Cultural and biological transformations in the Late Middle Pleistocene (420-200 ka ago) at Qesem Cave, Israel: In search for a post-Homo erectus lineage in the Levantine corridor

Qesem洞穴是以色列保存非常完好的史前遗址，可以确定地追溯到中更新世晚期。绝对年代将地层序列确定在42万到20万年前之间。迄今为止出土的所有石器组合都属于黎凡特旧石器时代晚期的阿舍利-亚布鲁德文化复合体。在地层学上，阿舍利-亚布鲁德文化复群在该地区的其他几个地点多次晚于下旧石器时代的阿舍利时期，而早于中旧石器时代的莫斯特时期。最近一项对Qesem洞穴人类牙齿遗骸的研究得出结论，洞穴中居住着一种未知的、新的后直立人（homo erectus）人类谱系，与现代人类密切相关。丰富的考古发现，包括人类遗骸、石器、大型哺乳动物、小型哺乳动物和爬行动物的动物遗骸，以及壁炉等特征，提供了一个无与伦比的机会，来阐明在这个迄今为止鲜为人知的时期，人类生物和文化进化的最重要阶段之一。该项目重点研究：(1)Qesem洞穴人类活动的开始，(2)Qesem洞穴下部旧石器时代的结束和中期旧石器时代的开始，以及(3)阿舍利-亚布鲁德文化综合体工业之间的关系。后者以三个产业中的两个为代表，即阿穆德和亚布鲁德。它们在Qesem洞穴中的同代人挑战了对阿舍利-亚布鲁德工业的共同文化解释。调查包括在洞穴填充物的最下部和最上部的挖掘，以及在一个可追溯到30万年前的复杂壁炉结构周围的发现。挖掘工作和对考古发现的分析都包含在一个广泛的研究项目中，该项目将研究纳入地质考古学的序列、挖掘层的绝对年代、人类活动的环境和石器时代的人工制品。后者旨在阐明人工制品的初级生产、工具的回收和工具功能的操作顺序。这项研究涉及大约420-200年前现代人的生物、文化和行为进化与他对环境的适应之间具有挑战性的联系。考虑到Qesem洞穴遗址的质量，该项目旨在通过将文化、生物进化和环境联系起来，为直立人在黎凡特消失后的黎凡特人类进化提供重要信息。

Qesem Cave is an exceptionally well preserved prehistoric site in Israel, firmly dated to the Late Middle Pleistocene. Absolute dates place stratigraphical sequence in a time range between 420.000 and 200.000 years ago. All lithic assemblages so far excavated are assigned to the Acheuleo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex of the late Lower Palaeolithic period in the Levant. Stratigraphically, the Acheuleo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex repeatedly postdates the Lower Palaeolithic Acheulian and predates the Middle Paleolithic Mousterian at several other sites in the region. A recent study of human dental remains from Qesem Cave concluded that the cave was inhabited by an unknown, new post-Homo erectus hominin lineage closely related to modern humans. The richness of archaeological finds, including human remains, stone-tools, faunal remains of large mammals, small mammals as well as reptiles, and features such as hearths, provides an unrivalled opportunity to illuminate one of the most significant stages of human biological and cultural evolution in this hitherto little known time period. The project focuses on (1) the beginning of the human occupation of Qesem Cave, (2) the end of the Lower Palaeolithic and the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic at Qesem Cave, and (3) the relation between the industries of the Acheuleo-Yabrudian Cultural Complex. The latter is represented by two of the three industries, the Amudian and the Yabrudian. Their contemporaneity in Qesem Cave challenges the common cultural interpretation of the Acheuleo-Yabrudian industries. Investigations comprise excavations in the lowermost and uppermost part of the cave filling and in the find scatter around a complex hearth structure dated to 300.000 years ago. The excavations as well as the analysis of the archaeological finds are embedded in an extensive research program that incorporate studies into the geoarchaeology of the sequence, the absolute dating of excavated layers, the environment of human activities, and lithic artefacts. The latter are designed to elucidate the operational sequence of the primary production of artefacts, the recycling of tools, and tool function. The research concerns the challenging nexus, some 420-200 ky ago, between the biological, cultural and behavioural evolution of modern man and his adaptation to the environment. Considering the quality of the site of Qesem Cave, the project aims at contributing important information about the hominin evolution in the Levant after the disappearance of Homo erectus in the Levante by connecting culture, biological evolution and environment.