Jounal of Archaeological Science (1999) 26, 1249–1260Article No. jasc.1999.0355, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on

Mode of Occupation of Tabun Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel Duringthe Mousterian Period: A Study of the Sediments andPhytoliths

Rosa M. Albert*, Ofer Lavi, Lara Estroff and Steve Weiner†

Department of Structural Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100 Israel

Alexander Tsatskin and Avraham Ronen

Zinman Institute of Archaeology, Haifa University, Haifa 31905, Israel

Simcha Lev-Yadun

Department of Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6,Bet Dagan 50250, Israel

(Received 12 June 1998; revised manuscript accepted 28 September 1998)

Alternative modes of occupation of Tabun Cave during the deposition of the Mousterian Levels B and C have beenproposed. Garrod & Bate (1937, Excavations at the Wady El-Mughara, Volume 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press) interpretedthe archaeological record of both levels as being indicative of domestic occupational activities. Jelinek et al. (1973,Palaeorient 1, 151–183) proposed that the presence of articulated limb bones of Dama mesopotamica in the Level Bsediments below the cave chimney indicated that the cave was used as a natural game trap. They also noted that thewhite ash layers in Level C extended across the whole cave, and proposed that this was due to the burning of naturalvegetation in the cave. This study aims at clarifying the modes of occupation during these periods.

Level B sediments closely resemble the terra rossa soil that is common in this region. Burning activity is inferred fromcharcoal fragments seen in thin sections. A minor wood ash component is present based on the preponderance ofphytoliths with a variable morphology as compared to those with a consistent morphology, as well as phytoliths withshapes characteristic of those formed in wood and bark of local trees. Thus fires were produced in the cave during thisperiod. The cave may also have been used as a game trap.

Level C is composed of multiple layers of brown, black and white sediments. Micromorphology, mineralogy andphytolith analyses all show that these layers are mixtures of terra rossa soil and ash, with the latter being abundant inthe white layers. The phytoliths in these layers are derived almost entirely from wood and bark, and not from grasses.These observations are consistent with a domestic occupational mode. ? 1999 Academic Press

Keywords: PREHISTORIC CAVE, WOOD ASH, PHYTOLITHS, MICROMORPHOLOGY, MOUSTERIAN.

*Present address: SERP, Department of Prehistory, Ancient Historyand Archaeology, Faculty of Geography and History, c/ Baldiri iReixach s/n, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain.

†For correspondence: E-mail: ciweiner@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il

Introduction

T abun Cave is located on Mt Carmel about20 km south of Haifa (Israel). The entrance isabout 45 m above present sea level and faces

north-west overlooking the Mediterranean coastalplain. The cave is roughly divided into three chambers;the outer one, now without a roof, the inner chamberwith a roof that contains a large ‘‘chimney’’ about 5 m

12490305–4403/99/101249+12 $30.00/0

in diameter, and an intermediate chamber connectingthe two. The cave was first excavated by D. A. E.Garrod between 1929 and 1934 (Garrod & Bate, 1937),and then by Jelinek from 1967 to 1972 (Jelinek et al.,1973; Jelinek, 1981, 1982). Excavations of mainly thelowermost layers are currently ongoing by A. Ronen(Ronen & Tsatskin, 1995).

The sediments in Tabun Cave accumulated from theLate Acheulian (Jelinek et al., 1973) to historic times.Garrod & Bate (1937) divided the section into sevenlevels (A – G), based mainly on cultural differences.Jelinek et al. (1973) regrouped the levels into threegeological units (Units I, II & III), reflecting the fact

? 1999 Academic Press

1250 R. M. Albert et al.

Figure 1. Stratigraphic section through Levels A–D showing thatthe thicknesses of Levels B and C decrease from inside the cavetowards the talus slope. The position of the datum line from whichall the sample elevation levels are measured is also shown. The figureis adapted from Plate XXX drawn by Garrod & Bate (1937).

Figure 2. Photograph of the Level B sediments showing the massiveunbedded structure of the reddish-brown fine-grained clay, as well asthe presence of large angular rocks, presumably originating from thechimney. The sediment closely resembles terra rossa soil. Scale bar:10 cm intervals.

that the sediments in the upper two levels are markedlydifferent from those in the underlying levels (Goldberg,1973; Farrand, 1979, 1994). Unit I is equivalent toLevel B, Unit II to Level C and Unit III to all theunderlying levels. Level B comprises mainly a reddish-brown clay that closely resembles the terra rossa soil inthis region (Brammall, in Garrod & Bate, 1937). Itcontains abundant limestone boulders, and shows littleor no bedding. Level B was deposited in the lateMousterian. Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating ofteeth indicates that it is around 80,000 years old (Grun,Stringer & Schwarcz, 1991) and uranium series datingof teeth about 50,000 years old. Level C (Unit II)underlies Level B (Unit I) and differs from it mainlydue to the presence of abundant white lenses inter-spersed between layers of reddish-brown sedimentswhich resemble those of the overlying unit. Thermo-luminescence (TL) dating indicates that the averageage of this unit is about 170,000 years (Mercier et al.,1995). This age estimate is considerably older than theroughly 100,000 and 125,000 years ages obtained byuranium series (McDermott et al., 1993) and ESR(Grun, Stringer & Schwarcz, 1991) dating, respectively.Below this is a very thick sequence (Unit III) thatshows some bedding and appreciable amounts ofauthigenic phosphate minerals. A gradational decreasein the proportion of clay-sized sediments from the topto the bottom was observed, with a concurrent increasein sand-sized quartz grains mainly of aeolian origin,and enhanced by the proximity of the sea (Bull &Goldberg, 1985; Tsatskin, Weinstein-Evron & Ronen,1995). TL dating of the middle part of this sectionshows that it is at least 350,000 years old (Mercieret al., 1995). The present study focuses on Level B andLevel C, and addresses the question of how the cavewas occupied during these periods.

