Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan

Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e21

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Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan Michael S. Bisson a, *, April Nowell b, Carlos Cordova c, Melanie Poupart a, Christopher Ames a a b c

Department of Anthropology, McGill University, 855 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7, Canada Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, STN CSC, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2, Canada Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-4073, USA

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Available online xxx

WZM-2, a flint-source on the edge of the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, exemplifies many of the problems archaeologists confront in investigating open-air sites. This site has a complex history of alternating episodes of deposition, erosion and colluvial movement of sediments, as well as bioturbation and recent plowing, that has altered the spatial relationships of artifacts, creating a cumulative palimpsest on the surface, but with limited stratigraphic integrity below surface. Techniques for investigating these types of sites are discussed, including transect surface collections with finds recorded by hand-held GPS units, systematic total collection of grids, and the use of geological and archaeological test trenches. The assemblages obtained by these methods were subject to statistical analysis of technological attributes combined with the identification of typological specimens and techniques of manufacture known to have chronological significance in order to identify the parts of the Paleolithic sequence present. Potentially time-sensitive types were also subject to spatial analysis. With the exception of a spatially limited and un-diagnostic Holocene chipping area at the northeastern end of the site, WZM-2 is primarily a Middle Paleolithic lithic acquisition and processing site, probably dating to MIS-5, with limited evidence of exploitation during the preceding Late Lower Paleolithic AcheuloeYabrudian and also possibly the Early Middle Paleolithic. This site also extends the known geographical distribution of the AcheuloeYabrudian to the south and east. Although the disturbed nature of open-air sites such as this limits the types of behavioral information that can be obtained by archaeologists, their location on the paleo-landscape as well as the aggregate characteristics of their assemblages can provide important clues to early hominin land-use, economies including provisioning strategies, and settlement patterns. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

to the understanding of the interactions between Neanderthals and early Anatomically Modern humans (AMHs) in the Levantine corridor, an area with alternating occupations by these species and a likely funnel through which hominin dispersals out of Africa occurred (Shea, 2003 and references therein). Through three seasons of reconnaissance (2002, 2005 and 2007) our search failed to locate a well-preserved site. Small caves and rock-shelters are common in the area, but they are shallow and many have been stripped of sediments by shepherds, who use them as livestock pens. Surface occurrences of lithic artifacts, including Paleolithic specimens, were common. These were primarily MP Levallois elements, but a few bifaces were also encountered. Many of these finds were isolated, but some concentrations were found, usually on deflated surfaces with no potential for the preservation of in-situ deposits. WZM-2 appeared to be the exception, but almost all the artifacts there ultimately proved to be in secondary contexts. Here,

This paper describes our investigation of WZM-2, an open-air Late Lower Paleolithic (LLP) AcheuloeYabrudian (A-Y), Middle Paleolithic (MP) and Holocene flint acquisition and processing site located on the Western edge of the Madaba Plateau, Jordan. This site, overlooks the Rift Valley in an area of pronounced ecological and topographic variability. It was discovered as part of a survey of the region the proximate goal of which was to locate sites that contained in situ MP deposits which could then become the focus of a long-term excavation project. Our ultimate goal was to contribute

* Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M.S. Bisson), [email protected] (A. Nowell), [email protected] (C. Cordova), [email protected] (M. Poupart), [email protected] (C. Ames). 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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we describe the methods used to investigate the site and to extract the maximum amount of paleoenvironmental and behavioral information from a complex, spatially and temporally compromised archaeological context. 1.1. Archaeological bias for sheltered sites over open-air sites From its inception, Paleolithic archaeology concentrated on cave and rock-shelter sites (Daniel, 1975; Trigger, 1989) because stratified sequences in them were ideal for culture-historical reconstruction (Bailey and Galanidou, 2009; references therein; Barton and Clark, 1993). Sheltered locations also offered taphonomic advantages by reducing the most severe forms of post-depositional disturbance (Gé et al., 1993; Goldberg and Macphail, 2006) and have a greater chance of preserving bone and other perishable materials (Gé et al., 1993). Open-air sites are much more abundant than caves, but continue to be considered more problematic. An initial optimism that primary context open-air sites could be easily identified was fueled by claims for intact LP “living floors” in Europe and Africa that were subsequently determined to have complex origins, calling into question the ambitious behavioral interpretations that had been given to them (Malinsky-Buller et al. 2011). Although today at least parts of some LP sites are recognized to be pristine, the great majority are disturbed. The same situation pertains to European MP open-air sites, with undisturbed single component sites such as La Folie, France (Bourguignon et al., 2006), being extremely rare. In the Levant, the situation may be somewhat better, probably because the cryoturbation that so frequently effected European Pleistocene sites was not a factor there. Open-air Levantine MP sites with minimally disturbed components include Quneitra (GorenInbar, 1990), Boker Tachtit (Marks, 1983) and Rosh Ein Mor (Crew, 1976) in Israel; Hummal, Nadaouiyeh (Boëda et al., 2001; Le Tensorer et al., 2007) and Umm El Tlel (Boëda et al., 2001) in Syria; sites in the Azraq basin of Eastern Jordan including Ain Soda and Ain Qasiya (Rollefson et al., 1997) and Druze Marsh (currently under study by the authors). A characteristic common to the formation of most of these sites was burial by fine-grained sediment in a low energy environment adjacent to Pleistocene lakes or springs. Because these processes have been in operation over long timeframes, the MP levels of most of these sites are now deeply buried and were discovered only through the chance occurrence of modern construction or industrial activity. More commonly, Levantine open-air MP sites have undergone post-depositional processes that removed the archaeological materials from their original context and of those, sites that have become exposed on the surface by erosion and/or modern agricultural activity constitute the bulk of the known archaeological record. Because sources and degree of disturbance vary with the specific geologic, topographic, biological and climatic conditions extant at each site, understanding the site formation processes that impacted each assemblage is essential for archaeological interpretation (Schiffer, 1976; Stein, 1987; Enloe, 2006).

Pleistocene and Holocene soils, colluvial sediments and calcretes as well as occasional spring deposits. A second smaller ridge parallels the main ridge to the north creating a narrow valley between them. Strong westerly winds blowing out of the Rift Valley have deflated almost all of the ridge to bedrock, but a thin coat of soil still adheres to the eastern end of the hill and to the inside edge of the curve, the two most sheltered areas. These soils support stands of recently planted pine trees. The soils bordering both sides of the ridge have been repeatedly plowed and planted in wheat. This plowing has mixed the recent soil with underlying Pleistocene colluvium, and brought numerous artifacts and limestone clasts to the surface. Soils on the south side of the ridge are thin, extensively deflated, severely disturbed by plowing and contain more clasts but fewer artifacts. Sediments were better preserved in the more sheltered field on the north side of the ridge. Henceforth, that area will be referred to as the wheat-field. 2.2. Geology Exposed bedrock at the site includes two Upper Cretaceous limestone formations. The uppermost, the Wadi Umm al-Ghudran Formation (Shawabekeh, 1998), is represented by two members. The upper member is porous, lacks flint, and may have served as a sponge feeding springs located down-slope. The lower member is a stratified light brown dense limestone that is characterized by occasional karst cavities. It contains nodules and vertical seams of red to reddish-brown banded flint. This distinctive lithic raw material occurs only on the hill at the north end of the ridge. It is very homogenous and brittle, making it potentially good knapping material, but geological pressures have fractured all larger nodules into small angular clasts. The underlying Wadi as-Sir Formation constitutes most of the ridge. It is a massive and very dense limestone in which flint occurs in a few horizontal (tabular) bands of both black and light gray material, as well as isolated nodules that are scattered throughout the formation, but tend to occur in discrete horizons (Fig. 2, bottom left). Many nodules are more than 20 cm in diameter and range in color from mottled light gray/white to light reddish brown. This material is fine-grained and contains few natural flaws, making it ideal for knapping. Flint exposed in the neighboring hills south and east of the site is relatively abundant, but is either brecciated or tends to have greater numbers of internal flaws. Because the formation is slightly contorted, the flint that occurs in tabular bands on the south flank of the WZM-2 ridge is fractured into angular pieces that are smaller than most of the flint nodules observed in situ and on the surface. However, these clasts are generally larger than the similarly fractured flint in the Wadi Umm Ghudran formation. The limestone matrix containing the flint seams and nodules is very hard and compact, and the only flint available to prehistoric knappers at any point in time would have been nodules and angular fragments exposed by erosion. 3. Site discovery and field strategy 3.1. History of research

2. Setting and geological context 2.1. WZM-2 site description Wadi Zark’a Ma’in 2 (WZM-2) is part of the Ma’in Site Complex (Fig. 1), a group of three open-air predominantly MP sites on the western edge of the Madaba Plateau overlooking the Wadi Zark’a Ma’in as it enters the Dead Sea Rift (Bisson et al., 2006; Cordova et al., 2011). WZM-2 consists of a slightly curving limestone ridge, w750 m in length, oriented northeastesouthwest, with a small oval hill at its northeast end. This ridge (Fig. 2) is surrounded by

WZM-2 was discovered during a survey for MP sites in 2005, when in situ lithics were observed eroding out of a road-cut at the northern end of the ridge. This exposure, which is over 130 m in length and ca. 1.3e3 m in depth, revealed a complex stratigraphy that included a loamy topsoil containing small minimally patinated flakes of the banded reddish-brown flint mixed with a few more heavily patinated Levallois elements, underlain by a calcrete crust that capped brecciated and highly carbonated pink deposits created by a spring seep (Cordova et al., 2011). Heavily patinated large flakes and two large prismatic blades exposed in the spring deposit

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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Fig. 1. Location of WZM-2 and the Ma’in Site Complex.

