edited by

Ofer Bar-Yosef&

François R. Valla

InternatIonal Monographs In prehIstory

Archaeological Series 19

Natufian Foragers in the Levant

Terminal Pleistocene Social Changes in Western Asia

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Natufian foragers in the Levant : terminal Pleistocene social changes in Western Asia / edited by Ofer Bar-Yosef & François Valla. pages cm. -- (Archaeological series / International Monographs in Prehistory ; 19) Papers from a symposium held in 2009. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-879621-45-9 (paperback : acid-free paper) -- ISBN 978-1-879621-46-6 (hard cover : acid-free paper) 1. Natufian culture--Middle East--Congresses. 2. Hunting and gathering societies--Middle East--Congresses. 3. Pleistocene-Holocene boundary--Congresses. 4. Social archaeology--Middle East--Congresses. 5. Social change--Middle East--History--To 1500--Congresses. 6. Excavations (Archaeology)--Middle East--Congresses. 7. Middle East--Antiquities--Congresses. I. Bar-Yosef, Ofer. II. Valla, François Raymond. GN774.3.N38N28 2013 306.3›640956--dc23 2013035516

© 2013 by International Monographs in PrehistoryAll rights reserved

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Paperback:ISBN 978-1-879621-45-9Hard Cover:ISBN 978-1-879621-46-6

This book is printed on acid-free paper. ∞

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Printed with the support of the American School of Prehistoric Research (Peabody Museum, Harvard University)

Table of Contents

List of Contributors ................................................................................................................... vii

Preface – The Natufian Culture in the Levant: Twenty Years LaterOfer Bar-Yosef and François R. Valla ...............................................................................xv

Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................xix

Northern Levant

Natufian Lifeways in the Eastern Foothills of the Anti-Lebanon MountainsNicholas J. Conard, Knut Bretzke, Katleen Deckers, Andrew W. Kandel, Mohamed Masri, Hannes Napierala, Simone Riehl and Mareike Stahlschmidt ..............................1

The Natufian of Moghr el-Ahwal in the Qadisha Valley, Northern LebanonAndrew Garrard and Corine Yazbeck ..............................................................................17

The Natufian of Southwestern Syria Sites in the Damascus ProvinceKurt Felix Hillgruber ........................................................................................................28

The Natufian Occupations of Qarassa 3 (Sweida, Southern Syria)Xavier Terradas, Juan José Ibáñez, Franck Braemer, Lionel Gourichon and Luis C. Teira ...................................................................................................................................45

The Early Natufian Site of Jeftelik (Homs Gap, Syria)Amelia del Carmen Rodríguez Rodríguez, Maya Haïdar-Boustani, Jesús E.González Urquijo, Juan José Ibáñez, Michel Al-Maqdissi, Xavier Terradasand Lydia Zapata ..............................................................................................................61

Fish in the Desert? The Younger Dryas and its Influence on the Paleoenvironment at Baaz Rockshelter, Syria

Hannes Napierala .............................................................................................................73

Preliminary Results from Analyses of Charred Plant Remains from a Burnt Natufian Building at Dederiyeh Cave in Northwest Syria

Ken-ichi Tanno, George Willcox, Sultan Muhesen, Yoshihiro Nishiaki, YousefKanjo and Takeru Akazawa..............................................................................................83

Southern Levant

El-Wad

Spatial Organization of Natufian el-Wad through Time: Combining the Results of Past and Present Excavations

Mina Weinstein-Evron, Daniel Kaufman and Reuven Yeshurun ...................................88

iv

The Last Natufian Inhabitants of el-Wad TerraceNoga Bachrach, Israel Hershkovitz, Daniel Kaufman and MinaWeinstein-Evron..............................................................................................................107

Domestic Refuse Maintenance in the Natufian: Faunal Evidence from el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel

Reuven Yeshurun, Guy Bar-Oz, Daniel Kaufman and Mina Weinstein-Evron ...........118

Natufian Green Stone Pendants from el-Wad: Characteristics and Cultural ImplicationsDaniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Naomi Porat and Mina Weinstein-Evron ......................139

Eynan

The Final Natufian Structure 215-228 at Mallaha (Eynan), Israel: an Attempt at Spatial Analysis

François R. Valla, Hamoudi Khalaily, Nicolas Samuelian, Anne Bridault, Rivka Rabinovich, Tal Simmons, Gaëlle Le Dosseur and Shoshana Ashkenazi ....................146

A Study of two Natufian Residential Complexes: Structures 200 and 203 at Eynan (Ain Mallaha), Israel

Nicolas Samuelian ..........................................................................................................172

Graves in Context: Field Anthropology and the Investigation of Interstratified Floors and Burials

Fanny Bocquentin, Teresa Cabellos and Nicolas Samuelian ........................................185

Obsidian in Natufian Context: the Case of Eynan (Ain Mallaha), IsraelHamoudi Khalaily and François R. Valla ......................................................................193

Flint Knapping and its Objectives in the Early Natufian. The Example of Eynan- Ain Mallaha (Israel)

Boris Valentin, François R. Valla and Hugues Plisson with the collaboration of Fanny Bocquentin ...........................................................................................................203

Searching for the Functions of Fire Structures in Eynan (Mallaha) and their Formation Processes: a Geochemical Approach

Ramiro J. March ..............................................................................................................227

Avifauna of the Final Natufian of EynanTal Simmons ....................................................................................................................284

Bone Ornamental Elements and Decorated Objects of the Natufian from MallahaGaëlle Le Dosseur and Claudine Maréchal ...................................................................293

Reconstruction of the Habitats in the Ecosystem of the Final Natufian Site of Ain Mallaha (Eynan)

Shoshana Ashkenazi .......................................................................................................312

v

Southern Levant - other sites

Wadi Hammeh 27: an open-air ‘base-camp’ on the Fringe of the Natufian ‘homeland’Phillip C. Edwards, Fanny Bocquentin, Sue Colledge, Yvonne Edwards, Gaëlle Le Dosseur, Louise Martin, Zvonkica Stanin and John Webb ...........................................319

Art Items from Wadi Hammeh 27Janine Major ...................................................................................................................349

The Final Epipaleolithic / PPNA site of Huzuq Musa (Jordan Valley)Dani Nadel and Danny Rosenberg .................................................................................382

Natufian Settlement in the Wadi al-Qusayr, West-Central JordanMichael Neeley ................................................................................................................397

The Steppic Early Natufian: Investigations in the Wadi al-Hasa, JordanDeborah I. Olszewski ......................................................................................................412

The Natufian of the Azraq Basin: An AppraisalTobias Richter and Lisa A. Maher ..................................................................................429

Chert Procurement Patterns And Exploitation Territory: Case Study From Late Natufian Hayonim Terrace (Western Galilee, Israel)

Christophe Delage ...........................................................................................................449

A Faunal Perspective on the Relationship between the Natufian Occupations of Hayonim Cave and Hayonim Terrace

Natalie D. Munro ............................................................................................................463

The Natufian at Raqefet CaveGyörgy Lengyel, Dani Nadel and Fanny Bocquentin ....................................................478

Hof Shahaf: A New Natufian Site on the Shore of Lake KinneretOfer Marder, Reuven Yeshurun, Howard Smithline, Oren Ackermann, Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer, Anna Belfer-Cohen, Leore Grosman, Israel Hershkovitz, Noa Klein and Lior Weissbrod ...............................................................................................505

The Life History of Macrolithic Tools at Hilazon Tachtit CaveLaure Dubreuil and Leore Grosman ..............................................................................527

General Reviews, Climate and Interpretations

Breaking the Mould: Phases and Facies in the Natufian of the Mediterranean ZoneAnna Belfer-Cohen and A. Nigel Goring-Morris ...........................................................544

Ruminations on the Role of Periphery and Center in the NatufianA. Nigel Goring-Morris and Anna Belfer-Cohen ...........................................................562

vi

The Natufian and the Younger DryasDonald O. Henry .............................................................................................................584

Scaphopod Shells in the Natufian CultureAldona Kurzawska, Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer and Henk K. Mienis ......................611

The Natufian Chronological Scheme – New Insights and their ImplicationsLeore Grosman ................................................................................................................622

Natufian Foragers and the ‘Monocot Revolution’: A Phytolith PerspectiveArlene M. Rosen ..............................................................................................................638

Lithic Technology in the Late Natufian – Technological Differences between ‘Core-area’ and ‘Periphery’

Hila Ashkenazy ...............................................................................................................649

Variability of Lunates and Changes in Projectile Weapons Technology during the NatufianAlla Yaroshevich, Daniel Kaufman, Dmitri Nuzhnyy, Ofer Bar-Yosef and Mina Weinstein-Evron..............................................................................................................671

Specialized Hunting of Gazelle in the Natufian: Cultural Cause or Climatic Effect?Guy Bar-Oz, Reuven Yeshurun and Mina Weinstein-Evron .........................................685

Commensalism: was it Truly a Natufian Phenomenon? Recent Cntributions from Ethnoarchaeology and Ecology

Lior Weissbrod, Daniel Kaufman, Dani Nadel, Reuven Yeshurun and Mina Weinstein-Evron..............................................................................................................699

584

Following the warm, moist Bølling-Allerød interval, the climatic reversal attributed to the Younger Dryas has been thought for some time now by many researchers to have had a major impact on Late Natufian land-use patterns, subsistence strategies, and demography; ultimately leading to the emergence of food production. A critical evalua-tion of this notion involves a number of interwoven issues that include: (i) Correlating Terminal Pleistocene climatic-

environmental and cultural chronologies. (ii) Defining the regional, Levantine climatic-

environmental expressions of the Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas intervals.

(iii) Establishing the impact of the climatic-en-vironmental changes on critical resources, such as food and water, and in turn on Natufian adaptive strategies.