Earlier studies of Levels B and C show obvioussimilarities, but also some interesting paradoxes. Thesection through these layers (Figure 1), as depicted byGarrod & Bate (1937), shows that Level B markedly

decreases in thickness from the inside of the cave to theoutside. Level C also decreases in thickness, but to alesser extent than Level B. This indicates that thesource of some of the sediments is the chimney, andthat the presence of many angular blocks of limestonein the sediments is due to the widening of the chimney(Garrod & Bate, 1937). Thus the resemblance of thesediments to the regional soil type in both levels, ismost probably due to the fact that the sedimentis essentially terra rossa soil from above the cave(Figure 2). This resemblance and the presence ofangular limestone blocks appearing for the first time atthe base of Level C, prompted Jelinek et al. (1973) toconclude that the chimney opened at the beginning ofTabun C, and increased significantly in size during theTabun B period.

With respect to the archaeological finds, Garrod &Bate (1937) noted that in Level B flints were not veryabundant, but that the proportion of finished imple-ments was high compared to the underlying levels.Furthermore, the bones present in Level B are rep-resentative of a modern fauna. Unlike the bones inLevels C – G, they are predominantly derived fromDama mesopotamica. Garrod & Bate (1937) inferredfrom this faunal analysis that a major climatic changeoccurred in the transition from Level C to Level B,with an increase in rainfall and tree cover. They alsonoted that complete specimens, with broken bones,and associated limb bones were more common in LevelB than in the underlying layers, which would suggestthat part of the fauna could have accumulated ‘‘in theform of carcasses violently washed in’’ (Garrod & Bate,1937:150). Garrod & Bate (1937) noted the presence ofa number of small hearths in the outer chamber, butelsewhere there was no trace of hearth material. Thisscenario suggested to Jelinek et al. (1973) that duringthe Tabun B period, the cave was used as a specializedbutchering station and not for normal domestic activi-ties. Jelinek et al. (1973) proposed that the chimney wasused as a natural game trap.

Mode of Occupation of Tabun Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel 1251

Level C or Unit II conformably underlies Level B,except locally in the extant section, where Level Bsediments have, in places, filled a channel eroded intoLevel C. This can be seen in Figure 3. The abundantwhite and brown–black layers (Figures 3 & 4) weredescribed by Garrod & Bate (1937) as hearths, andthey noted the presence of many flints and debitagecracked by fire. Animal bones are from a diversearray of species and are more abundant on the talus(entrance of the cave). Most are black and many showsigns that they were broken for food. All these obser-vations are consistent with the cave being used as adomestic occupation site (Garrod & Bate, 1937).Jelinek et al. (1973) noted, however, that many of theash layers could be traced from wall to wall over adistance of some 8–10 m and concluded that theywere not hearths, but must have been formed dueto repeated fires that engulfed the cave interior.They surmised that Garrod did not observe thisphenomenon because she excavated the areas closer tothe cave entrance. We too have noted that when thelayers of Level C in the section exposed by Jelinek areviewed from a distance (Figure 3), they appear con-tinuous. In contrast, when viewed at close range eachlayer is composed of several sub-layers and lenses thatare generally less than about 50 cm in length, and oftentruncated (Figure 5). This view of Level C is moreconsistent with the interpretation of Garrod & Bate(1937).

The earlier studies of Levels B and C in Tabun Cavethus present some very interesting and somewhatcontradictory scenarios for the modes of occupation ofthe cave. In this study we re-examine these hypoth-eses using information from the micromorphologyand mineralogy of the sediments, as well as thephytoliths.

Materials and MethodsSediment samples (about 50 g) from all the visuallydiscernible layers in Levels B and C exposed in theextant section as excavated by Jelinek et al. (1973) werecollected after cleaning the section, and storedin glass vials. The locations of the samples relative tothe excavation grid are shown in Figure 6, and thespecific locations of the samples in Level C are shownin Figure 4. Infra-red spectra of representative aliquotswere obtained using KBr pellets (about 0·1 mg or lessof sample in about 50 mg of KBr) and a FourierTransform Infrared spectrometer (Midac Corp., CostaMesa, CA). The spectra were collected at 4 cm"1

resolution.

Figure 3. Photograph of Levels B and C during the excavation byJelinek, showing the distinctively layered stratigraphy of Level Coverlain by the massive Level B sediments and abundant angularlimestone blocks. The contact between Level C and B at this locationis clearly erosional. From this view the layers of Level C appear toextend over several metres. The block in the centre of the photographis 1 m wide. (This photograph was kindly given to S.W. by ProfJelinek.)

Figure 4. Photograph of the Level C sediments showing the finelybedded alternating sequence of brown, black and white layers. Thenumbers designate the locations of the samples studied (Table 1).The section is from excavation square six. Scale bar: 10 cm intervals.

Samples for micromorphological analysisUndisturbed blocks taken from Levels B and C at15–20 cm intervals, were impregnated with polyesterresin (Hillquist, Scotland) under vacuum. The blockswere prepared for petrographic thin sections

1252 R. M. Albert et al.

(25#35 mm) by slicing to a thickness of 30 ìm. Forlarger features, such as purported hearths, sequentialthin sections were prepared in order to map theentire feature. The thin sections were examined undera polarizing transmitted light microscope (OlympusBH2). The micromorphological descriptions employthe terminology of Bullock et al. (1985).

Figure 5. Photograph of the sediments in Level C showing thebrown, black and white layers. Note in particular the fine-scalelayered structure within each of the layers. Scale bar: 10 cm intervals.

