Multiple Middle Paleolithic lithic traditions in the southern Levant during MIS 6-5 and cultural variability in arid environments: insights from the site of Besor Dyka, Negev Desert

The middle phase of the Middle Paleolithic in the arid regions of the southern Levant is characterized by the presence of two distinct lithic traditions dominated by different reduction sequences: the centripetal Levallois and the Nubian Levallois. A new excavation at the site Besor Dyka uncovered well-preserved archaeological layers, dated by optically stimulated luminescence to late MIS 6–early MIS 5, making it the earliest known Middle Paleolithic occupation in the Negev Desert. Stable Isotope data from the site supports this chronology and suggests a correlation with one of the Negev Humid Periods. The lithic assemblage from the site is characterized by the dominance of the unidirectional convergent Levallois reduction strategy and the systematic production of triangular end-products. These traits, commonly associated with Late Middle Paleolithic sites in the southern Levant, differ from the contemporaneous MIS 6–5 centripetal Levallois and Nubian Levallois assemblages that are found in the Negev. The Besor Dyka lithics represents a third, previously unrecognized lithic tradition in the Negev during MIS 6–5. The results present new information on human adaptation to arid environments during the Middle Paleolithic and the possible influence of humid episodes on the movement of hunter gatherers between neighboring regions. The findings also emphasize that within the Middle Paleolithic of the southern Levant, the dominance of a specific Levallois strategy alone cannot reliably be used as a chronological marker.