J.G. Doherty: Boston College,J.F. Ewing: Fordham University, Jacques Tixier: CNRS
Public access
Yes
Layer sequence at Ksar Akil, and discovery of two fossils ofHomo sapiens, dated to 40,800 to 39,200 years BP for "Egbert",[1]and 42,400–41,700 BP for "Ethelruda".[1].Snail andMollusca shells found in Ksar AkilAnatomically Modern Humans known archaeological remains in Europe and Africa, directly dated, calibrated carbon dates as of 2013.[1]Ksar Akil Flake made byLevallois technique. Found on the surface at Ksar Akil,Lebanon. Blue-grey jurassic flint that patinates to white.
Ksar Akil (also Ksar 'Akil or Ksar Aqil[2]) is anarcheological site 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast ofBeirut inLebanon. It is located about 800 m (2,600 ft) west of Antelias spring on the north bank of the northern tributary of the Wadi Antelias. It is a largerock shelter below a steeplimestone cliff.[3]
It was first noticed byGodefroy Zumoffen in 1900[4] and first studied by A. E. Day in 1926[5] then first systematically excavated by J.G. Doherty, S.J., andJ.F. Ewing, S.J., in 1937–1938 and again in 1947–1948, then later byJacques Tixier in 1969–1975 before research was interrupted by theLebanese Civil War.
Excavations showed occupational deposits reaching down to a depth of 23.6 m (77 ft) with one of the longest sequences ofPaleolithicflintindustries ever found in theMiddle East. The first level of 8 m (26 ft) contained UpperLevallois-Mousterian remains with long and triangularLithic flakes. The level above this showed industries accounting for all six stages of theUpper Paleolithic. AnEmireh point was found at the first stage of this level (XXIV), at around 15.2 m (50 ft) below datum, in association with the hominin mandible Ksar Akil 2. Studies by Hooijer showedCapra andDama were dominant in thefauna along withStephanorhinus in later Levalloiso-Mousterian levels.[3]
It is assumed to be one of the earliest known sites containingUpper Paleolithic technologies includingAhmarian cultural objects. Artifacts recovered from the site includeKsar Akil flakes, the main type of tool found at the site, along with pierced shells and chipped edge modifications that suggest these have been used as pendants or beads. This indicates that the inhabitants were among the first in Western Eurasia to use personal ornaments. Results from radiocarbon dating indicate that the early humans may have lived at the site approximately 45,000 years ago or earlier. The presence of personal ornaments at Ksar Akil is suggestive ofmodern human behavior. The findings of ornaments at the site are contemporaneous with ornaments found atLate Stone Age sites such asEnkapune Ya Muto.[6][7][8]
The site was rescued from burial under thesludge ofgravel-making machines in 1964 by the Department of Antiquities, although is mostly unrecognizable due to quarrying operations with its talus buried under tons of soil.[3]
Aside from 10 teeth from Üçağızlı Cave in southern Turkey, Ksar Akil is the only site with hominin remains from the Early Upper Paleolithic and Initial Upper Paleolithic in the Levant discovered so far.[9][1]
A completeskeleton of a juvenileHomo sapiens, referred to as Ksar Akil 1, or more commonly known asEgbert, was discovered in level XVII at 11.6 m (38 ft) cemented intobreccia. At the time of death, Egbert is estimated to have been 7 to 9 years old, and due to its small size, may have been female.[9] Egbert was covered by a pile of cobbles, which may indicate deliberate burial.[10] A secondmaxilla and some rib fragments were discovered nearby the burial, which indicates a second individual may also have been buried in the same place.[1]
Egbert is known only from descriptions, photographs, and reconstructed casts of the skull,[1] now in theNational Museum of Beirut, after being studied inAmerica. Ewing gave Egbert's skull to the National Museum of Beirut, and it's unknown what he did with the rest of the skeleton, but both parts became subsequently lost.[9]
Radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling supports an age range of 40,800 to 39,200 years BP for Egbert.[1]
In 1947 a fragment of amaxilla, designated Ksar Akil 2, and referred to as Ethelruda, was discovered in material from level XXVI or XXV, at around 15 m (49 ft), which is stratigraphically deeper than Egbert. The layer that Ksar Akil 2 was found in is the start of the Initial Upper Paleolithic in the Levant. An Emireh point was also found in this level.[1]
Ethelruda was thought to be lost for many years, but was relocated in storage at theNational Museum of Beirut.[1]
The maxilla was originally described as a "Neanderthaloid" adult female on the basis of its similarity to fossils fromTabun I,Skhul IV and V,Gibraltar andLa Chapelle-aux-Saints 1.[1] Some have since questioned these similarities. For instance, due to its small size and tooth sockets, Ksar Akil 2 has been described as similar to the maxillaSkhul V, which was originally thought to be a Neanderthal, but is now considered to be anarchaicHomo sapiens. On the other hand, the nasal floor is depressed, and the specimen lacks a canine fossa, both of which are features ofNeanderthals. The original illustrations of this material have proved insufficient to prove for certain whether Ethelruda isHomo sapiens orNeanderthal or a hybrid.[9]
Radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling supports an age range of 42.4–41.7 ka BP for Ethelruda.[1]
^Wood, Bernard A., ed. (2011).Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of human evolution. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.ISBN978-1-4443-4249-9.OCLC739118512 – via Wiley InterScience (Online service).
