Quaternary of the Levant
Environments, Climate Change, and Humans

Over eighty contributions from leading researchers review 2.5 million years of environmental change and human cultural evolution in the Levant.

Yehouda Enzel (Edited by), Ofer Bar-Yosef (Edited by)

9781107090460, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 April 2017

784 pages, 327 b/w illus. 46 colour illus.
28.3 x 22.5 x 4 cm, 2.51 kg

''Monumental' does not do justice to this outstanding volume. Now, thanks to Yehouda Enzel and Ofer Bar-Yosef, the Levant has the foundation text it deserves. This book will be the keystone in the arch of research for a region that is fundamental to understanding the dispersals and evolution of hominins and humans. Read, learn and admire.' Clive Gamble, Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins, University of Southampton

Quaternary of the Levant presents up-to-date research achievements from a region that displays unique interactions between the climate, the environment and human evolution. Focusing on southeast Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel, it brings together over eighty contributions from leading researchers to review 2.5 million years of environmental change and human cultural evolution. Information from prehistoric sites and palaeoanthropological studies contributing to our understanding of 'out of Africa' migrations, Neanderthals, cultures of modern humans, and the origins of agriculture are assessed within the context of glacial-interglacial cycles, marine isotope cycles, plate tectonics, geochronology, geomorphology, palaeoecology and genetics. Complemented by overview summaries that draw together the findings of each chapter, the resulting coverage is wide-ranging and cohesive. The cross-disciplinary nature of the volume makes it an invaluable resource for academics and advanced students of Quaternary science and human prehistory, as well as being an important reference for archaeologists working in the region.

Part I. The Evolution of Current Landscapes and Basins
Part II. Palaeoclimates
Part III. Archaeology of Human Evolution
Part IV. Palaeoecology
Part V. Quaternary Geomorphology
Part VI. Humans in the Levant.

Subject Areas: Human geography [RGC], Physical geography & topography [RGB], Meteorology & climatology [RBP], Geological surface processes [geomorphology RBGD], Earth sciences, geography, environment, planning [R], Landscape archaeology [HDL], Prehistoric archaeology [HDDA], Archaeology by period / region [HDD]