Truly scientific studies of the Palaeolithic period in Southwestern Asia could be said to have been started by the investigation of GARROD (1937) at Mt. Carmel. Due to this study, the area, which had remained virtually blank in the field of anthropology and prehistory of the Palaeolithic period, loomed suddenly large. Similarly, the investigation by RUST (1950) on the Yabroud site, which appeared sometime later, was epochmaking in Palaeolithic studies with respect to the region of Southwestern Asia, just as were the studies of Mt. Carmel. Since then, studies on the Palaeolithic period in Southwestern Asia have been conducted in relation to the problems raised by the work on Mt. Carmel and Yabroud, with Palestine, which is located in the southern half of the Levant, as the main field. On the other hand, Lebanon and Syria, which constitute the northern half of Levant, have remained practically unexplored so far as field survey is concerned. It is true that such cave sites as Ras el Kelb (GARROD and HENRI-MARTIN, 1961), Abri Zumoffen (GARROD and KIRKBRIDE, 1961), Bezez (GARROD, KIRKBRIDE and MATHURIN, in press), Abou Halka (HALLER, 1946), Ksar 'Akil (EWING, 1947) etc. in Lebanon were investigated, and that much valuable information was obtained, but few full reports on them have been published as yet. While for Syria, except for RUST'S report on Yabroud, there have been few available reports, and most of the studies by SOLECKI (1966, 1968) et al. also remain unpublished. Most of these sites in the inventories of COPELAND and WESCOMBE (1965, 1966), BURKHALTER (1948, 1949), FIELD (1956, 1960), etc. called for specialists' investigation as well as other sites. The studies on the Quaternary, centering around Pleistocene geology and geomorphology, which would constitute the background of these Palaeolithic studies, include the reports of PFANNENSTIEL (1952), DE VAUMAS (1944 and others), BUTZER (1958), etc.. However, local and case studies were yet to come.

We have been interested in Palaeolithic studies and human remains of the Pleistocene. In this respect, Lebanon and Syria are one of the most suitable fields, and we had been hoping to carry out local investigation. Fortunately, the Overseas Expedition Fund for 1967 was given to the University of Tokyo by the Ministry of Education, Japan, and our wish was realized.

The expedition is called the "Tokyo University Scientific Expedition to Western Asia". Its leader is Prof. Hisashi SUZUKI. Its membership consisted of specialists in the fields of Prehistory, Geography, Physical Anthropology and Palaeontology, as follows:

Hisashi SUZUKI (Physical Anthropology)
Hajime SAKURA (     "     )
Banri ENDO (     "     )
Tasuku KIMURA (     "     )
Fuyuji TAKAI (Palaeontology)
Iwao KOBORI (Geography)
Ikuo SUZUKI (Geomorphology)
Takeru AKAZAWA (Prehistory)

The period of investigation was about eight months, from May, 1967 to January, 1968. Centering around Lebanon and Syria, we conducted a series of field surveys by reference to literary data and material in museums and various institutions. The purpose of the expedition this time was preliminary work for the scientific excavation of Palaeolithic sites, scheduled for next season, carrying out general surveys in prehistory and geography of the area as fully as ppossible.

Based on inventories already reported, the team prepared reference cards for all the Palaeolithic sites in Lebanon and Syria, adding the findings from investigating literature at museums, universities and research institutes and the unpublished data. From among these sites, the more important ones were investigated one by one, while efforts were also made to discover uninvestigated cave sites which were thought to be fruitful from the standpoint of prehistory and geography. The actual field survey was conducted under Prof. Iwao KOBORI as the field director, with the considerate assistance of the Bureau of Antiquities and related organs of both Syria and Lebanon. The investigation in Lebanon took place in cave sites of the coastal area, as well as those along practically all of the wadis by proceeding from the mouth inland. In Syria, in view of the vast area, investigation was limited to the area centering around Jebel Aabd el Aaziz, Palmyra, Anti-Lebanon (Damascus-Yabroud area), and Jebel Ansarieh (the coastal area of Syria) (Fig. 1). The period of investigation was five months, from July to November, mainly the summer season, and not the best time of the year. The mission could fulfill its objective successfully with the kind assistance given by the officials and private citizens of the two countries.

Fig.-1 Map of LEBANON and SYRIA

As the result of the expedition, 73 sites in Lebanon and 124 sites in Syria, totalling 197, were investigated. Except for a few open sites, most were cave sites. By courtesy of the Bureau of Antiquities of the respective countries, part of the flint industry discovered at these sites was allowed to be brought back to Tokyo to be rearranged and studied. As a result, 24 sites in Lebanon and 75 sites in Syria, totalling 99 are mentioned in this report, ranging mainly from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic period and the post-Palaeolithic period. These sites are mainly newly discovered ones, but already discovered sites are also added when new finds about them could be added. The description is divided into an outline of geography of the surveyed areas and topography of the surveyed sites, and description of each site and explanation of flint artifacts. It is written jointly by the above-mentioned specialists. It is to be hoped that the report will be untilized not only by the experts in the areas surveyed but also by investigators of other parts of the world, in order to further progress in the rich prehistory of South-western Asia.

Last but not least, our deep gratitude is due to the following people who gave special assistance to our expedition: At first, we record our thanks to Prof. Father F. HOURS of the University of Saint-Joseph, whose suggestions were especially helpful for the planning of our survey. Among many persons to be acknowledged, we must mention Dr. A. H.DARKEL,Dr. A. F. EL OUSH, Dr. T. SOLYMAN,Dr. A. BOUNI, Dr. N. SALIBY and other members of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Damascus; Dr. K. 'ASSADE, Mr. A. TAHA and Mr. K. KHAMBER of Palmyra Museum; Dr. A. R. ZAQZUQ of Hama Museum; members of Bosra Museum, Aleppo Museum and Prof. KARIM YAFI, Prof. A. R. HAMIDE, Prof. H. OMAR, Dr. A. ABDUL-SALAM and their colleagues of Faculty of Literature and Faculty of Science of the University of Damascus; Dr. E. M. CHEHAB, Dr. R. SAIDA, Miss A. RSTOM and other members of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Beirut; Father H. FLEISCH of the University of Saint-Joseph; Mr. S. KARKABI of the Speleological Department; members of the American University of Beirut and the Archaeological Institut of the University of Paris in Beirut; late Dr. A. DAJANI and Mr. M. M. KHADIJA 'of the Department of Antiquities in Amman.

We are also grateful to Prof. J. E. KIDDER of International Christians University, Tokyo, Mrs. M. HATANO, Miss. M. TOMISAWA, Mr. C. SUZUKI, Miss. M. TASAKA, Mr. H. FUJIMURA and Mr. M. SUZUKI for their help in completing this paper.

This study was supported by the Grant for Overseas Scientific Expedition in 1967 as well as the Grant No. 4080 for Joint Study in 1968 from the Japanese Ministry of Education.