Geologists or Geographers involved in archaeological excavations of rockshelters and caves in Southwestern Asia have been accustomed to do mere descriptions of the sediments and stratigraphy as they have appeared in the field. Available paleoclimatic reconstruction based on the stratigraphy were made from those gross field descriptions. Recently several European and American scientists have conducted thorough analysis of the sediments in order to determine the climatic conditions which prevailed during and after the deposition of a given stratigraphic unit. In our research of the Douara cave, we have tried to do the research for both ways and comparative studies of similiar environmental sites have been much discussed. Following introduction on the historical background has been mainly stressed on major works for comparative studies and extracted from many original works or publications. References cited including supplementary works is shown in the last section.

Pleistocene studies are in a state of flux and any synthesis is soon rendered obsolete by more recent findings. Under these circumstances any regional review can be little more than assesment of currently available information. It renders the work of synthesis ephemeral and often thankless, but nonetheless vital if future work is to be directly along meaningful lines.

Review of terminal Pleistocene and early post-Pleistocene environmental changes in Southwestern Asia have been already written by Butzer (1958,1967,1971), Farrand (1969,1971 and 1972), Van Liere (1961) and others (see Bibliography of this chapter) and they faces same difficulties.

Furthermore, field work in this area has lagged, compared with research in many other regions of the old World. In fact remarkably few stratigraphic events have been radiometrically fixed in Southwestern Asia, although the situation in the Nile Valley is much more favorable. In addition, the episodes of the terminal Pleistocene and the minor climatic variations of the Holocene are no easier to discern or interpret than are the gross changes of glacial and interglacial stages. Instead, it is generally far more difficult to point out minor changes, which in an intermediate environment such as the subtropical woodlands are doubtly difficult to recognize.

By the standards of northern Europe and the northeastern or northwestern United States, the terminal Pleistocene and the Holocene of Southwestern Asia are poorly understood.

Evidence is fragmentary and frequently of variable quality, and chronological data are totally inadequate for the purposes of a regional stratigraphy. At best, we can outline the present status of information from different categories of evidence - glaciological, geomorphological, and biological etc. The broad, generalized impressions that obtain for the major physical provinces will then be presented by way of a tentative synthesis. The results, with exception of a few local area, are unsatisfactory and, although we have attempted to take a positive approach wherever possible, it must be emphasized that our synthesis are in the nature of working hypothesis.

Fossil lake beds and high shorelines are common in semi-arid, lower and middle latitudes, and the arid interiors of Turkey and Iran are not exceptional. Shallow, broad lakes, possibly of seasonal type, existed in some of the extensive alluvial basins of central Anatolia. From such evidence Wenzel (1935) concluded that the regional drainage had once been integrated, although lacking an outlet to the sea. Alluvial fans appear to have been deposited during or after the recession of these lakes, and the hydrography has subsequently deteriorated into a number of minor, isolated basin. A second type of non-outlet lake can be found in many small tectonic basins of considerable relief, and the literature contains frequent references to high shorelines reaching elevations as much as 100m above present lake levels in such basins (Louis, 1938; Ardel, 1938, 1954; Lahn, 1951). However, in no case external drainage did develop, and occasionally some of these lakes overflowed into an adjacent non-outlet basin. But older studies of this area offer no stratigraphic frameworks and lack sedimentological analyses.

Potentially, the lacustrin beds of Anatolia might some day provide substantial evidence for late Pleistocene and Holocene climatic changes, as is suggested by the results obtained by de Planhol (1956) from the Burdur Basin. Here, early observations have indicated the presence of shorelines at 45 m, 80 m and 90-95 m above the modern lake. The surface beds of these horelines were characterized by abundant shells of Dreissensia burderensis, and an overflow threshold was recognized at the highest level (ca. 947m above present sea level). Louis (1938) found microliths on sand dunes blown up from the lake, presumably during its ultimate recession, and considered them to be Mesolithic. In view of the freshness of the shorelines, he concluded that the high lake levels were of late Pleistocene age and that the level dropped rapidly in early Post-Pleistocene times. However, de Planhol (1956) discovered massive lake travertines to an elevation of S.L. 980 m (+125 m above the modern lake) which were disconformable under the deposits of the younger shorelines. Palaeobotanical examination of the uppermost of these travertine beds by G. Depape and J. Arenes (de Planhol, 1956) showed the presence of warm temperate species, such as Quercus cf. pedunculata and Salix babylonica, and the mesic grass Glyceria cf. fluitans. Considering that the absolute elevation of the travertines is 980 m, they can hardly be of gracial age and are tentatively assigned to the early post-Pleistocene warming. Implicitly, the younger shorelines could be of Holocene age. Without radiometric dating a definitechronological position can not be suggested. But de Planhol's work shows how superficial the earlier studies have been and how promising future investigation will be.

