Al-Ansab and the Dead Sea: Mid-MIS 3 archaeology and environment of the early Ahmarian population of the Levantine corridor

Abstract

Our field data from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Al-Ansab 1 (Jordan) and from a pollen sequence in the Dead Sea elucidate the role that changing Steppe landscapes played in facilitating anatomically modern human populations to enter a major expansion and consolidation phase, known as the "Early Ahmarian", several millennia subsequent to their initial Marine Isotope Stage 4/3 migration from Africa, into the Middle East. The Early Ahmarian techno-cultural unit covers a time range between 45 ka-37 ka BP. With so far more than 50 sites found, the Early Ahmarian is the first fully Upper Palaeolithic techno-cultural unit exclusively and undisputedly related to anatomically modern human populations. In order to better understand the potentially attractive features of the Early Ahmarian environmental context that supported its persistence for over 8,000 years, we carried out a decennial research program in Jordan and in the Dead Sea. This included (1) a geoscientific and archaeological survey program in the Wadi Sabra (Jordan) with a particular focus on excavations at the Early Ahmarian site of Al-Ansab 1 alongside the detailed analysis of Quaternary sediments from the same area and (2) palaeobotanical research based on Quaternary lake deposits from the Dead Sea. Our pollen data from the Dead Sea indicate slow, low frequency vegetational variation with expanding Artemisia steppe, from 60 to 20 ka BP (MIS 3-2). Here, we see a reciprocal assimilation of southern and northern Levantine vegetation zones thereby enhancing a long-lasting south-to-north steppe corridor. The same integration process accelerated about 40 ka ago, when forested areas retreated in the Lebanese Mountains. The process then extended to encompass an area from Southern Lebanon to

Gazelle Hunting Strategies in the Early Ahmarian: Close-Range Visuospatial Characteristics of Site Locations Indicate Spatially Focused Hunting Strategies on Gazella sp. During the Early Ahmarian

“…However, numerous sites (Fig. 1, Online Resource 1) of the Early Ahmarian cultural unit reflect the exploitation of small to mediumsized ungulates (Hooijer, 1961;Kuhn et al, 2009;Lieberman, 1995;Phillips, 1988;Rabinovich, 2003Rabinovich, , 2017Richter et al, 2020;Shea et al, 2019;Yeshurun et al, 2019). Particularly in the arid southern and south-eastern parts of the Early Ahmarian, steppic vegetation promotes the dominant presence of Gazella subgutturosa in the archaeological assemblages.…”

“…Consequently, this influenced the spatial behaviour of humans who set out to exploit the ungulates for the extraction of both food and raw material. This situation is partially reflected by the prevailing conditions around several Early Ahmarian sites in the Saharo-Arabian and Irano-Turanian biomes (e.g., Abu Noshra, Al-Ansab 1, Tor Hamar, Wadi al-Hasa) (Belmaker et al, 2014;Bouchud, 1974;Emery-Barbier, 1995;Henry, 1994;Parow-Souchon, 2020;Richter et al, 2020;Schuldenrein & Clark, 2001;Williams, 2000). Here, the presence of lakes, marshes, or other advantageous conditions could be determined (Fig.…”

“…The associated Early Ahmarian mobility pattern is considered to reflect residential mobility tethered to resource patches (Marks & Friedel, 1983;Richter et al, 2020). This is reflected by low assemblage variability in terms of the toolset richness of different types of artefacts (Richter et al, 2020).…”

“…The associated Early Ahmarian mobility pattern is considered to reflect residential mobility tethered to resource patches (Marks & Friedel, 1983;Richter et al, 2020). This is reflected by low assemblage variability in terms of the toolset richness of different types of artefacts (Richter et al, 2020). Generally, high values of the Simpson diversity index (1-D) show the frequent execution of various tasks at the sites of the Early Ahmarian (Richter et al, 2020).…”

“…This is reflected by low assemblage variability in terms of the toolset richness of different types of artefacts (Richter et al, 2020). Generally, high values of the Simpson diversity index (1-D) show the frequent execution of various tasks at the sites of the Early Ahmarian (Richter et al, 2020).…”