These issues are explored through an exam-ination of Natufian settlement patterns relative to site structure, chronology, and modern isohyets, isotherms and plant resource distributions. An especially vexing problem for researchers has been in establishing the climatic-environmental background to which Natufian groups developed their land-use strategies and in tracing paleoenvi-ronmental changes through time. Efforts to develop correlations between climatic-environmental and Natufian cultural successions have drawn upon direct connections where climatic-environmental evidence is recovered from Natufian cultural deposits and indirect associations in which cli-matic-environmental data from off-site settings are related to the Natufian through chronometric associations. The degree to which we can trace the changes in Levantine terminal Pleistocene climate and environment and correlate these changes with the Natufian chronology ultimately rests in the quality of the paleoenvironmental data coupled with the integrity and precision of the chronologic connections. An equally challenging issue involves recon-structing the regional Levantine expressions of

The Natufian and the Younger Dryas

Donald O. Henry

the terminal Pleistocene global shifts in climate. Our understanding of how the Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas intervals affected local Levantine environments is far from being well understood. Not only are we confronted with the problems of local and site specific reconstructions, but also with understanding the degree to which these reflect pan-Levantine patterns. Finally, in order to evaluate the various alternative models that seek to explain Natufian responses, or lack thereof, to paleoenvironmental successions, an effort needs to be made to specifically assess how such changes would have affected the critical resources upon which Natufian groups depended. Although each of these issues presents a knotty problem, the Natufian record is a remarkably rich one from which an immense amount of data can be drawn upon for solutions. The sheer number of sites, well over 70 reported, in conjunction with many of these providing data recovered through modern, cutting-edge research efforts provides for a reasonable evaluation of the effect of the Younger Dryas on Natufian land-use strategies.

The Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas

Beginning about 14,700 calBP the Bølling-Al-lerød interval, a warm and moist interstadial period, is revealed in Eurasian stratigraphic successions by the appearance of plant macrofossils that denot-ed a northward shift of evergreen and deciduous forests. This interval was abruptly punctuated, some 12,900-12,700 calBP, by the return to glacial conditions of the Younger Dryas defined in part by the appearance of plant macrofossils of Dryas octopetala, a flower in the Rosaceae family, typi-cal of cold, open, Arctic environments. The glacial conditions of the Younger Dryas were short lived, however, lasting only some 1,100-1,300 years until ca. 11,600 calBP. Globally, the Bølling-Allerød interval is widely recognized (Liu et al. 2009; Sinha et al. 2005) and while the Younger Dryas reversal is also well doc-

umented for the higher latitudes of North America and Europe, signatures of a cold reversal at this time are less consistent for the southern hemi-sphere and middle-lower latitudes of the northern hemisphere (Ackert et al. 2008; Lowell and Kelly 2008; Peteet 1995). An examination of well dated pollen diagrams collected from around the world to assess the global expressions of the Younger Dryas evaluated the eastern Mediterranean as controversial relative to signatures of a Younger Dryas event (Peteet 1995).

Evidence from the Levant

Within the Levant, the terminal Pleistocene paleoclimatic record is relatively rich as a result of the combined intensity of archaeological and paleo-climatic research in the region. The paleoclimatic record for this interval comes from multiple lines of evidence drawn from a wide-range of studies involving speleotherms, marine records, lake lev-els, pollen diagrams, and geologic deposits. Recent overviews (Robinson et al. 2006; Rosen 2007) furnish comprehensive, integrated summaries that define general correlations between the regional timing and paleoclimatic expressions of the Bølling-Allerød interval and following Younger Dryas reversal.

Speleotherms

The isotopic records provided by the analysis of oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) ratios of spelotherms, correlated with thorium-uranium (232Th-U) or ra-diocarbon ages, perhaps furnish the most refined proxies of paleoclimatic sequences in the Levant. Whereas a great number of speleotherm records are available from the region, evidence bracketed between the Late Glacial Maximum and the Early Holocene are limited to caves on the central coast of Lebanon (Verheyden et al. 2008) and northern and central Israel (Bar-Matthews et al. 1997, 1999; Frumkin and Stein 2004; Geyh 1994). At Soreq Cave, the later part of period 1 and periods 2 and 3 trace paleoclimatic successions synchronous with the Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas intervals (Bar-Matthews et al. 1997). Following the intense cold and dry conditions attributed to the end of the Late Glacial Maximum at 19ky, progressive warmer, moister conditions prevailed from ~17 to 14ky, at which time progressive colder and somewhat drier conditions emerged, peaking between 13.2 and 11.4ky, the Younger Dryas (Bar-Matthews et al. 1999). The Younger Dryas is subsequently replaced by an Early Holocene warm-moist period. From a

much longer, 160 ky sequence, recorded from three caves west of Jerusalem, Frumkin et. al. (1999) identified a similar succession although the dates are out-of-phase with those of Soreq Cave. Further north from several caves in the Galilee, Geyh (1994) draws upon data initially reported by Isaar (Isaar 1990; Isaar et al. 1992) in which he traces a late Pleistocene, radiocarbon dated sequence largely similar to those of the Soreq and Judean Hill caves. The Galilee caves however, show greater Terminal Pleistocene variability between warm-moist and cold-dry intervals and several peaks defining the Younger Dryas between ~13,000-11,000 calBP. The record from Jeita Cave, located along the Lebanese coast north of Beirut, is dated by 232Th-U (Verheyden et al. 2008). Beginning at 11.9 ka, the sequence displays relatively high δ18O and δ13C values, consistent with higher aridity during the Younger Dryas, and these begin to decline at 11.2 ka. replaced by values indicative of warmer, wetter conditions of the Early Holocene. The cave settings discussed above are associated with modern mean annual precipitation ranging from 400-1000mm, increasing from S-N along a 260 km transect. Despite these differences the speleotherm records indicate similar paleoclimatic successions. They show a post Late Glacial Maxi-mum warm/moist interval with some differences in timing and number and magnitude of oscillations followed by a cold/dry episode attributed to the Younger Dryas. The regional timing of the Young-er Dryas event, beginning ~ 13-13,200 calBP and ending ~ 11,200-11,000 calBP, appears to differ from the Younger Dryas as described from Green-land Ice cores (Alley 2000) in timing (12.8-11.5 ka) and duration. In the Levant the Younger Dryas stretches over some 2,000-2,200 years in contrast to some 1,200-1,300 in Greenland. Not only does the event appear to be of longer duration in the Levant, the return to warmer/moister conditions was more gradual, extending over some 500 years in comparison to the abrupt, decades long termination of the Younger Dryas seen in Greenland ice cores (Verheyden et al. 2008). Verheyden et al. (2008) note that the Levantine record is consistent with findings elsewhere that show deglacial events to have been less pronounced away from the North Atlantic and thus supportive of an argument for their North Atlantic origin.

Marine Records

Deep sea cores from the Eastern Mediterranean and northern Red Sea furnish a good regional spatial

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record of the Terminal Pleistocene and although the records are generally continuous, their temporal res-olutions are less precise than speleotherm sequenc-es due to higher sedimentation rates (Robinson et al. 2006). Robinson et al. (2006) note that while the Eastern Mediterranean marine record of the Bølling-Allerød interval is unclear, in the Red Sea sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) displayed marked elevation ~ 14,500 calBP concomitant with a small decline in sea-surface salinity (SSSs) reflective of greater inflow. While marine data related to the Younger Dryas event show cooler SSTs in Eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea sequences, the expect-ed rise in salinity accompanying reduced inflow is seen only in some of the Eastern Mediterranean sites. The Early Holocene record is more complete as defined by sapropel deposits, higher SSTs, and lower salinity – evidence associated with warmer and wetter regional conditions.

Pollen Evidence

The most environmentally precise and abun-dant records of the region come from palynological investigations, but the challenge of finding chrono-logical correlations, especially in the Lake Ghab and Lake Huleh data, has proved vexingly difficult. In her detailed review, Rosen (2007:60-61) argues that the cores of Ghab and Huleh become “com-plimentary rather than out of phase”, if we accept the views of Rossignol-Strick (1995), in which she correlates marine and terrestrial sequences, and those of Cappers, Bottema and Woldring (1998), and Wright and Thorpe (2003). This suggestion is followed here. In summarizing the palynological evidence, Rosen (2007:68-69) traces a steady rise in rainfall and temperature between 17-14,000 calBP fol-lowing the cool, very dry steppic conditions of the LGM. This climatic amelioration, encompassing the Bølling-Allerød interval, was reflected in the Ghab and Huleh cores by an expansion of forest and an extension of grasslands into the drier settings of the southern Levant. Despite the potential biases in using pollen from archaeological sites for paleoclimatic recon-struction, Rosen (2007:59) notes the “uncanny resemblance” of pollen diagrams developed by Leroi-Gourhan and Darmon (1991) from late Epi-paleolithic site deposits in the southern Levant to the succession defined in the Huleh core by Wright and Thorpe (2003). Stratigraphic sequences at Ha-yonim Terrace (western Galilee, Israel) and Wadi Judayid (edge of Ma’an Plateau, southern Jordan)

trace transitions from pollen spectra dominated by chenopods and Artemesia to those of forested settings; transitions likely bracketing the LGM - Bølling-Allerød boundary. At both sites, cool, dry steppic conditions gave way to apparent warmer, moister settings associated with the Early Natufian (Emery-Barbier 1995:381; Henry 1995; Henry et al. 1981, 1985; Leroi-Gourhan and Darmon 1991). The successions differ, however, in that the steppic conditions of Hayonim Terrace are associated with a Geometric Kebaran occupation (Layer E), whereas at Wadi Judayid, they are associated with the ini-tial Early Natufian occupation of Layer C (Henry et al. 1981, 1985). At both sites, pollen evidence suggests that steppic conditions evidenced by a dominance of chenopods gave way to an expansion of forests, evidenced by increased oak and pine pollen in overlying Early Natufian layers; Layer D at Hayonim Terrace and Layer B/C and B at Wadi Judayid. At Wadi Judayid three dates (14,530, 15,298, and 15,349 calBP with large sigmas) from Layer C provide an average age of 15,096 ± 1225 calBP, while immediately following the transition at Hayonim Terrace, the base of Layer D provided a date of 13,844±185 calBP. Although the large sigmas of the Layer C dates produce a wide age range, an age much earlier than ~ 15,000 calBP is inconsistent with dates of other Early Natufian occupations. Given this, when compared to the Ha-yonim Terrace sequence, the cold, steppic conditions associated with Layer D of Wadi Judayid may well reflect the earlier age of the deposit in conjunction with the marked differences in site settings. In that Wadi Judayid is situated in an inland location at high elevation in the arid zone, there may well have been some lag-time for the on-set of the moderat-ing conditions of the Bølling-Allerød. Preliminary results of a palynological study (Scott-Cummings 2006) of a nearby Early Natufian occupation at Wadi Mataha (Janetski and Chazan 2004) reveal relatively low proportions of arboreal pollen and an abundance of Liguliflorae pollen resembling the upper part of the Wadi Judayid diagram; i.e. Layers B/C, B (Emery-Barbier 1995:378, 381). Dates of 13,477±106 calBP and 14,003±197 calBP for the Wadi Mataha horizon give additional support to the correlation proposed here. The subsequent Younger Dryas event abruptly terminated the clement Bølling-Allerød interval with the onset of colder, drier conditions expressed in the expansion of steppic vegetation and the re-treat of forest. Rosen (2007:59) suggests that the return to quasi-glacial conditions appears to have been more pronounced in the northern Levant,

