THE
NEOLITHIC
OF
THE
LEVANT
A.M.T.
Moore
University
College
Volume
1
Thesis
submitted
for the
Degree
of
Doctor
of
Philosophy,
Oxford
University
1978
-
1
-
CONTENTS
Volume
1
page
CONTENTS
FIGURES
AND
TABLES
ABSTRACT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Chapter
1
THE
ENVIRONMENT
OF
THE
LEVANT
IN
THE
LATE
PLEISTOCENE
AND
EARLY
HOLOCENE
Late
Pleistocene
Summary
Early
Holocene
Summary
Chapter
2
THE
MESOLITHIC
OF
THE
LEVANT
Mesolithic
1
Settlement
patterns
Economy
and
society
Mesolithic
2
Settlement
patterns
Economy
and
society
Chapter
3
NEOLITHIC
1
Distribution
of
sites
Economy
Discussion
Chapter
k
NEOLITHIC
2
Middle
Euphrates
West
Syria
Palestine
Relationships
between
Palestinian,
West
Syrian
and
Middle
Euphrates
sites
in
Neolithic
2
Mt.
Carmel
Jordan
valley
Judean
hills
Negev
and
Sinai
TransJordan
plateau
IV
vii
viii
1
11
21
25
31
37
hh
^
61
63
Qk
133
136
1U9
160
161
190
211
226
230
231
237
-
11
-
Contents
(continued)
Chapter
k
(continued)
page
Principal
cultural
characteristics
of
Neolithic
2
settlements
Distribution of
sites
Economy
Middle
Euphrates
sites
West
Syrian
sites
Palestinian
sites
Discussion
256
260
265
272
273
286
Volume
2
Chapter
5
NEOLITHIC
3
Middle
Euphrates
North Syria
South
Syria
Lebanese
coast
Beka'a
Damascus
basin
Palestine
South
Palestine
North
Palestine
Principal
cultural
characteristics
of
Neolithic
3
settlements
Timespan
of
Neolithic
3
Distribution
of
sites
Economy
Discussion
Chapter
6
NEOLITHIC
South
Syria
Lebanese
coast
Beka'a
Damascus
basin
Palestine
South
Palestine
North
Palestine
West
Palestine
Distribution
of
sites
296
299
329
3^2
355
358
359
367
379
382
38U
387
397
>*08
UU8
U65
-
Ill
-
Contents
(continued)
page
Chapter
6
(continued)
Economy
Community
organization
and
trade
^-75
Chapter
7
CONCLUSION
^79
APPENDIX
Carbon
1U
dating
^96
NOTES
500
BIBLIOGRAPHY
502
-
iv
-
FIGURES
AND
TABLES
All
artifacts
drawn
full size
unless
otherwise
indicated
page
Volume
1
Fig.
1
The
Levant
1
Fig.
2
A
reconstruction
of
vegetation
zones
c.
9000
B.C.
23
Fig.
3
A
reconstruction
of
vegetation
zones
c.
6000
B.C.
31
Fig.
k
A
reconstruction
of
vegetation
zones
c.
UOOO
B.C.
32
Fig.
5
Distribution
of
Mesolithic
1
sites
^2
Fig.
6
Distribution
of
Mesolithic
2
sites
61
Fig.
7
Jericho
Proto-Neolithic
-
flint
borers and burins
93
Fig.
8
Jericho
Proto-Neolithic
-
flint
scrapers
9^-
Fig.
9
Jericho
Proto-Neolithic
-
flint
sickle
blades
and
adze
95
Fig.
10
Jericho
PPNA
-
flint
scrapers,
borers
and
burins
96
Fig.
11
Jericho
PPNA
-
flint
adze
and
sickle
blades
96
Fig.
12
Neolithic
1
village
at
Nahal
Oren
(after
Stekelis
and
Yizraely)
100
Fig.
13
Nahal
Oren
Neolithic
1
flint
tools
102
Fig.
1U
Nahal
Oren
Neolithic
1
flint
tools
103
Fig.
15
a
-
El
Khiam
points (after
Perrot)
107
b
-
Harif
points
(after
Marks)
Fig.
16
Mureybat
IB-Ill
-
flint
arrovheads
and
adze
(after
Cauvin)
121
Fig.
17
Distribution
of
Neolithic
1
sites
133
Fig.
18
Extent
of
Neolithic
2
settlement
160
Fig.
19
Neolithic
2
Middle
Euphrates
sites
161
Fig.
20
Environs
of
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
163
Fig.
21
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
contour
plan
16U
Fig.
22
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
butterfly
beads
166
Fig.
23 Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
double-ended
flint
cores
167
Fig.
2U
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
flint
arrowheads
168
-
v
-
Figures
and
Tables
(continued)
page
Fig.
25
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
Amuq
arrowheads
168
Fig.
26
Tell
Abu Hureyra
-
flint
scrapers
168
Fig.
27
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
flint
burins
169
Fig.
28
Tell
Abu Hureyra
-
flint
borers
169
Fig.
29
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
flint
sickle
blades
169
Fig.
30
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
bone
tools
171
Fig.
31
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
-
polished
stone
axes
and
chisel
172
Fig.
32
Neolithic
2
West
Syrian
sites
190
Fig.
33
Neolithic
2
Palestinian
sites
211
Fig.
3^
Beidha
-
Level
II
buildings
(after
Kirkbride
and
Perrot)
2h6
Volume
2
Fig.
35
Extent
of
Neolithic
3
settlement
295
Fig.
36
Neolithic
3
North
Syrian
sites
299
Fig.
37
Horns
-
Amuq
points
(after
de
Contenson)
305
Fig. 38
Pattern-burnished
vessels
310
a
-
Tell
Judaidah
(after
Braidwood
and
Braidwood)
b
-
Byblos
(after
Dunand)
Fig.
39
Neolithic
3
South
Syrian
sites
328
Fig.
hO
Byblos
-
Ne"olithique
Ancien
houses
(after
Dunand)
331
Fig.
hi
Byblos
Neolithique
Ancien
333
a
-
sickle
blades
(after
Cauvin)
b
-
Byblos points
Fig.
h2
Byblos
-
Neolithique
Ancien
jars
(after
Dunand)
335
Fig.
h3
Byblos
-
Ne"olithique
Ancien
bowls
(after
Dunand)
336
Fig.
hh
Neolithic
3
Palestinian
sites
359
Fig.
lj-5
Distribution
of
Neolithic
h
sites
U12
Fig.
h6
Byblos
-
N£olithique
Moyen
flint
tools
(after
Cauvin)
Ul6
Fig.
hj
Byblos
-
Ne"olithique
Recent
flint tools
(after
Cauvin)
U17
Fig.
U8
Byblos
-
Ngolithique
Moyen
jars
(after
Dunand)
-
vi
-
Figures
and
Tables
(continued)
page
Fig.
h9
Byblos
-
Ngolithique
Re*cent
bowls
and
jars
(after
Dunand)
Fig.
50
Neolithic
h
South
Syrian
sites
Fig.
51
Neolithic
U
Palestinian
sites
Fig.
52
Jericho
-
Pottery
Neolithic
B
vessels
Fig.
53
Palestine
-
supplementary Neolithic
3
and
k
sites
Fig.
5U
Estimated
14
C
calibration
curve
to
10,000
B.C.
Table
1
Percentages
of
obsidian
in
each
cultural phase
at
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
171
Table
2
1*98
-
vii
-
ABSTRACT
THE
NEOLITHIC
OF
THE
LEVANT
A.M.T.
Moore
University
College
Doctor
of
Philosophy
Hilary
Term
1978
The
archaeological
evidence
for
the
Neolithic
of the
Levant,
considered
to
have
lasted
from
c.
8500
to
3750
B.C.,
is
presented
and
an
attempt made
to
explain
its
origins
and
development.
The
discussion
is
concerned
with
four
principal
themes:
(1)
the
transition
from
a
hunter-gatherer
to
a
farming
economy,
(2)
the
social
evolution
that
accompanied
this
economic
development,
(3)
population
growth
immediately
"before
and during the
Neolithic
and
(U)
the
modifications
in
settlement
patterns
which followed
these other
changes.
The
environmental
changes
which
occurred
at
the
end
of
the
Pleistocene
and
early
in
the
Holocene
are
believed
to
"be
of
fundamental
importance.
The
degree
of
their
influence
on
the
four
main
themes
is
examined.
The
effects
of
man's
own
changing
activities
upon
his
environment
are
also
considered.
The
Neolithic
of
the
Levant
is
divided
into
four
stages,
designated
Neolithic
1
to
U,
on
the
evidence
of changes
in
economy,
population,
settlement
patterns
and
cultural
remains.
Regional
groups
of
sites,
defined
"by
their
cultural
material,
may
"be
discerned
and
their
evolution
followed
from
one
stage
to
the
next.
The
detailed archaeological
evidence
is
examined
principally
for
the
light
it
throws
upon
the
development
of
the
four
main
themes
of
the
thesis and
the
contemporary
changes
in
environment.
It
is
argued
that
the
amelioration
of
the
environment
in
the
late
Pleistocene
created
a
greater supply of
wild
foods
for
man
which
stimulated
population
growth.
This
was
accompanied
by
increased
sedentism
and
the
development
of
agricultural
techniques.
In
Neolithic
2
agriculture
was
intensified
and
the
population
grew
further.
After
6000
B.C.
the
population
of
the
Levant
lived
in
permanent
settlements
supported
"by
agriculture
"but
these
were
concentrated
only
in
the
more
fertile
and
well-watered
areas of
the
Levant.
This
new
way
of
life
permitted
another
increase
in
population
in
Neolithic
^
despite
a
deterioration
in
the
environment.
-
viii
-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This
thesis
was
written between
1975
and
1977
but
much of
the
information
I
have
used
was
obtained
in
studies
carried
out
as
far
back
as
1969
when
I
first
went
to
the
Near
East to
begin
research.
Throughout
I
have
benefited
from
the
encouragement and
advice
of
my
supervisor,
Dame
Kathleen
Kenyon.
She
introduced
me
to
Near
Eastern
Archaeology
by
inviting
me
to
participate
in
her
excavations
in
Jerusalem
in
1966.
She has
allowed
me to
study
all the
available
Neolithic
material
from
her
excavations
at
Jericho
and
to
use
whatever
information
I
needed
from
the
records
of
the
excavation.
Her
firm
criticism
has
clarified
my
thinking
and
writing
while
her
generous
praise
has
given
welcome
support.
I
owe
her
much.
I
studied under
Professor
J.D.
Evans
at
the
Institute
of
Archaeology
of
London
University
from
1967 to
1969.
It
was he
who
stimulated
my
interest
in
prehistory
and
the
problems
of
the
Neolithic.
His
humane
approach to
the
study
of
prehistory
has
influenced
my
own
work
and
I
am
grateful
to
him
for his
continued
interest
in
the
progress
of
my
research.
The
Queen's
College,
Oxford
awarded
me
a
Randall
Maclver
Studentship
from
1969
to
1971
and
the
British
School
of
Archaeology
in
Jerusalem
made
me
their
Annual
Scholar
from
1969
to
1970.
These
two
studentships
enabled
me
to
spend
a
year
and
a
half
travelling
through
much
of
the
Near
East,
visiting
ancient
sites
and
studying
museum
collections.
During
this
period
I
formed
a
working
knowledge
of
the
available
archaeological material
which
I
have
used
in
preparing
this
thesis.
In
1973
I
was
awarded
a
Gerald
Averay
Wainwright
Research
Fellowship
in
Near
Eastern
Archaeology
at
Oxford.
This
Fellowship
has
supported
me
while
I
prepared
the
text
of
the
thesis;
it
has also
allowed
me
to
continue
work
on
my
other research
projects,
in
particular
my
excavation
of
Tell
Abu
Hureyra.
I
wish
to
thank
the
Curators
and
staff
of the
Pitt
Rivers
Museum
and
Dr.
D.A.
Roe
of
the
Donald
Baden-Powell Quaternary
Research
Centre
for
-
ix
-
affording
me
facilities
and
practical
help
during
the
preparation
of
this
thesis.
In
all
my
sojourns
in
the
Levant
the
Directors
and
staff
of
the
Depart-
ments
of
Antiquities
in
each
country
have
readily
granted
me
permission
to
carry
out
my
research.
The
Curators
of
all
the
major
museums have
also
allowed
me full
access
to the
collections
of
material
in
their
charge.
It
will
be
evident
that
I
could have
accomplished
little
without
this
help.
These
authorities
have
also
frequently
given
me
much
other
practical
assistance
and
generous
hospitality
for
which
I
offer
my
grateful
thanks.
Very
many
other
people
from
high
officials
to
simple
peasants
and
nomads
have
helped
me
in
my
travels
so
putting
me
in
their
de~bt
in
ways
that
cannot
be
repaid.
It
is
a
pleasure
to
recall
and
acknowledge
these
innumerable
kindnesses
here
which
have
been
given
so
freely
in
the
true
tradition
of
Levantine
hospitality.
Many
archaeologists
and
other
scholars
in
several
countries
have
allowed
me
to
study
material
from
their
excavations
or
from
collections
in
their
care.
Much
of
this
information
has
been
incorporated
in
the
thesis.
Others
have
helped
me
by
analysing
samples
submitted
to
them.
All
have
willingly
answered
my
questions
and
discussed
matters
of
common
interest.
I
wish
to
thank
them
all
and
in
particular
the
following:
Prof.
E.
