Abstract
The hominin-bearing Middle Palaeolithic [MP] Layer C of Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel, has been extensively studied for over 90 years, but many questions about its chronology, the identity of its hominin remains and the nature of its formation remain open. Tabun Layer C, part of the 13-m thick MP deposits at the cave, presents a complex sedimentary sequence composed of multiple beds and thinner laminae within them (<5 cm thick), varying in colour, texture, and the amount of associated remains from human activity. In this study, we re-sampled, in higher resolution than any previous study, the sediments exposed along the full stratigraphic sequence of Layer C (⁓2.5 m thick), including the deposits immediately below and above it. The studied sequence largely conforms to the three Major Sedimentological Units (MSU I-III, themselves analogous to Garrod's layers B-D) previously defined by Jelinek et al. (1973). Using state-of-the-art micro-stratigraphic and micro-geoarchaeological approach and methods we examined the deposits within MSU II and those associated with the transitions between MSU III–II and between MSU II–I. The results demonstrate that the beds and laminae of MSU II (Garrod's Layer C) are primarily composed of bat and bird guano at various stages of preservation, occurring with varying amounts of allochthonous terra rossa and human activity remains, and generally not showing severe diagenetic changes. Significantly, this study allowed us to identify four depositional sub-units in MSU II, each composed of tens to hundreds of cm-to mm-thick laminae. An abrupt change from slow to rapid deposition of guano occurs between MSU III and MSU IId, followed by intensive use of fire in MSU IIc, then intermittent hominin use of the cave in MSU IIb. Lowered anthropogenic use of the cave characterises the upper part of the section, where deposits become primarily biogenic (MSU IIa) and geogenic (MSU I). Our identification of large amounts of guano further contributes towards more informed research of the Levantine MP in cave sites. We demonstrate that attention to components within guano deposits can allow distinguishing among different guano producers (e.g., bats and birds), and that it may form a sounder basis for reconstructing changing environments at both regional and local scales, as well as human–environment relations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 107203 |
| Journal | Quaternary Science Reviews |
| Volume | 274 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 15 Dec 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We are indebted to Arthur Jelinek and his work at Tabun Cave and we wish to thank him greatly for his permission to use his database, as well as detailed stratigraphic sections that are first published here. We also thank Paul Goldberg for his pioneering work in Palaeolithic cave geoarchaeology, starting at Tabun Cave, and for his help and support along the way. Thanks are also due to Steven L. Kuhn, for his continuous effort to re-analyse earlier results from Tabun Cave with us and bring them to publication. We wish to thank Arthur Jelinek, Paul Goldberg and Steven L. Kuhn for both commenting on an earlier draft of this paper and for the stimulating discussion on the complexity of the site. This research was funded by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF – No. 1955/16 ) to M.W-E, R.S. and L.W. and the Gerda Henkel Foundation ( AZ/F/35 ) to M.W-E and R.S. Permission to sample the profiles at Tabun Cave was granted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (permit G/12–2017 ; G-15/2018 ; G-17/2019 ) and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority ( 17-A17 , 18-A021 , 19-A006 ). We thank Charles French for his support and Tonko Rajkovaca for helping with the preparation of the thin sections. Thanks to Dina Stiber and Olga Berlin of the Division of Geochemistry and Environmental Geology, Geological Survey of Israel, for the geochemical analyses of major and trace elements. Last, we thank the editor, Miryam Bar-Matthews, Philippe Audra and the anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments that helped us to improve this paper and are highly appreciated.
Funding Information:
We are indebted to Arthur Jelinek and his work at Tabun Cave and we wish to thank him greatly for his permission to use his database, as well as detailed stratigraphic sections that are first published here. We also thank Paul Goldberg for his pioneering work in Palaeolithic cave geoarchaeology, starting at Tabun Cave, and for his help and support along the way. Thanks are also due to Steven L. Kuhn, for his continuous effort to re-analyse earlier results from Tabun Cave with us and bring them to publication. We wish to thank Arthur Jelinek, Paul Goldberg and Steven L. Kuhn for both commenting on an earlier draft of this paper and for the stimulating discussion on the complexity of the site. This research was funded by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF ? No. 1955/16) to M.W-E, R.S. and L.W. and the Gerda Henkel Foundation (AZ/F/35) to M.W-E and R.S. Permission to sample the profiles at Tabun Cave was granted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (permit G/12?2017; G-15/2018; G-17/2019) and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (17-A17, 18-A021, 19-A006). We thank Charles French for his support and Tonko Rajkovaca for helping with the preparation of the thin sections. Thanks to Dina Stiber and Olga Berlin of the Division of Geochemistry and Environmental Geology, Geological Survey of Israel, for the geochemical analyses of major and trace elements. Last, we thank the editor, Miryam Bar-Matthews, Philippe Audra and the anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments that helped us to improve this paper and are highly appreciated.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Diagenesis
- Geoarchaeology
- Guano
- Levant
- Middle palaeolithic
- Mount carmel
- Site formation processes
- Tabun cave
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Global and Planetary Change
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Archaeology
- Archaeology
- Geology