Goren–Inbar, N. & J.D. Speth. Eds. 2004. Human paleoecology in the Levantine Corridor. – Oxford, Oxbow Books

Abstract

The Levantine Corridor is the strip of land between Africa and Eurasia, bounded by the deserts on the east and the Mediterranean on the west. The importance of this strip is that there can be an exchange of animals from Africa to Europe and vice versa. In this strip there are Palaeolithic, Epipalaeolithic, and Neolithic sites, ranging in age from 1.4 Ma until about 12 Ka. Most of what is happening in this period is described in isolated papers, but a comprehensive overview did not exist. The book ‘Human paleoecology in the Levantine Corridor’, intends to fill this gap. It is composed of 14 chapters (articles), based on lectures given during an international conference held at the Institute for Advanced Studies of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in July 2002. The chapters are written by well known scientists in their field. The book comprises the following topics: ‘The Levantine waterway’ (chapter 1), ‘Quaternary lake margins’ (chapter 2), ‘Mammals’ (chapter 3), ‘Elephants’ (chaper 4), ‘Freshwater turtle’ (chapter 5), ‘Taphonomic studies of early hominid subsistence’ (chapter 6), ‘Bands and other corporate hominid groups in Acheulian Culture’ (chapter 7), ‘Culture and genes in the evolution of human language’ (chapter 8), ‘Climate variability’ (chapter 9), ‘Dental pathology in early anatomically modern humans (chapter 10), ‘Hunting pressure’ (chapter 11), ‘Wetland drainage and the impact on avian fauna’ (chapter 12), ‘Utilizing avifauna in assessing changing patterns in paleoecology’ (chapter 13) and ‘Natufian behavior in the Hula Basin’ (chapter 14). The topics together give a good overview, as the editors promised. It will go too far to discuss every chapter in detail; as a vertebrate palaeontologist I will focus my discussion on chapters 3, 4 and 8. Read more...