A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel

Chiara Belli; Valentina Caracuta; Mina Weinstein-Evron; Reuven Yeshurun; Elisabetta Boaretto; Dani Nadel

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107138

A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel

Chiara Belli, Valentina Caracuta, Mina Weinstein-Evron, Reuven Yeshurun, Elisabetta Boaretto, Dani Nadel

Department of Archaeology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Raqefet Cave is located in southeast Mount Carmel, Israel. It contains a long archaeological sequence with two major occupations: in the early Upper Paleolithic (Levantine Aurignacian culture, ca. 36,000–35,000 cal. BP) and the Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian culture, ca. 14,000–12,000 cal. BP). Abundant charred remains were found in the cave's deposits consisting of various species. Drawing on Δ¹³C values of dated Amygdalus sp. (almond) charcoal specimens, we sought to reconstruct Late Pleistocene precipitation patterns from a high-resolution archaeological record. The results produced the longest, single-site, plant-based paleoclimatic sequence in the southern Levant, and they generally correspond to other paleoclimatic proxies generated for the region. They indicate that the plant taxa and reconstructed precipitation levels were all in the range of modern eastMediterranean climate but with some notable fluctuations. Specifically, we highlight the rainfall differences between the dryer Levantine Aurignacian and the wetter Natufian cultures.

Original language	English
Article number	107138
Journal	Quaternary Science Reviews
Volume	268
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107138
State	Published - 15 Sep 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article is part of Chiara Belli's Ph.D. dissertation, supervised by D.N. M.W-E. and V.C. We thank Prof. Danny Rosenberg from the Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) and Dr. Nicolas Waldmann from the Basin Analysis and Petrophysical Lab (PetroLab, Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences) of the University of Haifa for providing access to the microscope equipment used in this research and for useful discussion. The radiocarbon and stable isotopes research was supported by the Exilarch Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS) Laboratory. The Irene Levi-Sala CARE Archaeological Foundation, the National Geographic Society (Grant #8915?11), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant #7481?2008) generously supported the Raqefet Cave project. Fieldwork at Raqefet Cave was carried out under license numbers G-50/2004, G-34/2006, G-64/2008, G-34/2010, and G-22/2011 of the Israel Antiquities Authority and permits of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Sapir Haad assisted in the preparation of Fig. 1. We thank two anonymous reviewers for the insightful suggestions that helped improve our paper.

Funding Information:
This article is part of Chiara Belli's Ph.D. dissertation, supervised by D.N., M.W-E., and V.C. We thank Prof. Danny Rosenberg from the Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) and Dr. Nicolas Waldmann from the Basin Analysis and Petrophysical Lab (PetroLab, Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences) of the University of Haifa for providing access to the microscope equipment used in this research and for useful discussion. The radiocarbon and stable isotopes research was supported by the Exilarch Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS) Laboratory. The Irene Levi-Sala CARE Archaeological Foundation , the National Geographic Society (Grant # 8915–11 ), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant # 7481–2008 ) generously supported the Raqefet Cave project. Fieldwork at Raqefet Cave was carried out under license numbers G-50/2004, G-34/2006, G-64/2008, G-34/2010, and G-22/2011 of the Israel Antiquities Authority and permits of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Sapir Haad assisted in the preparation of Fig. 1 . We thank two anonymous reviewers for the insightful suggestions that helped improve our paper.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Almond
Archaeobotany
Late Pleistocene
Paleoclimate reconstruction
Southern Levant
Stable carbon isotope analysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Global and Planetary Change
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Archaeology
Archaeology
Geology

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Belli, C., Caracuta, V., Weinstein-Evron, M., Yeshurun, R., Boaretto, E., & Nadel, D. (2021). A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Quaternary Science Reviews, 268, Article 107138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107138