Anati
for
showing
me
his
material
from
Tell
Abu
Zureiq;
Prof,
and
Mrs.
Braidwood
for
showing
me
their
material
from
the
Amuq
tells,
Tell
Fakhariyah,
Tabbat
el
Hammam
and
other
sites
as
well
as
much
helpful
discussion;
M.
and
Mme
J.
Cauvin
for
showing
me
their
excavations
at
Mureybat
and
material
from
the
site,
and
for
several
useful
discussions;
M. H.
de
Contenson
for first
introducing
me
to
the
archaeology
of
Syria,
for
allowing
me
to
participate
in
his
excavations
at
Tell
Aswad
in
1971
9
for
access
to material
he
has
excavated
from
other
sites
and
for
many
other
kindnesses;
Mrs.
L.
Copeland
for
numerous
discussions
on
the
prehistory
of
the
Levant
and
much valuable
help
and
advice given
over
many
years;
Dr.
R.
Dornemann
for
allowing
me
to
study
his
material
from
El Kum;
M. M.
Dunand
for
permitting
me to
study
material from
Byblos
,
showing
me
his
excavations
-
x
-
and
much
kind
hospitality;
Prof.
R.
Dyson
for
allowing
me
to
see
material
in
the
University
Museum
of
the
University
of
Pennsylvania;
Pe"re
H.
Fleisch
S.J.
for
giving
me
free
access
to
the
collections
in
the
Universite*
Saint-
Joseph,
Beirut and
for
much
valuable
information;
Dr.
D.H.
French
for access
to
the
collections
of
the
British
Institute
of
Archaeology
in
Ankara;
Dr.
J.B.
Hennessy
for
showing
me
his
material from
Teleilat
Ghassul
and
for
much
other
help
in
Jerusalem;
G.
Hillman
for
analysing
the
plant
remains
from
my
excava-
tion
at
Tell
Abu
Hureyra;
P£re
F.
Hours
S.J.
for
information
about
his
excavations
at
Jiita,
help
in
the
Universite"
Saint-Joseph, Beirut
and
many
valuable
discussions;
J.
Kaplan
for
allowing
me
to
study
material from
several
of
his
excavations;
L.H.
Keeley
for
examining
several
tools
from
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
for
traces
of
microwear;
Prof.
C.C.
Lamberg-Karlovsky
for
access
to
the
collections
of
the
Peabody
Museum,
Harvard
University;
A.J.
Legge
for
information
about
his
work
at
Nahal
Oren
and
for
examining
the
faunal
remains
from
Tell
Abu
Hureyra;
Prof.
A.E.
Marks
for
allowing
me to
study
material
from
his
excavations
at
Southern
Methodist
University,
Dallas;
Prof.
M.J.
Mellink
for
access
to
the
material
from
Tarsus
kept
at
Bryn
Mawr
College;
Mrs.
J.
Crowfoot
Payne
for
showing
me
the
chipped
stone tools
from
Jericho
and
for
many
helpful
discussions;
M.
J.
Perrot
and
his
assistants
for
showing
me
material
from
his
excavations;
Dr.
B.
Rothenberg
for
allowing
me
to
see
material
from
sites
he
has
discovered
in
Sinai;
Dr.
B.
Schroeder
for
showing
me
material
from
his
excavations
at
Nacharini
and
for
information
about
his
research;
G.
de
G.
Sieveking
and
C.
Bonsall
for
access
to
material
from
Nahal
Oren
and
other
sites
in
the
British
Museum;
the
late
Father
J.
Sira
9
S.J.
for
showing
me
material from
the
first
excavations
at
Teleilat
Ghassul
and
surface collections
from
other
sites
kept
in
the
Pontifical
Biblical
Institute,
Jerusalem;
the
late
Pere
R.
de
Vaux
O.P.
for
allowing
me
to
study
material
from
his
excavations
at
Tell
el
Far'ah
at
the
Ecole
Bibliqjue
Saint-
Etienne,
Jerusalem
and
for
valuable
discussions;
S.E.
Warren
of
Bradford
University
for
all
his
help
in
our
joint
project
of obsidian
analyses,
and
Professor
T.
Cuyler
Young
and
his
assistants
for
showing
me
material
in
the
Royal
Untarid
.Museum,
Toronto.
INTRODUCTION
Man
has
been
a
mobile
hunter-gatherer
for
most
of
his
existence.
This
pattern
was
first
modified
during
the
Neolithic
when
sedentary
societies
were
formed
whose
members
lived
in
permanent
villages
and
depended
upon
agriculture
for
their
livelihood.
These
momentous developments
were
the
most
significant
changes
in
man's
way
of
life
since
his
evolution
as
a
species.
They
were
also
an
essential
first
step
in
the
subsequent
evolution
of
civilization.
The
origins
and
development
of
this
new
social
and
economic
system
in
the
Levant
will be
the
subject
of
my
thesis.
The
Levant
was
one
of
the
regions
in
the
Near
East
where
these
changes
in
society
and
economy
began.
This
happened
well before
the
adoption
of
the
new
way
of
life
by
mobile
societies
in
Europe
and
Africa.
Thus
we
should
study
the
Neolithic
in
this
region
if
we
are
to
understand
how
the
new
pattern
of
existence
came
about
and
what
its
immediate
consequences
were.
The
Levant
is
a
distinct
geographical
region
defined
by
natural
frontiers
(Fig.
1).
To
the
north
the
Taurus
Mountains
lie
between
it
and
the
Anatolian
plateau
while
to
the
east
and
south-east
the
Syrian
desert
separates
it
from
Mesopotamia
and
Arabia.
Sinai
and
the Gulf
of Suez
form
the
boundary
between
the
Levant
and
Egypt.
These
geographical
limits
also
served
as
cultural
boundaries throughout
the
period
that
I
shall
consider.
They
reinforced
the
regional
nature
of
Levantine
culture
and
its
development.
Thus
the
Levant
formed
both
a
geographical
and
cultural
unit
throughout
the
Neolithic
and,
indeed,
for
some
time
before
which
makes
it
a
particularly
convenient
region
in
which
to
study the
emergence
of
the
new
way
of
life.
It
is
also
the
region
in
the
Near
East
which
has
been
most
intensively
explored
by
archaeologists
interested
in
Mesolithic
and
Neolithic
communities
so
that
we
may
consider
the
origins
and
development
of
the
first
agricultural
societies
in
greater
detail
here
than
anywhere
else.
'.ffr;\.o>;p-«;•!.••.
<;^*
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<^
„>£.£;.
,'5-»
--.*•.;*-••*
'
.
.
J
*
**.
O*
.*
-.*
.
:-t«^
r
:---:
:
^^.vl-.'^^;^n--
•«••.•.•:>:..•.-.»*.•
>
.
.-
•>
...
-..x...
c^s
r
'.•••
r.y.
Fig.
1
The
Levant
scale
1
=
4,000,000
-
2
-
Agriculture
formed
the
"basis
of
the
new
way
of
life
so
the
evolution
of
this
economy
will
be
the
first
main
theme
of
my
thesis.
Agriculture
involves
the
controlled
exploitation
of
plants
and
animals,
the
planting
and
harvesting
of
crops
and
the
reproduction
and
regular
culling
of flocks
and
herds.
I
shall
consider
what
species
of plants
and
animals
were
selected
for
agriculture
by
man
in
the
Levant.
I
shall
also
attempt
to
describe
the
systems
of
farming
employed
and
how
these
species
were
exploited
within
them.
The
change
from
a
hunter-gatherer
to
a
farming
economy
brought
about
considerable
alterations
in
the
way
human
groups
were
organized.
At
the
beginning
they
were
widely
dispersed
across
the
landscape
rarely
remaining
in
one
place
for
more
than
a
few
weeks
at
a
time.
Towards
the end of
the
Neolithic
by
contrast
most people
were
concentrated
in
villages
where
they
spent
all
their
lives.
In
the
course
of this
fundamental
change
in
social
organization
relations
between
members
of
each
group
were
also
greatly
modified.
These
changes
in
social
structure
are
to
us
perhaps
the
most
important
of
all
the
consequences
of
the
Neolithic
since
they
concern
the
way
in
which
members
of our own
species
behave
towards
each
other.
Thus
the
changes
that
took place
in
social
structure
will
be
the
second
principal
theme
of
my
thesis.
We
believe
that
the
population
grew
during
and
after
the
period
of
transition
from
a
hunter-gatherer
to
an
agricultural
way
of
life
in
the
Levant.
This
increase
would
have
been
intimately
connected
with
the
change
in
economy
and
would
have
had
an
important influence
on
the
modifications
of
the social
structure.
A
consideration
of
the
question
of
population
growth
will
be
third
theme
of
my
thesis.
Such
fundamental
changes
in
economy,
social
structure
and
human
numbers
would
be
reflected
in
the
pattern
of
settlement.
The
distribution
of
sites
across
the
landscape
and
their
nature
would
depend upon
all
these
factors.
The
internal
arrangements
of
each
site
might
also
be
expected
to
reflect
the
social
organization
of
its
inhabitants
and
the
size of the
group
which
-
3
-
lived
on
it.
Changes
in
settlement
patterns
will
be
one
of
the
most
important
items
of
archaeological
evidence
that
I
shall
consider
and
in
themselves
will
form
the
fourth
major
theme of my
thesis.
The
transition
from
mobile
hunting
and
gathering
which
had
characterised
man's
existence
throughout
the
Palaeolithic
to
a
Neolithic
agricultural
society
living
in
permanent
villages
took
place
about
the
time
of the
change
from
Pleistocene
to
Holocene.
During
this
period
the
temperature
began
to
rise
world-wide,
the
glaciers
retreated
and
the
sea
level
rose.
This
coin-
cidence
is
important
for
it
may
indicate
that
the
two
phenomena
were
related,
that
the
environmental
changes
created
conditions
which
were
favourable
for
the
development
of
the
Neolithic
way
of
life.
It
will
therefore
be
necessary
to
examine
in
detail the
climate
and
environment
of
the
Levant
in
the
late
Pleistocene
and
to
see
how
these
were
modified
during
the
early
Holocene.
This
will
be
the
subject
of
Chapter
1.
In
subsequent
chapters
I
will
examine the
effects
of
the
environmental
changes
on
the
factors
which
form
the
main
themes
of the thesis.
Man
himself
was not
simply
affected
by
alterations
in
his
environment
but
contributed
to
these
changes
by
exerting
his
own
influence
on
his
surroundings.
During
the
Neolithic,
perhaps
for
the
first
time,
he
came
to
play
a
significant
role
in
determining
the
nature
of
his
environment.
I
shall
discuss
the
evidence
we
have
for
the
effects
of
man
on
his
surroundings
in
appropriate
sections
of
the
thesis.
The
origins
of
the
Neolithic
way
of
life
can
only
be
understood
if
we
know
how
the
people
of
the
Levant
lived
in
earlier
periods.
To
this
end
I
shall
consider
the
Mesolithic
of
the
Levant,
the
stage
preceding
the
Neolithic,
in
Chapter
2
of
the
thesis.
I
shall
examine
in
outline
the
settlement
pattern,
economy,
population
and
social
structure
of
Mesolithic
communities
in
the
Levant
since
these
concern
the
major
themes
of
the
thesis.
The
changes
in
economy,
social structure,
population
and
settlement
that
occurred
during
the
Neolithic
can
only
be
determined
by
a
thorough
enquiry
into
all
the
archaeological
evidence.
It
will
be
necessary
to
consider
most
of
the
known
sites
themselves
and
their
distribution
as
well
as
the
remains
that
have
"been
found
on
them
in
excavation,
survey
or
by
chance.
The
organic
remains
found
on
some
sites are
the
most
important
source
of
evidence
for
the
economy
"but
I
shall
also
consider other
material
that
has
a
bearing
upon
this
main
theme.
The
relative
dates
when
each change
occurred
provide
the
framework
within which
all the
other kinds
of
evidence
must be
ordered.
These
dates
depend
upon
the
chronology
of
the
evolution
of
the
Neolithic
derived
from
absolute
dating and
the
comparative
stratigraphy
of
sites
and
typology
of
artifacts.
I
shall
consider
these
topics
in
detail
at
appropriate
places
in
each
chapter.
The
enquiry
into
the
archaeological
evidence
will
form
the
bulk
of
the
thesis
from
Chapters
3
to
6.
It
will
be seen that
I
conclude
from
this
that
the
evolution
of
the
Neolithic
of the
Levant
falls
into
four
stages.
In
each
chapter
I
shall
first
present
the
archaeological
evidence
for
the
successive
stages.
I
shall
then
consider
changes
in
settlement
patterns,
economy,
social
structure
and
population
in
relation
to
this
evidence.
My
conclusions
on
how
the
Neolithic
began
and
subsequently
developed
will
be
presented
in
Chapter
7.
Much
of
the thesis
will
be
necessarily
devoted
to
establishing
through
a
detailed
description
of
the
archaeological
material
what
happened
in
the
Neolithic.
I
wish
to
take
the
enquiry
further
than
this
by
attempting
to
explain
why
the
changes
that
I
shall
present,
particularly
in
economy,
social
structure and
population,
took
place.
The
scope
of
the
discussion
will
be
broad
since
it
concerns
one
of
the
most
important
changes
that
has
taken
place
in
man's
way
of
life
as
it
occurred
in a
large
region
and
over
a
considerable
span
of time.
It
will
afford
an
opportunity
to
consider
one
of
the
problems
of
modern
archaeological
theory:
is
there
one
all-embracing
model
or
explanation
by
which
the
changes
I
shall
describe
may
be
understood?
