The spread of early humans through the
Near East from Africa

The various routes by which early humans emerged from Africa are part of the important debate on human origins. With an increasing understanding that the Jordanian plateau was at times a broad savannah it is now believed that the corridor through the Levant from Africa was much wider than previously understood. In addition some models now suggest a route not across the Sinai, but over the Red Sea into Arabia. Developing dating techniques are beginning to have a significant impact on our potential to understand much of the open air (as opposed to cave sequence) evidence. At the same time, it has recently become possible to commence fieldwork in Lebanon, a key area of the coastal strip that has been inaccessible due to the civil war. The Palaeolithic archaeology of the Levant is consequently going through an important phase of development.
CBRL has been supporting the following projects:

Dana-Faynan-Ghuwayr Early Prehistory Project
Prof Bill Finlayson (CBRL)
Prof Steve Mithen (Reading University)
Survey and trial excavations in the Faynan region on Palaeolithic to aceramic Neolithic occupations. Published in 2007.
Part of CBRL's Faynan Flagship Project.

Dating framework for Levantine Rivers
Dr David Bridgland (University of Durham)
Project to provide a new framework for Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeology in the Levant by obtaining age estimates from fluvial terrace deposits that are repositories of archaeological material. Sequences in the rivers Orontes and Euphrates will be targeted using luminescence, uranium series, and potassium/argon dating techniques.

Palaeolithic artifacts and river terrace sequences in Syria
Andrew Shaw (University of Durham, PhD research)

Qadisha Valley Early Prehistory (Lebanon) (2003-2006)
Dr Andrew Garrard (UCL)
Dr Corine Yazbeck (St Joseph’s University, Beirut)
The Qadisha Valley Project is the first prehistoric field research in Lebanon for 30 years and has successfully moved from an initial CBRL grant to larger scale BA funding. It was initiated to explore the adaptations of Palaeolithic and Neolithic communities to the highly mesic forested environments of the north Lebanese Mountains. In summer 2003 a survey was undertaken at various elevations in the valley system, and the team found extensive traces of early prehistoric activity. Of particular interest was a cluster of three cave-sites at Moghr el Ahwal, where surface material was recovered dating from the Lower Palaeolithic through to the Late Neolithic. During summer 2004, excavations were undertaken in the central of the three caves (Cave 2). Although the prehistoric deposits were shallow, they included well preserved occupational horizons relating to the Geometric Kebaran, Natufian and the Late Neolithic. This included a rare human burial with grave goods from the Geometric Kebaran and secondary or disturbed burials from the Natufian. Subsistence strategies show a shift from the hunting of species such as roe deer and wild goat in the Epipalaeolithic to animal herding in the Late Neolithic.
Team Members: Dr Martin Bates (University of Wales, Lampeter), Dr Gassia Artin (University of Lyon).

Top