Quantitative analysis of the phytoliths in the sedimentsA weighed aliquot (about 0·5 g) of air-dried sedimentwas lightly crushed with the end of a spatula andplaced in a 25 ml glass vial to which 10 ml of a solutionof 3N HCl and 10 ml 3N HNO3 were added. Thesuspension was heated in a beaker containing boilingwater for 30 min and then transferred to a 15 mlpolypropylene centrifuge tube and centrifuged at3000 rpm for 2 min. The supernatant was removed andthe pellet was washed three times with deionized water.The pellet was transferred to a glass Petri dish andabout 10 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide was added. Thesample was evaporated on a hot plate at 70)C, andmore hydrogen peroxide was added until all bubblingceased. The sample was dried under a heat lamp andthe remaining sediment was weighed. This is referredto as the acid insoluble fraction (AIF). Note thatthe above treatment removes all the phosphate andcarbonated minerals, as well as the organic material.

The mineral components of the AIF are thenseparated according to their densities as follows. Theinsoluble fraction was transferred to a 15 ml polypro-pylene centrifuge tube and 5 ml sodium polytungstatesolution [Na6(H2W12O40)vH2O] of 2·4 g/ml density wasadded (three parts polytungstate to one part water byweight). The suspension was vortexed and sonicated(Branson ultrasonic cleaning bath) until it was welldispersed. It was then centrifuged in a hanging bucket

at 3000 rpm for 5 min. The supernatant was trans-ferred to another centrifuge tube, 1·0 ml of deionizedwater was added and the tube was vortexed and againcentrifuged as above. This cycle was repeated until novisible mineral particles remained in the supernatant.At this stage the heavy liquid was diluted by filling thecentrifuge tube with deionized water, so as to ensurethat even the lightest minerals were recovered. Aftereach centrifuge step the sediment deposited at thebottom of the tube (pellet), was transferred as asuspension in water to an Eppendorf 1·5 ml micro-centrifuge tube. The tube was filled with deionizedwater and centrifuged at 6000 rpm for 2 min to removethe heavy liquid. This process was repeated three times,then the sample was dried under a heat lamp andweighed. In our experience five cycles are usuallyrequired, yielding pellets of minerals greater than 2·4,2·0, 1·7, 1·5 and 1·3 g/ml density, respectively. Notethat this method has the advantages of using very littleheavy liquid (which is expensive) and creating separ-ation conditions that concentrate the relatively lightopaline phytoliths, which have a density between 1·5and 2·3 g/ml (Jones & Beavers, 1963), in the last twocycles.

For examination under the optical microscope,slides of the pellets were prepared for the three lightestfractions by weighing, with an accuracy of 0·1 mg,approximately 1 mg of sediment onto a microscopeslide. Three or four drops of Entellan New (Merck)were added. The sediments were mixed with theEntellan as well as possible, and then a cover slide wasplaced over the suspension. The areal coverage of thesample on the slide was estimated by counting the totalnumber of fields containing sediment grains. Twohundred or more phytoliths were usually counted at400# in random fields. In samples that contained veryfew phytoliths, at least 100 were counted.

The total number of phytoliths per gram of the(AIF) was then calculated as follows:

(# phytoliths counted)#

Stotal area of slide

area counted D=# phytoliths on slide

(# phytoliths on slide)#

Sweight of pellet (g)

weight on slide (g)D=# phytoliths in pellet

total # phytoliths in 3 pellets

weight of AIF (g)=# phytoliths per gram AIF.

On the assumption that in Tabun diagenesis primarilyaffects the acid-soluble fraction (carbonates, phos-phates and organic material), we normalized thenumber of phytoliths to a unit weight (1 g) of insolublefraction (AIF). In this way the effects of diagenesis areminimized, and it is possible to compare results fromlocalities within the archaeological site that are in

Mode of Occupation of Tabun Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel 1253

Figure 6. Map of the cave showing the topographic contours as measured with reference to the datum line of Garrod & Bate (1937) (see Figure1), the excavation grid used by Jelinek et al. (1973) and the locations of the six samples examined from Level B. The section sampled in LevelC is identified in excavation square six.

1254 R. M. Albert et al.

varying diagenetic states of preservation. We alsoassume that the phytoliths have not, in part, dissolved.This can occur and careful attention must be paid tothe presence of etch pits, etc. that would suggest thatthis assumption may not be valid. In this study we didnot observe evidence of partial dissolution, exceptpossibly in the 50 cm or so above the base of Level C.

The phytoliths identified in the archaeologicalsamples were quantitatively and morphologicallystudied in comparison to a phytolith referencecollection from trees in the Mt Carmel area, preparedas described later.

Phytolith analyses in extant treesTen of the most common trees growing on Mt Carmeland known not to have been recently introduced intothe area were sampled. They are Amygdalus communisL. (almond), Ceratonia siliqua L. (carob), Cupressussempervirens L. (Italian cypress), Crataegus aronia (L.)DC.=Crataegus azarolus L. (common hawthorn), Oleaeuropaea L. (olive), Pinus halepensis Miller (Aleppopine), Pistacia palaestina Boiss (Palestine terebinth),Quercus calliprinos Webb (Kermes oak), Quercusithaburensis Decaisne (Mt Tabor oak) and Styraxofficinalis L. (storax). The bark was separated from thewood and was cleaned extensively by washing in waterand sonication. Dried aliquots were weighed. Thesamples were burned in an oven at 500)C for 4 h. Theash was treated with an equivolume solution of 3NHCl and 3N HNO3 for 30 min at 100)C. The insolublefraction was centrifuged (3000 rpm for 2 min), resus-pended in deionized water and centrifuged again. Thesupernatant was discarded and the washing wasrepeated three times. The insoluble fraction wasre-ashed at 500)C for 90 min and then weighed. Thenumber of phytoliths in the sample was countedfollowing the same methods and criteria used for thesediments.