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title = "A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel",

abstract = "Raqefet Cave is located in southeast Mount Carmel, Israel. It contains a long archaeological sequence with two major occupations: in the early Upper Paleolithic (Levantine Aurignacian culture, ca. 36,000–35,000 cal. BP) and the Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian culture, ca. 14,000–12,000 cal. BP). Abundant charred remains were found in the cave's deposits consisting of various species. Drawing on Δ13C values of dated Amygdalus sp. (almond) charcoal specimens, we sought to reconstruct Late Pleistocene precipitation patterns from a high-resolution archaeological record. The results produced the longest, single-site, plant-based paleoclimatic sequence in the southern Levant, and they generally correspond to other paleoclimatic proxies generated for the region. They indicate that the plant taxa and reconstructed precipitation levels were all in the range of modern eastMediterranean climate but with some notable fluctuations. Specifically, we highlight the rainfall differences between the dryer Levantine Aurignacian and the wetter Natufian cultures.",

keywords = "Almond, Archaeobotany, Late Pleistocene, Paleoclimate reconstruction, Southern Levant, Stable carbon isotope analysis",

author = "Chiara Belli and Valentina Caracuta and Mina Weinstein-Evron and Reuven Yeshurun and Elisabetta Boaretto and Dani Nadel",

note = "Funding Information: This article is part of Chiara Belli's Ph.D. dissertation, supervised by D.N. M.W-E. and V.C. We thank Prof. Danny Rosenberg from the Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) and Dr. Nicolas Waldmann from the Basin Analysis and Petrophysical Lab (PetroLab, Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences) of the University of Haifa for providing access to the microscope equipment used in this research and for useful discussion. The radiocarbon and stable isotopes research was supported by the Exilarch Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS) Laboratory. The Irene Levi-Sala CARE Archaeological Foundation, the National Geographic Society (Grant #8915?11), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant #7481?2008) generously supported the Raqefet Cave project. Fieldwork at Raqefet Cave was carried out under license numbers G-50/2004, G-34/2006, G-64/2008, G-34/2010, and G-22/2011 of the Israel Antiquities Authority and permits of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Sapir Haad assisted in the preparation of Fig. 1. We thank two anonymous reviewers for the insightful suggestions that helped improve our paper. Funding Information: This article is part of Chiara Belli's Ph.D. dissertation, supervised by D.N., M.W-E., and V.C. We thank Prof. Danny Rosenberg from the Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) and Dr. Nicolas Waldmann from the Basin Analysis and Petrophysical Lab (PetroLab, Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences) of the University of Haifa for providing access to the microscope equipment used in this research and for useful discussion. The radiocarbon and stable isotopes research was supported by the Exilarch Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS) Laboratory. The Irene Levi-Sala CARE Archaeological Foundation , the National Geographic Society (Grant # 8915–11 ), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant # 7481–2008 ) generously supported the Raqefet Cave project. Fieldwork at Raqefet Cave was carried out under license numbers G-50/2004, G-34/2006, G-64/2008, G-34/2010, and G-22/2011 of the Israel Antiquities Authority and permits of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Sapir Haad assisted in the preparation of Fig. 1 . We thank two anonymous reviewers for the insightful suggestions that helped improve our paper. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier Ltd",

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Belli, C, Caracuta, V, Weinstein-Evron, M , Yeshurun, R, Boaretto, E & Nadel, D 2021, 'A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel', Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 268, 107138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107138

