title: Dating the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition in the Levant: a view from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel.
abstract: The transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant is a crucial event in human evolution, since it may involve the arrival of a new human population. In the current study, we present thermoluminescence (TL) dates obtained from 32 burnt flints retrieved from the late Lower Paleolithic (Acheulo-Yabrudian) and Early Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) layers of Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Early Middle Paleolithic industries rich in Levallois and laminar products were assigned mean ages ranging from ~250 to ~160 ka (thousands of years ago), suggesting a production of this industry during MIS 7 and the early part of MIS 6. The mean ages obtained for the samples associated with the Acheulo-Yabrudian (strengthened by an isochron analysis) indicate a production of this cultural complex ~250 ka ago, at the end of MIS 8. According to the Misliya TL dates, the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the site took place at the limit MIS 8/7 or during the early part of MIS 7. The dates, together with the pronounced differences in lithic technology strongly suggest the arrival of a new population during this period.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS UVSQ, Bât. 12, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France. Electronic address: helene.valladas@lsce.ipsl.fr.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Valladas
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hershkovitz
authors.forename: Yossi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zaidner
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsatskin
authors.forename: Reuven
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yeshurun
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vialettes
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Joron
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Reyss
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weinstein-Evron
mesh_terms: D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001106:Archaeology / Q000379:methods*; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae; D007557:Israel; D010163:Paleontology; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D013672:Technology
keywords: Early Middle Paleolithic; Human migration; Middle East; Thermoluminescence (TL) dating