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as reflected in the Lake Ghab core, where forests sharply declined, replaced by arid tolerant shrubs. At the same time, the forests of the southern Levant are thought to have been replaced by a parkland and steppic environments composed of a mosaic of open grassland interspersed with patches of oak-pistacia woodland. Again, pollen from Natufian site deposits provides additional evidence for the event. In the Hayonim Terrace deposit, following the period of forest expansion seen in Layer D, a decline in the pollen of trees, aquatic plants, and grasses, coupled with the emergence of steppic vegetation traces the return to drier conditions in Layers C and B associated with the Late Natufian occupation (Henry et al. 1981; Leroi-Gourhan and Darmon 1991). In the Negev, the Late Natufian sites of Rosh Zin (Henry 1976) and Rosh Horesha (Goring-Morris 1987; Marks and Larson 1977), yielded spectra that produced surprisingly high pro-portions (9.4%) of arboreal pollen (Horowitz 1976). Rosen (2007:60) suggests that this likely traces the onset of Younger Dryas conditions. She also notes that dates (12,800 and 12,300 calBP) for the Rosh Horesha occupation correspond well to the terminal peak of forest pollen at Hula dated by Wright and Thorpe (2003) to 12,879 calBP. Another record from the southern Levant arid zone comes from Wadi Mataha. Although Scott-Cummings (2006) cautions against reading trends in the preliminary data-set, the greater abundance of chenopod and Artemesia pollen in the Late Natufian samples is suggestive of increased aridity. The Late Natufian and overlying PPNA levels at Salibiya IX in the Jordan Valley help to trace the end of the Younger Dryas and the emergent warm, moist conditions of the Early Holocene. Chenopod pollen (90%) dominates the Late Natufian levels, but then abruptly declines (8%) concomitant with a rise in arboreal pollen in the PPNA levels (Darmon 1988; Leroi-Gourhan and Darmon 1991).

Lisan Lake Levels

Seminal studies of the Lisan Lake deposits (Begin et al. 1980; Neev and Emery 1967) showed that it once extended from Lake Kinneret to near the Hatzeva Springs in the Rift Valley and dated from ~70-60,000 BP to 11,000 BP reaching its maximum extent ~25,000 BP. Recently, Bartov et al. (2002) have examined sediment exposures and traced changes in the lake’s shoreline reflected in high water levels evidenced by laminated aragonite and detrital silts in contrast to the coarser clastic deposits of ancient shorelines and low lake levels.

They found the lake to reach its maximum extent at about 164mbsl ~26-25,000 calBP, followed by a drop to ~300mbsl at ~15,000 calBP. While intermittent high lake levels were recorded during the drop, these were tied to lower evaporation rates associated with the lower temperatures of the LGM. The Younger Dryas was reflected in a significant lowering of the lake level (426mbsl) and an associated 14C assay on wood of 13,216 ± 118 calBP. that was overlain by 7 m thick deposit of halite viewed by Neev and Emery (1967) as an expression of aridity and high evaporation rates.

Geomorphic Evidence

In reviewing Late Pleistocene alluvial sequenc-es, Rosen (2007:60-62) describes the LGM as a time of stream channel incision and abandonment of old floodplains as a result of aridity and lowered water tables. Subsequently, renewed alluviation between 17,500 -15,000 calBP created sets of terraces in central Israel, the Negev, and Sinai dominated by deposits of gleyed sands and silts (Goldberg 1994; Rosen 1986a, 1986b, 2007). Rosen (2007:63) char-acterizes the alluvial system as one associated with aggrading floodplains, shifting channels, and com-plexes of levees and backswamps likely set within an open parkland. After ~ 14,000 calBP, widespread alluviation was replaced by extensive downcutting that formed narrow, deeply incised channels with no overbank flooding. This is interpreted as an expression of the Younger Dryas event and atten-dant drop in the water table (Rosen 2007:64). In their examination of paleosol sequences along the coastal plain of Israel, Gvirtzman and Wieder (2001) noted a significant shift in aggradation derived from atmospheric dust rather than from coastal sands; a sedimentary change that they attribute to the Younger Dryas event in which an influx of dust derived from the Sahara and North Africa re-placed locally derived coastal sands to form parent sediments for the development of paleosols.

Paleoclimatic Correlations and Chronology

Review of multiple lines of paleoclimatological evidence for the Terminal Pleistocene Levant traces regional expressions of the Bølling-Allerød interval, Younger Dryas event and Early Holcene warm, moist phase. The Bølling-Allerød interval, dated from ~17-13,000 calBP, is associated with rising warmth and moisture that at its peak reached temperatures ~1° C <modern annual mean and

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precipitation levels ~21-196mm >modern annual mean. 1 These conditions supported the expansion of forest within the Mediterranean zone and parkland in the drier settings of the southern Levant. The subsequent Younger Dryas event abruptly termi-nated this interval of climatic amelioration with the on-set of colder and drier conditions within the temporal sweep of ~13,000 -11,200 calBP. The most severe conditions reached temperature (~3.5-4.5°C < modern annual mean) and precipitation (0-50mm > modern annual mean) levels significantly dimin-ished from those of the Bølling-Allerød. The regional Levantine expressions of the Younger Dryas appear to differ from those defined around the North Atlantic in duration, strength, and tempo of termination. In the Levant, the Younger Dryas extends from ~13,000 calBP to as late as 11,200 calBP, some 600 years longer than that identified in Greenland ice cores (Muscheler et al. 2009), and the event appears to have ended less abruptly in the Levant in stretching over some 500 years, rather than the few decades recorded in ice cores (Verheyden et al. 2008). In addition, the climatic expression of the Younger Dryas in the Levant appears to have been less pronounced than in its likely region of origin of the North Atlantic. Two other factors are also of importance when attempting to evaluate the regional environmental expressions of the Younger Dryas event: latitudinal lag-time and the effect of colder temperatures on evaporation rates and soil moisture. Initially rec-ognized by Butzer (1975) and expanded upon by Henry (1989:65), shifts in dominant storm-tracks that control the climate of the Levant would have resulted in differences in the way the Younger Dryas event was expressed latitudinally (Bottema 1995; Rosen 2007). This, in conjunction with the effects of local orographic rainfall may have caused the Younger Dryas to be less pronounced in the southern than the northern Levant. The second factor that may have moderated the effect of the Younger Dryas in the southern Levant may have been the less dramatic reduction in temperatures to the south coupled with reduced evaporation rates accompanying the lower temperatures.2

Chronological Correlations: Cultural and Paleoclimatic

The notion of a correlation between the Natufian cultural sequence and the climatic succession from warm, moist (Bølling-Allerød) to cold, dry (Younger Dryas) conditions has been entertained for some time now. In many ways, Bate’s Dama-Gazella

curve tied to the Early to Late Natufian sequence at el-Wad laid the foundation for ideas of an Early Natufian moist phase and a Late Natufian dry one. Stimulated by findings at Hayonim Terrace, Eynan, and elsewhere, Leroi-Gourhan (1981:108) and Henry (1981:425; Henry et al. 1981) traced detailed correlations between paleoclimatic and Natufian sequences with Leroi-Gourhan (1981) first employing the Scandanavian chronozone labels. Based upon multiple lines of evidence, Henry (1989:57-78) provided a comprehensive reconstruction of the Natufian paleoenvironmen-tal background and, in part, tied the evolution of Natufian adaptive strategies leading to food production to environmental changes. Numerous models (discussed in detail later) have emerged with different specific explanations for how the environmental deterioration associated with the on-set of the Younger Dryas influenced changes in Natufian adaptive strategies. Regardless of specific emphasis or nuance, each of the models is largely dependent upon a temporal correlation between the Natufian sequence and the Younger Dryas.