Is
there
any
single
event
or
cause
to
which
all
that
followed
may be
attributed?
Were
there
several
factors
which
determined
the
course
of
events?
-
5
-
On
the
other
hand,
did the
Neolithic
of
the
Levant
come
a"bout
as
the
result
of some
haphazard
conjunction
of
circumstances?
Or
are
there
other
explana-
tions
for
this
fundamental
change
which
lie
between
the
two
extremes
of
these
theoretical
approaches?
-
6
-
Chapter
1
THE
ENVIRONMENT
OF
THE
LEVANT
IN
THE
LATE
PLEISTOCENE
AND
EARLY
HOLOCENE
The
environment
of
the
Levant
at
the
close
of
the
Pleistocene
and
early
in
the
Holocene
was
until
recently
poorly
understood.
It
had
long
"been
thought
that
changes
in
the
environment
at
the
end
of
the
Pleistocene
contributed
to
the
evolution
of
the
Neolithic
way
of life
but
the
influence
of
these
changes
could
not
be
properly
assessed.
Recent
studies
in
geo-
morphology, palynology
and
palaeozoology
have
produced new
evidence
on
which
to
base
an
outline
reconstruction
of
the
environment
in
the
late
Quaternary.
I
will
begin
this
chapter
by
discussing
certain
general
factors
which
affected
the
environment
of
the
whole
Levant.
I
will
then
consider
the
evidence
for
the
climate,
landscape
and
vegetation
of
each
region
of
the
Levant
and
how
they
were
modified,
first
in
the
late
Pleistocene
and
after
in
the
early
Holocene.
In
northern
latitudes
the
late
Pleistocene
is
marked
by
the
Wtlrm/
Wisconsin
glaciation.
The
Near
East
was
not
directly
affected
by
the
advance
of
the
European
ice
sheets
but
its
climate
was
significantly
altered
none-
theless.
An
indication
of
these
climatic
changes
has
been
obtained from
studies
of
the
fauna
and
sediments
in
several
deep-sea
cores.
Analyses
of
cores
drilled
in
the
Red
Sea
have
determined
that
the
climate
was
cooler
and
more
humid
there
during
the
period
of
the
last
glaciation
(Herman,
1968,
3^5)
.
Two
other
deep-sea
cores
have
been
drilled
in
late
Quaternary
deposits
in
the
eastern
Mediterranean,
one
between
Cyprus
and
Crete
(no.
189)
and
the
other
west
of
Crete
(V
10.67).
Oxygen
isotope
analysis
of
these
cores
has
shown
that
the
temperature
of
the
Mediterranean
fell
considerably
during
the
period
of the
last
glaciation
(Emiliani,
1955
9
90;
Vergnaud-Grazzini,
Herman-Rosenberg,
1969,
288}
and
studies
of
the
fauna
of
core
V
10.67
have
confirmed
this
conclusion
(Vergnaud-Grazzini,
Herman-Rosenberg,
1969,
2b3).
There
is
some
doubt
about
how
much
the
temperature
actually
decreased
at
this
-
7
-
time
but recent
work
suggests
that
the
estimate
of
Vergnaud-Grazzini
and
Herman-Rosehberg
of
a
fall
of
between
and
10 C
is
the
more
reasonable
(Farrand,
1971, 53*0.
This drop
in
temperature
caused
increased
glacial
activity
in
the
mountainous
regions
of
the
Eastern
Mediterranean.
The
present
relict
glaciers
in
the
Taurus
expanded
considerably
and
it
is
estimated
that
the
snowline
lay
about 1000m
lower
than
today
(Messerli,
1967,
139),
that
is
at
about
2650m.
It
is
also
believed
that
there
were
glaciers
in
the
Mountains
of
Lebanon
and
on
Mount
Hermon
(Kaiser,
1961,
131ff;
Klaer,
1962,
97;
Messerli,
1966,
U6ff)
but
there
is
a
divergence
of
opinion
over
how
much
the
snowline
was
depressed
in
the
Levant.
Klaer
claims
that
the
permanent
snowline
today
would
lie
between
3200
and
3^00m
(1962,
97)
but
Messerli
estimates that
it
would
be
as
high
as
3700m
(1966,
61),
that
is
above
the
summits
of
the
highest
mountains
in
the
Lebanon.
Both
derive
their
different
estimates
from
studies
of
present
snowfall.
Klaer
and
Messerli
have
also
examined
the
evidence
for
glaciation
in
the
mountains
and almost
agree
on
the level
of
the
permanent
snowline
during
the
Wurm.
Klaer
thinks
that
it
lay
between
2750
and
2850m
and
so
fell
about
500m
(1962,
117);
Messerli
believes
that
the
snowline
was
at
about
2700m
(1966, 61),
a
much
greater
fall
of
about
1000m.
Messerli's estimate
of
a
depression
of
about
1000m
would
agree
better
with
the
evidence
from
the Taurus and
so
may
be
the
more
likely.
If
a
fall
in
the air
temperature
was
the
sole
cause
of
this
lowering
of
the
snowline
then
it
would
need
to
have
dropped
about
6
or
7 C
(Messerli,
1967
9
207;
Farrand,
1971,
550),
an
estimate
which
agrees
broadly
with
the
evidence
of
the
deep-sea
cores.
Studies of
the
sediments
of
some
cave
sites
in
the
Levant
have
shown
that
these
were
deposited
under
the
prevailing
cooler climate
of
the
last
glaciation.
This
is
most
apparent
at
the
inland
sites
of
Jerf
'Ajla
and
Yabrud
which
were
affected
by
continental
conditions.
Frost
weathering
could
be
detected
throughout
the
Mousterian
and
Upper
Palaeolithic
sequence
-
8
-
at
Jerf
'Ajla
(Goldberg,
1969,
750)
although there
were
some
fluctuations
reflecting
warmer
climatic
phases.
It
is
also
believed
that
the
top
five
metres
of
deposit
at
Yabrud
I,
which
includes
the
Mousterian
layers,
was
laid
down
under
cooler
conditions
(Farrand.,
1965^,
^1ff).
Although
winters
can
be
cold
in
these
areas
today
they
are
rarely
cool
and
moist
enough
to
cause
significant
frost
weathering.
Farrand
has
detected cryoturbation
in
the
Levallois-Mousterian
and
Upper
Palaeolithic
layers
at
Jebel Qafzeh
(1971,
553;
1972,
233)
near
Nazareth.
This
site
lies on
the edge
of
the
Galilee
hills
at
an
elevation
of
220m
(Bouchud,
197^,
87),
sufficiently
high
apparently
to
have
experienced
frost
weathering.
The
climate
at
coastal
sites
such
as
Tabun
was
also
some-
what
cooler
during
the
last
glaciation
(Jelinek
et_al.,
1973,
177)
"but
not
cold
enough,
apparently,
to
cause
significant
frost
weathering
(Farrand,
1971» 553).
The
evidence
from
the
caves
thus
supports that
from
other
sources,
indicating
that
during
the last
glaciation
the
temperature
in
the
Levant
fell
by
several
degrees.
The
advance
of
the
ice
sheets
absorbed
water
from
the
oceans
and
markedly
lowered
sea-levels.
During
the
later
Wurm
sea-levels
throughout
the
world
fell
by
perhaps
100
or
150m
(Fairbridge,
1961,
152;
Milliman,
Emery,
1968,
1123;
Butzer,
1972,
217)
which
considerably
altered
the
configuration
of
the
coastline
of
the
Levant.
Taking
the
more
modest
estimate
of
a
fall
of
100m,
the
shoreline
in
Palestine
would
have lain
15
km
further west
across
a
gradually
sloping
coastal
plain.
In
Lebanon
and
southern
Syria
the
coastal
plain
would
have
been
about
5
km
wider
than
now,
sloping
down to
the
sea
and
dissected
by
wadis.
North
of
Lattakia
it
would
have
been
only
2
km
wider
with
a
steep
slope.
The
displacement
of
the
coastline
has
important
implications
for
the
pattern
of
later
prehistoric
settlement
as
we
see
it
today.
All
Terminal
Palaeolithic
and
Mesolithic
sites
and
some
early
Neolithic
ones
now
situated
near
the
sea
would
have
lain
well
inland
at
the
time
they
were
inhabited.
-
9
-
This
includes
the
sites
in
the
coastal
dunes
and
around
Mount
Carmel
in
Palestine
as
veil
as
many
of
the
shelter
sites
in
Lebanon.
An
open
coastal
plain
would
have
lain
to
the
west
of
these
sites
so
their
environments
would
have
appeared
much
more
favourable
for
settlement
then than
they
do
now.
Almost
certainly
many
more
prehistoric
sites
were
situated
on
the
coastal
plain
which
are
now
drowned.
These
would
have
included
almost
all the
sites
whose
inhabitants
might
be expected
to
have
supported
themselves
partly
by
fishing.
Our
present
views about
the
economy
and
settlement
pattern
of
sites
on
the
seaward
side
of
the
coastal
hills
and
mountains
of
the
Levant
will
thus
be
distorted
if
we
fail
to
allow
for this
evidence
which
we have
lost.
Palaeotemperature
studies
of
deep-sea
cores
from
the
Atlantic, Caribbean
and
Pacific
indicate
that
the
temperature
gradually
began
to
rise
worldwide
between
20,000 and
15,000
B.P.
(Emiliani,
Shackleton,
197^,
figs.
3,
U).
After
15
9
000
B.P.
it
rose
sharply until
it
reached
a
maximum
about
5000
B.P.
The
palaeotemperature
curves
derived
from deep-sea
cores
mask
almost
all
the
minor
fluctuations
in
temperature
that
occurred
during
this
period
but
one
temporary
fall
in
temperature
about
10,000
B.P.
lasted
long
enough
to
be
detected
in
the
Caribbean
cores
(Emiliani,
1972,
fig.
3).
This
has
been
equated
with
the
Post-Allero'd
or
Younger
Dry
as
phase
of
cooler climate
in
northern
Europe
(Lamb,
Woodroffe,
1970,
Uo).
As
the
temperature
increased
so
the
glaciers
melted
and
the
level
of
the
oceans
around
the
world
began
to
rise;
this
process
had
certainly
begun
by
12,000
B.C.
(Milliman,
Emery,
1968,
1123)
and
perhaps earlier
before
1U,000
B.C.
(Farrand,
1965a,
396;
Shackleton,
Opdyke,
1973,
U6).
There-
after,
although
interrupted
by
several
short
stages
of
retreat
(Curray,
1961,
1?07ff;
Fairbridge,
1961,
15^ff)
the
level
of
the
oceans
rose
rapidly
until
about
5000 B.C.
and
then
more
slowly
until
it
reached
its
present
level
about
UOOO
(Fairbridge,
1961,
fig.
1U;
Shackleton,
Opdyke,
1973,
U6)
or
3000
B.C.
(Butzer,
1972, 530).
There
is
no
general
agreement
on
the
actual
levels
of
the
sea
worldwide
at
particular
times
during
this
period
although
-
10
-
one can
gain
some
idea
of
the
rapidity
of
the
transgression
by
comparing
estimates
based
on
evidence
from
the
continental
shelves.
Thus
by
10,000
B.C.
Fairbridge
estimates
that
the
sea
had
risen to
about
Uo
or
50m
below
its
present
level
(1961,
fig.
1U)
although
Milliman
and
Emery
believe
it
still
to
have been
much
lower
(1968,
figs.
1,2):
at
TOGO
B.C.
perhaps
15
(Fairbridge,
1961,
fig.
15)
or
as
much
as
50m
lower
(Milliman,
Emery,
1968,
figs.
1,2):
at
5000
B.C.
10
to
30m
below
present
levels.
The
most
recent
curve
of
glacio-eustatic
sea-level
fluctuations
during
the
Quaternary
is
that
published
by
Shackleton
and
Opdyke
(1973,
fig.
7).
This
was
derived from
oxygen
isotope
analysis
of
foraminifera
in
a
core,
Vema
28-238,
drilled
in
the
sea
bed
of
the
Pacific.
This
new
evidence
also
indicates
that
the
level
of
the
sea
rose
rapidly
once
the
ice
began
to
melt.
The
curve agrees
better
with
that
of
Fairbridge
than
of
Milliman
and
Emery;
Shackleton and
Opdyke
estimate that
at
10,000
B.C.
the
sea
would
have
been
about
30
to
UOm
below
the
present
level.
These estimates
may
not
correspond
exactly
with
the
Mediterranean
rise
in
sea-level
but
as
a
recent
study
has
shown
that
there was
little
tectonic
movement
along
the
Levant
coastline
during
this
period
(Sanlaville,
quoted
in
Copeland,
1975
9
318)
they
probably
give
a
rough
indication
of
the
rate
of
change.
They
suggest
that
the
coastal
plain
was
sufficiently
open
to
facilitate
communications
along
the
Levant
coast
until
about
7000
or
even
as
late
as
5000
B.C.,
that
is
during
the
later
Neolithic.
Thereafter,
although
the
level
of
the
sea
rose
further
and there
were
additional
minor
fluctuations
(Sanlaville,
1969,
290),
this
had
no
significant
effect
on
the
pattern
of
settlement.
Movement
along the
coast
became
more
difficult,
particularly
at
the
foot
of
the
Mountains
of
Lebanon
between
Beirut and
Tripoli.
Studies
of
shorelines,
sediments
and
pollen
samples
have
shown
that
there
were
several
marked
oscillations
in
climate
during
the
period
of
the
last
glaciation
and
after.