The phytolith types were first separated into twomajor categories; those with consistent morphologiesthat repeat themselves in one or more samples, andthose with variable morphologies. Figure 7 shows threeexamples of each. Only the phytoliths with consistentmorphologies were classified and their relative propor-tions noted. The terms used to describe these phytolithsfollowed wherever possible the anatomical terminologyof the cell in which they were formed. When this wasnot possible, terms describing the geometrical charac-teristics of the phytoliths were used. Additionalcharacteristics, such as surface texture, followedpalynological terminology. Note, too, that all of thewood and bark AIF samples examined containedelongated and smooth forms that had a distinct greencolour. Their refractive indices are different from thoseof silica phytoliths and none of these forms wereobserved in fossil samples. We therefore did notinclude them in the phytolith analyses. In all thephytolith counts we report one value per species. This

represents the analyses of wood and bark separatelyand then combining the values obtained using theweighted proportions of wood:bark of 0·8:0·2. This isbased on the fact that for five of the tree specieschecked the proportions of wood:bark from branchesbetween 5 and 10 cm in diameter were around 0·8:0·2.We assume this is representative of all the treesanalysed.

ResultsVisual examination of the extant section of Level B(Figure 2) confirms previous descriptions that thissediment closely resembles the terra rossa soil type andlacks any fine bedding. We did note that many of theangular limestone blocks buried in the sediment havereaction rims, which we identified as being composedof carbonated apatite. The extant section of Level C isabout 2·5 m thick and for the most part conformablyunderlies Level B. There are, however, local areas thatclearly show an erosional contact (Figure 3). Closeexamination of the Level C sediments exposed in thewest section of square six as excavated by Jelinek et al.(1973) (Figure 6), reveals a finely bedded alternatingsequence of white, brown and black layers (Figure 4).Closer observation shows that the lateral extent of thelayers is limited (generally to less than 50 cm), andexcept for local reworking due to burrowing, thefine-scale structures observed appear to be intact(Figure 5). Many of these are lens-shaped structuresthat resemble hearths in cross-section.

Figure 8 shows micrographs of sediments fromLevels B and C as seen in the optical microscope.Figure 8(a) is a polarized light view of a sample fromLevel B, which in the field was recognized as terra rossasoil material. Thin sections indeed show that Level Bsediment is poorly sorted and composed primarily ofa moderately to non-aggregated red clay matrixwhich incorporates c. 15–20% quartz silt and sand.Occasional charcoal fragments and one piece of flint0·8 mm in size are present. Porosity varies from c. 5%within compact areas of welded aggregates to c. 15% inspongy areas with channels formed by biologicalactivity. There are also signs of fragmentation of thepristine soil aggregates. Isolated rounded aggregateswithin the soil mass are stained brown, either dueto the presence of organic material or ferric oxides.Uneven red pigmentation of the matrix due to post-depositional redistribution of ferric oxides, is seen asvarious shades of grey in Figure 8(a). Although micro-morphological signs of anthropogenic activity arescarce, the stronger birefringence of clay at the edges ofsoil aggregates, may be a result of heating (Courty,Goldberg & MacPhail, 1989).

In the underlying Level C, terra rossa soil materialwas readily identified in thin sections, although thepreservation of original soil features is markedlydecreased as compared to Level B. This terra rossa

Mode of Occupation of Tabun Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel 1255

Figure 7. Photomicrographs of some common phytoliths from the wood and bark. (a)–(c) are examples of phytoliths with consistentmorphology. (d)–(f) are examples of phytoliths with variable morphology. The phytolith types are as follows: (a) ellipsoid with psilate surfacefrom Amygdalus communis; (b) platelet with psilate surface from Tabun sample #112; (c) parallelepiped thick with scabrate surface fromQuercus ithaburensis; (d) irregular form with psilate surface from Quercus ithaburensis; (e) irregular form from Tabun sample #112; (f) irregularform with unknown green material on the upper surface from Quercus calliprinos.

material is particularly prominent in the red and browncoloured lenses. Figure 8(b) shows strongly fragmentedred clayey soil aggregates with fissures and biologicallyformed channels. Compared to Level B, aggregation iswell developed. This is possibly due to the combinedeffects of bioturbation and trampling. A roundedphosphatized pellet is present (arrow), composedpresumably of carbonated apatite. It may be acoprolite. Channelling as well as abundant pellets thatare well integrated into the soil matrix is indicative ofintense biological churning. Some larger soil aggre-gates are composed of minute fluffy red grains. These

have been observed in other caves, and are thought tobe due to heating (Courty, Goldberg & MacPhail,1989). Unambiguous signs of burning activity by theancient inhabitants of the cave are the few charcoalremains, which were all secondarily disrupted andincorporated into the matrix (Figure 8(b)). Some bonechips and a rodent tooth do not exhibit signs ofheating. Interestingly, larger pores are all filled withsparitic coatings. These are absent in Level B. Thisimplies that in contrast to Level B, the initially non-calcareous clay of Level C underwent strong secondaryprecipitation of calcite.

1256 R. M. Albert et al.

Figure 8. Photomicrographs of thin sections of impregnated sediments from Levels B and C; plane polarized light (PPL); crossed polarizedlight (XPL). (a) Level B sample showing terra rossa material, composed of a red clayey matrix with a few sand grains. The matrix showsdifferent shades of gray due to post-depositional redistribution of ferric oxides (PPL). (b) Brown layer sample from Level C showing disruptedterra rossa aggregates and incorporating a phosphatized pellet (arrow) (PPL). (c) Black layer sample from Level C showing charcoal fragments(arrow) mixed with products of bone transformation and terra rossa aggregates (PPL). (d) White layer sample from Level C showing disturbedash material mixed with strongly fragmented soil aggregates and biogenic materials (PPL).