Relative Chronology and Seriation

Within the Natufian cultural succession, how do we know what is Early or Late? Again, at el-Wad, Garrod (Garrod and Bate 1937) noted differences in the stratigraphic sequence between Layers B1 and B2 that she assigned to the Early and Late Natufian. Principal of these was her recognition of a proportionate shift in the ways microliths, especially lunates, were retouched. She noted that while the Early Natufian was dominated by bifacially retouched, Helwan lunates, abrupt retouched lunates were more common to the Late Natufian. In recognizing a similar pattern in his excavations in the Judean Hills, Neuville (1934, 1951) adopted Garrod’s scheme. Her observation was subsequently refined, expanded upon and applied to later excavated sites (Bar-Yosef 1981; Bar-Yosef and Valla 1979; Henry 1973, 1977, 1989; Henry et al. 1981; Olszewski 1986; Valla 1981, 1984). A robust trend of declining use of Helwan retouch through time has come to be broadly recognized at both inter-site (Bar-Yosef and Valla 1979) and intra-site stratigraphic (Henry et al. 1981) scales. In addition, these studies also suggested that microburin indices increased through time (Hen-ry 1973, 1977) with an attendant decline in the lengths of lunates (Bar-Yosef and Valla 1979). Valla (1981) used these trends to propose a more refined seriation scheme that recognized Early, Late, and

589

The Natufian and the Younger Dryas

Final phases of the Natufian. The Early Natufian (roughly dated 12,500 -11,500 BP) was associated with assemblages displaying >50% Helwan lunates some 19-28 mm in length, the Late Natufian (dat-ed 11,500-10750 BP) with shorter lunates (15-20 mm), and the Final Natufian (10,750-10,250 BP) generally with non-Helwan lunates of very small dimensions (13-15 mm in length). While use of the microburin technique appears to have had a specific chaîne opératoire in the Natu-fian, differing from that of other industries, and to increase through time (Henry 1974, 1989), the technique also shows geographic variation with the highest indices registered in the more arid settings of the Natufian landscape. This is likely connected to the application of the microburin technique in the production of lunates, the use of lunates as ar-matures (Yaroshevich et al. 2010), and the greater emphasis on hunting (and armature production) in the arid zone. This emphasis on the production of armatures in the arid zone of the Levant is a time-transgressive pattern, stretching from the Middle Paleolithic to the Chalcolithic. Aside from geographic variability, use of the technique displays significant intra-site spatial variability (Byrd 1991) and, when combined, these tendencies detract from using microburin indices as a refined chronological measure in the Natufian. The trend observed in the diminishing length of lunates is largely connected to the decline in the proportion of Helwan retouched lunates through time given that Helwan lunates tend to be signifi-cantly larger than lunates formed by other varieties of retouch (Beaver 2000; Sellars 1991). Given this, a more sensitive measure of the lengths of lunates as a seriation tool should distinguish between the lengths of Helwan lunates and those bearing other forms of retouch. Using lunate metrics to seriate Natufian sites is also hindered by what appears to be regional trends as exemplified by the relatively small Helwan lunates at the Early Natufian site of Wadi Judayid (Sellars 1991). Currently, inadequate metric data are available to examine these issues.

Radiocarbon Chronology

While the seriation of lunate attributes provides a relative order to the chronology of Natufian occu-pations, the complex is associated with numerous radiocarbon assays, over 70 for southern Levantine assemblages alone, that provide a means of estab-lishing a reasonably precise absolute time-scale . Although some of the assays lack integrity, 54 of the dates are consistent with the general temporal

sweep of the Natufian and the stratigraphic con-text of assays from the same deposit. The dates range from 9,640±100 BP to 12,950±200 BP thus somewhat expanding the suspected 14C BP age of the Natufian over earlier estimates (Table 1). The calibration of the dates to calendar years not only provides a better sense of the real ages of Natufian occupations, but it also allows for more accurate comparisons with paleoclimatic and en-vironmental sequences dated by various proxies (tree rings, laminated sediments, ice cores) and thorium/uranium assays. Given the current debate (van Andel 2005) on the most appropriate calibra-tion procedure to follow, calibrated dates are given here for the three most commonly used curves 3. When calibrated the temporal sweep of the Natu-fian is ~ 4,500 years based on point dates alone; extending from ~ 15,500 calBP to ~11,000 calBP (Table 1). The three calibration procedures are in general agreement on end ages for the Natufian, but are in less agreement for the beginning age of the Natufian with the IntCal09 and CalPal07Hulu curves yielding ages some 600 years earlier than the Fairbanks0107 age. This is interesting given that the IntCal09 and CalPal07Hulu curves are based upon quite different approaches to 14C calibration (van Andel 2005). When the data-set of 54 assays is plotted there is a clear continuity, a constant slope, until ~12,400 calBP after which fewer dates-to-time are repre-sented as noted by the steeper slope (Fig. 1). From the earliest date to this point, a sweep of ~ 3,200 years, there are ~ 1.66 assays per 100 years, but after ~ 12,400 to the end of the Natufian there are only ~ 0.41 assays per 100 years. In short, the later part of the Natufian is not as finely dated as the interval before ~ 12,200. This evaluation largely parallels the findings of Aurenche et al. (2001), al-though a direct comparison between the two studies is complicated by differences in the two data sets. Unfortunately, this interval of fewer assays also largely corresponds to a plateau in the calibration curve that was induced by an abrupt 14C decrease in the atmosphere (Kitagawa and van der Plicht 1998). A plateau at this time creates a conundrum for archaeologists and other quaternary scientists interested in understanding the transition from Late Natufian to the Early Neolithic (Bar-Yosef 2000:33-34). Interestingly, the three calibration curves consulted here are in strong agreement during this problematic interval (Table 1, Fig. 1). Efforts to evaluate the periodization of the Natufian have used more stringent criteria for se-lecting assays to be included in their 14C data-sets

590

Donald O. Henry

(Stutz 2004; Weinstein-Evron 1998). In her study, Weinstein-Evron (1998:72-74) examined 15 assays identified as Early Natufian, that in calendar years extend from ~ 15,750 calBP to ~ 12,600 calBP. She notes that the end date, derived from samples in the upper part of her Chamber III excavation at el-Wad, is problematic in that the age range extends into times traditionally assigned to the Late Natufian, but nevertheless she sees a possibility that these dates “may well define the close of the Early Natu-fian at el-Wad” (Weinstein-Evron 1998:72). In his study, Stutz (2004) examined 20 assays from Early (4 sites) and Late Natufian (2 sites) occupations. He found the Early Natufian to extend from ~ 15.300 calBP to ~ 14,000 calBP and the Late Natufian to stretch from ~ 13,900 calBP to ~ 11.300 calBP. Stutz (2004:27) also noted two peaks in the Late Natufian: Peak 1 (13,900-13,100 calBP) and Peak 2 (11,900-11,100 calBP). The study presented here, with its less strin-gent selective criteria and attendant large data-set, chronologically frames the Natufian very similarly to the studies of Weinstein-Evron (1998), Bar-Yosef (2000) and Stutz (2004). This is not surprising given that the earliest (el-Wad RT-1368) and latest assay (Hayonim Terrace OXA-2571) are common to the studies; the variability coming from differences in the calibration procedures employed. Although the framing assays are in agreement, the period-

ization or phasing of the Natufian is not. Where Stutz (2004:27) sees the Late Natufian beginning ~ 13,900 calBP, Weinstein-Evron (1998:72) suggests a much later date at ~ 12,600 calBP, as discussed above. Despite not having the benefit of the many new dates, the traditional schemes of Natufian phases placed the beginning of the Late Natufian at ~ 13,400 calBP (Valla 1981) and ~ 12,900 calBP (Henry 1981, 1989). An examination of the 14C assays in Table 1 fails to show a distinct temporal boundary between Early and Late Natufian occupations. Instead, the ages of the occupations assigned to Early or Late Natufian are inter-calculated over a span of ~ 400 years between ~ 13,700 - 13,300 calBP. This uncertainty in chronology is not attributable to the calibration plateau which occurs later. This apparent prolonged temporal transition between the phases may be more of a contextual issue and rest, in part, with the large (700-1200 year) sigmas tied to the Ain Mallaha assays. If these 1δ values were added to the point dates, the ages of Mallaha’s two youngest Early Natufian occupations would then fall comfortably within the age range of Ain Mallaha’s earlier House 51 age, as well as that of the other Early Natufian occupations. This scenario would leave only the Wadi Mataha 2 assay and the two previously discussed “problematic” el-Wad as-says as being out - of - sequence. The Wadi Mataha 2 assay may simply reflect a regional difference in the somewhat extended duration of the Early Natu-fian in southern Jordan. Given these observations, the Early to Late Natufian transition appears to have occurred ~ 13,700 calBP, an estimate in close agreement with that of Stutz (2004).

Paleoclimatic Correlations

The paleoclimatic record of the Levant shows that the later part of the Bølling-Allerød interval, dated from ~ 17-13,000 calBP, encompassed the Early Natufian (~ 15,500 – 13,700 calBP) and the initial part of the Late Natufian (i.e. from ~ 13,700-13,000 calBP). The subsequent Younger Dryas event, dated from ~ 13,000-11,200 calBP in the Levant, appears to have mainly occurred during the Late Natufian which extended from ~ 13,700-11,000 calBP. The correlation presented here is important in that it disconnects the synchronicity of break-points in paleoclimatic and cultural chronologies at the beginning of the Natufian and again at the transition from Early to Late Natufian. From a climatological perspective, the Natufian appears to have emerged ~ 1,500 years after the

Fig. 1. Plots of 14C assays from selected Natufian occupations (Table 1) comparing determina-tions from CalPal07 (Weninger et al. 2010), IntCal09 (OxCal14, Bronk Ramsey 2009) and Fairbanks0107 (Fairbanks et al. 2005). Note that the greatest divergence in determinations occurs earlier than ~13,500 calBP and that there is a marked decline in the number of assays younger than ~12,500 calBP.

591

The Natufian and the Younger Dryas

Tab

le 1

. Sel

ecte

d ra

dioc

arbo

n a

ssay

s, a

rran

ged

from

you

nge

st t

o ol

dest

, wit

h B

P a

nd

cali

brat

ed d

ates

fro

m c

urv

es f

or C

alP

al07

(W

enin

ger

et

al. 2

010)

, In

tCal

09 u

sin

g O

xCal

4.1

(Bro

nk

Ram

sey

2009

), an

d Fa

irba

nks

0107

(Fai

rban

ks e

t al.

200

5). (

M) m

ater

ials

: 1 –

ch

arco

al, 2

- bo

ne,

3

– se

eds.

(P

) pu

blis

hed

in (

1) B

yrd

1994

, (2)

Val

la e

t al

. 200

4, (

3) G

rosm

an a

nd

Mu

nro

200

7, (

4) W

ein

stei

n-E

vron

199

8, (

5) B

yrd

1991

, (6)

L

ech

eval

lier

an

d R

onen

198

5, V

alla

das

and

Arn

old

1994

(7)

Baa

dsga

ard

et a

l. 2

010,

(8)

Edw

ards

199

1, (

9) H

enry

199

5.