suggested that in situ Paleolithic materials might be present in the sediments adjacent to the ridge. Initial reconnaissance was hampered by vegetation cover on the ridge and an un-harvested wheat crop in the adjacent fields. A surface collection focusing on diagnostic elements (cores, retouched tools, whole flakes or blades) was made from the road-cut, a 100 m2 block centered on the hill, and the eastern 50 m of the wheat-field. Test pits were excavated on the face of the road-cut and OSL samples collected. Reconnaissance revealed that specimens were present on the entire length of the ridge. Given the presence of multiple flint sources and the predominance of cores among the artifacts observed on the surface, our working hypothesis was that this was a raw material acquisition and processing locality. 3.2. Research strategy, surface collections A four-pronged strategy was adopted in 2007 to investigate this large area. Three test pits/trenches were excavated adjacent to the road-cut to definitively determine the industry present there, since an OSL date (Table 1, OSL No. 1) from a sample collected in 2005 suggested the possibility of an Upper Paleolithic (UP) component. Second, to obtain a representative sample of all artifacts on the surface of the wheat-field, three grids of 2
2 m units were established, and all specimens in each unit were collected (Fig. 2, top right). Grid 1 (456 m2) was at the northeastern end of the wheat-field and covered the area where the largest number of Paleolithic elements appeared on the surface. Grid 1a (104 m2) was

a single line of units oriented perpendicular to the slope of the field to test for fall-off in artifact frequencies away from the ridge. Grid 2 (316 m2) sampled the field where it narrowed near the western end of the ridge, another area where surface artifacts were common. Third, because core technologies vary temporally across the MP (Shea, 2003), it was decided to do a large-scale surface collection to obtain an adequate sample of cores for analysis. In order to determine if core technologies varied spatially over this large site, a series of 10 random-walk transects were made across the ridge at ca. 50 m intervals (Fig. 2, bottom left). The number of transects was determined by logistical constraints (time and crew size), and the starting point of the transects was the eastern edge of the 100
100 m block that had been surface collected in 2005. The wheat-field was covered more intensively at ca. 20 m intervals. All cores as well as diagnostic Levallois elements, normal blades, and retouched tools were collected and mapped using WAAS enabled GPS units with the resulting data entered into ARC-GISÒ. Finally, the GPS units were also used to map the distribution of in situ flint nodules in the exposed bedrock on the ridge. 3.3. Research strategy, excavations Analysis of the collections as well as geoarchaeological data summarized below determined that the surface materials were palimpsests and that most of the deeper sediments were colluvial and thus redeposited. Nevertheless, in 2008, trenches WZM-2-5 through WZM-2-8 were excavated to determine if in situ

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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Fig. 2. The WZM-2 ridge. Top left, Google Earth image of the WZM-2 ridge indicating the topographic zones. Top right, positions of the three grids in the wheat-field. Bottom left, the surface collection transects. Exposed flint nodules on the ridge are indicated by dots. Bottom right, positions of all cores obtained in the transect collections and in grid 1. The relative scarcity of cores recorded for the northern end of the ridge is in part due to vegetation cover. Image created using ArcGISÒ by ESRI.

Paleolithic artifacts could be located in the wheat-field (Fig. 3). Trench 5 was at the northeastern edge of the wheat-field, an area that forms a saddle where the terrain is relatively flat and colluvial forces may have been less active. This saddle was the highest elevation soil-bearing area at WZM-2, and was the least likely to be subject to the accumulation of re-worked sediments from up-slope other than from the bare hillside to the northeast. Trenches 6e8 were located c. 150 m southwest of Trench 5, down-slope from an indentation in the ridge that suggested the possibility of a buried rock-shelter. These excavations determined that other than the few Paleolithic specimens embedded in the spring deposit, no Pleistocene artifacts were in their original depositional context at WZM-2. Preliminary analysis of typological characteristics indicated that a large majority of the collection was MP, but the discovery in 2007 and 2008 of some small bifaces opened the possibility that the MP may be mixed with earlier material. Understanding these collections required reconstruction of the chronology and formation processes operating at the site. 4. Depositional history and paleoenvironment 4.1. Overview The soils and sediments at WZM-2 have a complex history, described in detail by Cordova et al. (2011). That publication includes data from WZM-2 and other sites on the Madaba Plateau

that together contributed to the depositional and paleoenvironmental reconstructions summarized here. Briefly, the WZM-2 deposits are derived from Red Mediterranean Soils (RMS) that were aeolian in origin (Cordova, 2000; Cordova et al., 2005). At WZM-2, the RMS have been eroded and redeposited as alluvium and colluvium, which have then been acted upon by soil formation processes determined by climactic conditions. In addition, the limestone plateaus on both sides of the Rift Valley commonly have a calcrete horizon underlying the RMS. Analysis and dating of these soils and calcretes have allowed us to determine at least part of the local climatic sequence over the past c. 200,000 years. The RMS of Western Jordan are dominated by two common pedogenic features, carbonate-rich horizons (Bk) and illuvial clayrich horizons (Bt), both of which have implications for paleoclimate (Cordova et al., 2011 and references therein). Bt horizons formed under wetter conditions, and are not being created under the present arid climate regime. Bk horizons incorporate accretions of calcium carbonate, often as nodules or concretions, created by prolonged dry climate. In Western Jordan, many horizons have both calcic and argillitic characteristics and are designated Btk. In those cases, it is probable that the clay-rich horizon was deposited during a wet climate episode, with the carbonate nodules forming during subsequent drier climate (Khresat, 2001; Khresat et al. 1998). The size and density of these secondary carbonates can sometimes be an effective local indicator of relative

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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Fig. 3. Detailed map of the northern end of WZM-2 indicating the locations of the excavations.

age, but cannot be used to derive absolute dates. Other related soils commonly occurring in this area are Bw, which are less clayrich cambic horizons with more reddening than Bt horizons but contain no carbonates. As do Bt horizons, Bw also form under wetter conditions. Finally, A horizons are topsoils. Av topsoils are vesicular with few organics, while Abt and Abk are derived from Bt and Bk horizons respectively.

4.2. Stratigraphy Fig. 4a and b illustrate five stratigraphic profiles describing the soil horizons and the positions of some of the dated samples from WZM-2. The basic soil stratigraphy in the wheat-field (profiles WZM-2-5 through WZM-2-8) consists almost exclusively of colluvial sediments, with two pedogenic horizons appearing in some

Fig. 4. Stratigraphic profiles at WZM-2. a is the north wall of WZM-2-5 showing carbonation increasing with depth, and extensive mixing of the deposits due to animal burrowing.

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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profiles and three in others. The colluvium is the product of downslope movement of RMS from the ridge, probably through sheet erosion and soil creep. The plow-zone in these pits was at least 30 cm thick and bioturbation in the form of krotovina (rodent burrows) was common to depths of over 1.5 m (see Fig. 4a). In the road-cut that defines the northern limit of the site (Figs. 3 and 4b, profile WZM-22) there are also the spring deposit and layers of calcrete as well as colluvium that appear to be older than the deposits in the field (see below). These data provide evidence of at least three cycles of the development of sediment and soil. Calcrete deposits (K horizon) at this site have varied origins. Some are crusts associated with spring deposits, others represent the cementation of brecciated sediments, and others the extreme accumulation of pedogenic carbonates. These deposits suggest an alternation of wet and intense and/or prolonged dry climatic phases in which deflation may have caused significant loss of sediment/soil on both the ridge and in the fields. 5. Dating Obtaining age estimates for WZM-2 independent of the technotypological assessment of the artifacts found there was challenging because most of the surviving sediments are colluvium, which, by definition, is re-deposited (Stein, 1987). The situation was further complicated by the two techniques employed, OSL and U/Th, which measure different phenomena. OSL estimates the elapsed time since a sample was last exposed to light (Aitken, 1998), with the clock being started by the burial of the sample. In the case of redeposited sediments, OSL dates the most recent burial. U/Th estimates the time elapsed since calcium carbonate forms by precipitation (Schwarcz, 1980). Carbonate precipitation may occur at any time after sediments were deposited and represents drying conditions as soil humidity is being removed by evaporation or transpiration (Birkeland, 1999). The samples used in the U/Th dating of WZM-2 included a carbonated spring deposit, a laminated carbonate crust, pedogenic carbonate nodules, and carbonate encrustation that covered one of the flint artifacts. The latter case added an additional complication because a buried artifact which has acquired a coating of carbonate may be subsequently eroded from its original matrix and re-deposited in later sediments. In general, the U/Th dates presented here provide a terminus ante quem for any associated artifacts. The methods employed to obtain the ISL and UraniumeThorium dates for WZM-2 are described below. For a detailed discussion see Cordova et al., 2011 and references therein. OSL samples were analyzed at the Radiation Dosimetry Laboratory, Oklahoma State University. The samples were collected in 20 cm metal tubes, with the ends sealed from all light. Quartz grains were extracted in the laboratory using standard methods (Aitken, 1998), and small aliquots (subsamples) were prepared by fixing the grains on steel cups with silicone spray. The singlealiquot regenerative dose (SAR) measurement procedure was employed (Murray and Wintle, 2000; Wintle and Murray, 2006). A Risø TL/OSL-DA-15 reader, Risø National Laboratory, with a bialkali PM tube (Thorn EMI 9635QB) and Hoya U-340 filters (290e370 nm) was used to take the measurements. The 90Sr/90Y beta source has a dose rate of 105.7 mGy/s (error 4.1%). Blue LEDs (470 nm) provided optical stimulation of 45 mW/cm2 to the sample. An IR LED array provided IR stimulation at 875  80 nm with 36 mW/cm2 power. The heating rate was 5  C/s. The cosmic dose rate was calculated using geographical coordinates 32 N, 37 E, elevation 775 m. Water content of the samples was 4e7%, and an error rate of 2% was used for the dose rate calculation. The Geotop Laboratory at the Université du Québec á Montréal analyzed the carbonate samples for their uranium and thorium isotopes by thermal ionization mass spectrometry using a VG sector

