective. In Out of Africa I: Who, Where and When? edited by J.G. Fleagle, J.J. Shea, F. Grine, and R. Leakey. Springer, Dordrecht.
Belmaker, M., 2006, Large Mammalian Community Structure Through Time: ‘Ubeidiya’ as a Case Study. Ph.D. dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Belmaker, M., Tchernov, E., Condemi, S., and Bar-Yosef, O., 2002, New Evidence of Hominid Presence in the Lower Pleistocene of the Southern Levant. Journal of Human Evolution 43:43–56.
Bennett, K.D., 1997, Evolution and Ecology: The Pace of Life. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Bennington, B.J., and Rutherford, S.D., 1999, Precision and Reliability in Paleocommunity Comparison Based on Cluster-Confidence Intervals: How to Get More Statistical Bang for Your Sampling Buck. Palaios 14:506–515.
Besançon, J., Copeland, L., Hours, F., Macaire, J.-J., and Sanlaville, P., 1984, The Lower and Middle Paleolithic in the Upper Zarqa/Khirbet Samra Area of Northern Jordan: 1982–1983 Survey Results. Annuals of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 27:92–142.
Boltovsky, D., 1988, The Range-Though Method and First-Last Appearance Data in Paleontological Surveys. Journal of Paleontology 62:157–159.
Braun, D., Ron, H., and Marco, S., 1991, Magnetostratigraphy of the Hominid Tool-Bearing Erk el Ahmar Formation in the Northern Dead Sea Rift. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 40:191–197.
Bridgland, D.R., Philip, G., Westaway, R., and White, M., 2003, A Long Quaternary Terrace Sequence in the Orontes River Valley, Syria: A Record of Uplift and Human Occupation. Current Science 84:1080–1089.
Caloi, L., and Palombo, M.R., 1997, Biochronology of Large Mammals in the Early and Middle Pleistocene on the Italian Peninsula. Hystrix 9:3–12.
Cerling, T.E., and Hay, R.L., 1986, An Isotopic Study of Paleosol Carbonates from Olduvai Gorge. Quaternary Research 25:63–78.
Chazan, M., 2000a, Typological Analysis of the Lower Paleolithic Site of Holon, Israel. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 30:7–32.
Chazan, M., 2000b, Flake Production at the Lower Paleolithic Site of Holon (Israel): Implications for the Origin of the Levallois Method. Antiquity 74:495–499.
Chazan, M., and Kolska Horwitz, L., (Eds.) 2007, Holon. A Lower Paleolithic Site in Israel. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, MA.
Chazan, M., and Horwitz, L.K., 2006, Finding the Message in Intricacy: The Association of Lithics and Fauna on Lower Paleolithic Multiple Carcass Sites. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 25:436–447.
Clark, J.D., and Harris, J.W.K., 1985, Fire and Its Roles in Early Hominid Lifeways. The African Archaeological Review 3:3–28.
Clark, J.D., 1967, The Middle Achealian Occupation Site at Latamne, Northern Syria. Quarternaria 9:1–68.
Copland, L., 1998, The Lower Paleolithic of Jordan. In The Prehistoric Archaeology of Jordan, edited by D.O. Henry, pp. 5–22. Bar International Series 705, Oxford.
Dennell, R.W., 2003, Dispersal and Colonisation, Long and Short Chronologies: How Continuous is the Early Pleistocene Record for Hominids Outside East Africa? Journal of Human Evolution 45:421–440.
Gabunia, L., and Vekua, A., 1995, A Plio-Pleistocene Hominid from Dmanisi, East Georgia, Caucasus. Nature 373:509–512.
Gardner, E.W., and Bate, D.M.A., 1937, The Bone-bearing Beds of Bethlehem: Their Fauna and Industry. Nature 140:431–433.
Gibbard, P.L., 2003, Definition of the Middle – Upper Pleistocene Boundary. Global and Planetary Change 36:201–208.
Gilead, D., and Ronen, A., 1977, Acheulean Industries from ‘Evron’ on the Western Galilee Coastal Plain. Eretz-Israel 13:56–86.
Gopher, A., Barkai, R., Shimelmitz, R., Khalaily, M., Lemorini, C., Hershkovitz, I., and Stiner, M., 2005, Qesem Cave: An Amudian Site in Central Israel. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 35:69–92.
Goren-Inbar, N., 1992, The Acheulean Site of Gesher Benot Ya‘acov: An African or Asian Entity? In The Evolution and Dispersal of Modern Humans in Asia, edited by T. Akazawa, K. Aoki, and T. Kimura, pp. 67–82. Hokusen-Sha, Tokyo.
