ESR dating of teeth from Garrod's Tabun cave collection

Twenty bovid teeth from Garrod's excavations at Tabun were analysed by electron spin resonance (ESR) to produce a chronology for layers B to E. The results suggest that layers B and C correlate with oxygen isotope stage 5, layer D relates to stage 6 (and possibly also to 5) and layer E correlates with stage 6 (and perhaps also with stage 7). These estimates imply that the Neanderthal hominids from layer C are close in age to the anatomically modern hominids from Skhul and Qafzeh, and indicate that Neanderthals may have been present in the Middle East at an early date. The Acheulian/Mugharan transition may have occurred during stages 7 or 6 and the Mugharan/Mousterian transition during stage 6. These results suggest a much greater age and a longer time span for the Tabun Middle Palaeolithic levels than is generally recognized and raise questions about the chronology of late Pleistocene events in the Middle East which can only be resolved by further investigations at Tabun and elsewhere.