Unfortunately
these
oscillations
are
not
well
dated
and
it
is
difficult
anyway
to
correlate
the
evidence
from
these
different
-
11
-
sources.
Thus
there
is
no
general
agreement
on
the
pattern
of
climatic
change
in
the
Levant during
the
late
Pleistocene
and Holocene.
Some
authorities
believe
they
can
detect
a
detailed
sequence
of
climatic
fluctua-
tions
which
matches
the
well-documented
record
of
northern
Europe
(Horowitz,
1971,
27Uff)
while
others
think
that
the
evidence
is
insufficiently
detailed
for
such
a
precise evaluation
(Farrand,
1971,
559;
Butzer,
1975,
389,
kok).
Nevertheless,
there
is
now
enough
evidence
from
a
variety
of
sources
to
attempt
a
reconstruction
of
the
environment
at
the
close
of
the
Pleistocene
and
in
the
early
Holocene,
even if
the
absolute
chronology
is
still
uncertain,
Late
Pleistocene
During
much
of
the
period
of
the
last
glaciation
the
inland
"basins
of
Palestine
and
TransJordan
were
filled
with
"pluvial"
lakes.
The
largest
of
these
was
the
Lisan
lake
which
flooded
much
of
the
Rift
valley
at
present
occupied
by
the
Sea
of
Galilee,
the
River
Jordan
and
the
Dead
Sea.
This
lake
came
into
existence
after
about
70,000
B.P.
and
was
maintained
at
its
highest
level
from
about
50,000
to
20,000
B.P.
during
the
"Lisan"
Stage
(Neev,
Emery,
1967,
26,
fig.
16).
It
was
then
about
220
km
long
although
no
more
than
17
km
wide
and
its
surface
was
at
about
180m
below
mean
sea
level,
some
200m
above
the
present
surface
of
the
Dead
Sea
(Neev,
Emery,
1967,
25).
It
is
believed
that
the
Lisan
lake
was
created
during
a
period
of
increased
precipitation,
or
at
least
at
a
time
when
there
was
more
run-off
of
surface
water
and
less
evaporation
in the
Rift
valley
(Neev,
Emery,
1967,
26).
The
ecological
equilibrium
in
this
region
is
easily
disturbed
so
even
small
changes
in
climate
can
have
a
great
effect
on
the
environment.
It
has
been
calculated
that
a
rainfall
increase
of
as
little
as
200m
in
the
Rift
valley
catchment
would
be
sufficient
to
create
the
Lisan
lake
(Ben-
Arieh,
196U,
k6}
without
any
change
in
other
variables.
We
know
from
other
evidence
that
the
temperature
fell
by
at
least
5°C
during
the
last
glaciation
-
12
-
which,
as
Butzer
has
pointed
out
(1975,
393)
would
have
increased
effective
precipitation
by
reducing
evaporation.
It
may
be
that
there
was
little
more actual
rainfall
but
combined
with
the
drop
in
temperature
this
was
enough
to
fill
the
Lisan
basin.
Although
the
lake
was
so
large
it
was
always
too
salty
for
fish
and
molluscs
to
live
in
it
(Neev,
Emery,
196?
9
8"0
and
thus
useless
to
man
as
a
source
of
food.
Because
of
its
length
it
would
also
have
hindered
rapid
communication
between
the
Judean
uplands
and
TransJordan.
During
the
last
glaciation
another
very
large
lake
existed
in
the
Jafr
basin
to
the
east
of
Maan
(Huckriede,
Wiesemann,
1968,
79)
and
smaller
ones
in
the
Azrak
depression
and
perhaps
elsewhere
in
TransJordan.
The
Jafr
lake
was
between
1000
and
1800
sq
km
in
area
(Huckriede,
Wiesemann,
1968,
78).
It
was
a
freshwater
lake
and
its
sediments
were
rich
in
molluscs. An
upper
layer
of
the
lake deposits
has
been
dated
to
27,700
±
870
B.P.
Hv-1719
(Huckriede,
Wiesemann,
1968,
81).
Further
north
the
Damascus
basin
was
also
flooded
during
the
Wtirm
and
there
was
a
small
lake
in
the
Barada
gorge
(Kaiser
et
al.,
1973,
279,
299).
Large
bodies
of
freshwater
such
as
the
Jafr
and
Damascus
basin
lakes
would
have
created
highly
favourable environments
for man.
They
contained
an
abundance
of
fish
and
molluscs
while their marshy
shores
would
have
attracted
wildfowl
and
game.
Their
surface area was
sufficiently
great
for
evaporation
to
create
greater
humidity
in
the region
than
now.
This
would
have
made
more
moisture
available
for
plants
through
both
increased
precipitation
and
dew.
About
18,000
B.C.
the
Lisan
lake
shrank
until
its
surface
lay
at
about
37m
below
mean
sea level
(Neev,
Emery,
1967,
26);
this
happened
very
quickly,
perhaps
within
a
millennium.
The
water
level
of
the
lake
dropped
so
much
during
this
"Dead
Sea"
Stage
that
the
Lisan
split
into
four
relict
lakes:
the
Sea
of
Galilee,
a
lake
at
Beth-Shan
and
two
lakes
in
the
Dead
Sea
basin.
It
is
believed
that this
rapid
transformation
was
partly
caused
by
tectonic
-
13
-
subsidence
but
either
a
decrease
in
precipitation
or
increase
in
evaporation
or
a
combination
of
the
two
must
also
have
taken
place.
The
water
level
remained
low
for
several
millennia
but
then
rose
again,
apparently
because
of
an
increase
in
available
moisture.
This
phase
of
higher
water
level
is
dated
by
a
single
14
C
date
of
7900
+
150
B.C.
(Neev,
Emery,
1967,
28).
The
Jafr
lake
gradually
dried
up
sometime
after
26,000
B.C.
(Huckriede,
Wiesemann,
1968,
80,
82),
a
process
that
is
probably
associated
with
the
demise
of
the
Lisan
lake.
There
followed
a
very
arid
stage
of
uncertain
length.
This
was
succeeded
by
a
phase
of
more
effective
precipitation
during
which
mudflats
were
formed
in
the
Jafr
basin
(Huckriede,
Wiesemann,
1968,
82ff).
The
sequence
in
the
Jafr
basin
matches
that
in
the
Rift
valley
so,
although
the
mudflat
phase
is
not
accurately
dated,
it
can
probably
be
correlated
with
the
phase
of
Dead
Sea
higher
water
level
about
8000
B.C.
More
arid
conditions
during
the
late
glacial
also
caused
the
Damascus
basin
lake
to
diminish
in
area.
This
happened
some
time
after
20,000
B.C.
and
the
end
of
the
regression
phase
itself
has
a
single
llf
C
determination
of
17,OUO
±
520
B.C.
Hv-Wfl
(Kaiser
et
al.
,
1973,279ff,
3^8ff).
There
was
considerable
aeolian
erosion
during
this
phase,
as
in
the
Jafr
basin.
Recent
work
in
Nubia
indicates
that
the
climatic
pattern
in
Egypt
was
closely
related
to
conditions
in
the
southern
Levant
during
the
Wurm.
The
climate
there
was
semi-arid
but
cooler
for
much
of
this
period
with
more
available
moisture
than
today
(Butzer,
1975,
397,
^-OU).
The
principal
phase
of
increased
moisture
took
place
during
the
earlier
Wtirm
between
50,000
and
25,000
B.P.
when
substantial
beds
of
gravels
and
silts
were
laid
down
by
the
increased
discharge of
the
Nile
and
its
tributaries
(Butzer,
1975,
395ff)«
This
phase
was
contemporary
with
the
Lisan
Stage
in
the
Jordan
basin.
Thereafter
an
arid
phase
ensued,
as
in
the
southern
Levant,
which
lasted
until
about
15,000
B.C.
This
was
followed
by
two
moister
phases
extending
well
into
the
Holocene.
The
first
continued
until
about
10,000
B.C.
and
is
associated
with
the
deposition
of
the
Darau
member
of
the
Jebel
Silsila
Formation
(Butzer,
1975,
396).
The
second
lasted from
about
9200
until
6000
B.C.
during
which period
the
Arminna
member
was
formed.
These
phases
coincided
with
the
high
level
of
the
Dead
Sea
that
occurred
in
the
Levant
at
the
time
of
the
transition
from
Pleistocene
to
Holocene.
The
coincidence
is
not
exact
as
on
present
evidence
the two
Egyptian
phases
spanned
a
longer
period
than
the
Levantine
phase.
After
6000
B.C.
the
Egyptian
climate
became
arid
and,
apart
from
another
moist interval
in
the
Uth
millennium,
it
has
remained
so
until
today.
The
principal
source
of
information
about
the
vegetation
during
this
period
comes
from
palynological
studies
of
cores
drilled
in
lacustrine
and
riverine
sediments.
These
studies
are
also
an
important
additional
source
of
information
about
climatic
conditions,
even if
the
data
are
open
to
conflicting interpretations.
A
deep
core,
K-Jam,
has
been
drilled
in
the
bed
of
Lake
Huleh
into
sediments
which
are
believed
to
date
from
the
present
back
to
the
Riss-Wurm
interglacial
(Horowitz,
1971»
266).
A
pollen
sequence
has
been
prepared
from
this
core
which
shows
fluctuations
in
vegetation
that
reflect
the
same
climatic
changes
as
the
"pluvial" lake
sediments.
Samples
taken
from
a
depth
of
between
50
and
35m
had
relatively
high
values
of
arboreal
pollen
(Horowitz,
1971»
267),
principally
tabor
oak
(Quercus
ithaburensis)
,
indicating
that
the
Galilee hills to the
west
were
clothed
with
deciduous
oak
forest.
Gramineae
and
Cyperaceae
were
poorly
represented
because
Lake
Huleh
was
more
extensive
then
but
there
was
abundant
open
field
vegetation around
the
lake.
This
phase
apparently
can
be
equated
with
the
Lisan
Stage
when
there was
more available
moisture
than
today.
The
vegetation
changed
during
the
next
phase
from
35
to
25m
in
the
core.
The
total
percentage
of
arboreal
pollen
decreased,
reflecting
principally
a
sharp
decrease
in
oak,
but
the
values
of
olive
(Plea
europaea),
pistachio
(Pistacia
sp.),
Aleppo
pine
(Pinus
halepensis)
and
cypress
(Cupressus
sp.)
pollen
slightly
increased
(Horowitz,
1971»
267).
As
these
are
all
-
15
-
Mediterranean
species
it
appears that
the
former
oak
forest
in
the
hills
was
replaced
by
open
maquis
vegetation.
Both
Gramineae
and
Artemisia
pollen
increased;
these
and
other
vegetational
changes
suggest
that
Lake
Huleh
diminished
in
size.
Horowitz
attributes
these
developments
to
the
onset
of
a
-warmer,
humid
climate
(19T1»
267),
a
conclusion
which
his
evidence
appears
to
contradict.
The
replacement
of
oak
forest
by
maquis
and
the
shrinking
of Lake
Huleh
suggest,
rather,
that
there
-was
less
available
moisture
then.
A
sample
from
the
30m level
has
been
dated
by
11
*C
to
16,850
+
195
B.C.
Hv-1725
(Horowitz,
1971
9
26U) so
this
phase
appears
to
be
contemporary
with the
contraction
of
the
"pluvial"
lakes.
We
know
from
the
evidence
of
the
deep-sea
cores
that
the
temperature
was
near
its
glacial
minimum
at
this
date,
another
fact
which
conflicts
with
Horowitz's
inter-
pretation.
The
phase
above,
from
25
to
18m
in
the
core,
was
marked
by
a
rise
in
arboreal
pollen,
mostly
from
oak:
the
percentage
of
Mediterranean
tree
pollen
diminished
(Horowitz,
1971,
diagram
p.
260).
Pollen
of
open
field
species
increased
with
the
oak
but
pollen
of
marsh
plants
declined
as
the
lake
expanded.
Horowitz
believes
that these
changes
were
caused
by
cooler,
moister
conditions
(1971»
267)
but
this
is
partly
contradicted
by
other
evidence
which
suggests
that
the
postglacial
rise
in
temperature
had
already
begun.
This
phase
in
the
pollen
core
corresponds
to
the
rise
in
level
of
the
Dead
Sea
in
the
lower
Jordan
valley.
The
pollen
evidence
suggests
that
northern
Sinai
carried
a
denser
vegetation
during
the
Wurm
than
today
(Horowitz,
1975,
221)
with
scrub
cover
at
least
and
even some
trees
in
the
Negev
highlands.
There
were
some
varia-
tions
in
the
pollen
record,
reflecting
fluctuations
in
the
climate
during
the
¥urm.
One
phase
of
somewhat
richer
vegetation
in
the
Negev
during
the
Natufian
can
be
detected
from
pollen
analysis
of
samples
from
the
site
of
Rosh
Zin
(Henry,
1973a,
U7).
Much of
the
pollen
was
from
Chenopodiaceae
but
there
was
a
little
arboreal
pollen
from
evergreen
oak
(Quercus
calliprinos)
-
16
-
and
olive,
species
that
could
not
survive
in
the
area
today.
Pollen
analysis
of
samples
from
stations
on
the
seaward
side
of
the
Mountains
of
Lebanon
has
also
shown
that
the
vegetation
there
varied
during
the
Wurm
under
the
influence
of
a
changing
climate
(Leroi-Gourhan,
1973,
kh).