Goren-Inbar, N., and Saragusti, I., 1996, An Acheulean Biface Assemblage from Gesher Benot Ya‘acov, Israel: Indications of African Affinities. Journal of Field Archaeology 23:15–30.
Goren-Inbar, N., Alperson, N., Kislev, M.E., Simchoni, O., Melamed, Y., Ben-Nun, A., and Werker, E., 2004, Evidence of Hominin Control of Fire at Gesher Benot Ya‘acov, Israel. Science 304:725–727.
Goren-Inbar, N., Feibel, C.S., Verosub, K.L., Melamed, Y., Kislev, M.E., Tchernov, E., and Saragusti, I., 2000, Pleistocene Milestones on the Out of Africa Corridor at Gesher Benot Ya‘acov, Israel. Science 289:944–947.
Goren-Inbar, N., Belitzky, S., Goren, Y., Rabinovich, R., and Saragusti, I., 1992a, Gesher Benot Ya‘acov – The ‘Bar’: An Acheulean Assemblage. Geoarchaeology 7:27–40.
Goren-Inbar, N., Belitzky, S., Verosub, K., Werker, E., Kislev, M., Heimann, A., Carmi, I., and Rosenfeld, A., 1992b, New Discoveries at the Middle Pleistocene Acheulean Site of Gesher Benot Ya‘acov, Israel. Quaternary Research 38:117–128.
Goren-Inbar, N., Zohar, I., and Ben-Ami, D., 1991, A New Look at Old Cleavers – Gesher Benot Ya‘acov. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 24:7–33.
Gowlett, G.A.J., 1979, Complexities of Cultural Evidence in the Lower and Middle Pleistocene. Nature 278:14–17.
Guérin, C., 1990, Biozones or Mammal Units? Methods and Limits in Biochronology. In European Neogene Mammal Chronology, edited by E.H. Lindsay, pp. 119–130. Plenum, New York.
Guérin, C., Eisenmann, V., and Faure, M., 1993, Les grands mammifères du gisement pléistocène moyen de Latamné (vallée de l’Oronte, Syrie). In Le Paléolithique de la Vallée Moyenne de l’Oronte (Syrie), edited by P. Sanlaville, J. Besançon, L. Copeland and S. Muhesen, pp. 169–178. BAR International Series 587, Oxford.
Gvirtzman, G., Wieder, M., Marder, O., Khalaily, H., Rabinovich, R., and Ron, H., 1999, Geological and Pedological Aspects of an Early Paleolithic Site: Revadim, Central Coastal Plain, Israel. Geoarchaeology 14:101–126.
Haas, G., 1970, Metridiochoerus evronensis N. Sp. A New Middle Pleistocene Phacochoerid from Israel. Israel Journal of Zoology 19:179–181.
Haas, G., 1968, On the Fauna of ‘Ubeidiya’. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Haas, G., 1966, On the Vertebrate Fauna of the Lower Pleistocene Site of ‘Ubeidiya’. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Haq, B.L., Berggren, W.A., and Van Couvering, J.A., 1977, Corrected Age of the Pliocene/Pleistocene Boundary. Nature 269:483–488.
Hooijer, D.A., 1958, An Early Pleistocene Mammalian Fauna from Bethlehem. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, London, Geology 3:265–292.
Horowitz, A., 2001, The Jordan Rift Valley. A.A. Balkema, Roterdam.
Horowitz, A., 1979, The Quaternary of Israel. Academic Press, New York.
Hubbell, S.P., 2001, The Unified Neutral Theory of Biodiversity and Biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.
Kahlke, R.-D., 2000, The Early Pleistocene (Epivillafranchian) Faunal Site of Untermassfeld (Thuringia, Central Germany). Synthesis of New Results. In Early Humans at the Gate of Europe, edited by D. Lordkipanidze, O. Bar-Yosef, and M. Ottes, pp. 123–138. Etudes et Recherches Archéologiques de l’Université de Liège, Liège .
Kostopoulos, D.S., Palombo, M.R., Alberdi, M.-T., and Valli, A.M.F., 2007, Pliocene to Pleistocene Large Mammal Diversity and Turnover in North Mediterranean Region: The Greek Peninsula with Respect to the Iberian and Italian Ones. Geodiversitas 29:401–419.
Krebs, C.J., 2001, Ecology: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.
Larick, R., and Ciochon, R.L., 1996, The African Emergence and Early Asian Dispersal of the genus Homo. American Scientist 84:538–551.