Sit

eP

rove

nie

nce

Lab

#B

P1 δ

Cal

Pal

071 δ2

IntC

al09

1 δ3

Fb

ank

s1 δ4

MP

Hay

onim

Ter

race

Fir

epla

ce 8

(30

98)

OxA

-257

196

4010

010

979

164

1097

214

911

026

176

21

El W

adB

1U

CL

A97

9560

011

325

864

1134

781

411

024

874

21

Hay

onim

Ter

race

N 2

8-21

68 (

2168

)O

xA-1

899

1000

010

011

549

205

1153

918

711

475

208

41

Nah

al O

ren

Ter

race

, LV

BM

-764

1004

631

811

719

518

1167

648

011

607

387

21

Hay

onim

Ter

race

Hou

se 9

(31

85)

OxA

-257

310

100

160

1173

231

111

725

287

1169

331

72

1R

osh

Hor

esh

aF

ea 1

3, 4

5cm

SM

U-9

1049

043

012

140

590

1218

656

312

277

591

11

Ain

Mal

lah

aE

M97

R97

616

5G

ifA

9933

210

530

100

1243

520

112

411

146

1246

713

81

2R

akef

etC

ave

I-70

3010

580

140

1244

722

612

432

183

1247

518

32

1A

in M

alla

ha

EM

97 R

98c

7657

Gif

A10

0400

1054

090

1245

119

312

434

134

1248

411

91

2H

ilaz

on T

ach

tit

Lay

er B

, str

uct

ure

sR

TT

459

210

530

6012

477

169

1246

697

1248

481

13

El W

adE

arly

Nat

.R

T-13

67a

1068

019

012

525

271

1254

524

712

599

200

14

El W

adE

arly

Nat

.R

T-13

67b

1074

020

012

610

278

1263

124

912

655

195

14

Bei

dha

C-0

1-24

:2A

A-1

462

1091

052

012

644

666

1272

666

812

755

582

15

Hil

azon

Tac

hti

tL

ayer

B, s

tru

ctu

res

RT

T 3

760

1075

050

1272

144

1264

524

712

677

491

3R

osh

Hor

esh

aF

ea 1

5/16

, 45c

mS

MU

-10

1088

028

012

749

331

1277

131

512

771

268

12

Hil

azon

Tac

hti

tL

ayer

B, s

tru

ctu

res

RT

T 4

593

1077

065

1275

364

1267

469

1269

345

13

Safl

uli

mS

F J

21c

(145

-150

)O

xA-2

136

1093

013

012

893

123

1284

013

812

819

109

11

Rak

efet

Cav

e, E

arly

Nat

.I-

7032

1098

026

012

933

244

1283

627

112

863

235

21

Hat

oula

N

atu

fian

GIF

A91

141

1102

018

012

967

171

1291

817

312

895

155

16

Jeri

cho

Mes

o L

ii

BM

-140

711

090

9012

992

132

1296

212

112

949

811

1S

aflu

lim

SF

/4 K

20b

OxA

-286

911

150

100

1304

714

713

017

129

1300

092

11

Jeri

cho

Mes

o L

ii

P-3

7611

166

107

1306

014

813

033

134

1301

510

01

1K

ebar

a C

ave

Lay

er B

, IV

UC

LA

1115

040

013

074

407

1304

744

513

018

389

21

Wad

i Mat

aha

2 (

F12

) ,

Mid

den

C

AM

S-5

5897

1120

050

1310

310

813

089

9313

040

532

7H

ayon

im T

erra

ce (

1719

)O

xA-2

569

1122

011

013

113

143

1309

013

413

064

109

21

Ain

Mal

lah

aII

I-H

ouse

51

Ly-

1662

1131

088

013

333

1270

1352

513

2313

148

1008

12

Hay

onim

Ter

race

(31

43),

Roa

st P

itO

xA-2

572

1146

011

013

362

154

1332

811

313

315

128

21

592

Donald O. Henry

Sit

eP

rove

nie

nce

Lab

#B

P1 δ

Cal

Pal

071 δ2

IntC

al09

1 δ3

Fb

ank

s1 δ4

MP

Wad

i Mat

aha

2 (

F15

8),

Zon

e A

UC

IAM

S-2

4863

1160

025

1347

710

613

435

6713

466

492

7E

l Wad

Ter

race

, Lay

er B

2U

CL

A11

475

650

1360

085

013

637

951

1333

669

02

1H

ayon

im T

erra

ceH

ouse

4 (

3052

)O

xA-2

977

1172

012

013

604

170

1357

512

913

577

118

21

Sal

ibiy

a I

Mar

shR

T-50

5A11

530

550

1364

470

713

636

775

1339

056

31

1H

ayon

im T

erra

ce4

(314

3) F

ill

OxA

-297

511

790

120

1369

318

213

631

132

1364

011

32

1A

in M

alla

ha

IV H

ouse

131

Ly-

1660

1159

054

013

722

705

1371

476

713

450

555

12

Hay

onim

Ter

race

Hou

se 4

(25

05)

OxA

-257

011

820

120

1373

617

713

657

136

1366

611

02

1H

ayon

im T

erra

ceL

ayer

DS

MU

231

1192

090

1384

418

513

765

118

1374

982

11

W. H

amm

eh 2

78.

1 pl

ot X

XD

OxA

-393

1192

015

013

906

267

1377

118

813

748

132

38

W. H

amm

eh 2

78.

1 pl

ot X

XD

OxA

-507

1195

016

013

911

276

1381

621

713

773

143

38

Ain

Mal

lah

aII

I-H

ouse

51

Ly-

1661

1174

057

013

959

794

1396

084

313

608

607

12

Wad

i Mat

aha

2P

it (

F18

2), Z

one

AU

CIA

MS

-248

6412

025

3014

003

197

1387

760

1382

949

27

Hay

onim

Cav

eL

oc 4

/5O

xA 7

4312

010

180

1405

332

613

927

288

1382

717

13

1B

eidh

aC

-01-

23:4

, H2

AA

-146

412

130

190

1422

536

514

148

346

1394

721

51

5B

eidh

aC

-01:

4A

A-1

464

1213

019

014

225

365

1414

834

613

947

215

15

El W

adC

ave,

Lay

er B

2U

CL

A11

920

650

1423

692

214

284

975

1381

372

82

1W

. Ham

meh

27

XX

/D/4

/1O

xA-3

9412

200

160

1432

736

214

236

321

1401

420

23

8W

adi J

uda

yid

Lay

er C

SM

U 8

0512

090

800

1453

011

5414

600

1155

1402

392

61

9H

ayon

im C

ave

Loc

4/7

OxA

742

1236

016

014

562

419

1446

831

614

235

263

31

Bei

dha

C-0

0-16

:4A

A-1

465

1245

017

014

696

422

1457

432

814

383

292

15

Bei

dha

C-0

1:5

AA

-146

512

450

170

1469

642

214

574

328

1438

329

21

5K

ebar

aC

ave,

DO

xA-2

798

1247

018

014

723

431

1460

134

614

416

304

21

El W

adE

arly

Nat

.P

ta-5

435

1262

011

014

973

331

1482

029

014

677

186

14

Wad

i Ju

dayi

dL

ayer

CS

MU

806

1275

010

0015

298

1387

1543

413

5114

834

1248

19

Wad

i Ju

dayi

dL

ayer

CS

MU

803

1278

465

015

,349

1075

1535

097

614

842

820

19

Bei

dha

C-0

1-24

:4A

A-1

463

1291

025

015

,642

636

1557

756

015

029

323

15

El W

adE

arly

Nat

.R

T-13

6812

950

200

15,7

5048

215

668

459

1508

325

41

4

Tab

le 1

. (C

onti

nu

ed)

593

The Natufian and the Younger Dryas

beginning of deglaciation. We can estimate the gen-eral temperature and moisture levels from several proxies to have been ~ 2°C < modern mean annual temperature and close to modern mean annual rainfall at that time3 (Fig. 2). Natufian communi-ties would have continued to enjoy a progressive amelioration of climate accompanied by rising temperatures and precipitation during the Early phase and some 700 years into Late Natufian times before the on-set of the Younger Dryas. Immediate-ly prior to the Younger Dryas reversal, the most clement conditions of the Bølling-Allerød would have been reached accompanied by the highest temperature and moisture levels of the terminal Pleistocene. With the on-set of the Younger Dryas, Late Natufian groups would have experienced a sharp decline in temperature and moisture levels that ultimately reached their lowest values of ~ 4.5°C < present day mean annual temperature and ~ 50mm > modern mean annual precipitation. The harshest conditions of the event would have occurred ~ 12,000 calBP and then slowly improved over ~ 600 years to ultimately reach temperatures near modern levels and rainfall ~ 350mm > modern levels by ~ 10,000 calBP.

Explanatory Models

Over the last three decades numerous models have been advanced that seek to explain why and how the transition from foraging to food-produc-tion occurred during the Natufian (Simmons 2007, Goring-Morris et al. 2009). The majority of these emphasize the roles that climatic and attendant environmental changes would have played in driv-ing the trajectory and tempo of the transition. The various models that view climatic change, especially the Younger Dryas, as a significant factor might well be grouped into those which emphasize popu-lation growth and resource decline (Bar-Yosef 1998; Bar-Yosef and Belfer-Cohen 1989, 1992, 2002; Henry 1981, 1985, 1989, 2002), resource decline (Moore and Hillman 1992), resource decline and increased seasonality (McCorriston and Hole 1991), resource decline and increased mobility (Goring-Morris 1991; Munro 2004), and resource decline coupled with a shift from woodland to grassland resources (Rosen 2007). Alternative models that question the role of climatic change in the process include those of Hayden (2004), Bottema (1995, 2002), and Willcox (2005). Most of the models involving climate change stress the importance of the expansion of the Med-iterranean woodlands during the Bølling-Allerød

interval as a catalyst for the emergence of the Natufian. The woodland expansion is thought to have created an environment rich in cereal and nut resources upon which Natufian communities depended. Based on the data in Fig. 2, the climat-ic thresholds that would have been associated with this forest expansion at the beginning of the Natufian would have been temperatures only slightly (1-2°C) below modern annual averages and precipitation levels near those of today. Although these climatic thresholds fail to define the seasonal ranges that are so important in determining the distributions of Near Eastern plant communities (Rossignol-Strick 1995:894-898), they neverthe-less provide some absolute measures by which to model the impacts of terminal Pleistocene climatic change on the environment. Given this, it seems reasonable to conclude that the climatic thresh-olds associated with the expansion of oak-pistacia woodlands at the beginning of the Natufian may also serve to define temperature and precipitation levels that would have had a significant impact on the environments of Late Natufian groups during the climatic reversal of the Younger Dryas. While the decline in precipitation during the Younger Dryas appears to have remained above the critical

Fig. 2. Estimated temperature and precipitation fluctuations associated with Late Glacial Max-imum (LGM), Bølling-Allerød (BA), Younger Dryas (YD), and Early Holocene (EH) intervals and Early and Late Natufian phases. The ages for these intervals and Natufian phases were established through a review of multiple prox-ies discussed in this report. The temperature and precipitation values were derived from those presented for Soreq Cave speleotherms (Bar-Matthews et al. 1997, Table 2) based on the reported ranges for specific age brackets.

