Paleomagnetism of Rapidly Deposited Hominid Tool-Bearing Sediments in the Northern Dead Sea Rift

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96-14275 Levi The PI proposes to obtain a detailed record of the Matuyama paleomagnetic field, directions, and relative paleointensities, from the Erk-el-Ahmar Formaiton in Israel, which contains the oldest known hominid tool-bearing strata outside Africa. This is a pilot paleomagnetic study of rapidly-deposited lacustrine sediments which are expected to provide a high resolution record of the Matuyama geomagnetic field that is suitable for: comparing secular variation and relatiave paleointensity of polarity intervals; examining field behavior during successive polarity transitions at the same locality; and testing the recently proposed hypothesis of intensity asymmetry across reversal boundaries. The PI also postulates that the detailed magnetostratigraphy will contribute to an improved understanding of the timing and pathways of the original hominid migration from Africa. ***