Wood charcoal is the key micromorphological indi-cator of burning activities in archaeologically relatedsediments (Goldberg, Lev-Yadun & Bar-Yosef, 1994).It is most abundant in the black coloured layers ofLevel C. In one of these black layers large piecesof fractured opaque charcoal (Figure 8(c), arrow)are incorporated into the heterogeneous disturbedmatrix. The light grey areas in the micrograph are theremnants of partially dissolved bone fragments, andthe dark areas are composed of terra rossa soil aggre-gates. Although in some areas of the slide all thesefeatures are intimately mixed due to bioturbation, thesub-parallel lamination is still preserved. This may beprimary lamination due to repeated burning events, orsecondary due to aqueous low energy run-off of thematerials from the hearths.

The white layers of Level C are mainly composed ofa complex microfabric. Figure 8(d) is a microlaminatedphosphatized fine-grained ash sediment, containingc. 10–20% silt, strongly disrupted charcoal fragments40–50 ìm in diameter and reworked terra rossa soilaggregates. The infra-red spectrum of this sampleshows that carbonated apatite is the major componentof the matrix. Tiny elongated calcite crystals, 10–20 ìmlong, are scattered throughout the matrix. They often

have the shape of the elongated calcium oxalate crys-tals commonly found in wood (Franceschi & Horner,1980). Sparitic calcite crystals in pores and biologicallyformed channels are somewhat more abundant in thewhite layers than in samples from the brown–blacklayers. Thick coatings of sparitic calcite withinchannels usually incorporate tiny brown pellets.Reddish clayey pellets, c. 50–60 ìm in diameter, areoccasionally juxtaposed with calcitic features due tothe strong fragmentation of the terra rossa aggregates.

The thin sections show that the white layers inLevel C are composed mainly of ash with smallamounts of terra rossa soil and charcoal, whereas thebrown and black layers are composed mainly of dis-rupted aggregates of terra rossa soil material, usuallyfound together with phosphatized material (possiblyash) and charcoal. Post-depositional alterations arealso evident. These are associated primarily with bio-turbation and low-energy erosion by water. Thedeposition of secondary carbonates in all the Level Clayers may have resulted from the percolation of waterduring wet phases. This is in contrast to Level B, whichis completely devoid of secondary authigenic carbon-ates, implying colluviation and possibly wetter con-ditions. Level B sediments are similar to the brown

Mode of Occupation of Tabun Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel 1257

Table 1. Characteristics of the sediment samples from Tabun Levels Band C

Sample no. ColourDepth

(below datum: m)

Majormineral

components3

Acid and H2O2

insoluble fraction(weight %) (AIF)

No. phytolithsper gram acid

insoluble fraction

Ratio of variableto consistent phytolithmorphological forms4,

v (c)

Level B 100 Brown 0·18 Cl, Q 75(55)2 8,000 0·9 (104)101a1 Brown 0·20 Cl, Q, Ap 88 42,000 20·8 (197)101b Brown 0·20 Cl, Q, Ap 83 19,000 n.d.101c Brown 0·20 Cl, Q, Ap 76 33,000 n.d.102 Brown 0·50 Cl, Q 71 24,000 n.d.103 Brown 0·55 Cl, Q, Ap 76 9,000 8·2 (95)104 Brown 0·70 Cl, Q 83 24,000 n.d.105 Brown 0·70 Cl, Q 82 36,000 1·8 (103)

Level C 106 Black/Brown 0·97 Cl, Q, Ap, Org 52 8,000 n.d.107 White 1·05 Ap, Q, Cl 32 190,000 3·6 (117)108 White 1·33 Ap, Q, Cl 22(23)2 450,000 2·7 (187)109 Brown 1·52 Cl, Q, Ap 67 12,000 3·0 (68)110 White 1·60 Ap, Q, Cl 21 420,000 2·2 (109)111 White 1·68 Ap, Q, Cl 9(8)2 140,000 2·4 (113)112a1 Brown 1·80 Cl, Q, Ap 64 18,000 1·6 (101)112b Brown 1·80 Cl, Q, Ap 74 22,000 n.d.113 Brick red 2·00 Cl, Q, Ap 44 61,000 2·7 (131)114 White 2·09 Ap, Cl 26 360,000 13·0 (99)115 Grey/Black 2·40 Cl, Ap 38 130,000 n.d.116 Yellow 2·50 M, Cl, Q ?? 21,000 n.d.

Above cave 117 Brown Cl, Q 69 25,000 1·6 (196)118a1 Brown Cl, Q 76 35,000 0·8 (150)118b Brown Cl, Q 83 30,000 n.d.119a Brown Cl, Q 65 13,000 n.d.119b Brown Cl, Q 80 8,000 1·6 (205)120 Brown CL, Q 65 14,000 1·3 (218)

1Replicate analyses of the same sample.2Replicate analyses.3Letters designate minerals as follows: Cl, clay; Q, quartz; Ap, carbonated apatite (dahllite); M, montgomeryite. Listed in order of decreasingabundance based on infra-red spectra.4Number of phytoliths counted for this measurement listed in parentheses.n.d. not determined.

Level C layers, but with little evidence of ash and char-coal. Not much can be concluded about the specificmanner in which the ash accumulated (dumping, rak-ing or accumulation in situ), because the original ashcalcite transformed completely into carbonated apatite.

Table 1 lists the sediment samples analysed for theirmajor mineral components and phytolith concen-trations. The locations of the samples are shown inFigures 4 & 6. Clay and quartz are the major com-ponents of the Level B samples, as well as the browncoloured samples in Level C. The latter also containsmall amounts of carbonated apatite. The major com-ponent of the white Level C samples is carbonatedapatite, together with appreciable quantities of clayand quartz. Thus colour is only a rough guide to majormineral composition. The origin of the carbonatedapatite could be wood ash. Wood ash is composedmainly of calcite (Humphreys, Hunt & Buchanan1987). This calcite readily dissolves and reprecipitatesas carbonated apatite due to reaction with phosphate-rich ground water common in caves (Schiegl et al.,1996). The Level C carbonated apatite could alsoconceivably be due, in part, to a calcite-rich loess thathas reacted with phosphate.