594

Donald O. Henry

threshold, temperature would have fallen below the threshold by ~ 12,500 and remained so until ~ 11,000 calBP (Fig. 2). In short, these data indicate that the deterioration in climate associated with the Younger Dryas was related more to the impact of lower temperatures than to drought. In discussing the factors that limit the distri-butions of Eastern Mediterranean forests, Rossig-nol-Strick (1995:894) notes that cold winters (even if wet) and dry summers (even if warm) are the most severe stressing conditions. The most common markers of woodland in the Mediterranean and steppe zones are Pistacia atlantica, Pistacia palesti-na, Quercus calliprinos, and Quercus ithaburensis. The Q. calliprinos - P. palestina association occurs as a maquis of evergreen thermophilous shrubs that demand low, but not severe winter tempera-tures (15-19°C isotherm) and precipitation levels of at least 300-400mm (Rossignol-Strick 1995:896; Zohary 1962:101). In demanding milder conditions, the deciduous oak Q. ithaburensis is confined to elevations under 600m and favors moisture levels of at least 500mm (Rossignol-Strick 1995:898; Zohary 1962:90-91). The historic distribution of Q. ithaburensis (Liphschitz and Biger 1990; Zohary 1962) in Israel shows that the thermophilous oak requires temperatures no lower than the 19°C iso-therm. Liphschitz and Biger (1990) propose that the ancient Mediterranean woodlands in Israel were dominated by Q. calliprinos. Comparison of the temperature and precipita-tion trends of the Terminal Pleistocene (Fig. 2) to the climatic limits of Levantine phytogeographic zones indicates that the Q. ithaburensis forest likely would have been confined to low elevations along the coast and the upper Jordan Valley even during the ameliorated conditions of the Bølling-Allerød. This more restricted distribution of the thermophi-lous oak forest would have resulted from depressed temperatures, not precipitation. In contrast, the more cold tolerant Q. calliprinos - P. palestina as-sociation would likely have experienced significant expansion, especially upslope to higher elevations, with the progressive rise in temperature and mois-ture accompanying deglaciation. With the on-set of the Younger Dryas there would have been a concomitant retreat of Q. calliprinos - P. palestina forests to progressively lower elevations, but even the harshest conditions at ~ 12,000 calBP would only have affected forests at the highest elevations. Again, it is important to note that the constraining conditions are likely to have been tied more to falling temperatures than declining levels of precipitation. Interestingly, reduced precipitation during the

Younger Dryas may have actually favored an ex-pansion of pistacia into settings formerly dominated by stands of more mesic juniper in the Highland Negev and presumably the Ma’an Plateau (Baruch and Goring-Morris 1997).

Critical Resources and Climatic Impacts

Cereal and nut resources have long been thought to have formed the Natufian resource base because of their ease of collection, high nutrition-al value, and storage potential (Henry 1981:428, 1989:34-35). The overlapping distribution of Natu-fian sites and the source of these resources in the Mediterranean woodlands, in conjunction with sickle blades and grinding equipment recovered from Natufian occupations, added further support to the notion. Beyond indirect evidence, microbotanic remains of wild barley, legumes, and wild almond have been recovered from Natufian deposits in Hayonim Cave (Hopf and Bar-Yosef 1987) and at Wadi Hammeh 27 (Edwards 1991). Pollen studies have identified cereal, oak and pistacia pollen in the deposits of Rosh Zin (Horowitz 1976), Rosh Horesha (Horowitz 1977:324), and Hayonim Terrace (Henry et al. 1981), and cereal and oak pollen at Wadi Judayid (Emery-Barbier 1995:381). At Wadi Mataha cereals are identified in the Early Natufi-an, but oak is marginal to absent throughout the diagram (Scott-Cummings 2006). Moreover, pollens recovered from sediment samples collected from a house-floor and the scrapings of a bedrock mortar from the Early Natufian occupation at Hayonim Terrace were identified by Leroi-Gourhan (Henry et al. 1981) as cereals, legumes, pistacia, and hazelnut (Corylus sp.). Recently, microscopic wear analysis of Natufian groundstone shows the implements to have been used for hide working, mineral grinding, and the processing of cereals and legumes (Dubreuil 2004). Ethnographic uses of mortars are typically tied to nut processing, but they are also reported to have been used in processing a wide range of plant resources (Ortiz 1991; Peterson 1968; Steward 1933; Wright 1991) and Nadel et al. (2009) have recently proposed non-utilitarian uses in the Natufian. Although both cereals and nuts are associated with Natufian occupations, there is disagreement over the relative energetic benefits of the two groups of resources (Olszewski 2004). Whereas small acorns and cereals are reported to be about equal in energetic benefits (i.e. kcal return /hr) by some researchers (Barlow and Heck 2002; Olszewski 2004), others argue that nuts are preferential to

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cereals (Gremillion 2004; Rosen 2007:124; Winterh-alder and Goland 1997), are rich in fat and protein, and supply large quantities of essential fatty acids needed for human nutrition (Goren-Inbar et al. 2002). In contrast, others argue that acorns are low in nutritive value and serve as famine foods (Lieberman and Bar-Yosef 1994, McCorriston 1994). The relative value of cereals and nuts as food sources, however, is less significant than what their combined contribution would have meant to the Natufian subsistence base. Although both groups are storable foods, the seasonal differences in their harvest periods (cereals – late spring and summer, nuts – fall), coupled with their elevationally stag-gered maturation, enabled Natufian communities to mesh their labor forces with their resource needs (Henry 1989:34-35). Had Natufian communities been challenged with having to harvest adequate resources for their long-term rations within narrow 2-3 week harvest periods, they would likely have failed. Another significant factor related to the Natu-fian exploitation of cereal and nut resources is tied to both long (climate) and short (weather) term ecologic relationships of trees and grasses. This was observed by Bottema (1995) in his argument that in the southern Levant during the Younger Dryas the retreat of forests was tied to an expansion of grasses, prompting him to question notions of a climatically triggered decline in resources at that time. This piston-effect between trees and grasses also has a short-term, weather scale relationship. If, for example, Mediterranean woodlands were to have experienced a late season frost during the spring flowering period their leaf cycle would have been delayed and their nut mast would have been greatly reduced. Ironically, as understory vegeta-tion, annual grasses would have benefitted from such a weather event. With increased exposure to sunlight and elevated early-season soil tempera-tures patches of cereals would have provided more abundant yields. Within oak park forests of the foothills of the Golan, studies show a much greater abundance of cereal grasses (T. dicoccoides) in sun than in shade microniches, attributable to higher soil temperatures and sunlight exposure (Li et al. 2002; Nevo et al. 1988). Moreover, the same relation-ships are likely to have influenced heading dates, and harvest periods, given that “early heading” of T. dicoccoides is tied to warmer, drier conditions (Kato et al. 1998). If we look at the climatic trends of the Terminal Pleistocene with specific reference to their impacts on cereal and nut resources, deglaciation at its peak

would have prompted oak parklands to spread from lowland Late Glacial Maximum refuges up to elevations close to modern levels of ~ 450masl. The oak-pistacia association, with greater cold tolerance, would have enjoyed a more extensive expansion to ~ 1000masl. These upslope expansions of deciduous oak parkland and evergreen oak-pistacia maquis would have increased the abundance of cereal and nut resources. Cereals would have been more abundant in the oak parklands. Perhaps of equal importance, the expanding elevational amplitude of these resources would have progressively extended their elevationally staggered maturation periods, thus enabling Natufian communities to balance their labor forces and resource demands. Also by occupying a greater range of elevational belts the resources would have been less likely to have suf-fered broad shortfalls due to climatic fluctuations (Willcox 2005:538). This combination of greater abundance, prolonged maturation period, and dependability would have made nutritious, easily collected, and storable cereal and nut resources increasingly attractive to Levantine foragers and inevitably given rise to the Natufian. After enjoying some 2,700 years of climatic amelioration and expanding resources, the onset of the Younger Dryas reversed these trends. The most severe conditions, occurring ~11,800 calBP, would have reduced precipitation levels by ~ 200 mm and temperature by ~3-4°C. While the aridity associated with the Younger Dryas is often highlighted, it is noteworthy that the driest conditions of the event appear to have registered ~ 50 mm above present day levels. The depressed temperatures of the event, however, would have significantly impacted cereal and nut resources if the vegetation was sensitive to the same temperature parameters that limit their present day distributions. Wild emmer wheat would have been confined to elevations below ~ 500 masl, whereas the more cold tolerant wild barley could have thrived up to elevations of ~ 900-1000 masl. Warmth loving deciduous oak parklands would have been forced to elevations near and below sea level along the Mediterranean coast and the Jordan Valley, whereas the more cold-tolerant oak-pistacia maquis would have been confined to elevations below 400-500 masl. Willcox (2005:538) argues that the climatic deterioration of the Younger Dryas was not a cat-astrophic event and did not lead to radical changes in the vegetation cover. He points to the region’s steep altitudinal gradients, especially in the upper Jordan Valley, and suggests that “even a major climatic change would have resulted in only small

