The Stratigraphy of Area E, Manot Cave

Summary

Area E is located close to the upper end of the main talus, at the NW side of the cave. It is built of sediments which originated outside the cave, mainly the local Terra-Rossa soil that was washed into the cave with rainwater, mixed with limestone rocks, some of them originating in the cave itself from decaying and falling roof and wall parts. Two main sedimentary units were observed so far: Unit 1 – Colluvium made of soil with limestone rocks in varying sizes. This colluvium contains very little to no archaeological finds at all, and only a small amount of bones of bio-origin, namely hyenas' activity. Unit 2 – Colluvium made of soil with limestone rock, usually of small to medium size. This colluvium contains abundant archaeological material.

Within Unit 2, at least nine separate archaeological layers were detected, consisting of horizontal accumulations of flint items, splintered bones, bone and antler tools, shells, art objects, and combustion features, namely hearths and ash accumulations. These archaeological accumulations are separated by soil containing very little archaeological material. Some of the accumulations are up to 15 cm thick. Possible human-made stone features were also detected in Area E.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Manot Cave: In Search of Modern Humans

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14914