^abcLorraine Copeland; P. Wescombe (1965).Inventory of Stone-Age sites in Lebanon, pp. 100–101. Imprimerie Catholique.OCLC917417205.
^Zumoffen, Godefroy (1900).La Phénicie avant les phéniciens: l'age de la pierre (in French). Imprimerie Catholique.
Braidwood, R., Wright, H. E., and Ewing, J. F., "Ksar Akil, its Archaeological Sequence and Geological Setting".Journal of Near-Eastern Studies, Volume 10, 1951.
Ewing, J., "Preliminary Note on the Excavations at the Paleolithic Site of Ksar Akil, Republic of Lebanon",Antiquity, vol. 21, p. 186, 1947.
Ewing, J., "Human types and Prehistoric Cultures at Ksar Akil, Lebanon",Selected papers, 5th C.I.S.A.E., Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1956.
Ewing, J., "A Probably Neanderthaloid from Ksar Akil, Lebanon".American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Volume 21, Number 2, 1963.
Howell, F., "Upper Pleistocene Stratigraphy and Early Man in the Levant",Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Volume 103, 1959.
Garrod, D., "A Transitional Industry from the Base of the Upper Paleolithic in Palestine and Syria".Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Volume 81, 1952.
Garrod, D., "The Relations between Southwest Asia and Europe in the Later Paleolithic Age",Journal of World History, Volume 1, 1953.
Wright, H. E., "Late Pleistocene Geology of Coastal Lebanon", 3rd Symposium, Wenner-Grenn Foundation for Anthropological Research on "Early man and Pleistocene Stratigraphy in Circum-Mediterranean Regions", 1960.
Wright, H. E., "Late Pleistocene Geology of Coastal Lebanon",Quaternaria, Volume 6, 1962.
Hooijer, D. A., "The Fossil Vertebrates of Ksar Akil, a Paleolithic Rock-Shelter in the Lebanon",Zoloögische Verhandelgingen, 49, 1, 1961.
Field, H.,Ancient and Modern Man in Southwestern Asia, Volume I, University of Miami Press, 1956.
Bergman, C. A. 1987.Ksar Akil, Lebanon: A Technological and Typological Analysis of the Later Palaeolithic Levels. Volume II. BAR International Series 329.
Bergman, C. A. and L. Copeland (eds.) 1986. I. Azoury Ksar Akil,Lebanon: A Technological and Typological Analysis of the Transitional and Early Upper Palaeolithic Levels of Ksar Akil and Abu Halka. Volume I. BAR International Series 289 (i and ii).
Leder, D. 2014.Technological and Typological change at the Middle to Upper Plaeolithic boundary in Lebanon. Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie. Habelt Verlag.
Bergman, C. A. 2004. "Twisted Debitage and the Levantine Aurignacian Problem". in A. Belfer-Cohen and A.N. Goring-Morris (eds.)More than Meets the Eye: Studies on Upper Palaeolithic Diversity in the Near East. Oxbow Press, Oxford: 185–195.
Ohnuma, K. and C. A. Bergman 1990. "A technological study of the Upper Palaeolithic levels XXV-VI from Ksar Akil, Lebanon". in P. Mellars and C. Stringer (eds.)The Origins and Dispersal of Modern Man. Cambridge University Press: 91–138.
Bergman, C. A. and C. B. Stringer 1989. "Fifty years after: Egbert, an Upper Palaeolithic Juvenile from Ksar Akil, Lebanon".Paléorient 15/2: 99–111.
Bergman, C. A. 1988. "Ksar Akil and the Upper Palaeolithic of the Levant". Préhistoire du Levant 2Paléorient 14/2: 201–210.
Bergman, C. A. and N. Goring-Morris 1987. "Conference: The Levantine Aurignacian with special reference to Ksar Akil, Lebanon".Paléorient 13/1: 142–145.
Bergman, C. A. 1987. "Hafting and use of bone and antler points from Ksar Akil, Lebanon". in D. Stordeur (ed.)La Main et l'Outil. Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient Méditerranéen, Lyon 15: 117–126.
Bergman, C. A. and K. Ohnuma 1987. "The Upper Palaeolithic Sequence of Ksar Akil, Lebanon".Berytus XXV: 13–40.
Leder, D. 2016. "Core reduction strategies at the Initial Upper Palaeolithic sites Ksar Akil and Abou Halka in Lebanon".Lithics: the Journal of the Lithic Studies Society 37: 33–53.