The
Nahr
Ibrahim
samples
indicate
that
at
one
stage
during
the
earlier
Wurm
the
slopes
of
the
mountains
were
covered
with
forest
almost
down
to
present
sea-level.
The
forest
was
composed
partly
of
deciduous
species
such
as
lime
and
hazel
with
cedar,
pine
and
ivy
also
present.
Conditions
needed
to
be
both
cooler
and
moister
then
than
now
for
these
deciduous
species
to
flourish
and,
as
we
have
seen,
there
is
supporting
evidence
for
such
a
climatic
change from
other
sources.
Very
few
late
Wurm
pollen
samples
have
been
analysed
from
Lebanon
but
there
are
some
indications
that
the
vegetation
thinned
out
in
response
to
a
decrease
in
available
moisture
(Leroi-Gourhan,
1973,
^6).
Then
almost
at
the
end
of
the
Wurm,
perhaps
about
12,000
or
11,000
B.C.,
tree
pollen
increased
during
a
moister
interlude.
This
phase
may
be
correlated
with
a
similar
fluctuation
in
Palestine
about
this
time.
Pollen
analysis
of
a
core
from
Sahl
Aadra
north-east
of
Damascus
gives
further
support
to
this
pattern
of
vegetation
change
in
Palestine
and
Lebanon.
The
core
was
drilled
through
sediments
at
the
edge
of
the
Damascus
basin
"pluvial"
lake
and
it
spans
the
later
Wurm
after
perhaps
22,000
B.C.
Zones
1
and
2
at
the
bottom
of
the
core,
dated
by
two
determinations
of
21,555
±
p?£o
B.C.
Hv-M*68
and
20,060
±
350
B.C.
Hv-UU69,
had
high
herbaceous
and
Gramineae
pollen
values
with
some
Chenopodiaceae
and
a
maximum
of
1U$
arboreal
pollen
(Kaiser
et
al.,
1973,
fig.
5).
The
latter
was
principally
composed
of
cedar
and
pine
with
a
little
oak,
walnut
and
some
olive.
There
were
traces
of
silver
lime
(Tilia
tomentosa),
hornbeam
(Carpinus
orientalis/
Ostrya)
and
wing
nut
(Pterocarya)
which
are
not
found
so
far
south
today
(Kaiser
et
al.,
1973,
305ff)
because
they
cannot
tolerate
such
a
warm,
dry
climate.
The
arboreal
species
would
have
occupied
the
hills
around
the
-
17
-
Damascus
basin
and
the
Anti-Lebanon
Mountains
to
the
west.
The
profile
suggests
that
the
climate
during
this
phase
was cooler
than
today
with
more
available
moisture.
After
a
high
water
phase
in
zone
3
the
lake
retreated
in
zone
h
as
the
climate grew more
arid;
arboreal
pollen
fell to
less
than
8%
and
herbaceous
species
9
Gramineae
and
Chenopodiaceae
dominated
the
profile
(Kaiser
et
al.,
1973,
306).
Cedar
and
pine
pollen
decreased
sharply
although
oak
and
walnut
were
still
present
in
small
numbers.
Another
significant
change
in
the
vegetation pattern
took
place
in
zone
5
(Kaiser
et
al.
,
1973,
307ff,
fig.
5).
Gramineae
dominated
the
profile
at
first
but
silver
lime was
present
once
more.
Then
the
arboreal
pollen,
consisting
mostly
of
cedar,
increased
to
over
35%.
Marsh
plants
were
once
more very
abundant
which
suggests
that
the
Damascus
basin
lake
expanded
during
this
phase.
Conditions
were now
moister
than
before.
The
full
development
of
this
stage
took
place
sometime
after
17,000
B.C.
Central
and
northern
Syria
appear
to
have
experienced
a
climate and
vegetation
different
from
the
rest
of
the
Levant
during
the
Wurm.
There
is
no
clear
evidence
that
substantial
bodies
of
water
like
the
Lisan
and
Jafr
lakes
formed
in
the
inland
drainage
basins
north
of
Damascus
(van
Liere,
1960-61,
10)
which
at
once
suggests
that
there
was
little
more
available
moisture
in
the
region
than
now,
despite
the
lower temperature.
This
view
is
supported
by
the
pollen
evidence
from
a
core
drilled
in
the
Ghab
section
of
the
Orontes
valley
15
km
south
of
Jisr
esh-Shaghur.
The
core
spans
much
of
the
period
of
the
last
glaciation
and
the
earlier
Holocene.
Throughout
this
time
the
Ghab
contained
a
lake
surrounded
by
marshes
which
survived
well
into
the
Holocene
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
751).
This lake
was
created
by
tectonic movement
in
the
Orontes
valley
and
its
continuance
was
determined
more
by
the
local
geology
than
by
climatic
conditions.
The
pollen
which
collected
in
the
lake
records
the
past
vegetation
of
Jebel
Alawiye
(Ansariye)
to
the
west
and
Jebel
Zawiye
to
the
east
as
well
as
the
-
18
-
The
samples
from
the
earliest
section
of
the
core,
zones
S,
T
and
U,
indicate
a
spread
of
forest
cover
on
"both
Je"bel
Alawiye
and
Jebel
Zawiye
which
reached
a
peak
in
sub-zone
T1
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
7^7).
The
climate
would
have
been
cooler
than
at
present
throughout
this
period
and
with
much
the
same
amount
of
available
moisture
as
today
in
zones
T
and
U,
although
drier
in
zone
S.
The
core
is
dated
by
three
lif
C
deter
minations
only;
extrapolation
from
these
indicates
that
this
earliest
section
may
date
from
before
U5,000
B.P.
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
751ff,
table
2).
Thereafter
towards
the
end
of
the
glaciation
from
zone
V
through
to
Y
the
forest
decreased,
giving
way
to
steppe.
The
loss
of
tree
cover
was
most
extreme
in
sub-zone
Y5
when
the
only
forest
left
was
on
the
seaward
side
of
Jebel
Alawiye;
Jebel
Zawiye
was
steppic
as
it
had been
continuously
since
zone
V
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
750,
fig.
k)
.
There
were
varia
tions
in
vegetation
during
this
long
period
as
the
climate
fluctuated
but
for
most
of
the
time
it
was
drier
and
often
cooler
than
now.
Only
towards
the
end
of
this
long
dry
period
does
there
seem
to
be
a
close
correlation
with
the
southern
Levant
where,
in
response
to
drier
conditions
after
perhaps
18,000
B.C.,
the
Lisan
and
Jafr
lakes
shrank,
The
vegetation
in
the
Ghab
region
changed
markedly
in
zone
Z
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
750ff).
In
response
to
an
increase
in
both
temperature
and
available
moisture
the
forest
expanded
over
the
whole
of
Jebel
Alawiye
and
clothed
Jebel
Zawiye
with
light
tree
cover.
It
is
suggested
that
the
moisture
increased
briefly
beyond
present
day
levels
allowing
the
vegetation
to
reach
a
slightly
richer
climax
than
today
in
sub-zone
Z2.
The
vegetation
changes
recorded
in
zone
Z
can
probably
be
related
to
changes
in
vegetation
and
lake
levels
that
took
place
in
Lebanon
and
Palestine
at
the
end
of
the
¥urm.
It
is
not
possible
to
date
zone
Z
exactly
but
Niklewski
and
van
Zeist
suggest
on
the
evidence
of
the
latest
of
the
Ghab
llf
C
dates
that
it
may
have
begun
about
9^-00
B.C.
although
they
admit
a
possible
margin
of
error
of
-
19
-
several
thousand
years
(1970,
752);
on
their
evidence
it
is
more likely
that
zone
Z
began
earlier
rather
than
later.
This
would
permit
a
closer
correlation
with
changes
elsewhere
in
the
Levant,
even
though
these
are
admittedly
almost
equally
uncertainly
dated.
Seeds
preserved
in
the
Mesolithic
deposits
at
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
throw
light
on
the
environment
further
east
at
this
time
(Hillman,
1975,
TOff).
The
vegetation
was
steppic
"but
quite
rich
in
species
compared
with
the
present.
It
is
possible
that
some
trees
such
as
hackberry
and
turpentine
were
also
growing
in
the
area;
if
so
the
rainfall
must
have
been
slightly
higher
then.
Such
an
environment
would
be
quite
similar
to
that
of
today
if
man
had
not
disturbed
the
vegetation.
An
intermediate
zone
of
open
forest
would
have
lain
between
the
forested
coastal
mountains
and
the
park-like
steppe
around
Abu
Hureyra.
The
pollen
record
of
the
Ghab core
is
almost the
only
detailed
evidence
we have
for
vegetation
and
climatic
change
in
northern
Syria
during the
later
WUrm
but
the
pattern
it
reveals
is
supported
by
other
pollen
cores
from
Greece
and
the
Iranian
Zagros.
Wijmstra
has
made
a
detailed
study
of
the
upper
section
of
a
deep
core
drilled
at
Tenaghi
Philippon
in
Macedonia.
Zones
V,
P
and X of
this
core
were
characterised
by
high
counts
of
Artemisia
and Chenopodiaceae and
low
values
for
arboreal
pollen
(Wijmstra,
19&9,
525)
These
zones
cover
much
of
the
period
of
the
last
glaciation
from
about
50,000
B.P.
to
1U,600
B.P.
(Wijmstra,
1969,
523,
527,
fig.
2).
Wijmstra
suggests
that
the
climate
was
both
cooler and drier
then
than
now
(1969,
526)
which
accords
with
the
evidence
of
the
Ghab
core
from
Syria.
The
proportion
of
arboreal
pollen
increased
through
zone
Y
reaching
modern
levels
about
8000
B.C.
The
Tenaghi
Philippon
data
are
supported
by
another
pollen
core
from
loannina
in
Epirus.
Although
this
was
drilled
at a
higher
elevation
than
the
Tenaghi
Philippon
core
it
nevertheless
shows
the
same
vegetational
and
climatic
trends. Zones
IIC
and
III
were
characterised
by
high
values
-
20 -
of
herbaceous
pollen
and
low
arboreal
pollen caused
by
cool,
dry
conditions
(Bottema,
196?
9
28).
These
zones
cover
the
period
from
approximately
UO,000
to
before
10,000
B.P.
At the
beginning
of
zone
IV
Artemisia
pollen
decreased
and oak
pollen
increased
as
the
forest
expanded
into
a
previously
steppic
area,
a
phase
which
corresponds
to
zone
Y
at
Tenaghi
Philippon.
Several
cores
have
been
drilled
in
late
Quaternary
deposits
in
the
floors
of
valleys
in
the
Zagros
Mountains.
From
pollen
analysis of
these
cores
it
is
possible
to
reconstruct
the
pattern
of
vegetation
in
the
region
from
the
late
Pleistocene
into
the
Holocene.
In zone
A1
of
the
63-J
core
from
Lake
Zeribar
there
were
very
high
proportions
of
Chenopodiaceae
and
Artemisia
but
almost
no
arboreal
pollen
(van
Zeist,
196T
9
fig.
3).
This
zone
is
dated
to
between
20,000
and
12,000
B.C.
and
it
is
suggested
that
the
climate
then
was
cooler
and drier
than
today.
Analysis
of
two
other
cores
from
Lalabad
springs
and
Lake
Nilofar
in
the
Kermanshah
valley
shows
that
similar
conditions
prevailed
further
to the
south-east
(van
Zeist,
196T
9
309).
Chenopodiaceae
and
Artemisia
values
remained high
in
zones
A2
and
B
of
the
Zeribar
core
but
plantain
(Plantago)
pollen
now
formed
10$
of
the
diagram
and
arboreal
pollen,
mostly
oak,
became
significant
for
the
first
time.
Van
Zeist
suggests
that
this
indicates
the
spread
of
savanna
vegetation,
caused
by
an
increase
in
both temperature
and
precipitation
(1967
9
310).
A
gradual
expansion
of
trees
continued
until
about
UOOO
B.C.;
the
percentage
of
arboreal pollen then
rose
rapidly
as
an
oak
forest
developed
in
response
to
an
increase
in
available
moisture.
This
pattern
of
vegetation
change
is
supported
by
the
results
from
another
core
drilled
at
a
lower
elevation
at
Lake
Mirabad
in
the
Saidmarreh
valley.
The
change
from
a
late
Pleistocene
vegetation
formed
under
arid
conditions
to
a
savanna
and
then
later
an
oak
forest
as
temperature
and
available
moisture
increased
matches
both
the
Ghab
core
and
those
from
northern
Greece.
-
21
-
Summary
It
will
"be
helpful
now
to
summarise
the
evidence
discussed
above
in
order
to
present
an
outline
of
the
environment
of the
Levant
in
the
late
Pleistocene.
We
have
established
that
during
the
last
glaciation
the
level
of
the
sea
on
the
Levant
coast
dropped
considerably.
The
temperature
fell
between
5
and
10 C
9
the
most
likely
estimate
being
about
6
or
7
C.
This
led to
a
lowering
of
the
snowline
and
below
that
the
treeline
and
altitudinal
vegetation
belts.
The
fall
in
temperature
increased
the
effectiveness
of
precipitation
which
in
its
turn
led
to
marked
alterations
in
vegetation
and
lake
levels;
it
does
not
appear,
however,
that
there was
much
if
any
absolute
increase
in
rainfall
at
this time.