Laukhin, S.A., Ronen, A., Pospelova, G.A., Sharonova, Z.V., Ranov, V.A., Burdukiewicz, J.-M., Volgina, V.A., and Tsatskin, A., 2001, New Data on the Geology and Geochronology of the Lower Palaeolithic Site Bizat Ruhama in the Southern Levant. Paléorient 27:69–80.
Lemorini, C., Stiner, M., Gopher, A., Shimelmitz, R., and Barkai, R., 2006, Use-wear Analysis of an Amudian Laminar Assemblage from the Acheuleo-Yabrudian of Qesem Cave, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science 33:921–934.
Lindsay, E., 1997, Eurasian Mammal Biochronology: An Overview. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 133:117–128.
Lorch, Y., 1966, A Pleistocene Florule from the Jordan Valley. Israel Journal of Botany 15:31–34.
Marder, O., Milevski, I., and Matskevich, Z., 2006, The Handaxes of Revadim Quarry: Typo-Technological Considerations and Aspects of Intra-site Variability. In Axe Age. Acheulean Toolmaking from Quarry to Discard, edited by N. Goren-Inbar, and G. Sharon, pp. 223–242. Equinox, London.
Marder, O., Gvirtzman, G., Ron, H., Khalaily, H., Wieder, M., Bankirer, R., Rabinovich, R., Porat, N., and Saragusti, I., 1998, The Lower Paleolithic Site of Revadim Quarry, Preliminary Finds. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 28:21–53.
Markova, A.K., 2007, Pleistocene Mammal Faunas of Eastern Europe. Quaternary International 160:100–111.
Martínez-Navarro, B., 2004, Hippos, Pigs, Bovids, Saber-toothed Tigers, Monkeys, and Hominids: Dispersals Through the Levantine Corridor During Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene Times. In Human Paleoecology in the Levantine Corridor, edited by N. Goren-Inbar, and J.D. Speth, pp. 37–52. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
Martínez-Navarro, B., and Palmqvist, P., 1995, Presence of the African Machairdont Megantereon whitei (Broom 1937) (Felidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) in the Lower Pleistocene site of Venta Micene (Orce, Granada, Spain), with Some Considerations on the Origin, Evolution and Dispersal of the Genus. Journal of Archaeological Science 22:569–582.
Martínez-Navarro, B., Pérez-Carlos, J.-A., Palombo, M.R., Rook, L., and Palmqvist, P., 2007, The Olduvai Buffalo Pelorovis and the Origin of Bos. Quaternary Research 68:220–226.
Masini, F., and Sala, B., 2007, Large-and Small-Mammal Distribution Patterns and Chronostratigraphic Boundaries from the Late Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene of the Italian Peninsula. Quaternary International 160:43–56.
McKee, J., 2001, Faunal Turnover Rates and Mammalian Biodiversity of the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene of Eastern Africa. Paleobiology 27:500–511.
Milli, S., and Palombo, M.R., 2005, The high-resolution Sequence Stratigraphy and the Mammal Fossil Record: a Test in the Middle-Upper Pleistocene Deposits of the Roman Basin (Latium, Italy). Quaternary International 126–128:251–270.
Montuire, S., and Girard, C., 1998, Adaptation to Environmental Change: Communities Need More Time than Species. Paleontologische Zeitschrift 72:241–248.
Napoleone, G., Albianelli, A., Azzaroli, A., Bertini, A., Magi, M., and Mazzini, M., 2003, Calibration of the Upper Vadarno Basin to the Plio-Pleistocene for Correlating the Apennine Continental Sequences. Il Quaternario 16:131–166.
Opdyke, N.D., Lindsay, E., and Kukla, G., 1983, Evidence for Earlier Date of ‘Ubeidiya’, Israel Hominid Site. Nature 304:375.
Palmqvist, P., Groöcke, D.R., Arribas, A., and Fariña, R.A., 2003, Paleoecological Reconstruction of a Lower Pleistocene Large Mammal Community Using Biogeochemical (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O Sr:Zn) and Ecomorphological Approaches. Paleobiology 29:205–229.
Palombo, M.R., and Sardella, R., 2007, Biochronology and Biochron Boundaries: A Real Dilemma or a False Problem? An Example Based on the Pleistocene Large Mammalian Faunas from Italy. Quaternary International 160:30–42.