mass spectrometer equipped with ion counter and an electrostatic filter. The results show that all samples have non-negligible amounts of detrital fraction (soil particles) as indicated by a relatively high 232 Th content (0.4e0.6 ppm). As a consequence, the 230Th/232Th activity ratios are low and vary from 1.11 to 2.36. Therefore a correction for this detrital contamination was necessary. Isochron constructions Y ¼ 234U/232Th, X ¼ 238U/232Th, were used to assess the 234 238 U/ U for the authigenic uranium and Y ¼ 230Th/232Th, X ¼ 234U/232Th to assess the ratio 230Th/234U of the authigenic 230Th. The slope of the two isochron was then used to calculate the ages of carbonate phase precipitation. All samples yield a linear relation with a slope value of 1.097  0.018 for the 234U/238U. In the same manner all samples except one define a linear relation with a slope of 0.540  0.080 for the 230Th/234U activity ratio. The corrected dates used in the text and table correspond to a detrital carbonate ratio (230The232Th) of 0.63, since this most closely approximated the median amplitude of these samples. Table 1 summarizes the OSL and Uranium-series dates from WZM-2 as well as their archaeological associations. Five of the seven OSL samples (numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 6) dated to the Upper Pleistocene or Holocene. These illustrate the re-worked nature of many of the sediments, since in four of the five cases the samples were either in or below layers that yielded mixtures of minimally patinated small flakes (probably Holocene, see below) with smaller numbers of larger and more heavily patinated Paleolithic artifacts. Two of the OSL samples produced much earlier ages. Number three (WZM-2-2 Unit 1), taken from the carbonate-cemented spring deposit exposed in the road-cut, yielded a date of >254  48 ka. Given the standard error, the actual age of this sample could fall in either MIS-8 (301e243 ka) or MIS-7 (243e192 ka) (Martinson et al., 1987). Dates for the marine isotope stages used here are from Lisiecki and Raymo (2005). Number seven (WZM-2-7 Unit 2), a sample of colluvium with large carbonate nodules, dated to >151 ka, suggesting that those sediments formed during MIS-6 (192e132 ka) or earlier. Both of these deposits contained lithics that included large blades. Because the U/Th dates were obtained from pedogenic carbonates, all had to be corrected for detrital contamination (see Table 1, Methods). The dates show that carbonate precipitation at WZM-2 occurred in MIS-5 (132e72 ka) or earlier. The two earliest dates (Numbers 1 and 2) are on samples taken from less than 10 cm vertical distance above and below a large flint flake that was embedded in a laminated calcrete deposit on the north side of the hill (WZM-2-9). These samples had the highest detrital contamination and therefore very large standard errors. The dates are problematic because the samples come from the same geological unit, yet their estimated ages differ by over 40 ky and fall in both MIS-6 and 7. U/Th sample four was taken from the same location as OSL sample three (WZM-2-2 Unit 1) and yielded a date of 103.033 þ 6.75  6.346 ka, (late MIS-5d or MIS-5c) which differed dramatically from the OSL date of >254  48 ka (see below). Two samples (five and six) taken from Trench WZM-2-5 dated to MIS-5e (132e116 ka). Most of the lithics from this trench occurred above the levels from which these samples were taken (Fig. 4b). One sample from a carbonate crust adhering to a large flake (WZM-2-3) dated to MIS-5a (84e72 ka). This sample (three) was bracketed by two OSL samples (four and five) that dated to the Holocene, an indication that this artifact had been redeposited in later sediments after the carbonate crust had formed. 6. Depositional history and paleoclimate 6.1. Overview The complex depositional history of WZM-2 that has altered the spatial and temporal relationships of the artifacts was a consequence

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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of the pronounced climatic fluctuations affecting the Levant during the late Middle and Upper Pleistocene. The precise timing of these fluctuations remains subject to debate (Frumkin et al., 2011 and references therein). The paleoclimate and environmental reconstruction summarized here is based on topographic, sedimentological and chronostratigraphic data from WZM-2 plus other sites on the Madaba Plateau. Space does not permit a complete discussion of these data here. For a comprehensive treatment of this topic, consult Cordova et al. (2005, 2007, 2011). The earliest sediments are the brecciated, strongly carbonated pink spring deposits and some of the laminated calcretes located at the northern end of the hill. These may be the only exposed Pleistocene sediments that are in situ rather than redeposited. These deposits produced dates that range from >254 ka (OSL) for the spring deposits to the ca. 194e152 ka (U/Th) dates for the calcretes. The long time range of the dates for the calcretes may be a product of the large amount of detrital contamination of those samples. If the spring deposit does indeed date to MIS-7 or 8, it is the only remnant from what was probably a period of wetter climate in which aeolian deposition and stabilized surfaces characterized the site. Those conditions could have supported a hominin presence. In contrast, early MIS-6 at WZM-2 was an arid period, as indicated by intense erosion at the nearby WZM-3 site (Cordova et al., 2011:28). The slopes of the ridge were stripped of their soils, resulting in the accumulation on the valley floor of a colluvium consisting of a silt matrix with angular clasts in which numerous pedogenic carbonates up to 6 cm in diameter later formed. This was followed by an even drier episode that included the formation of the laminated calcretes exposed on the surface of the hill. The only deposits with possibly MIS-6 dates are the laminated calcretes noted above and a Bk horizon with large carbonates visible in a section located in the wheat-field that yielded an OSL date (number seven) suggesting an age in excess of 151 ka. Most MIS-6 deposits are now deeply buried and have not yet been adequately sampled for their archaeological contents. It is during MIS-6 that most artifacts previously discarded on the hill were eroded and transported down slope, subjecting them to prolonged exposure to the sun and to potential trampling prior to their incorporation in later sediments. Evidence for this includes a deep layer of white patination on these artifacts as well as random edge damage similar to that generated by trampling experiments on lithics (Nielsen, 1991). In many cases this patination and damage was sealed under carbonate encrustations. The sedimentary record for late MIS-6, and the transition to MIS 5e, ca. 140e130 ka, is limited. Lack of evidence for colluvial accumulation combined with the formation of Bt horizons suggests a period of wet conditions in which erosion decreased and pedogenesis increased. It was during this period that colluvial deposits of red soil with concretions and argillitic horizons began to accumulate, with soil formation processes beginning to act on previously existing sediments. This includes the 2Btk and 2Bck layers of Trench WZM-2-5 (Fig. 4a). Paleolithic specimens occur in both these layers, but are more common in the upper one (2Btk). Pedogenic carbonate formation in those layers dated to MIS-5e (Table 1, U/Th numbers five and six) suggesting that this period was dry. During the following MIS-5c through MIS-5a generally wetter conditions prevailed, although there were some dry episodes indicated by the formation of carbonate nodules in preexisting Bt horizons. Stable conditions existed on slopes, and artifacts deposited during this period were likely to stay close to their original depositional position. Renewed erosion and the formation of colluvial layers characterize MIS-4 sediments, which cover most of the MIS-5 deposits. The dry and unstable conditions indicated for MIS-4

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moved artifacts dating to MIS-5 down-slope, mixing them with artifacts from earlier periods that were also exposed by this erosional episode. In general, sediments dating to MIS-4 through MIS-2 are poorly represented at WZM-2. MIS-3eMIS-2 saw the deposition of fine sediments forming cambic and calcic horizons indicating a series of fluctuations beginning with wet and ending with dry conditions. Some soil development may have occurred at the MIS-3eMIS-2 transition. Deposits dating to MIS-4eMIS-2 contain a palimpsest of artifacts from earlier periods, but little or no evidence of material from the Late MP or the Upper Paleolithic. There has been little sediment accumulation in the Holocene (MIS-1). These deposits consist of beds of alluvium and colluvium that are restricted to the northern end of the ridge. The northwestern surface of the hill was stripped of sediment in either MIS4 or MIS-2. 6.2. The WZM-2 paleoenvironment in regional perspective Abundant evidence for Levantine paleoclimate has been recovered in the Rift Valley and to the west. Sources include marine pollen (Cheddadi and Rossignol-Strick, 1995; Langgut et al., 2011), speleothems (Bar-Matthews et al., 2000; Vaks et al,. 2010), and lake sediments (Torfstein et al., 2009; Develle et al., 2011). Coverage in Jordan is much more limited and restricted to the desert basins to the east and south of the Madaba Plateau (Davies, 2000, 2005; Frumkin et al. 2008), which because of the strong northeast to southwest precipitation and vegetation gradient in the Levant (Enzel et al., 2008; Goring-Morris et al., 2009) may be of limited relevance to understanding the paleoenvironment of WZM-2. These data show that during the Late Middle and Upper Pleistocene, there were periods of higher rainfall than at present (Drake et al., 2013), but the precise timing of these events is subject to ongoing debate (Frumkin et al., 2011 and references therein). Reconstruction of the paleoclimate history of WZM-2 is limited by the complex history of the site in which most surviving sediments are redeposited, as well as the problems inherent in using U/Th dating on samples with significant detrital content (Torfstein et al., 2009 and references therein). As noted above, our data suggest wetter climate with aeolian deposition and stabilized surfaces at some point in MIS-7 or 8, in late MIS-6 (ca. 140e 132 ka) and MIS-5c through 5a (ca. 105e72 ka). Dry periods with sometimes intense erosion appear to have occurred in earlier MIS-6 (ca. 190e140 ka) and MIS-5e and 5d (ca. 132e105 ka). Conditions from MIS-4 through the present were unstable, but predominantly dry. This sequence does not precisely match any of the climate data from west of the rift, but is more consistent with the speleothem data (Bar-Matthews et al., 2000; Vaks et al., 2010), which tends to correlate wet periods with interglacials. One period (late MIS-6), which most data sources agree was wet (Vaks et al., 2006; Torfstein et al., 2009), was also a wet period at WZM-2. The morphology of the southeast Mediterranean coast strongly influences rainfall and wind directions such that during wetter Pleistocene periods the rainfall gradient from northwest to south and east may have been significantly steeper than at present, with areas south of 31 150 N being much drier (Enzel et al., 2008). WZM2, only ca 50 km north of that latitude, is currently located in the transition between the Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian floral zones (Zohary, 1973; Al-Eisawi, 1996). Mediterranean woodlands probably expanded southward down the east side of the Rift during wetter periods, but their extent may have been limited by these climatic and physiographic controls. Thus, for much of the period under consideration here, this site was probably at or near the margin of this floristic province.

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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7. Archaeological collections 7.1. Holocene materials Initial test pits along the road-cut provided a large sample of small, minimally patinated flakes made exclusively of the reddishbrown banded flint that outcrops only in that area. These flakes were most common on the surface and decreased in frequency with depth. An OSL sample (number 1) from 40 cm in the first test trench dated to ca. 29 ka, but there were very few of these lithics at that depth. This material, which we believe to be Holocene, is concentrated in the topsoil and is easily distinguishable from Paleolithic specimens typologically, technologically and in its pronounced lack of patination and post-depositional edge damage. It is described in detail in Cordova et al. (2011) and will not be discussed further, other than to contrast its spatial distribution to that of the Paleolithic assemblage and to note that it lacks prismatic blade and bladelet cores and diagnostic formal tools that would link it to either the UP or Epipaleolithic (Bar-Yosef, 1998b; Kaufman, 2003; Olszewski, 2003). The three grids (Fig. 2) illustrate the surface distribution of the Holocene artifacts relative to the larger, more damaged and heavily patinated Paleolithic specimens. Recent pieces decreased in numbers with distance from the banded flint source (Table 2), with the highest numbers, in the northernmost third of Grid 1 (1.07/m2) at the northeast end of the wheat-field, 0.22/m2 in Grid 1a and only 0.05/m2 in Grid 2. As for the recent specimens, the average finddensity of Paleolithic artifacts was highest in the northern end of the wheat-field (0.44/m2), but the decrease was non-linear and much less pronounced. In the rest of Grid 1 and the other grids, Paleolithic find densities fluctuated between 0.29/m2 and 0.22/m2. 7.2. Paleolithic palimpsest The Paleolithic assemblage presented more problems for analysis. Our initial impression of WZM-2 was that, as in many open-air sites in arid landscapes, the Paleolithic artifacts on the surface were a cumulative palimpsest (Bailey, 2007). We were therefore faced with the question of how to extract the maximum amount of archaeologically relevant information from a spatially and temporarily compromised collection. This required an assessment of the assemblage as a whole, followed by the solution of two different problems. The first was determining which part or parts of the Levantine Paleolithic sequence were represented in the palimpsest. Second, if more than one technological tradition was present, were there differences in the spatial distribution of materials from each one, and what was the spatial relationship between the artifact distributions and the distributions of the two known resources at the site, flint and water? Once those questions were resolved, the paleoecological data summarized above plus technological, and typological analysis were employed to determine how this site fits into current models of settlement patterns and the organization of resource procurement in the Levantine Paleolithic (Hovers, 2001, 2006, 2009; Wallace and Shea, 2006). 7.3. Paleolithic artifact frequencies The Paleolithic collections include three sample types: surface grids, random-walk transects, and four test trenches (WZM-2-5 through WZM-2-8). Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 summarize the artifact frequencies of these samples. Because they were from different locations and obtained by different collecting procedures, the products of each sample type were initially divided into subsamples defined by each individual grid, transect or trench. The grids provided a total picture of materials on the surface in those