This,
together
with
the
unequivocal
evidence
for
an
arid
phase
in
the
Levant
towards
the
end
of
the
Wtirm
glacia-
tion,
contradicts
the
view
expressed
by
some
authorities
(Horowitz,
1975>207;
Begin
et
al.,
197^-
9
28)
that
there
was
a
distinct
"pluvial"
phase
in
the
Near
East
corresponding
to the
WUrm/Wisconsin
glaciation
in
northern
latitudes.
For
much
of
the
last
glaciation
there
were
large
lakes
in
the
inland
basins
in
the
central
and
southern
Levant
because
there
was
more
available
moisture
in
these
regions
than
today.
Moister
conditions
also
prevailed
in
Egypt during
this
period.
Apart
from
a
lake
in
the
Ghab
section
of
the
Rift
valley
there
do
not
seem
to
have
been
any
large
open
bodies
of
water
in
Syria
so
there
was
not
as
much
available
moisture
there
as
in
the
rest
of
the
Levant.
Early
in
the
Wtirm
glaciation
the
vegetation
was
denser than
it
would
be
today
without
human
interference.
Tree
cover
extended
throughout
the
upland
zone
behind
the
Levant
coast.
The
slopes
of
the
Lebanon
Mountains
and
the
lower
Anti-Lebanon
were
clothed
with
mixed
deciduous
and
coniferous
forest.
There
was
oak forest
in
Galilee
and
probably
Judea
while
trees
were
found
as
far
south
as
Sinai.
Even
the
Jebels
Alawiye
and
Zawiye
carried more
forest
than
would
be
possible
today.
In
northern
Syria
the
forest
thinned
out
in
response
to
increased
aridity
and was
largely replaced
by
steppe
well
before
the
middle
of
the
-
22
-
Wurm;
open
forest
and
steppe
were
also
characteristic
of
Macedonia
for
much
of
the
last
glaciation.
The
tree
cover
remained
fairly
dense
in
Lebanon
and
Palestine,
however,
until
much
later.
A
marked
change
in
the
climate
and
environment
of
the
Levant
took
place
quite late
in
the
WUrm.
The Lisan,
Jafr
and
Damascus
basin
lakes
all
shrank.
The
inception
of
this
phase
is
approximately
dated
by
14
C
determinations
of
lake sediments.
These
dates
would
suggest that
the
regression
phase
of
these
lakes
began
at
approximately
the
same
time
about
20,000
to
18,000
B.C.
The
vegetation
also
changed
about
this
time.
The
trees
thinned
out
in
the
uplands
and
mountains
and
the
steppe
greatly
expanded.
In
Galilee
the
oak
forest
was
replaced
by
maquis.
Although
the
Lebanon
Mountains
continued
to
be
forested
the
tree
cover
was
much
reduced;
in
the
Anti-Lebanon
and
around
Damascus
very
few
trees
were
to
be
found
at all.
The
replacement
of
forest
1y
steppe
which
had
begun
some
time
before
in
northern
Syria
went
still
further
until
only part
of
the
Jebel Alawiye
carried
any
tree
cover.
The
whole
Syrian
plateau
would
have
been
intensely
steppic
and
this zone
would
have
extended
as
far
south
as
TransJordan.
Similar
steppic
conditions
characterised
the
Zagros
at
this time
while
steppe
and
open
forest
still
constituted
the
vegetation
in
northern
Greece.
Although
there
is
disagreement among
palynologists
about
the
causes of
these
vegetation
changes,
there
seems
little
doubt
that
a
reduction
in
the
available
moisture
was
responsible
for
the
drop
in
lake
level,
the
expansion
of steppe
and
the
reduction
in
tree
cover.
This
stage
coincided
with
the
second
severe
cold
phase
of
the
Wurm
in
northern
Europe
(Butzer,
1972,
27^-)
and
the
temperature
in
the
Levant
would
have
been
at
its
lowest
during
this
period.
The
climate
was,
therefore,
arid
and
relatively
cool.
Towards
the
end
of
the
last
glaciation
there
was
another
change
in
environmental
conditions
throughout
the
Levant.
The
inland
basin
lakes
expanded
again
though
they
did
not
reach
their earlier
Wurm
high
levels.
The
steppe
retreated
and
there
was
an
expansion
of
forest
cover.
Oak
forest
-
23
-
partly
replaced
maquis
in
northern
Palestine
while
scattered
evergreen
oak
and
olives
grew
in
the Negev.
The
forests
became
much
denser
in
the
Lebanon
Mountains
and
woodland
with both
cedar
and
deciduous species
spread
quite
widely
in
the
Anti-Lebanon.
In
northern
Syria
the
forest
expanded
greatly
over
both
the
coastal
mountains
and
the
Jebel
Zawiye.
It
was
a
mixed
forest
of
oak,
pistachio,
olive
and
hornbeam
with
some
cedar
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
7U6).
During
this
period
the
vegetation
of
the
Levant
reached
a
particularly
rich
climax
(Fig.
2).
As
today
there
were
three
vegetation
zones
from
the
well-watered
coast
to
the
arid
interior.
In
the
coastal
mountains and
on
the
edge
of
the
plateau
to
the
east
was
a
Mediterranean
forest
zone.
Today
species
such
as
pine
(Pinus
brutia
and
Pinus
halepensis)
9
pistachio
(Pistacia
lentiscus),
both
deciduous
and
evergreen
oak,
oriental
plane
(Platanus
orientalis)
and
juniper
are
characteristic
of this
zone
(Zohary,
1962,
UU)
but
then
it
included
several
species
typical
of
cooler
conditions.
This
zone
extended
much
further
east
and
south
than
now.
Beyond
the
Mediterranean
foresl
lay
the
steppe
zone
(irano-Turanian)
with
a
rainfall
of
between
300
and
150mm
(Zohary,
1970).
Today
this
zone
is
composed
principally
of
herbs
and
dwarf
shrubs
such
as
Ephedra,
Noea,
Haloxylon
and
Artemisia
herba-alba
but
also
pistachio
(Pistacia
atlantica)
and
jujube
(Zohary,
1962,
U7);
the
plant
remains
from
the
Mesolithic
settlement
at
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
suggest
that
this
zone
was
richer
in
species
then.
An
intermediate
belt
of
open
woodland
would
have
.lain
between
the
Mediterranean
and steppe
zones
like
today
(Zohary,
1970;
Pabot,
1957,
68)
but
this
belt
may
have
been
broader
then.
The
third
zone
was
the
true
desert
(Saharo-Sindian
or
Saharo-Arabian),
receiving
less
than
150mm
rainfall
a
year
and
characterised
by
a
very
poor
vegetation
(Zohary,
1970).
This
zone
was
much
less
extensive
than
today,
probably
occupying
part
of
the
Arabian
interior
and
so
only
impinging
on
the
south-eastern
corner
of
the
Levant.
Once
again
a
change
in
the
amount
of
moisture
available
seems
to
have
Mediterranean
forest
Intermediate
open
forest
Fig.
2
A
reconstruction
of
vegetation
zones
c.
9,000
B.C.
scale
1:5.000.000
-
2U
-
"been
the
principal
cause
of
"both
the rise
in
lake
levels
and the
spread
of
forest.
This
was
entirely
due
to
an
increase
in
precipitation
because
we
know
from
the
deep-sea
cores
that the
temperature
worldwide
had
already
begun
to
rise.
This
temperature
rise,
or
at
least
the
effects
of
it,
seems
to
have
taken
place
a
little
later
in
the
Eastern
Mediterranean
and
Red
Sea
as
the
cores
from
there
do
not
indicate
any
significant
warming
much
before
12,000
or
13,000
B.P.
(Vergnaud-Grazzini,
Herman-Rosenberg,
19&9,
fig.
2;
Herman,
1968,
326).
The
presence
of
species
such
as
silver
lime
in
the
hills
around
Damascus
indicates
that
it
was
still
relatively
cool
during
this
phase.
The
date
for the
beginning
of this
moister
phase
is
uncertain
because
the
relevant
14
C
dates
from
pollen
spectra
and
sediments
in
the
Levant
occur
either
well
before
or
sometime after
its
inception.
A
good
estimate
can,
however, be
made
from
data
in
neighbouring
regions.
The
transition
from
zone
X
to
zone
Y
in
the
pollen
spectrum
from
Tenaghi
Philippon
is
dated
at
12,650
±
200
B.C.
GrN-Ul83
(Wijmstra,
1969,
523),
a
date
that
fits
well
with
14C
determinations
from
several
cores
drilled
in
the
area.
A
similar transi-
tion
at
Lake
Zeribar
is
dated
about
12,000
B.C.
In
the
Levant
itself
we
know
that
the
change
took
place
after
a
date
of
16,850
±
195
B.C.
Hv-1725
for
the
regression
phase
in
the
Huleh
basin
and
a
date
of
17,0^0
±
520
B.C.
for
the
same
regression
in
the
Damascus basin.
The
phase
also
began
sometime
before
9^00
B.C.
in
the
Ghab,
a
date
estimated
from
a
14
C
determination
of
8,130
±
55
B.C.
GrN-5810
for
the
transition
from
sub-zone
Z1
to
Z2
in
the
pollen
spectrum
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
7^3,
751ff).
The
rise
in
level
of
the
Dead
Sea
is
dated
7900
±
150
B.C.
and
must
have
begun
sometime
before
that.
A
fair
estimate
for the
beginning
of
this
phase
in
the
Levant
might
be
about
12,000
B.C.
bearing
in
mind
the
dates
from
Tenaghi
Philippon
and
Lake
Zeribar
but
this
may
be
in
error
by
as
much
as
two
millennia.
Although
the
date
for
the
beginning
of
this
phase
is
so
uncertain
the
phase itself
is
clearly
contemporary
with
the
Late
Glacial
in
northern
Europe
(Butzer,
1972,
27^).
This
was
a
complex
period
of
alternate
milder
and
-
25 -
colder
phases.
It
is
not
surprising, therefore,
if
it
is
difficult
to
inter-
pret
the
geomorphological
and
pollen
data
for
this
phase
in
the
Levant.
The
actual
changes
which
these
data
record
need
not
have
happened
at
exactly
the
same
time
so
one
should
not
necessarily
expect
to
be
able to
give
a
single
date
for the
inception
of
this
phase.
Early
Holocene
The
date
for the
end
of
the
Pleistocene
and
beginning
of
the
Holocene
in
northern
Europe
has
been
determined
as
about 8000
B.C.,
one
recent
estimate
being
8300
B.C.
(Butzer,
1972,
530).
This date
is
believed
to
mark
a
sub-
stantial
reduction
of the
glaciers
and
the
draining
of
the
Baltic
Lake.
These
criteria
have
little
relevance
for the
Levant
yet
this date
does
appear
to
coincide
with
certain
environmental
changes
there
that
characterise
the
true
Holocene.
8000
B.C.
may,
therefore,
also
be taken
as
a
convenient
point
at
which
to
divide
the
Pleistocene
and
Holocene
in
the
Levant.
After
a
marked
fall
in
the
9th
millennium
B.C.
the
temperature
rose
again
at
the
beginning
of
the
Holocene
and
continued
to
increase
until
perhaps
as
late
as
3000
B.C.,
certainly
throughout
the
Neolithic.
This
rise
seems
to
have
been
less
irregular
in
the
earlier
Holocene
than
during
the
Late Glacial
but
there
may
still
have
been
minor
fluctuations
that
affected
the
environ-
ment
of
the
Levant.
The
Dead
Sea
remained
at
a
higher
level than
before
for
several
millennia
during
the
early
Holocene.
The
ratio
of
run-off
to
evaporation
was
high
during
this
period
and
an
extensive
bed
of
clay
was
laid
down
in
the
Dead
Sea
basin
(Neev,
Emery,
1967,
28).
During
a
subsequent
drier
phase
a
layer
of
rock
salt
was
superimposed
on
this clay bed.
The
deposition
of
this
rock
salt
is
estimated
to
have
taken
place
between
U500
and
3500
B.C.
Another
phase
of
increased
available
moisture followed
when
a
further
bed
of
clay
was
laid
down;
this
bed
is
dated
by
a
single
llt
C
determination
of 2H60
±
320
B.C.
(Neev,
Emery,
1967
9
28),
The
Beth-Shan
lake
existed
throughout
this
period
-
26
-
but
was
finally
drained
sometime after
3000
B.C.
No
significant
alterations
in
lake
level
during
the
Holocene
have
"been
detected
in
the
Jafr
depression
(Huckriede,
Wiesemann,
1968,
85)
but
changes
were
taking
place
in
the
Damascus
basin.
Here
alternating
drier
and
moister
phases
are
believed
to
have
influenced
the
environment
during
the
Holocene
(Kaiser
et
al.,
1973,
351ff)
although
these
phases
are
not
well
dated.
During
the
middle
Holocene
a
deep
layer
of
calcareous sediments was
deposited
by
heavy
winter
rains
at
Tekieh
in
the
Barada
gorge and
run-off
was
sufficiently
great
to wash
more
sediment
into
the
Damascus
basin
(van
Liere,
1960-61,
5^-K
Nevertheless,
despite
this
evidence
of
erosive
activity,
the
late
Wurm
lake
in
the
Damascus
basin
gradually
shrank
and
divided
into
two to
form
the
present
Hijjane
and
Ataibe
lakes.
This
was
caused
by
an
increase
in
evapora-
tion
following
the
Holocene
rise
in
temperature
and
an
eventual
decrease
in
effective
run-off.
The
rise
in
sea-level
towards
the
end of
the
Pleistocene
sharply
reduced
the
gradient
of
the
rivers
on
the
seaward
side
of the
Jebel
Alawiye.
