@article{KalbeSharonPoratetal.2014,
  author    = {Kalbe, Johannes and Sharon, Gonen and Porat, Naomi and Zhang, Chengjun and Mischke, Steffen},
  title     = {Geological setting and age of the Middle Paleolithic site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (Upper Jordan Valley, Israel)},
  series = {Quaternary international : the journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research},
  volume    = {331},
  journal   = {Quaternary international : the journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {1040-6182},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.052},
  pages     = {139 -- 148},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {In this paper we present the sedimentary features and the luminescence chronology for Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), an archaeological open air site at the southern margin of the Hula Basin (Northern Jordan Rift Valley, Israel). The site is characterized by a lithic assemblage ascribed primarily to the Middle Paleolithic Mousterian tradition, and by an excellent preservation of floral and faunal remains. Six geological units forming the stratigraphic sequence of the site were distinguished: (Unit 6) archaeologically sterile, light-colored limnic carbonates; (Unit 5) conglomerates of rounded basalt boulders and cobbles forming a hill-like topography; (Unit 4 and Unit 3) a sequence of similar dark silty sediments, attached to and overlaying the conglomerates, containing the archaeological horizons of the site; (Unit 2) a number of channels cutting into the top of Unit 3, filled with coarse sand and rounded basalt and limestone gravels of fluvial origin; and (Unit 1) a thin sand layer laid down by the present-day Jordan River covering another unconformity as a result of heavy machinery drainage operations in 1999. The OSL age for Unit 6 yielded a minimum age older than 460 ka. Sedimentary features and the embedded fossils suggest that Unit 1 can be linked to the Early Pleistocene Gadot Chalk. Unit 5 represents a local geological feature and could be an indicator for a period of increased erosion with formation of coarse grained sediments. The archaeological horizons form the lower parts of Unit 4 and yielded OSL-ages between 55 and 65 ka, indicating an affiliation to the sediments called "Ashmura Formation" with an Upper Pleistocene age for the site. The channel fills of Unit 2 can be dated by the recovered artifacts. These range in age from the Upper Paleolithic (Aurignacian) to historic times. Unit 1 is recent. The study of the complex NMO stratigraphy, combined with coherent OSL chronology, has enabled us to reconstruct parts of the geological history of the Hula Basin during the Late Pleistocene. It is this history that forms the background for the human migration and utilization of natural resources in the Upper Jordan Rift Valley. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KalbeMischkeDulskietal.2015,
  author    = {Kalbe, Johannes and Mischke, Steffen and Dulski, Peter and Sharon, Gonen},
  title     = {The Middle Palaeolithic Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet site, Israel: reconstructing the environment of Late Pleistocene wetlands in the eastern Mediterranean from ostracods},
  series = {Journal of archaeological science},
  volume    = {54},
  journal   = {Journal of archaeological science},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {0305-4403},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.018},
  pages     = {385 -- 395},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {We present ostracod data from the Middle Palaeolithic open air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO) at the southern edge of the Hula Basin, northern Israel. Sediments of two Pleistocene water bodies are exposed at the site. The first one is an archaeologically sterile, light-colored limnic carbonate with an Early Pleistocene age. It contains an ostracod fauna assemblage dominated by Candona neglecta, Candonopsis kingsleii, and Pseudocandona sp., and, in minor abundances, Cypria ophtalmica, Cyprideis sp., Humphcypris sp., Fabaeformiscandona cf. fabaeformis and Ilyocypris sp. These sediments were deposited in a shallow, freshwater to oligohaline lake under stable conditions. Sediments of the second water body are silty and dark-colored with a depositional age of 65 ka, belonging to the Late Pleistocene Ashmura Formation. The unit covers a geologically complex topography of tectonically uplifted limnic deposits and a hill-like gravel bar at the site. The most important archaeological layer is situated at its base, containing a lithic assemblage ascribed primarily to the Middle Palaeolithic Mousterian tradition and very well preserved flora and fauna. In the sediments from the archaeological layers, the brackish water ostracod Cyprideis torosa and the foraminifer Ammonia tepida could be identified. In sediments of the Ashmura Formation taken near the site, C. neglecta, Candona angulata, Ilyogpris sp., C kingsleii, Pseudocandona sp., C ophtalmica, Darwinula stevensoni, Trajancypris sp. and Potamogpris smaragdina were found, indicating a freshwater to slightly oligohaline stagnant water body. The ostracod fauna of the NMO site, together with geochemical data, allow us to reconstruct a depositional environment of the margin at a shallow lake with brackish or saline springs nearby during the site's occupation by Middle Palaeolithic humans. Additionally, Candona weltneri, Candona cf. meerfeldiana, C kingsleii, Cyclocypris laevis, C ophtalmica, Cyprideis sp., Fabaeformiscandona cf. fabaeformis, P. smaragdina, Pseudocandona depressa, Trajancypris sp, Zonocypris cf. costata and A. tepida could be recorded for the first time for the Pleistocene limnic strata of the Hula Basin. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.},
  language  = {en}
}