locations. The random-walk transects were selective collections of all identifiable cores plus any recognizable retouched tools and/or products such as Levallois flakes and normal or Levallois blades. They are therefore not statistically equivalent to the grid sample. The excavations included sub-surface materials that potentially could differ from the surface samples if intact strata with different contents were present. The formal tool, core or blank type plus the standard measurements (Debénath and Dibble, 1994) were recorded for each specimen (Tables 3e6 and 8e12). Technological attributes (platform morphology, exterior scar patterns, presence and amount of cortex) and taphonomic attributes (degree of damage, degree of patination, presence/absence of encrustation by carbonates) were also recorded, but are reported here only if relevant to the analysis (Table 7a and b). Cross-tabulation of the sub-samples using the Pearson chi-square test was done to assess whether there were statistically significant (at the <0.05 significance level) differences in either the typological or technological makeup of the samples generated by each collecting method (Table 8). 8. The aggregate assemblage 8.1. Paleolithic cores Cores (Table 3; Figs. 6i, j and 7) were the most common diagnostic artifacts recovered at WZM-2, and although frequencies of core types obtained by the different collecting techniques varied, these differences were not statistically significant (Table 7). Levallois flake cores were the most common category, followed by informal single platform cores, many of which were “test pieces” with <5 flake removals. Informal two platform cores are the only other category over 10%. Levallois flake, point and blade cores totaled 46.2% of the collection. With the addition of the 22 normal blade cores, formal cores (Wallace and Shea, 2006) constituted a majority (52.4%) of the aggregate core assemblage. Discoid and core-on-flake types are much less common. 8.2. Detached pieces The three grids provided the only representative sample of all detached pieces (flakes, blades, etc.) as well as retouched tools that are exclusively from the surface (Table 4). Among the whole detached pieces (>1.5 cm maximum dimension), core preparation (i.e. decortication) flakes (>50% cortex) are most common, constituting a third of the total number of detached pieces. The latter category includes flakes struck to remove a flaw or irregularity on a core face or platform, and “clats d’bordant” (Boëda, 1995), which create or renew the lateral convexities on a Levallois core face. The presence of decortication flakes is to be expected at a flint source as part of the testing of raw-material nodules, however the core preparation and rejuvenation flakes, completed cores and products show that the full range of production processes were taking place. Levallois products, primarily flakes but some blades and only one unretouched point, are present, as are normal and naturally-backed blades. The grids also yielded 11 retouched flake tools and two bifaces. The transect collections focused on cores, retouched tools, Levallois products and normal blades. Normal flakes and core preparation or rejuvenation pieces were excluded. Among the 65 Paleolithic detached pieces and tools from the transects (Table 5), Levallois elements outnumber normal blades by a ratio of ca. 3:2. Many of the Levallois flakes were atypical (asymmetrical), and over-strikes or other knapping errors are common (Table 11). The normal blades also include numerous overstrikes and individuals that, based on equal patination on all surfaces, appear to have broken during manufacture (Table 12). Five small bifaces that

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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Fig. 5. AcheuleoeYabrudian artifacts from WZM-2. a, Transverse Quina scraper; b, Atypical endscraper on a flake; c, Clacton notch on a naturally-backed flake; d, Endscraper on proximal end of a partially cortical blade; e, Lateral Quina scraper; f, Transverse Quina scraper with bulbar thinning; g, Opposed Clacton notches; h, Notch; i, Cordiform biface with notched tip; j, Ovate biface (partial).

match the typological and metrical criteria of LLP bifaces (see below) were also recovered. 9. Dissecting the collections 9.1. Overview Although our 2005 surface collections, which included numerous Levallois elements, seemed to place WZM-2 securely in the MP (Bisson et al., 2006), the recovery of bifaces and thick flake scrapers with Quina retouch during the 2007 and 2008 seasons established a significant A-Y presence in the palimpsest. The Levantine MP spans ca. 170,000 years and is divided into the Early MP, also known as Tabun D-Type (Bar Yosef, 1998a) or Phase 1 (Copeland,1975) and dating to 215e132 ka; the Middle MP (Tabun CType or Phase 2) dating to 132e71 ka; and Late MP (Tabun B-Type or

Phase 3) dating to 71e<47 ka (Porat et al., 2002; Shea, 2003:346). The A-Y, also known as the Mugharan tradition, is divided into three inter-stratified facies, the handaxe-rich Acheulian, the scraper rich Yabrudian, and the Amudian with many backed blades (Jelinek, 1982). It dates to ca. >382e200 ka (Barkai et al. 2003). Because the WZM-2 assemblage could potentially have accumulated over a 360,000 year period, our task became the dissection of this palimpsest not only to determine which techno-typological units it included, but also to learn the spatial distribution of each one, and if they differed in the way the site was exploited. Palimpsests are the time-averaged product of repeated depositional events that can then be acted on both by subsequent hominin activity (e.g. modification of the land surface, recycling of artifacts) and/or natural processes of disturbance (Stern, 1994; Holdaway and Wandsnider, 2008). Time-averaging does not, however, imply that all use-episodes were of equal duration and intensity (Malinsky-

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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Fig. 6. Middle Paleolithic artifacts from WZM-2. a, b, Levallois flakes; c, Over-struck Levallois flake; d, Naturally-backed Levallois blade; e, Levallois blade; f, Levallois point; g, Notch on blade fragment; h, Notch on Levallois flake; i, Opposed platform recurrent Levallois flake core; j, Core on flake with removal of a Levallois-like blade.

Buller et al., 2011). Because rapid burial and the absence of disturbance do not pertain to WZM-2, we needed to untangle the different episodes of site through inferences that, in part, must be supported by assumptions rather than empirical data (Bailey and Galanidou, 2009). We followed recommendations by Carr (1987) that relevant components of the palimpsest be identified and separated from those that are irrelevant, followed by a separate spatial analysis of each set of relevant components. In this case, artifact categories were evaluated for their temporal relevance, with relevance being defined as a form that was present during one period or facies, and absent or rare during others. 9.2. Differentiating AcheuloeYabrudian from Middle Paleolithic artifacts The most diagnostic A-Y artifacts (Fig. 5) include short, thick bifaces, thick scrapers with Quina or semi-Quina retouch (large or small retouch scars with hinge or step terminations) and backed normal blades (Jelinek, 1982, 1990; Bar-Yosef, 1994a; Copeland, 2000; Monigal, 2001; Barkai et al., 2009). The eight WZM-2 bifaces were judged to be A-Y because they closely matched known

A-Y assemblages in both their form and dimensions (Table 8). Although this is a small sample, these specimens include amygdaloid, cordiform and ovate shapes (Table 9) that are common in the A-Y, and most are poorly executed, another A-Y trait. When compared to three large A-Y biface samples from Tabun, Israel (Rollefson, 1978) they are w15% larger in overall size but closely match the Tabun ratios of width to length and thickness to width, showing all the samples to be short and broad with thick crosssections (Table 8). Copeland (2000) noted that in the A-Y, bifacial convergent scrapers and partial bifaces grade into each other, and one such borderline specimen, listed here as a scraper, was found in Trench WZM-2-5. Among the remaining retouched pieces, blank form, platform morphology and retouch type as well as patination were key variables in assigning probable affiliation. To be considered probable AY, a tool had to be made on a thick (midpoint thickness/midpoint width  0.3) flake or blade with a plain or cortical platform, have Quina or semi-Quina retouch and be heavily patinated. The patination criterion was included because all of the unambiguous A-Y formal tools (eight bifaces and six scrapers) were heavily patinated, whereas among all the Levallois cores, ca. 40% were only

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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Fig. 7. Cores from WZM-2. a, Preferential Levallois flake core; b, Recurrent Levallois flake core; c, Levallois point core; d, Levallois blade core; e, Single platform flake core (Holocene); Normal blade core (probably A-Y).

moderately patinated. MP diagnostics include all Levallois elements (cores and/or products) (Bar-Yosef, 1994; Shea, 2003). Among the retouched tools (Table 9), any specimen made on a Levallois blank; or a thin normal flake or blade blank (irrespective of platform morphology); or a blank with a faceted platform, and shaped with scalar retouch was counted as probable MP. Blades are a problematic category. Whereas Levallois flakes and blades occur throughout the MP and are absent or rare in the A-Y (Copeland, 2000), normal blades are abundant in both the Amudian facies of the A-Y and to a lesser extent in the Tabun D type early MP, where they co-occur with Levallois blades (Jelinek, 1990; Monigal, 2001; Meignen, 2002, 2011; Weinstein-Evron et al., 2012). Recent work at Qesem Cave, Israel, has shown Amudian blades to be thick, have high frequencies of plain striking platforms and often be naturally backed and/or deliberately over-struck to maintain the distal convexity of the core (Barkai et al., 2009). Some of these characteristics were undoubtedly influenced by the available lithic raw material at Qesem, which were flint blocks naturally fractured

into small slabs. Blade production involved the use of a fracture surface as a striking platform and began by using the corner of the block as the guiding ridge for the initial blade removal (ibid: 60e 61). This strategy was also employed at WZM-2, but the resulting blades were larger than those at Qesem, possibly because of the availability of larger pieces of flint. In this analysis, to be considered possibly A-Y, a normal blade core had to meet the Qesem technological criteria and be heavily patinated. Blades had to have a cortical, plain or dihedral platform, be thick, and/or overstruck or naturally backed. Thirteen of the 22 normal blade cores met the A-Y criteria, as did 44 (74.6%) of normal blades. All Levallois blades or blades with multi-faceted platforms were counted as MP, as were all Levallois blade cores. 9.3. Identifying the phases of the Middle Paleolithic Identification of the probable A-Y specimens enabled examination of the remainder of the collection to see which of the three