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horizontal shifts in distribution limits” (Willcox 2005:538). While the deterioration of conditions would not have eliminated critical plant resources, the reduction in temperature alone would have sig-nificantly reduced their distributions. For example, if the modern distribution of Q. ithaburensis-Styrax officinalis association (Al-Eisawi 1985; Cordova 2007:69; Zohary 1962:112-114) located SE of Lake Tiberas is used to model the impact of a tempera-ture reduction a significant decline in deciduous oak woodland would have occurred. Between the most clement conditions of the Bølling-Allerød and the harshest conditions of the Younger Dryas there would have been a temperature reduction of 3°C. With an attendant decline in upper elevation limits of the Q. ithaburensis-Styrax officinalis association from ~ 500 to 100 masl, the deciduous oak cover would have been reduced from ~ 450 km2 to <120 km2, a loss of some 73%. Even if some extensions of the Tabor oak forest into low elevation settings outside of the modern range of the forest had taken place, the loss of nut resources that accompanied the shrinkage of forest still would have been sub-stantial. Moreover, the elevational compression of the forest would not only have reduced the abun-dance of nut resources, but also the length of their ripening period and their resistance to weather perturbations. Whereas the more cold tolerant evergreen maquis would have been less severely impacted, it too would have experienced marked elevational compression and associated reduction in nut resources. Bottema (1995) and Wright (2003) also ques-tion the impact of the Younger Dryas on Natufian resources, but from different perspectives. While recognizing a reduction in forests, they argue that this was likely to have been accompanied by an expansion of grasses. As such, this would have had little impact on Natufian resources beyond a proportionate shift from fewer nuts to more cereals. Although the temperature parameters for T. dicoccoides and H. spontaneum are less certain than those tied to precipitation, both barley and emmer are reported to be intolerant of cool condi-tions (Harlan and Zohary 1966; Willcox 2005:536). In their seminal paper on the distributions of wild wheats and barley, Harlan and Zohary (1966) note that barley is confined to elevations below 1,500m and associated with the Q. bantrii belt in the Zagros and the Q. ithaburensis association in the uplands surrounding the Upper Jordan Valley where it is also associated with wild emmer wheat. Modern stands of wild emmer are reported between 270-1150 masl in Israel and Turkey (Ozbek et al.

2007). These data suggest that T. dicoccoides and H. spontaneum would likely have been confined to settings with mean annual temperatures > 12°C. In using the same geographic-environmental example as above, under the most severe conditions of the Younger Dryas, cereal cover would have been limited to elevations below ~ 1,000 masl which would have reduced the area covered by cereal stands by about 1/3rd; i.e. from ~ 450 km2 to ~ 300 km2. Although the reconstruction presented here is only a rough estimate, it does suggest that the Younger Dryas did reduce the availability of cereals. But even if we accept the notion that the climatic deterioration only reduced forest cover, this would nevertheless have significantly altered the Natufian subsistence base. In absence of a dependable fall nut mast, Natufian communities would have been confronted with the challenge of harvesting adequate quantities of cereals in the spring and early summer to carry them through much or all of the year.

Site and Climatic-Environmental Distributions

A comparison of the distributions of Natufian sites in the southern Levant, broken into Early and Late phases, with modern climatic and environ-mental distributions provides insights relative to Natufian population expansion, land-use practices, and restricting climatic-environmental conditions of the Terminal Pleistocene. Early Natufian sites are largely confined within or along the margins of the Mediterranean Woodlands (Fig. 3, Table 2). Sites that differ from this pattern are Ain es Saratan (Garrard 1991) located in the Azraq Oasis and Upper Besor 6 (Horwitz and Goring-Morris 2000) located in the High Negev. This distribution is con-sistent with the emergence of the Natufian during the Bølling-Allerød and concomitant expansion of Mediterranean woodlands to limits ultimately somewhat more extensive than those of today. While Ain es Saratan and Bawwabah al-Ghazal rest in a unique oasis settings, Tabaqa (Byrd and Colledge 1991) and likely Early Natufian occupations of the Wadi Juheira (Neeley 2004) are situated adjacent to ancient lakes along the eastern margin of the steppe zone. Not surprisingly, these Early Natufian sites marginal to the Mediterranean woodlands display the lowest modern precipitation levels (100-200 mm isohyets) and highest annual temperatures (19-21°C isotherms, Figs. 4 and 5). The higher precipitation (~ 200 mm > modern) and slightly cooler temperatures (~ 1.5-0.5 < modern) of the Bølling-Allerød (Fig. 2) would have likely supported

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Fig. 3. The distribution of Early and Late Natufian sites relative to the modern environmental zones of the Levant. Note the extension of Late Natufian sites into desert settings.

Table 2. Key to site numbers, names, and publication sources for the sites shown in Fig. 3.

Site # Site Name Published In1 Ain Mallaha Valla 1981

2 HayonimBar-Yosef and Tchernov 1966

3 Hilazon Tachtit Grosman et al. 2007

4 RakefetLengyel and Bocquentin 2005

5 Nahal Oren Stekelis and Yizraeli 19636 el-Wad Garrod and Bate 19377 Kebara Turville-Petre 19328 Shukbah Garrod 1942

9 HatoulaLechevallier and Ronen 1985

10 Jericho Kenyon 196011 Fazael IV Bar-Yosef 1974

12Erq el Ahmar, Oum Qalaa Sakri

Neuville 1951

13 El KhiamEchegaray 1964, 1966; Neuville 1951

14 Oum ez Zouetina Neuville 195115 Tor Abu Sif Neuville 195116 IRA 22 Valla et al. 1979

17 Nahal Sekher VIGoring-Morris and Bar-Yosef 1987

18 Nahal Lavan IVPhillips and Bar-Yosef 1974

19 Upper Besor 6Horwitz and Goring-Morris 2000

20 Rosh Zin Henry 1976

Site # Site Name Published In21 Saflulim Goring-Morris et al. 199922 Rosh Horesha Marks and Larson 1977

23 J614Beaver 2000; Henry et al. 2001

24 Wadi Humeima Henry 199525 Wadi Judayid Sellars 1991; Henry 199526 Sabra I Gebel 198827 Sunakh Pedersen 1995

28 Wadi MatahaBaadsgaard et al. 2010; Janetski and Chazan 2004

29 Beidha Byrd 199130 Wadi Juheira Neeley 200431 Tabaqa Byrd and Colledge 199132 Ala Safat Waechter 194833 Wadi Hameh Edwards 199134 Ain Rahub Gebel and Muheisen 198535 Taibe Cauvin 197436 Wadi Ajib Betts and Garrard 199837 Ain el Saratan Garrard 1991

38Bawwabah al-Ghazal

Rollefson et al. 2009

39 Khallat ‘Anaza Betts and Garrard 1998

40Mugharat al-Jawa

Betts and Garrard 1998

41 Shubayqa Betts and Garrard 199842 Jebel es-Subhi Betts and Garrard 199843 Salabiya I Crabtree et al. 1991

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Mediterranean woodlands and parklands and even sustained lakes in these modern arid settings. The Late Natufian site distribution shows a dis-tinct expansion into modern steppe and desert areas associated with much drier and warmer settings.

Underscoring the contrast to Early Natufian sites, numerous Late Natufian occupations are found in areas receiving <100-50mm rainfall and registering isotherms of 21->23°C (Figs. 4-6). Clusters of sites appear in arid settings of the High Negev and the

Fig. 4. The distribution of Early and Late Natufian sites relative to modern isohyets (mm).

Fig. 5. The distribution of Early and Late Natufian sites relative to modern isotherms (oC).

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lower elevations along the margins of the Jebel Druze. Low elevation sites, accompanied by high temperatures, found in lower Jordan Valley and Wadi Araba, are also unique to the Late Natufian. The significantly greater number of Late Natufian over Early Natufian sites present in the 21->23°C isotherms is likely an expression of the responses of Late Natufian groups to the colder tempera-tures of the Younger Dryas and the accompanying downslope retreat of cereal and nut resources. But the Late Natufian site distribution also shows sites to have been present at high elevations and cooler temperatures (17-19°C isotherms). Clusters of sites in the Highland Negev (Rosh Horesha, Saflulim, and Rosh Zin) and on the Ma’an Plateau (Wadi Mataha 2, Sunakh, Sabra I, and Wadi Humeima)

are examples of such upland sites. Given their high elevations and relatively low isotherms, these Late Natufian sites were likely to have been occupied near the end of the Bølling-Allerød or early in the Younger Dryas prior to extreme temperature de-pression. Radiocarbon assays from Rosh Horesha and Saflulim (~ 12,700-13,100 calBP) and Wadi Mataha 2 (~ 13,100 calBP) are consistent with this notion and would place the occupations in late Bølling-Allerød, early Younger Dryas times.

Natufian Emergence and Expansion

When Natufian occupations are plotted by phase and associated 14C assays, successive stages of Natufian expansion can be defined (Fig. 7). The earliest, Stage 1, occupations are >15,000 calBP and trace the beginnings of the Natufian in two core areas. The earliest evidence of the Natufian in the Northern Core Area is identified on Mount Carmel at el-Wad, whereas the sites of Beidha and Wadi Judayid, situated along the edge of the Ma’an Plateau, yield assays of similar ages for the Southern Core Area. Given their similarly early dates in conjunction with a separation of >300 km, the two areas likely trace the independent and largely synchronous emergence of the Natufian from a common broadly defined Geometric Kebaran population. Although the two areas display quite different settings, coastal Mediteranean compared to high inland plateau, both areas border the 19°C isotherm and with the enhanced precipitation of the Bølling-Allerød the drier plateau is likely to have received sufficient moisture to support a Mediter-ranean woodland, thus providing a similar range of cereal and nut resources to the two areas. During the following Stage 2, 15-14,000 calBP, the Natufian of the Northern Core Area expanded to include the Carmel, Galilee, Upper Jordan Valley, and even the eastern flank of the Jordan south of Lake Tiberias. In addition to el-Wad, occupations at Kebara, Hayonim, Ain Mallaha, and Wadi Hammeh 27 have yielded assays between 14,000 – 15,000 calBP. In the Southern Core Area the Stage 2 ex-pansion was much less extensive, confined to the narrow swath along the edge of the plateau, and is associated with only a single site Wadi Mataha 2. While the sites of the Northern Core Area exhibit a rich material culture and elaborate site structure, the sites in the south are less complex, perhaps suggesting higher levels of mobility. The ongoing work at Wadi Mataha (Baadsgaard et al. 2010), however, may prove occupations of the two areas to be more similar than we presently suspect.

