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

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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.