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phases of the Levantine MP (Shea, 2003) were represented. Normal blades were an important category in this regard. Twelve of the 15 normal blades that were not judged to be A-Y are large (>80 mm length and 30 mm width) and prismatic, with scars indicating unidirectional preparation similar to the “laminar system” described by Meignen (2002: 176). There is significant variability within this system, including the use of both unidirectional and opposed platform cores (Meignen, 2011 and references therein). Normal blades can occur in any phase of the Levantine MP, but large examples are most common in the Early MP (Meignen, 2002; Weinstein-Evron et al., 2012). It is possible that the large normal blades from WZM-2 are evidence of an Early MP presence. As noted above, some of the dates from WZM-2 do fall within MIS-6 and MIS-7, consistent with other dates for Early MP assemblages (BarYosef and Meignen, 1999). Unidirectional blade production occurs in the Early MP of Rosh Ein Mor, Israel, (Marks and Monigal, 1995), and characterizes some of the blades and cores in Hayonim Lower E (Meignen, 2002). These differ from the opposed platform strategies employed in the Early MP at Hummal Layer Ia, Syria, (Boëda, 1995) and Ain Difla, Jordan (Lindly and Clark, 1987). Nevertheless, given the small number of these specimens and the potential problems in dating summarized above, caution is warranted. There may be some Early MP hominin use of the WZM-2 flint source, but that conclusion must be considered tentative. 9.4. Retouched tools Among the retouched tools (Table 9), specimens attributable to the A-Y (Fig. 5) outnumber those from the MP (Fig. 6) 27 to 16. This is in stark contrast to the cores, where 164 (46.2%) are Levallois and many of the informal cores as well as 9 of the 22 normal blade cores are probably also MP if patination is taken into account. Levallois products (flakes, points and blades), which in the traditional typology (Debénath and Dibble, 1994) are considered formal tools, would raise the MP tool total to 97, significantly exceeding the number of A-Y retouched tools plus those normal, over-struck and naturally-backed blades that meet the A-Y criteria (total 71). There are few scrapers among the probable MP retouched tools, with two being on the interior surface of the blank. The most frequent MP tool categories are notches, denticulates, and flakes with irregular retouch on the interior surface. The elongated Mousterian points that characterize Early MP assemblages (Shea, 2003) are absent. The bifaces described above are the most common A-Y tools, followed by notch tools (mainly Clacton). Scrapers (convex and concave) are also common, and some have thinned backs. There are two endscrapers, one being combined with a notch to form a multiple tool. 9.5. Cores All cores from WZM-2 are summarized in Table 3. Cores were analyzed using a combination of the traditional typological approach (Debénath and Dibble, 1994) and the chaîne opératoire (Boëda, 1995). Among the Levallois cores, (Tables 9 and 10) those producing flakes were a large majority (75%), and of those, recurrent forms outnumbered preferential by more than 2.6 to 1. Two platform recurrent flake cores were the most common single category, and in all cases, the platforms were on opposed edges. The products were generally thin flakes, with multiple facet convex or dihedral platforms. The negative scars of final flake removals combined with the average ratio of length (61.1 mm) to width (52.0 mm) of the flake core faces (L/W 1.18) shows that most products were broad ovals (Fig. 7a, b). The point cores were almost all preferential, with unidirectional convergent face preparation (94.7%), a different strategy from some Levantine

assemblages (Meignen, 1995). Point core faces averaged 65.5 mm in length and 50.7 mm in width (L/W 1.29). Points tended to be medium length, with only one example of the elongated forms of the Early MP, and few of the broad forms of the Late MP (Bar-Yosef, 1994). Levallois blade cores were primarily recurrent with roughly equal proportions of unidirectional (53.3%) and bi-directional (46.7%) face preparation. Blade cores were larger (L. 77.4 mm, W. 58.6 mm), with a Length/Width ratio of 1.32. Among all Levallois cores, centripetal preparation was present on only 21.8%. Taken as a group, both the MP retouched tools and forms of Levallois cores are consistent with a Middle MP attribution (Shea, 2003), although as noted above, there may also be an Early MP contribution to this assemblage. It is more difficult to assess which facies of the A-Y are represented in the collection. Small bifaces such as those at WZM-2 are very common in the Acheulian facies, occur in smaller numbers the Yabrudian facies, but are extremely rare in the Amudian facies (Jelinek, 1990; Barkai et al., 2005). Some of the Quina retouched scrapers at WZM-2 are classic Yabrudian forms, although the angled convergent scrapers that are very common in Yabrudian sites are missing from our collection. Likewise, notches are reasonably common in the A-Y, but as at Bezez C, Lebanon, they are retouched (Copeland, 1983a) rather than the Clacton forms at WZM-2. As noted above, 13 of the 22 normal blade cores match the Amudian facies reduction strategy identified at Qesem Cave, Israel (Barkai et al., 2009), and overstruck and naturally backed blades constitute 39.0% of all blades found, but the backed knives on blade blanks that are common in the Amudian (Jelinek, 1990) are absent. Given these issues and the relatively small number of unambiguously A-Y artifacts, our conclusion is that at least two facies are represented in the collection. Based on the Qesem blade production strategy, one is Amudian, and the other could be either Acheulian or Yabrudian. 9.6. Levallois and other products When compared to the numbers of formal cores, the relative frequency of the products of those cores (Table 13) may provide important clues to hominin use of flint resources at WZM-2. There are 34 whole Levallois flakes when typical and atypical (asymmetric) forms are combined. But there are also 21 Levallois flakes that are clearly knapping accidents, including over-strikes, hinge terminations and breaks, which are likely to have been deliberate discards. One of the 5 Levallois points is over-struck, and 9 of the 21 Levallois blades have breaks or are over-struck. In total, 38.3% of the Levallois products are certainly “defective”, and that number swells to over 50% if the atypical Levallois flakes are included. Counting all Levallois products including the defects, the product to core (n ¼ 164) ratio is 0.494 in the entire WZM-2 assemblage, and excluding broken and over-struck specimens, the ratio is 0.305. Even this is an underestimate of how many Levallois products remained at the site compared to how many were produced. Recurrent cores generate multiple products by definition, and preferential cores can also create multiple products if the faces are re-prepared (Meignen, 1995 and references therein). As 64% of the WZM-2 Levallois cores were recurrent, it is likely that the 164 cores generated over 400 products. Normal blades (n ¼ 59) present a somewhat different pattern. Only 16.9% represent knapping accidents (breaks). The over-struck normal blades (15.3%) are not necessarily errors, since they were an integral part of the Qesem strategy, although they may still have been discards. Naturally backed specimens are likely to have been desired products. Overall, the blade to core (n ¼ 22) ratio is 2.68 including all blades, and 1.82 if breaks and over-strikes are eliminated. Because normal blade cores produce multiple blanks, these figures still represent substantial removal of products from the site.

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

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10. Investigating spatial patterning

10.3. Testing for evidence of stratification

10.1. Overview

One final issue is whether any of the sediments at WZM-2 preserve a stratified sequence of A-Y under the MP. Comparison of the collections from Trenches WZM-2-5 through WZM-2-8 showed that their overall typological makeup was similar (Table 7g). As noted above, comparison of the total excavated sample with that from the grids revealed no significant differences in typological makeup. However, significant differences were found in one case when depth below surface was considered. In Trenches WZM-2-6 e WZM-2-8 (Fig. 4), layering of the colluvial sediments was indistinct, and horizons graded into each other, suggesting significant mixing over time. To determine if the palimpsest exposed on the surface differed from the more deeply buried specimens in those trenches, all specimens from the surface and plow-zone were cross-tabulated with all specimens recovered from >30 cm below surface. No significant difference was found (Table 7o). The type categories were thoroughly mixed in the colluvium. In Trench WZM-2-5, partitioning the collection into samples from above and below 50 cm depth (roughly the upper limit of the break between the ABk II colluvium and the underlying 2Btk colluvium in Fig. 4a) resulted in significant differences when artifact types, technological and taphonomic attributes were tested (Table 7per). Among types, 15 out of 20 Levallois elements were in the top 50 cm, whereas 11 of 13 whole normal blades, 17 of 20 normal blade fragments, 3 of 4 normal blade cores, the only discoid core, a bifacial scraper and a biface came from below 50 cm. For striking platforms, all faceted platforms exceeded expected values above 50 cm, in contrast to a higher frequency of plain platforms below. These both show a higher concentration of MP material near the surface and more A-Y material lower in the sequence. Patination showed that the lower material had been exposed to greater degrees of chemical weathering, as a much higher percentage were heavily patinated. Nevertheless, the lower layer contained enough MP material to suggest that it formed during the MP, but at a time when a larger number of earlier A-Y artifacts had been exposed on the surface and were eroding down-slope.