Treatment of the samples with acid dissolves themore soluble components, which in these samples ismostly carbonated apatite and small amounts of cal-cite. This treatment is followed by exposure to hydro-gen peroxide to remove organic matter. The yields ofthe AIF following both treatments are listed in Table 1.The brown coloured samples clearly contain more AIFthan the white coloured samples, reflecting mainly thedifferences in carbonated apatite contents. The concen-trations of phytoliths per gram of the AIF fractions arealso listed in Table 1 and are plotted against the yieldsof AIF in Figure 9. There is an inverse relation betweenthe two parameters for samples in which the phytolithconcentrations are above 50,000 phytoliths per gramAIF. The reproducibility of the method is not sufficientto interpret variations in phytolith concentrations be-low 50,000 per gram AIF (Table 1). From Figure 9 weinfer that there is also a correlation between carbon-ated apatite content and phytolith concentration. Wenote that the samples from outside the cave havephytolith concentrations similar to those of the Level Bsamples (less than 50,000 per gram AIF) and some ofthe brown coloured sediments of Level C. Figure 9 alsoshows the range of phytolith concentrations measured

1258 R. M. Albert et al.

in the bark and wood of trees that are common onMt Carmel. These range from about 0·5 to 8·7 millionphytoliths per gram AIF of the ash produced afterburning the sample. These values are the weightedaverages following our observation that pieces of wood5–10 cm in diameter comprise on average 80 wt%wood and 20 wt% bark. The simplest explanationfor these observations is that the Level C samplescontain varying amounts of ash from burned treestogether with clay and quartz from terra rossa soil;an explanation consistent with the macro- andmicromorphological observations.

We also examined the phytolith types present in thesamples in order to determine whether or not theyare, for the most part, derived from trees. These phyto-liths were compared to those present in the referencecollection obtained from ash of wood and bark from10 of the most common trees on Mt Carmel. A firstindication that the phytoliths in at least some of thesamples from Levels B and C are mainly from the ashof trees is the variation in the ratio of phytolith typeswith variable morphologies and consistent mor-phologies in the different samples (Table 1). The ratiosof variable to consistent morphological types (v/c) forthe cave sediment samples range from 0·9 to 20·7. Inweighted samples of wood (80%) and bark (20%) ofextant trees this v/c ratio is on the average 5·1 (range1·2–17·4). The v/c ratios for four grasses, Hordeumvulgare (domesticated barley), Hordeum vulgare subsp.spontaneum (wild barley), Triticum aestivum (breadwheat) and Arundo donax (reed) are 0·06, 0·05, 0·15and 0·1, respectively. As the cave sediment samples areall well above the ratios for grasses (and leaves fromthe same trees), we infer that they contain a significantproportion of phytoliths from wood and bark. This

includes Level B samples, even though they containrelatively small amounts of phytoliths per gram AIF.This result is supported by the morphological analysesof the phytoliths with consistent morphology. Almostno phytoliths characteristic of grasses or leaves wereobserved in the samples from Levels B and C. We alsonoted that the soil sediments from outside the cavehave v/c ratios that range from 0·8 to 1·7 (Table 1), andthey too may well contain a significant wood–barkcomponent, because of the presence of a substantialnumber of variable morphology phytoliths. When ana-lysing the phytoliths with consistent morphologies,grass phytoliths were identified in the samples fromoutside the cave, which is consistent with the lowerratio obtained.

Table 2 lists all the phytolith types that wereidentified in the cave sediments, as well as those presentin the soil outside the cave. The latter clearly containmany phytolith types not present in the cave. Further-more, most of the phytoliths identified in Levels B andC showed the same morphological traits. Although thereference collection of tree phytoliths is not sufficientlydeveloped, as yet, to identify all the possible treesused for fuel in Levels B and C, we do note (Table 2)that most, but not all, the phytoliths present in thecave sediments are present in the wood and bark ofoak, in particular Quercus calliprinos (Kermes oakwhich is evergreen). Quercus ithaburensis phytolithsare also present although in smaller amounts. Thereis one phytolith type that is present in oak but isabsent in the sediments, namely the spheroid psilatetype. This type is also abundant in many of the othertrees examined to date, and is conspicuously absentin the cave sediments (Table 1). We can only surmisethat for unknown reasons, these phytoliths are proneto diagenetic alteration and/or breakdown. Comparedto the other nine trees in the reference collection,Quercus calliprinos has relatively large amounts ofAIF (0·86 wt%, compared to the average of 0·34 wt%)and high concentrations of phytoliths per gram AIF(3·3 million compared to the average of 2·6). It isthus not unexpected that phytoliths of this species ofoak should be well represented in the ash fraction ofthe sediments. The presence of oak is consistent withthe palynological results obtained by Horowitz(Jelinek et al., 1973), where he identified the presenceof oak in most of the samples from Level C, althoughin lesser amounts than in the lower layers of Tabun.Their presence, together with the presence of pollenfrom grasses, led him to conclude that the climatemay have been drier during Tabun C period ascompared to the lower levels.

10 000 000

100

01000

Number of phytoliths in 1g AIF

AIF

(w

t %

)

50

75

25

10 000 100 000 1 000 000

Level B brownLevel C brown/greyLevel C whiteOutside caveExtant wood/bark

Figure 9. Plot of the wt % acid insoluble fraction (AIF) against thenumber of phytoliths in the AIF fraction for Levels B and Csediments, as well as sediments from outside Tabun cave. Forcomparison, the numbers of phytoliths in extant wood and bark(combined in 80:20 proportions) are also shown.

