Publisher's Synopsis
This work examines the problem of the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transitional industry in Northern Israel. It has generally been accepted that no such transition occurred here; nevertheless, many "transitional" sites yield rich deposits, and recent discoveries of well stratified transitional industries in the Levant have led the author to reconsider this supposition. If the "enigmatic" assemblages from Northern Israel share the same cultural background with the assemblages which have been derived from undisturbed layers, the existence of the transitional industry in Northern Israel may be validated. Through technological analysis, the author undertakes the determination of the reduction strategies and the main tool types used in various assemblages, and determines that two contemporaneous traditions occur in Israel: the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition evolving into an early Upper Paleolithic in the North, and a Southern transition defined by Monigal as an Initial Upper Paleolithic, which evolves into the Ahmarian in the South.