Fig. 6. Comparisons of the distributions of Early and Late Natufian sites relative to their mod-ern environmental zone, precipitation, and temperature settings.`

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Stage 3 traces extensions from the Northern Core Area east to the Azraq Oasis and the Early Natufian sites of Ain el Saratan (Garrard 1991) and Bawwabah al-Ghazal (Rollefson et al. 2009) and southward along the hilly spine west of the Rift to the Early Natufian sites of the Judean Hills (Neuville 1951). Although it is certainly possible that some of these occupations could date to Stage 2 or

even Stage 1 times, their locations relative to those of earlier sites are consistent with an extension of territory and a later age, but an age earlier than the beginning of the Late Natufian, i.e. > 13,700 calBP. The Southern Core Area displays a mod-est extension to the northeast along the eastern margins of the plateau to ancient lakes Hasa and Juheira where the Early Natufian sites of Tabaqa

Fig. 7. Proposed sequence of Natufian expansion as represented by Stages 1-4. Note the nearly synchro-nous Stage 1 dates for both the Northern and Southern cores areas.

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and Wadi Juheira have been recorded (Neeley 2004). Again these sites are undated, but must be no younger than 13,700 given their Early Natufian placement. From a paleoclimatological perspective, the progressive amelioration of climate during the later part of the Bølling-Allerød, and Stage 3, would have enabled Natufian groups to colonize the marginally drier landscapes to the east and south, often around lake and marsh habitats. The Stage 4 expansion from the Northern Core Area was extraordinary in geographic scale as well as the colonization of new environments. Expansion during Stage 4 in many ways contin-ued earlier pushes to the east along the southern edge of the Jebel Druze and south along the hilly spine east of the Dead Sea and on into the Central Negev Highlands. A handful of 14C assays point to the presence of Late Natufian groups in the high Negev by ~ 12,700 – 13,100 calBP. Establishing an age for the numerous Natufian occupations of northeastern Jordan is dependent on artifact seriation and the placement of all the sites in the Late Natufian, except the previously mentioned oasis sites (Betts 1991, Betts and Garrard 1998). This placement would bracket the sites to between 13,700 to 11,000 calBP. The dated sites from the Negev enable us to place them near the end of the Bølling-Allerød and early part of the Younger Dryas when conditions were still favorable. Whereas a similar situation may account for the “eastern push” and the numerous Late Natufian sites that skirt the Jebel Druze, we simply have no chronometry to evaluate this notion. Beyond expansion during Stage 4 into the drier settings of the Negev and Eastern Jordan, we see Natufian sites established for the first time at very low settings (-100 to -250 m below sea-level) in the lower Jordan Valley (Jericho, Fazael IV, Salibiya I, and Ala Safat) and at a relatively low setting in the Wadi Araba at J614. With accompanying high isotherms >23°C, these sites may well be ex-pressions of the efforts of Late Natufian groups to find refuge during the severest part of the Younger Dryas. Although not without some ambiguity, none of the 14C assays we have for the Jordan Valley sites fit this idea, but from another perspective, those sites (Nahal Oren, el-Wad, Hayonim) dating within the colder parts of the Younger Dryas (i.e. 11,000-11,700 calBP) are associated with high isotherms (19-21°C) along the Mediterranean coast. In describing the Late Natufian expansion during Stage 4 into the Negev, I have argued for an extension from the Northern Core Area, not from the nearby Southern Core Area. In support of this

alternative argument, besides proximity, one might point to the similarities in the environments of the Negev and Ma’an Plateau and what were likely to have been common land-use strategies for Late Natufian groups inhabiting the two areas. There is, however, strong evidence in the form of orna-mental elements with specific designs that confirm connections between Late Natufian groups in the Negev and northern and central Israel (Crabtree et al. 1991; Henry 1989). Another observation that may be important to understanding the Stage 4 Late Natufian expan-sion into modern steppe and desert settings is the association of sites with bedrock mortars. Most of the Late Natufian sites in the Negev, southern, and eastern Jordan are associated with bedrock mortars. This suggests that at the time the sites were established groups must have had access to cereal and/or nut crops and have been exposed to the climatic conditions suitable for sustaining at least a parkland.

Summary and Conclusions

A wide range of paleoclimatic data indicates the progressive amelioration of Levantine climate between ~ 17,000 to 13,000 calBP, associated with the Bølling-Allerød, followed by the onset of cold-dry conditions of the Younger Dryas which persisted until ~ 11,200 calBP. In contrast to this event in the North Atlantic, the Younger Dryas appears to have been more moderate, of longer duration, and less abrupt in termination in the Levant. Moreover, when compared to present day conditions, those of the Younger Dryas in the Levant were more signifi-cant with regard to the decline in temperature than precipitation. Whereas the temperature appears to have reached levels some 3-4.5°C below modern levels under the harshest conditions of the event, precipitation only fell to levels slightly above that of today. When 14C assays of Natufian sites are reviewed and compared to the ages of the Terminal Pleisto-cene climatic succession we see the emergence of the Natufian at ~ 15,500 calBP, some 1,500 years after the start of deglaciation. The paleoclimatic temperature and precipitation parameters that we are able to reconstruct for that time might be viewed as threshold conditions that were neces-sary to support environments and the concomitant expansion of cereal and nut resources which were responsible for triggering the unique Natufian land-use strategy. Paleoclimatic reconstructions suggest temperatures some 1.5-2°C below modern

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levels and precipitation only slightly above modern levels at that time (Fig. 2). These same climatic thresholds may also be relevant to estimating the point at which the deteriorating conditions of the Younger Dryas would have had a negative impact. The transition to the Late Natufian (~ 13,700 calBP) occurred some 700 years before the onset of the Younger Dryas which persisted until ~ 11,000 calBP. This evidence thus shows a discon-nect between the Younger Dryas and emergence of the Late Natufian. The correlation of cultural and paleoclimatic chronologies is important to understanding the emergence and subsequent expansion of the Natufian in the Southern Levant. The Natufian appears to have emerged in Northern (Mount Carmel of northern Israel) and Southern (Ma’an Plateau of southern Jordan) core areas ~ 15,500 calBP. Subsequently the Northern Core Area underwent a series of major expansions to the east and south, while the Southern Core Area expanded only slightly within the uplands of southern Jordan. If the expansion stages presented here are roughly accurate, a question emerges as to what constrained the spread of the Natufian during Stage 2. This was a time of continued cli-matic amelioration and much of the Mediterranean woodlands had yet to be occupied by Natufians. The answer may rest in the lack of sufficient pop-ulation pressure to have forced groups to greatly expand their territories. And in some ways the same answer, although reversed, may explain why during Stage 3 and especially Stage 4 times, Natufian groups colonized less optimal settings in the steppe and desert zone, perhaps even under deteriorating conditions. The specific timing of the Stage 4 Late Natufian expansion may ultimately prove to be critically important. If, for example, this expansion to relieve population pressures in the core area had taken place during the initial part of the Late Natufian (~ 13,700-12,800 calBP), it would have taken place under the clement conditions of late Bølling-Allerød, early Younger Dryas times. The colonization of these arid settings would have benefitted from conditions registering above the previously discussed climatic thresholds. However, with the onset of the Younger Dryas, the environment of the arid zone is likely to have progressively deteriorated, reaching the harshest conditions ~ 12,000 calBP. Given this, it may not be coincidental that we see the appearance of a more mobile off-shoot of the Late Natufian, the Harifian, in the Negev (~ 12,600 calBP) soon after followed by its disappearance (~ 12,000 calBP). Continuing this logic, a Stage 5 might be considered in which

Natufian groups retreated from the deteriorating conditions of the arid zone back to homelands in the Mediterranean Woodlands, thus adding to any existing problems these founding groups were having with declining resources and their own growing populations. The notion that population movements from poor to rich environments may have contributed to the beginnings of agriculture, ironically is opposite that proposed by Binford (1968) and Flannery (1969) over four decades ago.

Acknowledgements

My sincere thanks to Ofer and François for making it all possible and their collegiality and friendship through the years. Also, I offer my thanks to Linda Scott Cummings and Joel Janetski for in-forming me of aspects of the palynological research and 14C assays from Wadi Mataha 2. I also appreciate the help of Sandra Roberts, Ponteha Nikjou, and Eden Heming in manuscript preparation and the support from the Office of Research, The University of Tulsa.

Notes

1Bar-Mathews et al. (1997) present these estimates as ranges in their Table 2 (p. 163). In calculating temperature and moisture fluctuations, compared to modern, I have used present day levels of 19°C and 500mm. I assume that the temperature and moisture ranges reported by Bar-Mathews et al. (1997) for the period (17-15K B.P.) progressive-ly rise and bracket the beginning and end of the interval. For the following period (15-12K B.P.), I assume that the peak temperature and moisture levels were reached at the end of the BA (~13K B.P.) and the lowest values near the most severe part of the YD. The subsequent interval (12-10K B.P.), begins with the lowest temperature and moisture levels in the YD and progressively improves to the highest levels associated with the Early Holocene. 2The temperature reduction below modern mean annual temperature is recorded as ~4.5°C SST in the Eastern Mediterranean, Site 967 (Emeis et al. 2000), ~ 3.5°C at Soreq Cave (Bar-Mathews et al. 1997), and ~ 3.5°C SST in the northern Red Sea (Arz et al. 2003). 3The three calibration curves are IntCal09 from OxCal4.1 (Bronk Ramsey 2009), Fairbanks 0107 (Fairbanks et al. 2005), CalPal07Hulu (Weninger et al. 2010).

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