Parenti, F., al-Shiyab, A.H., Santucci, E., Kafafi, Z., Palumbo, G., and Guérin, C.A., 1997, Early Acheulean Stone Tools and Fossil Faunas from the Dauqara Formation, Upper Zarqa Valley, Jordanian Plateau. In The Prehistory of Jordan, II. Perspectives from 1997, edited by K. Gebel, and G. Rollefson, pp. 7–22. Ex Oriente, Berlin.
Picard, L., and Baida, U., 1966a, Geological Report on the Lower Pleistocene Deposits of the ‘Ubeidiya’ Excavations. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Picard, L., and Baida, U., 1966b, Stratigraphic Position of the ‘Ubeidiya’ Formation. The Israel Academy of Science and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Porat, N., Chazan, M., Schwarcz, H., and Kolska Horwitz, L., 2002, Timing of the Lower to Middle Paleolithic Boundary: New Dates from the Levant. Journal of Human Evolution 43:107–122.
Potts, R., 2002, Complexity and Adaptability in Human Evolution. In Probing Human Origins, edited by M. Goodman, and A.S. Moffat, pp. 33–58. American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA.
Potts, R., 1998, Environmental Hypotheses of Hominin Evolution. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 41:93–136.
Rabinovich, R., 2003, The Levantine Upper Paleolithic Faunal Record. In More than Meets the Eye. Studies on Upper Paleolithic Diversity in the Near East, edited by A.N. Goring-Morris, and A. Belfer-Cohen, pp. 33–48. Oxbow, Oxford.
Ron, H., and Gvirtzman, G., 2001, Magnetostratigraphy of Ruhama Bad-land Quaternary Deposit: A New Age of the Lower Paleolithic Site. Abstracts of the Annual Meeting of the Israel Geological Society, Israel Geological Society, Jerusalem.
Ron, H., Porat, N., Ronen, A., Tchernov, E., and Kolska Horwitz, L., 2003, Magnetostratigraphy of the Evron Member – Implication for the Age of the Middle Acheulean Site of the Evron Quarry. Journal of Human Evolution 44:633–639.
Ronen, A., 2006, The Oldest Human Groups in the Levant. C.R. Palevol 5:343–351.
Ronen, A., 1991, The Lower Palaeolithic Site Evron-Quarry in Western Galilee, Israel. Sonderveröffentlichungen Geologisches Institut der Universität zu Köln 82:187–212.
Ronen, A., Burdukiewicz, J.-M., Laukhin, S.A., Winter, Y., Tsatskin, A., Dayan, T., Kulikov, O.A., Vlasov, V.K., and Semenov, V.V., 1998, The Lower Palaeolithic Site Bizat Ruhama in the Northern Negev, Israel. Preliminary Report 1996 Excavations. Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt RGZM 28:163–173.
Sagi, A., 2005, Magnetostratigraphy of ‘Ubeidiya’ Formation, Northern Dead Sea Transform, Israel. M.Sc. dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Sagi, A., Belmaker, M., Ron, H., Enzel, Y., Agnon, A., and Bar-Yosef, O., 2005, Paleomagnetic dating of ‘Ubeidiya’ Formation. Abstracts of the Israel Geological Society Annual Meeting, Israel Geological Society, Jerusalem.
Schick, K., and Toth, N., 1993, Making Silent Stones Speak: Human Evolution and the Dawn of Technology. Simon and Schuster, New York.
Shea, J.J., 2001, The Middle Paleolithic: Early Modern Humans and Neanderthals in the Levant. Near Eastern Archaeology 64:38–64.
Stekelis, M., 1966a, Archaeological Excavations at ‘Ubeidiya’ 1962–1964. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Stekelis, M., 1966b, Archaeological Excavations at ‘Ubeidiya’: 1960–1963. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Stekelis, M., 1965, Gisement du Pleistocéne Inférieur Prés de Tel-Oubeidije. Abstracts of the VI Congresso Internazzionale delle Scienze Preistoriche e Protostoriche II, Rome.
Stekelis, M., 1963, Recent Discoveries in the Jordan Valley. The South African Journal of Science 59:78–80.
Stekelis, M., Bar-Yosef, O., and Schick, T., 1969, Archaeological Excavations at ‘Ubeidiya’ 1964–1966. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Stekelis, M., Picard, L., Schulman, N., and Haas, G., 1960, Villafranchian Deposits near ‘Ubeidiya’ in the Central Jordan Valley (Preliminary Report). The Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel 9G:175–184.
Stiner, M., 2002, Carnivory, Coevolution and the Geographic Spread of the Genus Homo. Journal of Archaeological Research 10:1–63.