In the interior of Iran, Bobek (1937) described shorelines at 45 m, 55 m, and 60 - 70 m above Lake Rezaieh (Urmia), which today has a maximum depth of only 16m. This enlarged lake covered an area twice the size of the modern one. However, Bobek computed a simplified hydrological budget for this former lake and concluded that a 5°C lowering of mean annual temperature could adequately explain a water volume almost 10 times as great that of the present one. The age of the high shorelines is uncertain. Evidence of lacustrine deposits has also been discussed for the great salt pans or kavirs found in the Iranian interior (Sedlacek, 1955; Gabriel, 1957; Stratil-Sauer, 1957; Bobek, 1959, 1961; Huckreide, 1962), but the age and paleoclimatic significance of these sediments also remain controversial.

Particularly interesting are the lacustrine marls and peaty beds described by Huckreide (1962) from a subdesert environment at Kerman, Iran. These deposits, which are over 3 m thick, include a rich mushroom flora, abundant ferns of the species Pterdium aquilinum (now confined to the rainforest of the southern Caspian littoral), a host of mollusca requiring permanently moist conditions, as well as the higher latitude snail Valvata piscinalis pulchella - today found at elevations over 4000 m in the Zagros Mountains. Saline soils with a completely different, xerophile molluscan fauna are present today. The radiocarbon age of these incontestably pluvial beds is greater than 25,000 years, suggesting an Early WÜrm date. This evidence is not incompatible with results obtained by Wright (1966) and his associates at Lake Zeribar (1300 m) in the Zagros, where, from about 23,000 (the base of the longest core) to all 11,500 years ago, the climate was drier than today as shown by the aquatic flora and microfauna as well as by the nature of the chloride carbonate precipitates. Higher lake levels, with development of a floating sedge mat, were established during the terminal stages of the Late WÜrm Glacial or at the very beginning of the Holocene.

From the data obtained from Kerman and Zeribar it becomes apparent that broad generalizations concerning pluvial and non-pluvial periods in the high country of Southwestern Asia can hardly do justice to the evidence, and we must await further, detailed studies of lacustrine deposits from different environments. The pattern of a moist Early Glacial, followed by a dry Pleniglacial and Late Glacial, appears to be corraborated along the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. Russian workers (e.g. Leontyev and Fedorov, 1953) identified two high levels of the Caspian Sea at 75- 77 m and 26- 28 m above the present surface. These are known as the Early and Late Chvalyn Transgressions respectively. The 75 - 77 m level corresponded to an overflow of the Early Chvalyn Sea into the Black Sea during Early WÜrm times (Frenzel, 1959,1960), apparently in response to a cool, moist climate in mid-latitude Russia. Considerable fluvial activity in northern Iran is indicated by delta fans contemporary with this shoreline (Bobek, 1937). Such fluvial phenomena are absent or uncommon in relation to the Late Chvalyn shoreline, and as the Caspian receded in Late Glacial times, primary eolian loess was deposited in what is now the Hyracanian rainforest. Bobek (1937) rightly emphasizes that the lack of any soil development in the lower 6 -7 m of the loess near Asterabad indicates an arid climate, but the youngest loess there is much older than he supposed. In neighboring Belt Cave the uppermost loess has a radiocarbon date of 10,320±825 B.C. (Ralph, 1955), while a loess-like sediment was being deposited in the Kara Kamar Cave near Haibak, Afghanistan from before 30,000 to about 9000 B.C. (Coon and Ralph, 1955).

