TY - THES A1 - Kalbe, Johannes T1 - Stepping stones hominin dispersal out of Africa BT - pleistocene lakes and wetlands in the Levant Y1 - 2016 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kalbe, Johannes A1 - Jagher, Reto A1 - Puempin, Christine T1 - The spring of Nadaouiyeh Ain Askar - Paleoecology of a Paleolithic oasis in arid central Syria JF - Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology : an international journal for the geo-sciences N2 - The site Nadaouiyeh Aïn Askar, an ancient artesian spring near the village of El Kowm, Central Syria, is an example of long lasting human occupation in a desert environment throughout the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The excavations expose a succession of sedimentary units, containing an artifact assemblage assigned to the Acheulean techno-complex. Unit VI, attributed to the Marine Isotope Stage 13, is rich in ostracod valves and was chosen for the present environmental study. From these sediments Heterocypris salina, H. incongruens, Cyprideis torosa, Ilyocypris cf. bradyi, I. inermis, I. cf. gibba, Darwinula stevensoni, Plesiocypridopsis newtoni, Pseudocandona compressa, Candona cf. neglecta, Pseudocandona sp., Trajancypris sp., Physocypria sp. and Mixtacandona sp. are documented for the first time in the Middle Pleistocene of the arid environment of central Syria. Data from these microfossils as well as geochemical proxies implicate three phases, turning the wetland from a palustrine setting into a spring supplied pond with increasing salinity. The high mineralization of the spring waters enables a discussion about early hominin adaptability to brackish waters as drinking water resources, common within the steppe and desert environments along the “out-of-Africa”—corridor in the eastern Mediterranean. KW - Syria KW - Lower Paleolithic KW - Marine Isotope Stage 13 KW - Desert wetland ecosystems KW - Ostracoda KW - Drinking water quality Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.01.030 SN - 0031-0182 SN - 1872-616X VL - 446 SP - 252 EP - 262 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kalbe, Johannes A1 - Mischke, Steffen A1 - Dulski, Peter A1 - Sharon, Gonen T1 - The Middle Palaeolithic Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet site, Israel: reconstructing the environment of Late Pleistocene wetlands in the eastern Mediterranean from ostracods JF - Journal of archaeological science N2 - 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. KW - Middle Palaeolithic KW - Ostracoda KW - Foraminifera KW - Gadot Formation KW - Ashmura Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.04.018 SN - 0305-4403 SN - 1095-9238 VL - 54 SP - 385 EP - 395 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kalbe, Johannes A1 - Sharon, Gonen A1 - Porat, Naomi A1 - Zhang, Chengjun A1 - Mischke, Steffen T1 - Geological setting and age of the Middle Paleolithic site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (Upper Jordan Valley, Israel) JF - Quaternary international : the journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research N2 - 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. Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.05.052 SN - 1040-6182 SN - 1873-4553 VL - 331 SP - 139 EP - 148 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mischke, Steffen A1 - Opitz, Stephan A1 - Kalbe, Johannes A1 - Ginat, Hanan A1 - Al-Saqarat, Bety T1 - Palaeoenvironmental inferences from late Quaternary sediments of the Al Jafr Basin, Jordan JF - Quaternary international : the journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research N2 - Sedimentological, palaeontological and mineralogical analyses of sediments from the endorheic Al Jafr Basin were conducted to better understand the depositional and hydrological conditions on the southern Jordan Plateau in the late Quaternary. Surficially exposed carbonate-rich sediments in the western part of the basin contain ostracod (micro-crustacean) shells of Ilyocypris cf. bradyi, Candona neglecta, Heterocypris salina, Fabaeformiscandona fabaeformis, Pseudocandona sp. and Herpetocypris brevicaudata. The shells of these and other more rare species, and charophyte and mollusc remains indicate that the sediments were formed in a wetland setting of shallow freshwater to slightly oligohaline ponds, streams and swamps. The present more northern distribution of some of the recorded taxa implies that climate conditions were probably cooler during the wetland formation. Radiocarbon age data for biogenic carbonate from two locations suggest that the wetland setting existed during the second half of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 or possibly earlier. A significantly higher water table must have existed in the basin during wetland formation; and wetter climate conditions are inferred for the catchment or at least for its highest and most humid westernmost part. Deflation and local sediment accumulation by wind and occasional sheet-wash events apparently prevailed in the region since MIS 2. Our newly presented data and inferences do not support the reconstruction of a previously reported large and relatively deep Pleistocene lake in the Al Jafr Basin. However, more extensive studies are certainly required for a detailed assessment of the Quaternary hydrological conditions in southern Jordan. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. KW - Wetlands KW - Ostracoda KW - Marine Isotope Stage 3 KW - Late Pleistocene KW - Eastern Mediterranean KW - Southern Levant Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.12.041 SN - 1040-6182 SN - 1873-4553 VL - 382 SP - 154 EP - 167 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sommer, Robert S. A1 - Kalbe, Johannes A1 - Ekstrom, Jonas A1 - Benecke, Norbert A1 - Liljegren, Ronnie T1 - Range dynamics of the reindeer in Europe during the last 25,000 years JF - Journal of biogeography N2 - Aim To understand the role and significance of the reindeer, Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758), as a specific indicator in terms of late Quaternary biogeography and to determine the effects of global climate change on its range and local extinction dynamics at the end of the Ice Age. Location Late Pleistocene/early Holocene range of reindeer over all of central and western Europe, including southern Scandinavia and northern Iberia, but excluding Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. Methods Radiocarbon-dated subfossil records of R. tarandus from both archaeological and natural deposits younger than 25,000 years were assembled in a database. The distribution area was divided into six representative regions. The C-14 dates were calibrated and plotted chronologically in maps in order to compare presence and absence and regional extinction patterns from one region to another. Main conclusions The late Quaternary record for reindeer in Europe during the last 25 kyr shows a climate-driven dispersal and retreat in response to climate change, with regional variations. The collapse of the mammoth steppe biome did not lead to the local extinction in Europe, as in the case of other megafaunal species. Rangifer tarandus co-existed for about 3000 years during the Late Glacial and early Holocene with typical temperate species such as red deer and roe deer in non-analogue faunal communities. The regional extinction at the end of the Pleistocene coincides with the transition from light open birch/pine forests to pine/deciduous forests. KW - Climate change KW - environmental change KW - extinction KW - global change KW - late Quaternary KW - Pleistocene/Holocene transition KW - Rangifer tarandus KW - reindeer Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12193 SN - 0305-0270 SN - 1365-2699 VL - 41 IS - 2 SP - 298 EP - 306 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER -