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Kulturelle und biologische Transformationen im späten Mittelpleistozän (420-200 ka) der Qesem Cave, Israel: Untersuchungen zur Homininen-Entwicklung in der Levante nach der Zeit des Homo erectus

Fachliche Zuordnung Ur- und Frühgeschichte (weltweit)
Förderung Förderung von 2015 bis 2021
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 277455454
 
Erstellungsjahr 2023

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

Qesem Cave is a Late Lower Paleolithic site in the Levante with an exceptionally long stratigraphical sequence of almost 10 m extremely rich in archaeological finds. This, and the exceptionally good preservation of lithic artifacts and faunal remains, makes it a key site for the understanding of the Acheuleo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex. At Qesem Cave, it is characterized by the occurrence of numerous innovations such as specialized prime age hunting, food sharing, habitual use of fire, and extensive recycling of flint items, alongside with the occurrence of remains from a novel post-homo erectus lineage. Our project aimed at elucidating the exact beginning of the Acheuleo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex, at clarifying the relation between the three industries that belong to it, and at collecting novel data about men-environment interactions. Excavations extended the investigated areas, including those around the central fireplace (dating to 300 ka), and reached the deepest archaeological layers so far. Fieldwork was accompanied by up-to-date 3D documentation methods using terrestrial laser scanning, drone flights and Structure from Motion (SfM). A combined ESR/U-series approach allowed to enhance the absolute chronological model for the lowermost layers, which now securely date to 420 ka. The youngest part of the sequence, dating to 200.000 years before present, was excavated in a small trench, too. Investigations of macrofaunal remains combined archeozoological methods, archaeological experiments, controlled simulations of decease of organic matter, and biochemical analysis. The outstanding results show that hominins at Qesem Cave imported complete long bones of middle-sized mammals, such as fellow deer, to store marrow. It is only 4 weeks after the death of the animals that the bones were opened for marrow extraction, meaning a delayed consumption of nutritional resources. The second important finding, based on cut marks, was the non-alimentary use of swan for the extraction of feathers. Both the storage of nutrition and the non-functional bird-human relationship are by far the earliest occurrences in the Levante and beyond. For paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on micromammals, the Coexistence Approach was for the first time applied to microfaunal assemblages and suggests cooler and slightly drier winters and somewhat lower seasonality than at present. Investigations of the lithic assemblages focused on the relation between the three industries of the Acheuleo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex. The raw material procurement of both Amudian and Yabrudian assemblages shows the same preference of homogeneous materials in general, and almost identical frequencies of the identified flint types in detail. The same applies for Quina and semi-Quina scrapers found in Amudian and (with low numbers) Yabrudian contexts. The similarity of raw material patterns supports the hypothesis of both industries belonging to the same cultural complex. Handaxes (being the “Acheulean” component of the Acheuleo-Yabrudian) and shaped stone balls were identified as representing formerly unknown categories of items collected from older Acheulean sites and, in part after re-use, discarded in Qesem cave. Use wear and residues on shaped stone balls proof a use as tools for marrow extraction. In the case of handaxes, the analysis of work steps and techno-functional units suggests a careful selection of the collected items in search for sharp active parts opposite to flat prehensive parts. The morphological analogy of the techno-functional units of handaxes and Quina scapers may be taken as an argument for a use of collected items, as already well attested for the shaped stone balls, but in this case functionally analogous to artifacts actively produced by Qesem hominins.

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