The distribution of artifacts across the site was strongly influenced by taphonomic and environmental factors. The grid collections established that Paleolithic artifacts were most abundant at the northeastern end of the wheat-field, which is adjacent to the spring deposit, suggesting that the presence of surface water may have attracted hominin activity. The transect sample (Fig. 2 bottom right) showed that cores were most common in the fields parallel to the ridge, and less common on the deflated surface of the ridge itself. Cores were more frequent immediately down-slope of horizons of flint nodules imbedded in the limestone bedrock. This scattered distribution of artifacts would be expected if prehistoric knappers were reducing a nodule to cores and products at the spot where the nodule was found, with the discarded flakes and cores gradually moving downhill over time due to taphonomic factors. Flint nodules are exposed in varying degrees of relief and could have been removed whole or in fragments by battering, but there is no evidence that hominins tried to attack the hard limestone matrix containing the nodules. It is likely that the main source of flint was nodules freed from their matrix by erosion. Well-defined clusters of cores and debris are absent, with the exception of two narrow and entirely deflated natural terraces on the south side of the ridge that served as traps for displaced artifacts (Fig. 2, bottom right). 10.2. Investigating spatial clustering Significance tests were applied to see if specific core types clustered spatially. These tests were done in two ways. First, the typological makeup of the individual transects, which constituted transverse samples across the ridge and adjacent fields proceeding from northeast to southwest, were compared. No statistically significant differences between transects were found (Table 7b). The second test partitioned the site into five topographic zones, with Zone 1 being the wheat-field, Zones 2 and 3 being the northwestern and southeastern halves of the ridge, Zones 4 being the field on the southwestern side of the ridge, and Zone 5 being entire hill at the northeast end of the ridge. The typological makeup of each zone was cross-tabulated, and again, no statistically significant patterning could be identified (Table 7c). Similar results were obtained when all types of detached pieces were cross-tabulated against individual grids and individual transects (Table 7e and f). When all categories are considered, artifacts are randomly distributed across the site relative to each other. Is the random distribution of techno-typological categories relative to each other also true when only specimens believed to be diagnostic of either the A-Y or MP are considered? Significance tests (Table 7h through n) provide an unambiguous answer. For the grid samples, cross-tabulations of individual grids by composites of all A-Y and all MP artifacts, as well as individual diagnostic artifact types by grid failed to reject the null hypothesis. Each grid had roughly equal proportions of diagnostic A-Y and MP pieces. The transect sample produced similar results, although the total number of diagnostic A-Y specimens was small, creating low cell value problems. Cross-tabulation of composites of all A-Y and all MP specimens against both individual transects, and against the topographic zones, failed to reject the null hypothesis. This was also the case when individual types were cross-tabulated with both topographic zones and transects. The distribution of A-Y and MP specimens across the site is essentially identical.

11. Discussion and conclusions 11.1. Factors effecting artifact distributions at WZM-2 A variety of factors contribute to the distribution of archaeological materials that archaeologists observe on a landscape. These include both the natural and behavioral circumstances at the time of initial deposition, and any subsequent movements caused by anthropogenic, biogenic and/or geogenic processes (Schiffer, 1976; Binford, 1981). In the case of WZM-2, the factors that contributed to the initial distribution of Paleolithic artifacts were the location of usable flint on the surface, combined with the nature and organization of flint procurement by hominins. The natural distribution of flint nodules is not uniform across the site (Fig. 2, bottom left), and is concentrated in three areas. The first is the now obliterated outcrop at the north end of the hill that appears to have been used primarily in the Holocene. The second extends from ca. 100e250 m from the northeast end of the hill, and the third and most abundant flint concentration begins an additional 150e225 m southwest of that. However, the surface distribution of flint today does not necessarily represent the situation in antiquity. At any point in time, raw material available to hominins would have included loose nodules or blocks occurring down-slope from their source, and any in situ nodules that stood out enough in relief from the bedrock that useful portions could be removed by battering. Given the strong erosional episode at the end of MIS-2 and the current arid

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

14

M.S. Bisson et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e21

conditions further compounded by recent agriculture and pastoralism, much of the bedrock on the ridge and the flint it contains is now exposed. During wet periods in the past, soil and/or vegetation cover may have hidden some or all of the outcrops and made loose nodules harder to find. This is particularly true of the northeast side of the ridge, which is more shielded from the prevailing winds and would have accumulated more wind-blown sediment during periods of deposition. On the windward side of the ridge, bedrock was probably always more exposed, but as noted above, geological pressures on that side of the ridge had fractured the flint in the two largest outcrops, making it a less desirable knapping material. Indeed, although high quality flint is more common at WZM-2 than in most of the Madaba Plateau that we surveyed, in practical terms it is not extremely abundant in comparison to some Jordanian localities such as the Azraq (M.S.B., personal observation) and al-Jafr Basins (Quintero and Wilke, 1998). 11.2. Influence of paleoclimate and environment on hominin use of WZM-2 The presence of only parts of the LLP and MP sequence at WZM2 has implications for the distribution of hominins relative to paleoclimate and environment in the Levant. Because the sample of diagnostic A-Y material is small and only one component of a complex palimpsest, it is impossible to determine which of the three A-Y facies were present as well as exactly when it took place. The difference between the Yabrudian and Acheulian A-Y facies is in the relative proportions of steep-edged scrapers with Quina and demi-Quina retouch made on thick flake blanks and small amygdaloid and ovate bifaces. These types occur at WZM-2, but since none were in primary contexts, it is impossible to determine if makers of one or both facies were present. In addition, some of the normal blade cores were made using the strategy employed at Qesem Cave (Barkai et al., 2009), suggesting that makers of Amudian technology may have also been present. These three facies inter-stratify at cave sites (Jelinek, 1990; Copeland, 2000; Barkai et al., 2009), but it is not currently known whether this represents activity-specific tool-kits or other types of behavioral variability within a single technological tradition. The situation is further complicated by the fact that before the present study, all published A-Y assemblages were from sheltered habitation sites rather than open-air activity loci such as WZM-2. The scattered nature of the A-Y artifacts suggests a sporadic hominin presence during the more favorable climatic circumstances of MIS-8 or 7. As this site is now the southernmost recorded for the A-Y, it probably represents only brief incursions of A-Y hominins onto the Madaba Plateau during wetter periods when the Mediterranean woodland biome expanded into this area. A similar situation pertains to the MP. The preponderance of paleoclimate, dating, and typological evidence point to Middle MP hominins being the primary contributors to the site, although as noted above, there may have been an Early MP hominin presence during the last of MIS-7. However, most use of this resource occurred during late MIS-6 and/or the wetter phases of MIS-5. As in the A-Y, there appears to have been no organized exploitation of flint, and individual episodes were likewise probably sporadic. Levallois technique was the dominant blank production strategy. The presence of numerous expended (but not exhausted) cores shows that all stages of the Levallois process were present emphasizing the production of large to medium-sized flakes, blades and points, most of which were exported. The scarcity of material attributable to the Late MP and the absence of UP and Epipaleolithic artifacts suggest that the dry and unstable conditions of MIS-4 through MIS-2 made the area unsuitable for hominins.

11.3. Evidence of Paleolithic provisioning strategies Discovering habitual patterns of provisioning, and the acquisition and utilization of resources, is essential to the understanding of hominin adaptations. As modeled by Kuhn (1995) and Hovers (2009), in the MP there is a continuum of these behaviors, ranging from the provisioning of individuals to the provisioning of locations. In the provisioning of individuals, retouched tools, blanks and cores are carried as a personal tool-kit and used as the appropriate circumstances arise. This strategy is most common in societies where residential mobility is high and the need for any functional artifact category at any specific time cannot be predicted. This model implies that because lithic raw material may not be readily available, elements of these curated kits should be lightweight yet large, thin and versatile blanks (Hovers, 2009: 219) capable of being converted into a wide variety of implements, which may be re-sharpened or transformed into new functional categories on an as-needed basis. Other implications of this model are that artifacts will be exported from their place of manufacture and that assemblages of curated artifacts will include individuals from different raw material sources. In the provisioning of locations, resources are transported in their raw material form to predetermined places, usually habitation sites, where they are converted into useful objects or stockpiled for future use. In the case of lithics, although this can include the movement of unmodified nodules or blocks, a more common MP pattern in the Levant was the preliminary decortication of pieces at the source to reduce weight and insure that they are suitable. Therefore, habitation sites should contain abundant evidence of most stages of the reduction process, with the possible exception of decortication, and many of the cores themselves should be reduced to exhaustion. These assemblages should also include significant numbers of products (blanks and retouched tools) (ibid and references therein). If provisioning of locations was taking place, we would expect a lithic raw material acquisition site such as WZM-2 to primarily yield test pieces, nodules with only a few flake removals allowing the MP knappers to assess their quality, and cortical flakes. Expended formal cores should be rare. There might also be evidence of systematic extraction of flint nodules from the bedrock, as has been recently documented for both the LP and MP in northern Israel (Barkai et al., 2006; Barkai and Gopher, 2009), but with little or no evidence of those nodules being reduced beyond decortication. These models of provisioning behavior cannot be fully tested using data from the Madaba Plateau. As yet, no local habitation sites are known which could serve as comparisons to the assemblages from the lithic resource sites of the Ma’in Site Complex. Nevertheless, our data are most consistent with the provisioning of individuals model. At WZM-2, formal cores outnumber test pieces. Given the prevalence of recurrent Levallois strategies, these cores yielded multiple medium to large size blanks. These blanks were lightweight, because the Levallois core faces were uniformly flat, producing thin debitage. Levallois flake production outnumbered points and blades. There is little evidence of raw-material conservation strategies such as the production of cores on flakes. The products themselves were exported. Levallois cores outnumber products, and the ratio of products to cores underestimates the numbers of pieces produced because a high proportion of the cores were recurrent. Levallois points are the most under-represented product relative to cores (5 points, 25 point cores). In addition, almost half of the Levallois products recovered were knapping accidents such as over-strikes, hinge terminations or breaks, which were probably discarded as useless. Retouched MP tools are uncommon (16 compared to 164 Levallois cores), and their surface distribution mirrors that of the cores. Table 13 compares the ratios of products and retouched tools to cores for selected Levantine MP and

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M.S. Bisson et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e21

A-Y sites, all of which except WZM-2 are considered to be habitations. Even with knapping errors included, WZM-2 (combined grid and excavation samples) has the lowest ratios of Levallois blanks per core, other blanks per core and retouched tools per core. The site with the most similar frequencies is the Jordanian open-air site of Ar Rasfa (Ahmad and Shea, 2009) which is also close to a flint source. Provisioning strategies are strongly influenced by the nature and distribution of the resource base as well as seasonal changes in plants and animals (Hovers, 2009). The Levant is noteworthy for its great ecological diversity over short distances, and such circumstances favor increased residential mobility and greater dependence on provisioning of individuals (Kuhn, 1995). The location of WZM-2 exemplifies these circumstances. Not only was it near the border between the Mediterranean woodland and Irano-Turanian steppe vegetation zones on the plateau (Zohary, 1973), but its proximity to the edge of the Rift meant that the immediate vicinity was characterized by dramatic differences in elevation and vegetation. These circumstances, combined with the presence of one or more small springs during wet periods would have attracted hominin hunter/foragers. Nevertheless, there is no evidence for prolonged habitation and/or the organized extraction of flint at the site. The geology of the site, with hard bedrock and relatively few nodules being exposed at any one time, probably meant that the flint source itself was probably not a “destination”. The flint acquisition and processing episodes were probably embedded in other subsistence activities.