Discussion

The results show that the sediments of Levels B and Care composed mainly of terra rossa soil and ash fromwood–bark mixed in varying proportions. The ash

Mode of Occupation of Tabun Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel 1259

Table 2. Phytoliths identified in the different samples of Level B and Level C of Tabun cave and outside the cave in comparison to phytolithsobserved in both wood and bark of the 10 extant trees studied. The number of samples containing the phytolith type is listed

Phytolith types identifiedLevel B(N=4)

Level C(N=8)

Outside(N=4) Extant trees containing the phytolith types observed in wood/bark fraction

Platelet 4 6 2 Quercus calliprinos*, Crataegus aronia*Ellipsoid scabrate 3 8 4 Quercus calliprinos, Pistacia palaestina**Parallelepiped blocky 3 7 4 Quercus ithaburensis**, Ceratonia siliqua**, Olea europaea**, Amygdalus

communis**, Styrax officinalis**Spheroid scabrate 3 5 4Parallelepiped elongate psilate 2 2 1 Quercus calliprinos**, Ceratonia siliqua**, Pistacia palaestina**Long cell echinate 1 0 3Parallelepiped elongate verrucate 1 0 0Long cell wavy 0 0 2Short cell 0 3 4 Quercus calliprinos**, Quercus ithaburensis**, Ceratonia siliqua**, Cupressus

sempervirens, Amygdalus communis**, Styrax officinalis**, Crataegus aronia**Long cells psilate 0 3 2 Quercus calliprinos**, Cupressus sempervirens**Ellipsoid psilate 0 3 0 Quercus calliprinos*, Quercus ithaburensis*, Ceratonia siliqua**, Pistacia

palaestina*, Olea europaeaFiber 0 2 0Cylindroid psilate 0 1 4 Quercus calliprinos*, Ceratonia siliqua**, Amygdalus communis**, Crataegus

aronia**Spheroid verrucated 0 1 1Epidermal appendage. Hair 0 1 0 Quercus calliprinos*Long cell polylobate 0 0 4Cylindroid verrucate 0 0 4Epidermal appendage. Prickle 0 0 3Silica skeleton spheroid/ellipsoid 0 0 2Bulliform 0 0 1Silica skeleton long cells psilate 0 0 1Parallelepiped thin 0 0 1 Styrax officinalis*Spheroid psilate 0 0 0 Quercus ithaburensis, Ceratonia siliqua**, Pistacia palaestina, Pinus halepensis

*Phytoliths identified only in wood. Phytoliths present in more than 5% of total counted were included.**Phytoliths identified only in bark. Phytoliths present in less than 10% of the total counted were not added here due to the possibility ofcontamination.

component of Level B sediments is very low. In LevelC there are highly variable proportions of ash and terrarossa, that usually correspond to the white layers beingrich in ash, and the others rich in terra rossa. Thecolour variations do not, however, reflect the fact thatin some white layers considerable amounts of terrarossa are present and vice versa. One curious obser-vation is that we did not observe grass phytoliths in theLevels B and C sediments, even though they arepresent today in the terra rossa above the cave. We donot know the reason for this. One possibility is thatgrass did not grow in the area above the cave becauseof the presence of a dense forest or maquis.

The simplest way to interpret these observationswould be to envisage a more or less consistent mode ofoccupation of the cave through both Tabun B and Cperiods, that resulted in the deposition of bones, toolsand ash. However, due to the opening and enlarging ofthe chimney, the rate of sedimentation varied sporadi-cally during Tabun C and increased dramatically dur-ing Tabun B. Thus the ash, which was more or lesscontinuously produced, was diluted to differing extentsby the influx through the chimney of terra rossa soil.The archaeological evidence is basically consistent withthis simple scenario for Level C, but not necessarily forLevel B.

In Level C, the detailed observations of the sedi-ments in the field, the micromorphological analysesand the mineralogical and phytolith results are allconsistent with a major ash component in manylayers that is derived from the burning of wood. Thisdoes not support Jelinek et al.’s (1973) suggestionthat the source of the ash was the periodic burning ofvegetation that had grown in the cave. It does sup-port Garrod & Bate’s (1937) interpretation that themode of occupation during this period was as adomestic occupation site. The cementum analyses ofgazelle teeth (Lieberman, 1993) show that gazelleswere killed during winter, perhaps reflecting aseasonal occupation.

The mode of occupation during the Tabun B periodcould also be interpreted as domestic, albeit probablyephemerally during both winter and summer, based onthe cementum study (Lieberman, 1993). The openingof the chimney must certainly have influenced themode of occupation, particularly towards the rear ofthe cave. The presence of a higher proportion offinished implements and whole limb bones in the LevelB sediments (Garrod & Bate, 1937) as compared to theolder layers, also implies a somewhat different mode ofoccupation. Jelinek et al. (1973) inferred from theseobservations that the cave was used mainly as a

1260 R. M. Albert et al.

butchering site. Our results show that if this was indeedso, fires were also lit during this period. The relativelysmall proportion of ash in these sediments does notimply that the intensity of occupation was low, as theash was diluted by a high rate of sedimentation of soilthrough the chimney. We also noted that Garrod &Bate (1937) did observe the presence of a few hearths inthe Level B sediments.

In this study we have introduced a variety oftechniques that complement well the important contri-butions of micromorphology to the study of archaeo-logical sediments. They may also be helpful in thestudy of other archaeological sites.

The AIF is the residue that remains after thetreatment of the sample with oxidizing agents toremove the organic material and a strong acid toremove carbonates, all phosphates and other relativelysoluble minerals. The organic and inorganic com-ponents removed are also those that are most subjectto breakdown and loss by diagenesis. Thus by compar-ing the phytolith concentrations in the AIFs fromdifferent samples, the effects of weight changes due todiagenesis are minimized.