A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. / Belli, Chiara; Caracuta, Valentina; Weinstein-Evron, Mina et al.
In: Quaternary Science Reviews, Vol. 268, 107138, 15.09.2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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N1 - Funding Information: This article is part of Chiara Belli's Ph.D. dissertation, supervised by D.N. M.W-E. and V.C. We thank Prof. Danny Rosenberg from the Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) and Dr. Nicolas Waldmann from the Basin Analysis and Petrophysical Lab (PetroLab, Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences) of the University of Haifa for providing access to the microscope equipment used in this research and for useful discussion. The radiocarbon and stable isotopes research was supported by the Exilarch Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS) Laboratory. The Irene Levi-Sala CARE Archaeological Foundation, the National Geographic Society (Grant #8915?11), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant #7481?2008) generously supported the Raqefet Cave project. Fieldwork at Raqefet Cave was carried out under license numbers G-50/2004, G-34/2006, G-64/2008, G-34/2010, and G-22/2011 of the Israel Antiquities Authority and permits of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Sapir Haad assisted in the preparation of Fig. 1. We thank two anonymous reviewers for the insightful suggestions that helped improve our paper. Funding Information: This article is part of Chiara Belli's Ph.D. dissertation, supervised by D.N., M.W-E., and V.C. We thank Prof. Danny Rosenberg from the Laboratory for Ground Stone Tools Research (Zinman Institute of Archaeology) and Dr. Nicolas Waldmann from the Basin Analysis and Petrophysical Lab (PetroLab, Dr. Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences) of the University of Haifa for providing access to the microscope equipment used in this research and for useful discussion. The radiocarbon and stable isotopes research was supported by the Exilarch Foundation for the Dangoor Research Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (D-REAMS) Laboratory. The Irene Levi-Sala CARE Archaeological Foundation , the National Geographic Society (Grant # 8915–11 ), and the Wenner-Gren Foundation (Grant # 7481–2008 ) generously supported the Raqefet Cave project. Fieldwork at Raqefet Cave was carried out under license numbers G-50/2004, G-34/2006, G-64/2008, G-34/2010, and G-22/2011 of the Israel Antiquities Authority and permits of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Sapir Haad assisted in the preparation of Fig. 1 . We thank two anonymous reviewers for the insightful suggestions that helped improve our paper. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

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N2 - Raqefet Cave is located in southeast Mount Carmel, Israel. It contains a long archaeological sequence with two major occupations: in the early Upper Paleolithic (Levantine Aurignacian culture, ca. 36,000–35,000 cal. BP) and the Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian culture, ca. 14,000–12,000 cal. BP). Abundant charred remains were found in the cave's deposits consisting of various species. Drawing on Δ13C values of dated Amygdalus sp. (almond) charcoal specimens, we sought to reconstruct Late Pleistocene precipitation patterns from a high-resolution archaeological record. The results produced the longest, single-site, plant-based paleoclimatic sequence in the southern Levant, and they generally correspond to other paleoclimatic proxies generated for the region. They indicate that the plant taxa and reconstructed precipitation levels were all in the range of modern eastMediterranean climate but with some notable fluctuations. Specifically, we highlight the rainfall differences between the dryer Levantine Aurignacian and the wetter Natufian cultures.

AB - Raqefet Cave is located in southeast Mount Carmel, Israel. It contains a long archaeological sequence with two major occupations: in the early Upper Paleolithic (Levantine Aurignacian culture, ca. 36,000–35,000 cal. BP) and the Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian culture, ca. 14,000–12,000 cal. BP). Abundant charred remains were found in the cave's deposits consisting of various species. Drawing on Δ13C values of dated Amygdalus sp. (almond) charcoal specimens, we sought to reconstruct Late Pleistocene precipitation patterns from a high-resolution archaeological record. The results produced the longest, single-site, plant-based paleoclimatic sequence in the southern Levant, and they generally correspond to other paleoclimatic proxies generated for the region. They indicate that the plant taxa and reconstructed precipitation levels were all in the range of modern eastMediterranean climate but with some notable fluctuations. Specifically, we highlight the rainfall differences between the dryer Levantine Aurignacian and the wetter Natufian cultures.

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Belli C, Caracuta V, Weinstein-Evron M , Yeshurun R, Boaretto E, Nadel D. A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2021 Sep 15;268:107138. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107138

A Late Pleistocene high-resolution paleoclimate reconstruction: insights from the archaeobotanical assemblage and the carbon isotope analysis of wild almond (Amygdalus sp.) from Raqefet Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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