The
valleys
of
the
Nahr
el
Kebir
and
the
other
smaller
rivers
began
to fill
with
debris
(van
Liere,
1960-61,
2U).
The
erosive
power
of
the
run-off
in
this
region
has
not
been
very
strong
during
the
Holocene
so
this
deposit
has
continued
to
accumulate
and
little
sediment
reaches
the
sea.
The
evidence
for
changes
in
vegetation
in
the
Levant during
the
Holocene
is
less
satisfactory
than
for
the
Pleistocene.
Very
few
pollen
cores
have
been
drilled
and
studied
while
those
which
are
available
are
difficult
to
interpret.
This
is
true even
in
the
northern
Jordan valley
where
no
less
than
five
cores
have
been
bored
in
Holocene
sediments,
three
in
the
Huleh
basin
(K-Jam,
U.P.6,
U.P.15)
and
two
in
the
bed
of
the Sea
of
Galilee
(D-1016/2,
D-1021/1).
Unfortunately
the
cores
were
sampled
at
rather
wide
intervals
and
relatively
few
pollen
grains
were recovered
(Horowitz,
1971
9
259).
1If
C
determinations have
been
made
on
samples
from
only
three
of
the
five
cores,
K-Jam,
U.P.15
and
D-1016/2.
The
K-Jam
date
(Hv-1725) falls
in
-
27
-
the
Pleistocene
but
the
other
dates
cluster
in
the
second
half
of
the
Holocene.
Because
of
this
uneven
distribution
one
must
treat
with
caution
Horowitz's
calculations
of
average
sedimentation
rates
in
the
cores,
particularly
when
he
applies the
supposed
rate
in
the
dated
core
U.P.15
to
U.P.6
although
the
lithology
in
the
two
is
completely
different
(Horowitz,
19T1»
269).
One's
misgivings
are
reinforced
on
observing
that
some
of
the
dates
applied
to
different
stages
in
the
cores
have
been
incorrectly
calculated
from
the
supposed
sedimentation
rates
(Horowitz,
1971»
268).
Even
when
one
allows
for
these
discrepancies
one finds
that,
on
Horowitz
f
s
own
division
of
the
stages,
the
results
from
the
cores
are
in
part
contradictory.
In
spite of
these
difficulties
it is
necessary
to
attempt
to
analyse
the
data
presented
in
this
study
because
it
provides
almost
the
only indepen-
dent
evidence
about
the
Holocene
vegetation
in
this
region;
the
other
source
of
data,
evidence
from
archaeological
sites,
may
be
expected
to
be
influenced
by
man's
activities.
K-Jam
is
a
much
deeper
core
than
the
others
and
it
is
only
the
section
from
18
to
9m
which
is
believed
to
record
the
vegetation
in
the
first
half
of
the
Holocene
(Horowitz,
1971,
267).
At
18m
the
percentage
of
arboreal
pollen,
principally
oak,
is
relatively
high
but
then
this
gradually
declines.
At the
same
time pollen of
marsh
plants
and
grasses
increases,
reflecting
a
gradual
contraction
of
Lake
Huleh.
A
more
detailed
picture
of
Holocene vegetation
changes
may
be
obtained
from
core
D-1016/2.
This
core
is
thought
to
have
been
drilled
entirely
in
Holocene
sediments
(Horowitz,
1971»
270ff)
and
samples
for
pollen
analysis
have
been
taken
at
shorter
intervals
of time
than
in
the
K-Jam
core.
A
sample
at
the
bottom
of
the
core
from
a
depth
of
30m
below
the
surface
of
the
lake,
which
is
believed
to
date
from
the
beginning
of
the
Holocene,
has
a
low
value
of
10%
for
arboreal
pollen
composed
mostly
of
oak
with
a
little
Aleppo
pine.
Open
field
species
are
much more
common,
accounting
for
over
55%
of the
pollen
(Horowitz,
1971»
diagram
p.
266).
Horowitz
believes
that
these
figures
are
supported
by
the
pollen
spectra
of
the
other,
undated
core
from
the
Sea
of
-
28
-
Galilee,
D-1021/1
(1971,
table
16).
These
results
directly
contradict
the
evidence
from
the
K-Jam
cores
which
suggested
that
Galilee
was
well-forested
at
the
"beginning
of
the
Holocene.
Subsequently
the
values
for
arboreal
pollen
increase
in core
D-1016/2,
reaching
a
peak
between
27
and
23m,
a
little
before
the
middle
of the Holocene.
The
proportions
of
oak
pollen
in the
spectra
have actually
declined
but
walnut
and
jujube
make
up
the
difference.
Open
field
pollen
still
forms an
important
percentage
of
the total.
Again
it
would
appear difficult
to
reconcile
this
curve
for
arboreal
pollen
with
that
from
the
K-Jam
core.
The
two
other
cores
from
the
Huleh
basin, U.P.6
and
U.P.15,
are
believed
to
extend
back
only
as
far
as
the
earlier
Holocene
(Horowitz,
1971,
268ff).
The
percentages
of
arboreal
pollen
are
quite
high
at
the
bottom
of
these
cores,
possibly
correlating
with
the
relatively
high
values
we
have
noted
for
the
earlier
Holocene
in
core
D-1016/2.
The
pollen
is
mostly
from
oak
trees
with
a
little
pistachio
and
olive
but
no
jujube;
the
high
values
for
the
latter
species
in
the
D-1016/2
core
may
be
anomalous.
Can
the
often
apparently
conflicting
evidence
from
these
cores
be
brought
together
to
present
a
coherent
picture
of
vegetation
change?
Part
of
the
difficulty may
be
that
the
record
from
the
K-Jam
core
is
a
long
one
and
insensitive
to
short-term
variations.
The
evidence
from
this
core
suggests
a
steady
decline
in
forest
vegetation
as
the
Holocene
progresses,
a
general
trend
apparent from
the
arboreal
pollen
curves
in
the
two
other
Huleh
cores,
though
not
fully
supported
by
the
evidence
from
the
cores
from
the
Sea
of
Galilee.
The
low
arboreal
pollen
values
for the
beginning
of
the
Holocene
in
core
D-1016/2
may
refer
to
a
short-term
fluctuation
in
that
area
which
has
not
been
noticed
in
the
more
generalised
studies
of
the
K-Jam
core.
One
may
now
present
with
due
caution
a
synthesis
of
the
vegetation
record
from
these
cores.
At
the
close
of
the
Pleistocene
when
the
Huleh
lake
was
quite
extensive
the
hills
of
Galilee
and
the
Golan
were
clothed
with
forest
composed principally
of
oak.
At
the
beginning
of the
Holocene
there
may
have
-
29
-
been
a
brief
decline
in
forest
cover,
at
least
in
the
environs of the
Sea
of
Galilee,
but
thereafter
the hills
were
forested
until
the
mid-Holocene.
This
long
period
of
fairly
extensive
tree
cover
in
northern
Palestine
coin-
cides
with
the
phase
of
greater
run-off
that
maintained
the
Dead
Sea
at
a
high
level.
Later
in
the
Holocene
most of the
cores
show
a
decline
in
tree
pollen
and,
in
the
Huleh
basin,
an
extension
of
marsh
vegetation
which
Horowitz
believes
can
be
attributed
to
generally
drier
conditions
(1971,
268).
It
would
seem
more likely
by
this
time
that
man
was
partly
responsible
for
these
vegetation
changes
through
forest
clearance.
If
this
interpretation
is
correct
for
Galilee
and
the
Golan
then
one
may
tentatively
infer
from
it
something
of
the
pattern
of
vegetation
further
south.
It
is
likely
that
the
Judean
hills
and
the
mountains
of
TransJordan
were forested
at
least
as
far
south
as
the latitude
of
the
Dead
Sea
and
probably
further.
Timber
from
a
number
of
species
from
the
forested
zone
such
as
ash,
plane,
almond,
pear,
olive,
fig,
Christ's
Thorn
and
carob
was
used by
the
Neolithic
inhabitants
of
Jericho
(Western,
1971
9
fig.
1).
This
suggests
that
the
Mediterranean
forest
lay
nearer
the
site
than
it
does
today
(Western,
1971,
Uo).
Northern
Sinai
would
have
been
affected
by
the
moister
conditions
that
existed
in'Egypt
and
so
probably
had
a
richer
vegetation
in
the
earlier
Holocene
than
now.
This
was
almost
certainly
the
same
vegetation
of steppe
and
scat-
tered
trees
that
existed
in
the
area
at
the end
of
the
Pleistocene.
Only
when
more arid
conditions
returned
after
6000
B.C.
would
the
vegetation
have
deteriorated,
a
gradual
process
that
has
continued
until
the
present
day.
Even
now
a
few
relict
specimens of
trees
are
to be
found
in
favoured
habitats
in
both
Sinai
and
TransJordan
(Zohary,
1962,
5*0
though
the
vegetation
zones
of
which
they
were
characteristic
have
retreated.
There
is
very
little
evidence
from
which
to
determine
the
vegetation
in
Lebanon
and
southern
Syria
during
the
Holocene.
Presumably
the
Mountains
of
Lebanon
remained
heavily
forested
for
several
thousand
years.
A
single
pollen
-
30
-
spectrum
from Tekieh
suggests
that
the
Anti-Lebanon
still
carried
some trees
and
herbaceous
ground
cover
as
late
as
the
mid-Holocene
(Kaiser
et
al.,
1973,
fig.
6).
Further
east
steppe
vegetation
characterised
by
Chenopodiaceae
and
Compositae
began
to encroach
upon
the
Damascus
basin
and
the
Golan
(Leroi-
Gourhan,
1973,
U6)
quite
early
in
the
Holocene
but
it
is
likely
that
man's
activities
hastened
this
transformation.
The
principal
source
of
information
for
the
vegetation
of
northern Syria
during
the
earlier
Holocene
is
the
Ghab
pollen
core.
Sub-zone
Z3 in
the
pollen
diagram
is
ascribed
to
this
period
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
750).
Jebels
Alawiye
and Zawiye
remained
clothed
with
light
mixed
forest
throughout
this
period.
The
forest
was
principally
composed
of
evergreen
oak,
olive,
pine
(Pinus
brutia),
pistachio
and
hornbeam
with
some
cedar
of
Lebanon.
There
was
less
oak
pollen
in
this
sub-zone
than
in
Z2
and
a
higher
percentage
of
herba-
ceous
pollen.
This
may
indicate
that
the
tree
cover
was
less
dense
than
in
Z2
and
that
rainfall
decreased
slightly
(Niklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
750)
in
the
early Holocene.
Almost
the
same
type
of
light
forest
would
be
the
natural
vegetation
cover
in
this
area
today
were
it
not
for
man's
interference.
Later
in
the
Holocene
species
such
as
pistachio,
olive,
juniper
and
hornbeam
de-
creased
while
cedar
disappeared
completely
because
of
man's
activities
(Wiklewski,
van
Zeist,
1970,
751).
The
vegetation
around
Abu
Hureyra
during
the
earlier
Holocene
was
steppic
but
still
richer
in
species
than
today
(Hillman,
1975,
70).
This
would
indicate
that
the
total rainfall
was
probably
about
the
same
as
now
although
it
may
have
been
more
regular.
The
drastic
degradation
of
the
steppe
that
occurred
during
the
Holocene
around
Abu
Hureyra
and
throughout
northern
and
central
Syria
was
brought
about more
by
man's
activities
than
by
climatic
change.
It
will
be
useful
now
to
compare
the
data
we
have
already
considered
with
recent
proposed
reconstructions
of
postglacial
atmospheric circulation
in the
northern
hemisphere.
During
the
9th
millennium
atmospheric
circulation
is
believed
to
have
been
relatively
weak
over
Europe
and
it
is
thought
that
the
-
31
-
belt
of
-westerly
winds
lay
further
south than
today
(Lamb,
1971
9
Rain-bearing
winds
from
the
Atlantic
and
Mediterranean
would
have
reached
the
Levant
more
frequently
(Lamb,
Woodroffe,
1970
9
figs.
10b,
10c)
and
so
winter
rainfall
would
have
been
greater
than
today;
it
is
also
possible
that
the
rainy season
lasted
longer
than
now.
By
about
6500
B.C.
the
European
ice
sheet
had
almost
disappeared
but
the
North
American
one
still
existed.
This
stimulated
a
more vigorous
wind
system
and
also
caused
the
westerlies
over
the
Atlantic
to
follow
a
more
north-easterly
course.
A
strong
anticyclone
lay
in
the
eastern
Atlantic
and
over
western
Europe
(Lamb,
1971,
160,
figs.
8,
9),
preventing
some
of
the
moist
air
from
the
Atlantic
reaching
the
Levant.
In
consequence
rainfall
became
more
seasonal
and
possibly
decreased
in
amount;
the
continued
post-
glacial
rise
in
temperature
would
have
also
tended
to
lower
precipitation.
About
UOOO
B.C.
the
North American
ice
sheet
had
melted
so
the
wind
system
resumed
a
more
zonal
configuration
but
now
the
track
of
the
westerlies
f
lay
further north
(Lamb,
1971,
160,
fig.
10;
Lamb
et
al.,
1966,
fig.
11g).
The
Levantine
summer
became
longer
and
drier
while
fewer
rain-bearing
depressions
penetrated
from
the
west
in
winter.
Consequently
this
was
a
relatively
arid
period.
Subsequently
the
atmospheric
circulation
fluctuated
again
(Lamb,
1971»
l60ff)
and
this
led
to
an
amelioration
of
climatic
conditions
in
the
Levant
during
the
following
millennia.