Stiner, M.C., Barkai, R., and Gopher, A., 2004, The Acheulo-Yabrudian Faunas from Qesem Cave (Israel): Preliminary Results. PaleoAnthropology 2:A52.
Stringer, C., and Gamble, C., 1993, In Search of the Neanderthals. Thames and Hudson, London.
Suc, J.-P., 1984, Origin and Evolution of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Climate in Europe. Nature 307:429–432.
Tchernov, E., 1994, New Comments on the Biostratigraphy of the Middle and Upper Pleistocene of the Southern Levant. In Late Quaternary Chronology and Paleoclimates of the Eastern Mediterranean, edited by O. Bar-Yosef, and R.S. Kra, pp. 333–350. Journal of Radiocarbon in Association with the American School of Prehistoric Research, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Tchernov, E., 1988, The Biogeographical History of the Southern Levant. In The Zoogeography of Israel, edited by Y. Yom-Tov, and E. Tchernov, pp. 159–150. Dr. W. Junk, Dordrecht.
Tchernov, E., (Ed.) 1986, Les Mammifères Du Pléistocène Infèrieur De La Vallèe Du Jourdain a Oubéidiyeh. Association Paléorient, Paris.
Tchernov, E., 1984, Faunal Turnover and Extinction Rate in the Levant. In Quaternary Extinctions, edited by P.S. Martin, and R.G. Klein, pp. 528–552. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Tchernov, E., 1981, The Biostratigraphy of the Levant. In Préhistoire du Levant. Chronologie et Organisation de l’Espace depuis les Origines jusqu’au VIe Millénaire, edited by J. Cauvin, and P. Sanlaville, pp. 67–97. C.N.R.S., Paris.
Tchernov, E., and Belmaker, M., 2004, The Biogeographic History of the Fauna in the Southern Levant and the Correlation with Climatic Change. In The Red Book. Vertebrates of Israel, edited by A. Dolev and A. Perevolototsky, pp. 21–25. The Israel Nature and Park Authority and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Jerusalem.
Tchernov, E., Kolska Horwitz, L., Ronen, A., and Lister, A., 1994, The Faunal Remains from Evron Quarry in Relation to Other Paleolithic Hominid Sites in the Southern Levant. Quaternary Research 42:328–339.
Tobias, P., 1966a, A Member of the Genus Homo from ‘Ubeidiya’. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem.
Tobias, P.V., 1966b, Fossil Hominid Remains from ‘Ubeidiya, Israel. Nature 211:130–133.
Verosub, K., and Tchernov, E., 1991, Resultats Préliminaires de l’Étude Magnetostratigraphique d’une Sequence Sedimentaire à l’Industrie Humaine en Israël. In Les premiers peuplements de l’Europe, edited by B. Vandermeersch, pp. 237–242. C.N.R.S, Paris.
Wang, P., Tian, J., Cheng, X., Liu, C., and Xu, J., 2003, Carbon Reservoir Changes Preceded Major Ice-Sheet Expansion at the Mid-Brunhes Event. Geology 31:239–242.
Yizraeli, T., 1967, A Lower Palaeolithic Site at Holon. Israel Exploration Journal 17:144–152.
Yom-Tov, Y., and Tchernov, E., (Eds.) 1988, The Zoogeography of Israel. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht.
Zaidner, Y., 2003a, The Use of Raw Material at the Lower Palaeolithic Site of Bizat Ruhama, Israel. In Lower Palaeolithic Small Tools in Europe and the Levant, edited by J.M. Burdukiewicz, and A. Ronen, pp. 121–131. BAR International Series, Oxford.
Zaidner, Y., 2003b, The Lithic Assemblage of Bizat Ruhama: Lower Paleolithic Site in Southern Coastal Plain, Israel. M.A. dissertation, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the editors for inviting me to contribute to this book. I am indebted to Prof. Ofer Bar-Yosef and Prof. David Pilbeam for on-going support during the research for this manuscript. I would also like to thank Zinovi Matskevich and three anonymous reviewers for very useful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. MB is a MacCurdy American School of Prehistoric Research, Harvard University, Postdoctoral Fellow and a Wenner Gren Richard Carley Hunt Postdoctoral Fellow (2006–2007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Belmaker, M. (2009). Hominin Adaptability and Patterns of Faunal Turnover in the Early to Middle Pleistocene Transition in the Levant. In: Camps, M., Chauhan, P. (eds) Sourcebook of Paleolithic Transitions. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76487-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76487-0_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-76478-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-76487-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)