The major advantage of quantifying the amount ofphytoliths in the AIF derives from the observation thatthe phytolith concentrations in the AIFs of sedimentsoutside the cave are two orders of magnitude less thanthose in modern ash AIFs. This reflects the fact thatmodern ash comprises on average 98% by weight acidsoluble minerals (Schiegl et al., 1996), whereas themajor components of soil are usually clay and quartz,both of which are insoluble in the acids used in thisstudy. This huge difference can be exploited to estimatethe relative proportions of wood ash- and soil-derivedminerals in a sediment sample.

The phytoliths in wood and bark are dominated bytypes with a variable morphology and these are notinformative with regard to identifying the taxa ofthe trees used for fuel. Their presence in largeamounts is indicative of a wood-bark component inthe sediment sample. The v/c ratio monitors thiseffect. The phytoliths with consistent morphology arenot abundant in bark, and particularly not in wood.They can potentially be used for identifying the taxaof trees used for fuel. A detailed study of thesephytoliths in wood and bark from northern Israel isin preparation.

AcknowledgementsWe thank Prof. O. Bar-Yosef for his helpful com-ments. R.M.A. received a stipend from the EuropeanCommunity Training and Mobility of ResearchersGrant No. FMRX-CT97–0102, as well as from theMinisterio de Asuntos Exteriores de ampliacion deestudios en Israel. This study was supported by agrant from the Israel Science Foundation to S.W.

ReferencesBull, P. A. & Goldberg, P. (1985). Scanning electron microscope

analysis of sediments from Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel.Journal of Archaeological Science 12, 177–185.

Bullock, P., Federoff, N., Jongerius, A., Stoops, G. & Tursina, T.(1985). Handbook for Soil Thin Section Description.Wolverhampton: Waine Research.

Courty, M. A., Goldberg, P. & MacPhail, R. (1989). Soils andMicromorphology in Archaeology. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Farrand, W. R. (1979). Chronology and palaeoenvironment oflevantine prehistoric sites as seen from sediment studies. Journal ofArchaeological Science 6, 369–392.

Farrand, W. R. (1994). Confrontation of geological stratigraphy andradiometric dates from Upper Pleistocene sites in the Levant. In(O. Bar-Yosef & R. S. Kra, Eds) Late Quaternary Chronologyand Paleoclimates of the Eastern Mediterranean. Michigan:Braum-Brunfield Inc., pp. 33–54.

Franceschi, V. R. & Horner, H. T. (1980). Calcium oxalate crystalsin plants. The Botanical Review 46, 361–427.

Garrod, D. A. E. & Bate, D. M. A. (1937). The Stone Age of MountCarmel. Excavations at the Wady El-Mughara, Volume I. Oxford:Clarendon Press.

Goldberg, P. (1973). Sedimentology, stratigraphy and paleoclimatol-ogy of Tabun, Mt. Carmel, Israel. Ph.D. dissertation. DepartmentGeological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Goldberg, P., Lev-Yadun, S. & Bar-Yosef, O. (1994). Petrographicthin sections of archaeological sediments: a new method forpaleobotanical studies. Geoarchaeology: an International Journal 9,243–257.

Grun, R., Stringer, C. B. & Schwarcz, H. P. (1991). ESR dating ofteeth from Garrod’s Tabun cave collection. Journal of HumanEvolution 20, 231–248.

Humphreys, G. S., Hunt, P. A. & Buchanan, R. (1987). Wood-ashstone near Sidney, N.S.W.: a carbonate pedological feature in anacidic soil. Australian Journal of Soil Research 25, 115–124.

Jelinek, A. J. (1981). The Middle Paleolithic in the southern Levantfrom the perspective of the Tabun Cave. In (J. Cauvin & P.Sanlaville, Eds). Prehistoire du Levant. Paris: CNRS, pp. 265–280.

Jelinek, A. J. (1982). The Tabun Cave and Paleolithic Man in theLevant. Science 216, 1369–1375.

Jelinek, A. J., Farrand, W. R., Haas, G., Horowitz, A. & Goldberg,P. (1973). New excavations at the Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel,Israel, 1967–1972: a preliminary report. Paleorient 1, 151–183.

Jones, L. H. & Beavers, A. H. (1963). Some mineralogical andchemical properties of plant opal. Soil Science 96, 375–379.

Lieberman, D. E. (1993). The rise and fall of seasonal mobilityamong hunter–gatherers. The case of the southern Levant. CurrentAnthropology 34, 599–631.

McDermott, F., Grun, R., Stringer, C. B. & Hawkesworth, C. J.(1993). Mass-spectrometric U-series dates for Israeli Neanderthal/early modern hominid sites. Nature 363, 252–254.

Mercier, N., Valladas, H., Valladas, G., Reyss, J. L., Jelinek, A.,Meignen, L. & Joron, J. L. (1995). TL dates of burnt flints fromJelinek’s excavations at Tabun and their implications. Journal ofArchaeological Science 22, 495–509.

Ronen, A. & Tsatskin, A. (1995). New interpretation of the oldestpart of the Tabun cave sequence, Mount Carmel, Israel. In (H.Ullrich, Ed.) Man and Environment in the Paleolithic. ERAUL(Liege) 62, 265–281.

Schiegl, S., Goldberg, P., Bar-Yosef, O. & Weiner, S. (1996). Ashdeposits in Hayonim and Kebara Caves, Israel: macroscopic,microscopic and mineralogical observations, and their archaeo-logical implications. Journal of Archaeological Science 23,763–781.

Tastskin, A., Weinstein-Evron, M. & Ronen, A. (1995). Weatheringand pedogenesis of wind-blown sediments in the Mount CarmelCaves, Israel. Quaternary Proceedings 4, 83–93.