Summary
We
can
now
summarise
the
evidence
for
climatic
change
in
the
Levant
during
the
earlier
Holocene
and
see
what
effect
it
had
on
the environment.
After
a
brief
cooler phase
at
the
close
of
the
Pleistocene
the
temperature
resumed
its
rise.
The
rainy season was
both
more
regular
and
lasted
longer
than
today.
Total
rainfall
remained
relatively
high
although
there
is
some
evidence
from
the
pollen
cores
that
it
decreased
slightly
in
northern
Syria
and
possibly
further
south.
These
relatively
cool,
moist climatic
conditions
kept
the
Dead
Sea
at
a
high
level
and
led
to
significant erosion
in
the
Mediterranean
forest
Intermediate
open
forest
Desert
Fig.
3
A
reconstruction
of
vegetation
zones
c.
6,000
B.C.
scale
1
=
5,000,000
- 32 -
Damascus
basin.
In
Egypt
conditions
were
also
moister
than
today,
causing
the
Arminna
member
to
be
formed
in
Nubia.
Because
the
climate
was
cooler
and
moister
the
Mediterranean
forest
zone
covered
a
larger
area
than
it
would
now
without
human
interference.
Palestine
and
Trans
Jordan
were
clothed
in a
mixed
forest
which extended further
south
than
today.
This
changed
to
open
forest
in
northern
Sinai
while
much
of
the
rest
of
the
peninsula
had
steppe
vegetation
with
scattered
trees.
Further
north
the
Mountains
of
Lebanon were
heavily
forested while
the
Anti-Lebanon
carried
light
woodland.
The
mixed
forest
extended
throughout
the
Jebels
Alawiye
and
Zawiye,
curving
eastward
about
the
latitude
of
Aleppo.
Beyond
the
Mediterranean
forest
zone
lay the
intermediate
open
forest
belt
which
stretched
from
as
far
south
as
the
Dead
Sea
along
the
plateau
of
Trans-
jordan into
northern
Syria.
To
the
east this
belt
merged
with
the steppe
zone
which occupied
much
of the
interior
and
part
of
Sinai.
The
desert
zone
still
covered
a
very
small
part
of
the
Levant,
in
contrast
with
today
(Zohary,
During
the
7th
millennium
the
climate
changed;
rainfall
became
more
seasonal
and
probably
diminished.
This
caused
a
gradual
contraction
of
the
Mediterranean
mixed
forest
and
intermediate
open
forest
zones
(Fig.
3).
The
steppe
expanded
into
areas
that
previously
carried
open
forest
while
the
desert,
too,
reached
further north
and
west.
The
Ghab
and
other
pollen
cores
indicate
that
these
changes
were
accelerated
by
man's activities.
Another
change
in
climate
took
place
during
the
5th
millennium
when
rainfall
in
the
Levant
decreased
further;
it
had
already
fallen
to
almost
nothing
in
Egypt.
By
now
the
temperature
had
risen
to
near
its
postglacial
maximum.
This
deterioration
in
climate
seems
to
have
been
quite
marked
for
it
caused
the
level
of
the
Dead
Sea
to
drop sharply.
The
effect
on
the
vegetation
would
have
been
to
cause
a
further
contraction
of
the
forest
zones
(Fig.
U).
The
desert
albeit
with
some
relict
trees,
would
have
now
extended
throughout
Sinai,
eastern
Trans
Jordan
and
southern
and
eastern
Syria.
It
is
Mediterranean
forest
Intermediate
open
forest
Fig.
4
A
reconstruction
of
vegetation
zones
c.
4,000
B.C.
scale
1:5,000,000
-
33 -
difficult
to
determine
precisely
the
boundaries
of
the
natural vegetation
zones
because
man's
activities
had
already
distorted
the
picture.
The
climate
improved
somewhat
late
in
the
Uth
millennium
but
by
now
the
damage
done
to
the
vegetation
by
man
and
increased
aridity,
particularly
in
the
zones
of
open
forest
and
park
steppe,
was
irreversible.
While
the
climatic
changes
that
took
place
in
the
Levant
in
the
early
Holocene
were
not
as
great
as
during
the
Wtirm
they
were
sufficient
to alter
both
landforms
and the
extent
of
the
major
vegetation
zones.
At
the
moment
it is
possible
only to
describe
these
environmental
changes
in
outline
but
the
evidence
of the
pollen
cores
and
the
sediments
of
the
Damascus
basin
suggest
that events
were
more
complex
than
the
scheme
presented
here.
The
actual
fluctuations
in
rainfall
and
temperature
may
have
been
relatively
small
compared
with
the
postglacial
in
northern
Europe
but
they
had
a
marked
effect
on
the
environment
because
so
much
of
the
southern
Levant
and
the
inland
plateau
is
a
semi-arid
zone
sensitive
to
slight
climatic
changes.
The
evidence
of the
Zagros
pollen
cores
emphasises
that
the
present
climate
and
natural
vegetation
zones
in
the
Near
East
were
not
established
until
the
Holocene
was
well
advanced.
The
changes
in
natural
environment
that
took
place
during
the
earlier
Holocene
would
have
significantly influenced
human
settlement
and
economy.
For the
first
time
man's
own
activities
had
a
marked
effect
on
the
landscape,
particularly
its
vegetation
and
soil
cover.
The
environmental
changes
that
took
place,
therefore,
were caused
by
a
complex
interaction
of
climatic
change
and
human
behaviour.
Chapter
2
THE
MESOLITHIC
OF
THE
LEVANT
The
Mesolithic
of
the
Levant
was
a
distinct
cultural
stage
which
came
betweeb
the
Aurignacian
and the
Neolithic.
Its
most
diagnostic
archaeological
feature was
a
chipped
stone
industry
characterised
"by
microlithic
tools.
This
microlithic
component
has
been
found
on
Mesolithic
stations
all
over
the
Levant
but
on
no
Aurignacian
or
Neolithic
site.
It
is
thus
the
most
distinctive
trait
by
which
to
define
the
Mesolithic
stage.
Mesolithic
sites
were
first
discovered
in
Palestine
and
the
cultural
sequence
has
since
been
established
more securely
there
than anywhere
else.
The
earliest
group
of
these
sites
determined
on
the
evidence
of
stratigraphy
and
comparative
typology
was
called
Kebaran
after
the site
where
this
phase
was
first
defined
in
excavation
by
Turville-Petre
(1932,
271).
The
second
phase
was
called
Natufian
since
its
type-site,
Shukbah,
was
situated
in
the
Wadi
en-Natuf
on
the
western
edge
of
the
Judean
hills
(Garrod,
19^2,
1).
The
information
obtained
from
these
excavations
was
considerably
augmented
in
later
years
in
further
work
by
Garrod
herself
at
the
Mugharet
el
Wad
(Garrod,
Bate,
1937,
9ff),
by
Neuville
at
several
sites
in
the
Judean
desert
(1951,
86ff),
Stekelis
and
his
collaborators
at
En
Gev
(Bar-Yosef,
1970a,
106)
and
Perrot
at
Ain Mallaha
(Eynan)
(1968,
col.
367).
Much
other
information
about
Mesolithic
sites
in
Palestine
has also
been
found
in
recent
surveys
and
excavations.
I
must
now
explain
why
I
have
called
this
stage
"Mesolithic"
since
this
term
is
not
widely
used
at
present
in
Near
Eastern
archaeology.
The
Kebaran
and
Natufian
were
described
as
Mesolithic
from
their
discovery
until
sometime
after
the
Second
World
War
(Turville-Petre,
1932,
276;
Garrod,
1957a,
211).
Objections
to
this
term
have
recently
been
raised by
a
number
of
archaeologists
Braidwood,
for
example,
has
said
that
there
was no
Mesolithic
in
western
Asia
in
the
sense
that
the
term
is
used
in
northern
Europe
(Braidwood, Howe,
1960,
-
35
-
U,
81).
Perrot
(I966a,
U83)
and
Bar-Yosef
(1970a,
1)
have
also
rejected
the
term;
they
prefer
to
call
this
stage
"Epipalaeolithic"
to
emphasise
that
the
microlithic
industries
developed from
the
Aurignacian.
At
a
conference
in
London
in
1969
a
number
of
archaeologists
accepted
this
reasoning
and
agreed
to
use
this
name
in
future.
I
believe
that
the
exclusive
use
of
"Epipalaeolithic"
has
a
number
of
disadvantages.
While
I
-would
agree
that
there
was
continuity
from
the
Aurignacian
to
the
Kebaran,
this
term
implies
that
there was
an
absolute
break
between
the
Natufian
representing
the
end
of
the
Palaeolithic
and
the
Neolithic.
It
is
clear
now,
however,
that
human
occupation
of
the
Levant
continued
straight
through
from
the
Natufian
to
the
earlier
Neolithic.
"Epipalaeolithic"
also
implies
that
the
Kebaran
and
Natufian
had
more
in
common
in
their
artifacts
and
way
of
life
with
the
immediately
preceding
Aurignacian
than
with
the
Neolithic.
It
will
be
seen
from what
follows
that
I
would
strongly
challenge
this
assumption.
This
was
an
important
inter-
mediate
stage
in
the
human
settlement
of
the
Levant
distinct
from
both
the
Palaeolithic
before
and
the
Neolithic
after.
Further,
it
coincided
with
the
final
cold
phase
of
the
Pleistocene
and
its
immediate
aftermath
so
that
the
environmental
setting
was
different
from
the
preceding
and
succeeding
stages,
the
contrast
between
the
Kebaran
and
Aurignacian
landscapes
being
particularly
marked.
This
stage
needs
to
be
described
by
a
term
that
suitably
expresses
its
distinctive
qualities.
I
prefer
to
return
to
earlier
usage and
to
use
"Mesolithic"
to
describe
these
phases,
the
Kebaran
and
Natufian
in
Palestine
and
contemporary
sites
elsewhere
in
the
Levant.
The
Mesolithic
has
been
more
thoroughly
investigated
in
Palestine
than
in
any
other
region
of
the
Levant.
A
few
Mesolithic
sites
had
long
been
known
in
Lebanon
and
Syria
but
their
number
has
grown
markedly
in
recent
years.
Several
of
these
sites
have
now
been excavated
so
that
the
sequence
in
these
regions
has
also
been
determined,
at
least
in
outline.
For
many
years
the
Nebekian
and
Falitian
levels
excavated
by
Rust
at
Yabrud
III
were
-
36
-
thought
to
be
the
most
northerly Kebaran-like
occurrence
but
related
material
has
now
been
found
at
Douara
Cave
near
Palmyra
(Akazawa,
197^-,
^)
and
possibly
at
Nahr
el
Homr
east
of
Aleppo
beside
the
Euphrates
(Roodenberg,
forthcoming).
The
evolution
of
this
phase
in
Lebanon
has
become
much
clearer
following
the
recent
wort
at
Ksar
Akil
(Tixier,
197^,
1W
and
Jiita
II
(Hours,
1973,
199).
Sites
with
material related
to
the
Natufian
have
also
been
known
over
a
wide
area
for
some
time.
Helwan
near
Cairo
(Massoulard,
19^9»
29)
and
Yabrud
III
(Rust,
1950,
119)
were
investigated
long
ago
but
recently
several
more
sites
have
been
discovered
and
excavated
in
Lebanon
and
Syria.
No
less
than
four,
Tell
Abu
Hureyra
(Moore,
1975,
56),
Mureybat
(Cauvin,
1972,
107),
Dibsi
Faraj
East
(Wilkinson,
Moore,
forthcoming)
and
Nahr
el
Homr
(Roodenberg,
forthcoming)
have
now
been
examined
in
the
Euphrates
valley
in
the
programme
of
archaeological
exploration
which
has
taken
place during
the
construction
of
the
new
Euphrates
dam.
Work by
Hours
and
his
collaborators
at
Jiita
II
(Chavaillon, Hours,
1970,
215ff)
and
by
Schroeder
at
Saaideh
(1970,
200)
and
Nacharini
has
begun
to
clarify
the
development
of
this
stage
in
Lebanon.
Now
that
sites
with
material
resembling
at
least
in
part
the
assemblages
of
artifacts
from
Kebaran
and
Natufian
sites
in
Palestine
have
been
found
over
such
a
wide
area
of the
Levant
and
even
further
afield
the
traditional
terms
used
to
describe
them
are
no
longer
adequate.
The
descriptions
"Kebaran"
and
"Natufian"
have
been
used
to
describe
every
site
far
beyond
the
confines
of
Palestine with
material
which
bears
only
the
most
general
resemblance
to
that
on
the
type-sites.
They
have
by
such usage
become
so
strained
that
they
have
lost
some
of
their
original
meaning
and
precision.
I
propose
in
this
thesis
to
use
the terms "Kebaran" and "Natufian" only
for
sites
in
Palestine
which
may
be
properly
described
under these
headings.
Sites
found
elsewhere
in
the
Levant
which
have
similarities
with
these
I
shall
classify
as
Mesolithic
1
if
they may be
compared
with
the
Kebaran
and
Mesolithic
2
if
they
have
some
of
the
characteristic
traits
of
the
Natufian.
Both
Mesolithic
1
and
Meso-
lithic
2
will
also
subsume
the
Kebaran
and
Natufian
in
Palestine
itself.
-
37
-
Mesolithic
1
Mesolithic
1
throughout
the
Levant
followed
the
Aurignacian
or
Levantine
Upper
Palaeolithic.