Few areas of the world have played as prominent a role in human evolution as the Levantine Corridor, a comparatively narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the expanse of inhospitable desert to the east. The first hominids to leave Africa, over 1.5 million years ago, first entered the Levant before spreading into what is now Europe and Asia. About 100,000 years ago another African exodus, this time of anatomically modern humans, colonised the Levant before expanding into Eurasia. Toward the end of the Pleistocene, this Corridor also witnessed some of the earliest steps toward economic and social intensification, perhaps the most radical change in hominid lifestyle that ultimately paved the way for sedentary communities wholly dependent on domestic animals and cultivated plants.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Introduction: Naama Goren-Inbar and John D. Speth
• Chapter I – The Levantine Waterway, Riparian Archaeology, Paleolimnology, and Conservation: Dov F. Por
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Springs of Eden, rivers of Life
  • Zoogeography of the western branch of the Aquatic Crescent
  • Events coeval with Levantine humans
  • Riparian cultures of the Levant
  • Environmental challenges
  • References
• Chapter II – Quaternary Lake Margins of the Levant Rift Valley: Craig S. Feibel
  • Abstract
  • Why lake margins?
  • Implications
  • Types of evidence
  • The elephant site at Erq el-Ahmar
  • The complex cycles of ‘Ubeidiya
  • Constrained cyclicity at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov
  • Patterns of cyclicity in the Pleistocene lakes of the Levant
  • References
• Chapter III – Hippos, Pigs, Bovids, Saber-toothed Tigers, Monkeys, and Hominids: Dispersals through the Levantine Corridor during Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene Times: Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Late Pliocene
  • Early Pleistocene
  • The significant taxa
    • Pelorovis
    • Kolpochoerus
    • Hippopotamus
    • Megantereon whitei
    • Theropithecus oswaldi
  • Early Pleistocene Eurasian species in North Africa
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • References
• Chapter IV – Ecological Interactions of Elephantids in Pleistocene Eurasia: Palaeoloxodon and Mammuthus: Adrian M. Lister
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
    • Palaeoloxodon
    • Mammuthus
  • Ecological and evolutionary interaction between Palaeoloxodon and Mammuthus
  • References
• Chapter V – Long-term Continuity of a Freshwater Turtle (Mauremys caspica rivulata) Population in the Northern Jordan Valley and its Paleoenvironmental Implications: Gideon Hartman
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Shell morphology
    • Significance of variation in shell morphology
  • Mauremys caspica at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov
  • Genetic continuity of the Jordan Valley Mauremys caspica
    • Materials and methods
    • Intraspecific variation in shell formulae in Trachemys scripta populations
    • Shell variations in recent populations of Mauremys
    • Shell anomaly in Mauremys caspica at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov
  • Discussion
    • Mauremys caspica at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov
    • Differentiation of populations using shell anomalies
    • Shared shell anomaly and genetic continuity in fossil and present populations
    • Paleoenvironmental implications
  • Conclusions
  • References
• Chapter VI – Early Hominid Subsistence in the Levant: Taphonomic Studies of the Plio-Pleistocene ‘Ubeidiya Formation (Israel) – Evidence from ‘Ubeidiya Layer II-24: Sabine Gaudzinski
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • The ‘Ubeidiya Formation and its setting
  • Materials and methods
  • Layer II-24 of the ‘Ubeidiya Formation
    • The faunal assemblage
  • Summary and discussion
  • References
• Chapter VII – Bands and Other Corporate Hominid Groups in Acheulian Culture: Emanuel Marx
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • The methodological problem
  • What are corporate groups?
  • Corporate groups in Acheulian culture
  • References
• Chapter VIII – Culture and Genes in the Evolution of Human Language: Daniel Dor and Eva Jablonka
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • The evolution of language: The cultural engine
  • The genetic side of the coin: Partial genetic assimilation
  • Some theoretical issues
  • References
• Chapter IX – Climate Variability in the Levant and Northeast Africa during the Late Quaternary Based on Marine and Land Records: Ahuva Almogi-Labin, Miryam Bar-Matthews and Avner Ayalon
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Regional climatic settings
  • Paleoclimate proxies
  • Humid conditions during warm interglacial stages
  • Dry intervals during warm interglacial stages
  • Dry periods during cool glacial stages
  • Relatively humid periods during cool glacial stages
  • Summary
  • References
• Chapter X – Dental Pathology, Stressful Events, and Disease in Levantine Early Anatomically Modern Humans: Evidence from Qafzeh: Anne-Marie Tillier, Henry Duday, Baruch Arensburg and Bernard Vandermeersch
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Material
  • Aspects of the archaeological record
  • Dental health and oral hygiene in the Qafzeh hominids
    • Periodontal diseases and antemortem tooth loss
    • Evidence of tooth care or occupational modification?
    • Search for carious lesions
  • Indicators of non-specific stress and growth disturbances
    • Developmental tooth enamel defects
    • Infant mortality
  • Soft tissue lesions and tumors of osseous origin
    • Lesions of the ear
    • Long bone lesions
  • Cranial malformations
    • Craniosynostosis
    • Hydrocephalus
  • Skeletal evidence of trauma
  • Conclusions
  • References
• Chapter XI – Hunting Pressure, Subsistence Intensification, and Demographic Change in the Levantine Late Middle Paleolithic: John D. Speth
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Background and methods
  • Average transport distance
  • Seasonality
  • Hunting pressure
  • Conclusions
  • References
• Chapter XII – Wetland Drainage in the Levant (Lake Hula, Amik Gölü, and el-Azraq Oasis): Impact on Avian Fauna: Shoshana Ashkenazi
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • The former large lakes of the Levant
    • Lake Hula
    • Amik Gölü
    • El-Azraq Oasis
  • The drainage stages and their consequences
  • Complementary utilization of Levant wetlands by avian populations
    • Lake Hula as wintering site for Amik Gölü breeding populations
    • The Hula Nature Reserve as refuge for Amik Gölü avian populations
    • Influx of wintering avian populations to northern Israel
    • Changes in the Hula Nature Reserve breeding colony
    • Inter-relations between avian populations of the Hula and el-Azraq wetlands
  • Factors determining decline in waterbird populations
    • Habitat loss
    • Specimen collecting and hunting
    • Pesticides and poisoning
    • Weather conditions
    • Conservation implications
    • References
    • Appendix
• Chapter XIII – ”A Feather for Each Wind that Blows”: Utilizing Avifauna in Assessing Changing Patterns in Paleoecology and Subsistence at Jordan Valley Archaeological Sites: Tal Simmons
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Materials and methods
  • Seasonality
  • Climate and environment
  • Overarching trends and singular quirks
  • Discussion and conclusions
  • References
• Chapter XIV – Natufian Behavior in the Hula Basin: The Question of Territoriality: François R. Valla
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Territorial extension
  • Land use
  • The notion of ownership
  • Discussion
  • References