Adaptation of Middle Paleolithic Humans to the Mediterranean Coastline – Üçağızlı II Cave Excavation / Hatay

Year 2023, , 1 - 28, 02.01.2024

İsmail Baykara , Ece Eren Kural , Didem Turan , Ayşen Açıkkol , Naoki Morimoto , Wataru Morita , Mustafa Kenan Agras

https://doi.org/10.58488/collan.1132495

Abstract

Üçağızlı II Cave (Hatay, Turkey) is a Middle Paleolithic site located at the northern limit of the Levantine coastal zone and has an important role in understanding the migration route and expansion of Pleistocene hominins. This partly collapsed cave is dated between 75,000 and 42,000 BP, based on the uranium series dates. In this study, faunal remains and lithic assemblages, obtained from layer Bu (B-upper) of Üçağızlı II Cave in 2021, were analyzed. In layer Bu, faunal assemblages are dominated by ungulate and marine molluscs, and dietary consumption as well as ornaments were also found in molluscs. The lithics present that the industry of Levallois is dominated in layer Bu. Additonally, flake-based production, unipolar Levallois core, sidescrapers and points (Mousterian and Levallois) are determined in the layer. These features indicate that lithic assemblages from layer Bu are similar to “Tabun C type” Mousterian assemblages.

Keywords

Middle Paleolithic, Hatay, Levantine, Faunal Remains, Levallois

Orta Paleolitik Dönem İnsanlarının Akdeniz Kıyı Şeridine Adaptasyonu - Üçağızlı II Mağarası Kazısı / Hatay

Abstract

Orta Paleolitik Dönem’e tarihlenen Üçağızlı II Mağarası (Hatay, Türkiye), Levant Koridorunun en kuzey ucunda yer almasından dolayı Pleistosen Dönem insansılarının göç yollarının ve yayılımının anlaşılması için önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Kısmen yıkılmış olan Üçağızlı II Mağarası, uranyum tarihlendirme yöntemine göre 75,000 ile 42,000 yıl öncesine tarihlendirilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, 2021 yılında Üçağızlı II Mağarası’nın Büst tabakasından elde edilen hayvan kalıntıları ile yontmataş buluntular incelenmiştir. Büst tabakasında, hayvan kalıntıları arasında, toynaklılar ve denizel yumuşakçalar yaygın olarak bulunmuş, yumuşakçalar arasında beslenmenin yanı sıra süslenme ile ilgili unsurlara da rastlanılmıştır. Yontmataş buluntular arasında Büst tabakasında Levallois endüstrisi baskındır. Bunun yanında, yonga ağırlıklı bir üretim, tek kutuplu Levallois çekirdekler, kenar kazıyıcılar ile uçlar (Mousterian ve Levallois) bulunmaktadır. Yontmataş buluntularda gözlenen bu özellikler, Büst tabakasında bulunan yontmataşların “Tabun C tip” endüstrisine benzediğine işaret etmektedir.

Keywords

Orta Paleolitik, Hatay, Levant, Levallois, Hayvan Kalıntıları

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