Excavation of the Plaeolithic Cave 'Dederiyeh' : Palaeoanthropological Researches in Afrin Rift Valley, Syria.

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The Dederiyeh cave is located 400 km north of Damascus and 60 km northwest of Aleppo. The cave is providing the best evidence yet of Neanderthal burial practices, as well as data on the morphology of Neanderthals and the chronological position of human types in Levantine Mousterian contexts. The infant was found in situ in the Mousterian deposit, lying on its back with arms extended and legs flexed, indicating an intentional burial. A sub-rectangular limestone slab at the top of the head and a small piece of triangular flint just on the infant's heart were found in the most sterile layr of the burial fill. A limestone slab of this type is rare in the Dederiyeh cave deposits.The skeleton of the Dederiyeh child is remarkably well preserved. From the many morphological features shared with European Neanderthal infants, the Dederiyeh Mousterian child is certainly Neanderthal.The infant was found in layr 8 of the Mousterian deposit, about 1.5 m from the surface. An analysis of the lithic assemblages of layr 8 indicates a great similarity between the Tabun B-type association found at Dederiyeh and those of the Levantine Mousterian, or the Kebara Neanderthal. Apart from the new discoveries at Dederiyeh, the Qafzeh and Kebara caves are the only other sites in the Levant for which there are clear stratigraphic associations between bominid fossils and well-defined lithic industries.