Mode of occupation of Tabun Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel during the Mousterian Period: A study of the sediments and phytoliths

Alternative modes of occupation of Tabun Cave during the deposition of the Mousterian Levels B and C have been proposed. Garrod and Bate (1937, Excavations at the Wady El-Mughara, Volume 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press) interpreted the archaeological record of both levels as being indicative of domestic occupational activities. Jelinek et al. (1973, Palaeorient 1, 151-183) proposed that the presence of articulated limb bones of Dama mesopotamica in the Level B sediments below the cave chimney indicated that the cave was used as a natural game trap. They also noted that the white ash layers in Level C extended across the whole cave, and proposed that this was due to the burning of natural vegetation in the cave. This study aims at clarifying the modes of occupation during these periods. Level B sediments closely resemble the terra rossa soil that is common in this region. Burning activity is inferred from charcoal fragments seen in thin sections. A minor wood ash component is present based on the preponderance of phytoliths with a variable morphology as compared to those with a consistent morphology, as well as phytoliths with shapes characteristics of those formed in wood and bark of local trees. Thus fires were produced in the cave during this period. The cave may also have been used as a game trap. Level C is composed of multiple layers of brown, black and white sediments. Micromorphology, mineralogy and phytolith analyses all show that these layers are mixtures of terra rossa soil and ash, with the latter being abundant in the white layers. The phytoliths in these layers are derived almost entirely from wood and bark, and not from grasses. These observations are consistent with a domestic occupational mode.