In the interior basin of Syria and Iraq there are no extensive lacustrine deposits of Late Pleistocene or Holocene age (van Liere, 1961; Voûute and Wedman, 1963). However the Jordan Dead Sea Valley shows a massive suite of silt, marl, and gypsum, deposited in a great lake 300 km in length whose sea-level was 200 - 210 meters higher than the modern Dead Sea. Known as the Lisan Marls, these beds are very probably of Late Pleistocene age, and Ben-Arieh (1964 a) computed that a 200 mm increase in annual precipitation would be necessary to explain the hydrological budget of this lake. During subsequent recessions of the Lisan Lake, abrasional shorelines were cut at elevations of 120 - 141 m, 75 m, 100 - 50 m, 45 m, 35 m, 25 m, 20 m, 12 - 15m and 10 m above the present surface (ca.-392m) (Butzer, 1958). Depending on the exact age of the Lisan Marls, at least some of these higher shorelines date from the Late Glacial and Early to Middle Holocene.

Broadly contemporary with the Lisan Marls are the Hula Chalk and Peat (in northern Israel), suggesting swamp or lacustrine conditions. Some pollen spectra were studied from these beds by H. Remy (in Picard, 1963). The top 31 m appeared to be rich in Quercus, while Cupressus, with some Picea, Cedrus and Oleaceae forms of arboreal pollen were more common 31 - 85 m depth. Below 85 m Quercus and Cedrus were abundant. Conditions generally were warm, but considerable fluctuations in moisture appear to be indicated - presumably in Middle to Late Pleistocene times.

In Egypt and elsewhere in the eastern Sahara, extensive lacustrine deposits are rare. A notable exception is the case of Lake Moeris in the Fayum Depression. This lake was rather high and considerably larger than the modern Birket Qarun during the Pleistocene and again during the Late Pleistocene to middle Holocene. However, these fluctiations reflect changes in the Nile flood plain elevation and Nile influx and at no time were they controlled by local rainfall variations. Other late lacustrine beds in Egypt are confined to wadi ponds. The evidence of high shorelines and lacustrine sediments reviewed here is quite unsatisfactory. Nonetheless there are strong indications that there have been significant changes of climate during the broad time span of the WÜrm glacial and the Holocene. These climatic changes may well be elucidated by detailed, radiometrically-dated studies such as have been published from the American Southwest. At the moment, however, the available data cannot be applied to the problem at hand.

The evidence of reiver terraces and other alluvial or colluvial deposits in the Southwestern Asia is of variable quality from region to region. In some areas, such as Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, data are limited to scattered reports of an exploratory nature. In the Levant somewhat more systematic observations are available; unfortunately, however, there are few or no isotopic dates. In Egypt, particularly in Nubia, the chronology of alluvial deposits is on a fairly firm footing. In Transcaucasia and Arabia, there is next to no published information. As a result, a discussion of late WÜrm and early Holocene alluvial deposits must be selective and uneven. Furthermore, since it is next to impossible to distinguish phases within the late Pleistocene, this section will perforce discuss the totality of late Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial chronology.

The alluvial terraces of Syria and Lebanon are better understood. The middle Euphrates has a broad, well-developed gravel terraces, with abundant derived artifacts of both Acheulean and Levalloiso-Mousterian typology. Som5-8 m of stratified silt generally terminate this aggradation unit, which typically lies up to 20 m above modern floodplain. A late Pleistocene age is assumed (van Liere, 1961). A Holocene silt terrace is also recognized at about 5 m above modern floodplain, dated "prehistoric, up to Byzantine" (van Liere, 1961). This silt is indirectly attributed to a greater supply of valley fill. The results of van Liere are a little difficult to reconcile with those of de Heinzelin (1965), who defines 2 formations representing a single alluvial complex of pre-Neolithic and possibly late Pleistocene age respectively. The Shajara Formation has a relative elevation of 20-30 m above modrn flood plain and incorporates rolled Palaeolithic Artifacts. