Geoarchaeology and new research at Jerf al‐Ajla Cave, Syria

This study reviews geoarchaeological research on several Paleolithic sites in the Syrian steppe‐desert, and reports on renewed geoarchaeological investigations at the cave site of Jerf al‐Ajla, near the oasis town of Palmyra in central Syria. Major Middle Paleolithic complexes are associated with extensive exposed Eocene and Cretaceous chert‐bearing formations, particularly at sites near permanent water sources. Renewed field investigations at Jerf al‐Ajla refined previously reported stratigraphic relationships and Paleolithic industries, particularly for the Middle to Upper Paleolithic boundary. Analysis of burned Middle Paleolithic flints/chert indicate the latter are sufficiently heated for TL dating. Thermoluminescence dates were obtained on five heated flint artifacts from the Mousterian layer C1, giving a weighted mean of 35.6 ± 3.4 ka. This dating of a late Middle Paleolithic industry (Moustérien tardif) at Jerf al‐Ajla is in agreement with data from the adjacent El Kowm basin in east‐central Syria at the site of Umm el‐Tlel, indicating a new aspect of Middle Paleolithic in Levantine Paleolithic research. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.