15

Although the MP assemblage at WZM-2 corresponds to the provisioning of individuals as part of a mobile hunter/forager economy, this site is only one data point in an ongoing test of this model. To date, most Levantine MP archaeological research has focused on either open-air or sheltered occupation sites, or at least spatially delimited locations where a set of related activities such as butchering and carcass-processing were taking place (Shea, 2003; Hovers, 2009). This is reflected in the number and variety of formal tools as well as the ratio of tools/products to cores at these sites. The models of settlement patterns and resource acquisition described above have largely been developed to explain the composition of these assemblages and the placement of these sites on the paleolandscape. WZM-2 differs in that it represents repeated smallscale and short-duration episodes of lithic acquisition and processing that are concentrated in a limited area only by the natural distribution of high-quality flint nodules. This means that some of must be the implications of models of settlement patterning and provisioning behavior modified from those applied to habitation sites to fit a single activity location. Although low artifact density open-air sites such as WZM-2 and individual artifact find-spots present challenges including dating and the attribution of finds to specific technological traditions, this “scatter between the patches” (Isaac and Harris, 1975) constitutes an important part of the archaeological record. More thorough investigation of these more ephemeral special purpose open-air sites is essential to fully understand MP adaptations.

Table 1 OSL and Uranium-series dates from WZM-2.

OSL

U-series

No

Sample

Age (ka)

Matrix

Archaeological association

1 2 3 4 5 6

WZM-2-1 Unit 6 (40 cm) WZM-2-1 Unit 4 (110 cm) WZM-2-2 Unit 1 (85 cm) WZM-2e3 Unit 11 (35 cm) WZM-2e3 Unit 11 (55 cm) WZM-2e4 Unit 9 (55 cm)

29.4 þ 2.3; 4.8 42.2 þ 7.3; 10.5 >254  48 1.57  0.13 5.14  0.78 14.1  2.3

7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

WZM-2e7 Unit 2 (30 cm) WZM-2-9 (below flake) WZM-2-9 (above flake) WZM-2-3 (35 cm) WZM-2-2 Unit 1 (85 cm) WZM-2-5 Zone 3 (95 cm) WZM-2-5 Zone 4 (115 cm) WZM-2-10 Calcrete (surface)

>151 152.720 þ 19.4; 16.5 194.337 þ 30; 23.8 78.873 þ 4.73; 4.52 103.033 þ 6.75; 6.346 120.992 þ 4.73; 4.52 125.184 þ 4,24; 4.07 106.437 þ 9.81; 9.01

BW (cambic horizon) BW (cambic horizon) Gray granular calcrete (spring) Redeposited red sediment Redeposited red sediment Angular clasts in a loamy matrix with pedogenic development Collevium with large carbonate nodules Calcrete Calcrete Redeposited red sediment Gray granular calcrete (spring) Colluvium with carbonate concretions Colluvium with carbonate concretions Calcrete crust

Few minimally patinated small flakes No reliably associated lithics Large, heavily patinated flakes and blades MP (Levallois elements) encrusted with carbonate MP (Levallois elements) encrusted with carbonate Below the horizon with abundant minimally patinated lithics Heavily patinated lithics including large blades Heavily patinated undiagnostic large flake Heavily patinated undiagnostic large flake Carbonate crust on heavily patinated flake Same location as OSL sample 3 LLP lithics mixed with some MP lithics LLP lithics mixed with some MP lithics No associated lithics

Table 2 Artifact densities, Grid surface collections. Area (m2)

Grid Grid Grid Grid Grid

1 North 1 Central 1 South 1a 2

156 148 152 104 328

Holocene

Paleolithic

Number

Density (m2)

Number

Density (m2)

167 48 37 23 15

1.07 0.32 0.24 0.22 0.05

68 43 35 37 72

0.44 0.29 0.23 0.37 0.22

Table 3 Core types at WZM-2. Core type

Collection Grid

Informal

Count %

28 30.10%

Total Transect 46 20.80%

Excavation 15 36.60%

89 25.10% (continued on next page)

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M.S. Bisson et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e21

Table 3 (continued ) Core type

Two platform Polyhedral Discoid Levallois flake Levallois point Levallois blade Normal blade Core-on-flake Total

Collection

Total

Grid

Transect

Excavation

12 12.90% 4 4.30% 1 1.10% 25 26.90% 9 9.70% 3 3.20% 9 9.70% 2 2.20% 93 100.00%

24 10.90% 16 7.20% 9 4.10% 89 40.30% 13 5.90% 12 5.40% 9 4.10% 3 1.40% 221 100.00%

6 14.60% 0 0.00% 1 2.40% 9 22.00% 3 7.30% 1 2.40% 4 9.80% 2 4.90% 41 100.00%

42 11.80% 20 5.60% 11 3.10% 123 34.60% 25 7.00% 16 4.50% 22 6.20% 7 2.00% 355 100.00%

Type

Frequency

%

Valid %

Normal flake Normal flake (broken) Naturally backed flake Naturally Backed flake (broken) Levallois flake Levallois flake (broken) Overstruck Levallois flake Levallois point Levallois blade Overstruck Levallois blade Overstruck Levallois blade (broken) Naturally backed Levallois blade Normal blade Normal blade (broken) Overstruck normal blade Naturally backed blade Naturally backed blade (broken) Salami slice Core rejuvenation flake Retouched tool Core preparation flake Total Angular fragment Indeterminate Total

24 6 9 2 10 1 9 1 2 1 2 2 1 4 3 5 2 1 24 13 62 184 3 10 13 197

12.2 3 4.6 1 5.1 0.5 4.6 0.5 1 0.5 1 1 0.5 2 1.5 2.5 1 0.5 12.2 6.6 31.5 93.4 1.5 5.1 6.6 100

13 3.3 4.9 1.1 5.4 0.5 4.9 0.5 1.1 0.5 1.1 1.1 0.5 2.2 1.6 2.7 1.1 0.5 13 7.1 33.7 100

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count %

Table 4 Detached pieces from grids.

Valid

Missing

Total

Table 5 Detached pieces from transects. Type Normal flake Levallois flake Broken Levallois flake Atypical Levallois flake Overstruck Levallois flake Levallois Point Overstruck Levallois point Levallois blade Broken Levallois blade

Table 5 (continued ) Frequency 1 6 5 8 3 1 1 6 2

% 1.7 10 8.3 13 5 1.7 1.7 10 3.3

Type

Frequency

%

Overstruck Levallois blade Normal blade Broken blade Core rejuvenation blade Overstruck normal blade Naturally backed blade Eclat Debordant Retouched tool Total

1 6 3 1 6 5 2 3 60

1.7 10 5 1.7 10 8.3 3.3 5 100

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17

Table 6 Artifact frequencies, Trenches 5 through 8. Type

Unit 5

Typical Levallois fl. Utilized Levallois flake Levallois flake fragment Overstruck Levallois flake Atypical Levallois flake Levallois point Single convex scraper fragment Scraper on interior surface Scraper with bifacial retouch, convergent, biface-like tip Typical endscraper Naturally-backed knife Utilized naturally-backed knife Raclette Raclette fragment Truncation Notch Denticulate Flake with irregular retouch on interior Flake with alternating retouch Convex scraper and denticulate Opposed notches (strangulated) and backed Normal flake Utilized normal flake Normal blade Normal blade fragment Utilized naturally-backed blade Levallois blade Levallois blade fragment Naturally-backed blade Flake fragment Blade fragment Angular fragment Single platform core Single platform core fragment Two platform core Preferential Levallois flake core

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count %

Total 6

5 1.70% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 0 0.00% 1 0.30% 0 0.00% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 2 0.70% 3 1.00% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 0 0.00% 5 1.70% 1 0.30% 3 1.00% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 0 0.00% 72 24.40% 2 0.70% 15 5.10% 0 0.00% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 3 1.00% 1 0.30% 91 30.80% 19 6.40% 33 11.20% 8 2.70% 1 0.30% 4 1.40% 0 0.00%

7 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 1.20% 0 0.00% 2 2.50% 0 0.00% 1 1.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 1.20% 0 0.00% 1 1.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 11 13.80% 0 0.00% 3 3.80% 1 1.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 35 43.80% 8 10.00% 10 12.50% 2 2.50% 0 0.00% 2 2.50% 0 0.00%

8 2 5.30% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2 5.30% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2 5.30% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 2.60% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 8 21.10% 0 0.00% 5 13.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 2.60% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 5 13.20% 3 7.90% 6 15.80% 2 5.30% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00%

0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 1.10% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 1.10% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 1.10% 21 23.60% 0 0.00% 3 3.40% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 38 42.70% 2 2.20% 16 18.00% 2 2.20% 0 0.00% 1 1.10% 2 2.20%

7 1.40% 1 0.20% 2 0.40% 1 0.20% 4 0.80% 2 0.40% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 2 0.40% 4 0.80% 3 0.60% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 5 1.00% 2 0.40% 3 0.60% 2 0.40% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 112 22.30% 2 0.40% 26 5.20% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 2 0.40% 3 0.60% 1 0.20% 169 33.70% 32 6.40% 65 12.90% 14 2.80% 1 0.20% 7 1.40% 2 0.40%

(continued on next page)

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M.S. Bisson et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e21

Table 6 (continued ) Type

Unit

Recurrent single platform Levallois flake core

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count %

Opposed platform recurrent Levallois flake core Levallois point core Normal blade core Core on flake Core on thick flake, not truncated-faceted Discoid core Biface Total

Total

5

6

7

8

2 0.70% 3 1.00% 1 0.30% 4 1.40% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 1 0.30% 295 100.00%

0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 2 2.50% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 80 100.00%

1 2.60% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 38 100.00%

0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 1.10% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 89 100.00%

3 0.60% 3 0.60% 1 0.20% 7 1.40% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 1 0.20% 502 100.00%

Table 7 Summary of significance tests. Cross-tabulation

Pearson chi-square

a. Core type by collection technique b. Core type (transects) by individual transect c. Core types (transects) by topographic zone (excluding transect 11) d. Core types (grids) by individual grid e. Detached piece types (grids) by individual grid f. Detached piece types (transect) by individual transect g. All artifact types (excavations) by individual excavation h. Diagnostic types by grid i. Probable period by grid j. Diagnostic artifacts (transects) by individual transect k. Diagnostic artifacts (transects) by topographic zone (excluding transect 11) l. Period by zone (transects) m. Period by individual transect n. Blank type (transect) by individual transects o. Trenches 6e8 artifact types by depth category p. Trench WZM-2-5 artifact types by depth category q. Trench WZM-2-5 striking platform types by depth category r. Trench WZM-2-5 degree of patination by depth category

Asymp. sig. (2-sided)

n

Null hypothesis

25.315 73.328 44.097

df 16 56 32

0.064 0.060 0.075

355 208 190

Accept Accept Accept

11.679 14.839 21.410 135.241 13.994 3.097 107.348 71.476

16 18 24 126 18 2 119 85

0.766 0.673 0.614 0.271 0.729 0.213 0.770 0.852

97 185 60 502 102 102 65 65

Accept Accept Accept Accept Accept Accept Accept Accept

3.340 5.196 21.410 17.741 59.049 14.608 45.981

5 7 24 18 37 5 5

0.648 0.636 0.614 0.473 0.012 0.012 0.000

180 180 60 187 295 149 295

Accept Accept Accept Accept Reject Reject Reject

Table 8 Biface dimensions, comparing WZM-2 to large A-Y samples from Tabun, Israel (Rollefson, 1978). Site

Length

Width

Thickness

W/L

Th/W

n

WZM-2 Tabun unit 11 Tabun unit 12 Tabun unit 13

89.2 76.9 71.9 80.7

60.7 53.9 51.6 51.1

32.2 28.0 27.2 28.4

0.684 0.701 0.718 0.633

0.533 0.519 0.527 0.556

8 426 179 127

Table 9 Retouched tools from WZM-2.

Table 9 (continued )

Type

Single convex scraper Single convex scraper fragment Single concave scraper Scraper on interior surface Scraper on interior surface (fragment)

Type

Probable period

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count %

Middle Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic

1 6.20% 1 6.20% 0 0.00% 1 6.20% 1 6.20%

2 7.40% 0 0.00% 1 3.70% 0 0.00% 0 0.00%

Scraper with thinned back Scraper with bifacial retouch, convergent, biface-like tip Typical endscraper Atypical backed knife Truncation

Probable period

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count %

Middle Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic

0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 6.20% 0 0.00% 1 6.20%

2 7.40% 1 3.70% 1 3.70% 1 3.70% 0 0.00%

Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031

%

Normal blade Broken blade Core rejuvenation blade Overstruck normal blade Naturally backed blade Broken naturally backed Blade Total

27 8 1 9 12 2 59

45.8 13.6 1.7 15.3 20.3 3.4 100

31 108 241 622 116 2966 3723 371 141 95 299 1397 255 789

Retouched tools Blank/core

2.15 5.23 2.99 14.45 38.61 6.42 10.25 37.82 49.75 498.33 5.65 6.45 6.71 3.01 102 128 177 59 31 526 2556 100 12 3 78 512 24 69 219 670 529 997 1197 3380 26206 3782 597 1495 441 3302 161 208

i

Frequency

j

Type

h

Table 12 Normal blades from WZM-2.

f

28.4 9.9 13.6 16 4.9 1.2 12.3 6.2 4.9 2.5 100

g

%

23 8 11 13 4 1 10 5 4 2 81

e

Frequency

Levallois flake Broken Levallois flake Atypical Levallois flake Overstruck Levallois flake Levallois point Overstruck Levallois point Levallois blade Broken Levallois blade Overstruck Levallois blade Naturally Backed Levallois blade Total

d

Type

Ahmad and Shea, 2009. Bisson et al., in press. Clark et al., 1988. Goren-Inbar, 1990. Crew, 1976. Hovers, 2009. Henry, 1995. Copeland, 1983b. Barkai et al., 2009. Copeland, 1983a.

Table 11 Levallois product types from WZM-2.

c

20.1 0.6 25.6 28.7 13.4 1.8 1.8 4.9 3 100

a

%

33 1 42 47 22 3 3 8 5 164

b

Frequency

Levallois flake one platform preferential Unstruck Levallois Levallois flake one platform recurrent Levallois flake two platforms recurrent Levallois point preferential Levallois point recurrent Levallois blade one platform preferential Levallois blade one platform recurrent Levallois blade two platforms recurrent Total

LP

Type

1 1.76 2.63 34.4 15.67 2.65 16.6 7.69 3.48 8.43 11.59 e e 2.35

Table 10 Levallois core types from WZM-2.

50 156 101 10 6 215 330 181 29 7 75 e e 23

Amygdaloid biface with preferential flake scar Total

50 274 266 344 94 570 5477 1392 101 59 869 e e 54

Amygdaloid biface

WZM-2 Grids and Excavations Ar Rasfaa WE-2b WHS 621c ’Ain Diflac Quneitrad Rosh Ein More Qafzeh XVf Tor Faraj Top Cg Tor Sabihag Bezez Bh Qesem (Amudian)i Qesem (Yabrudian)i Bezez C (Yabrudian)j

Cordiform biface

MP

Notched ovate biface

Other cores

Opposed notches (strangulated) and backed Ovate biface

Other blanks

Convex scraper and denticulate

7 25.90% 1 3.70% 1 3.70% 0 0.00% 1 3.70% 1 3.70% 0 0.00% 2 7.40% 1 3.70% 1 3.70% 2 7.40% 2 7.40% 27 100.00%

Blank/core

Flake with irregular retouch on interior (Atypical endscraper & notch)

3 18.80% 3 18.80% 0 0.00% 3 18.80% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 1 6.20% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 16 100.00%

Levallois cores

Denticulate with bulbar thinning

Lower Paleolithic

Levallois blanks

Denticulate

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count % Count %

Middle Paleolithic

Site

Notch

Probable period

Table 13 Ratios of products and tools to cores comparing WZM-2 to selected Levantine MP and A-Y sites. Note that the ratios for WZM-2 are for the combined grid and excavation samples only.

Type

Tools/core

Table 9 (continued )

19

0.2 0.38 0.86 9.01 3.14 3.98 1.44 1.35 3.44 9.5 1.95 2.73 10.63 8.58

M.S. Bisson et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e21

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M.S. Bisson et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e21

Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of the following people and institutions: Dr. Fawaaz Al Khraysheh, Mr. Ali Alkhayyat, Dr Barbara Porter, Dr Chris Tuttle, Aktham Oweidi, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, and the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR). Funding was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC), McGill University and the University of Victoria. Zakariya Ben-Badhann, Carl Bjarnason, Alaa al Deek, Mohamed Hartoqa, James Pokines and Marilyn Steely generously assisted with fieldwork. The artifact drawings are by Delphine Jasmin-Beslile. We are grateful to Dr. Bassan Gahleb of the Université du Québec á Montréal for the Useries dates, and Dr. Regina Dewitt of Oklahoma State University for the OSL dates. Two anonymous reviewers and the editor of this issue provided extremely helpful suggestions for revisions. All errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors. References Ahmad, G.S., Shea, J.J., 2009. Reconstructing Late Pleistocene Human Behavior in the Jordan Rift Valle: The Middle Paleolithic Stone Tool Assemblage from Ar Rasfa. In: British Archaeological Reports International Series 2042. Archaeopress, Oxford. Aitken, M.J., 1998. Optical Dating. Academic Press, London. Al-Eisawi, D., 1996. Vegetation of Jordan. UNESCO Regional Office for Science and Technology for the Arab States, Cairo. Bailey, G., 2007. Time perspectives, palimpsests and the archaeology of time. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 26, 198e223. Bailey, G., Galanidou, N., 2009. Caves, palimpsests and dwelling spaces: examples from the Upper Paleolithic of southeeast Europe. World Archaeology 41 (2), 215e241. Barkai, R., Gopher, A., Lauritzen, S.E., Frumkin, A., 2003. Uranium series dates from Qesem Cave, Israel, and the end of the Lower Paleolithic. Nature 423 (6943), 977e979. Barkai, R., Gopher, A., Shimelmitz, R., 2005. Middle Pleistocene blade production in the Levant: an Amudian assemblage from Qesem Cave, Israel. Eurasian Prehistory 3 (2), 39e74. Barkai, R., Gopher, A., LaPorta, P.C., 2006. Middle Pleistocene landscape of extraction: quarry and workshop complexes in northern Israel. In: Goren-Inbar, N., Sharon, G. (Eds.), Axe Age: Acheulian Toolmaking from Quarry to Discard. Equinox, London, pp. 7e44. Barkai, R., Gopher, A., 2009. Changing the face of the earth: human behavior at Sede Ilan, an extensive LowereMiddle Paleolithic quarry site in Israel. In: Adams, B., Blades, B.S. (Eds.), Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, pp. 174e185. Barkai, R., Lemorini, C., Shimelmitz, R., Lev, Z., Stiner, M.C., Gopher, A., 2009. A blade for all seasons? Making and using Amudian blades at Qesem Cave, Israel. Human Evolution 24 (1), 57e75. Barton, M.C., Clark, G.A., 1993. Cultural and natural formation processes in Late Quaternary Cave and Rockshelter sites of western Europe and the near east. In: Goldberg, P., Nash, D.T., Petraglia, M.D. (Eds.), Formation Processes in Archaeological Context. Prehistory Press, Madison, pp. 33e52. Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., Kaufman, A., 2000. Timing and hydrological conditions of Sapropel events in the Eastern Mediterranean, as evident from speleothems, Soreq cave, Israel. Chemical Geology 169 (1), 145e156. Bar-Yosef, O., 1994. The contributions of southwest Asia to the study of the origins of modern humans. In: Nitecki, M., Nitecki, D. (Eds.), Origins of Anatomically Modern Humans. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 23e66. Bar Yosef, O., 1998a. The chronology of the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant. In: Azakawa, T., Aoki, A., Bar-Yosef, O. (Eds.), Neanderthals and Modern Humans in Western Asia. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 39e55. Bar-Yosef, O., 1998b. Jordan prehistory: a view from the west. In: Henry, D.O. (Ed.), The Prehistoric Archaeology of Jordan. BAR International Series 705. Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 162e178. Bar-Yosef, O., Meignen, L., 1999. The chronology of the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic period in retrospect. Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris 13, 3e4. Binford, L.R., 1981. Bones: Ancient Men and Modern Myths. Academic Press, New York. Birkeland, P.W., 1999. Soils and Geomorphology, third ed. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Bisson, M.S., Nowell, A., Cordova, C., Kalchgruber, R., al-Nahar, M., 2006. Human evolution at the crossroads: an archaeological survey in northwest Jordan. Near Eastern Archaeology 69 (2), 73e85. Bisson, M.S., Nowell, A., Poupart, M., Cordova, C., Pokines, J.T., Ames, C. WE-2: the Middle Paleolithic of the Wadi Enoqiyya revisited. In: Rollefson, G., Finlayson, B. (Eds.), Jordan’s Prehistory: Past and Future Research. Department of Antiquities, the Hashemite, Kingdom of Jordan, Amman (in press).

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Please cite this article in press as: Bisson, M.S., et al., Dissecting palimpsests in a Late Lower and Middle Paleolithic flint acquisition site on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.031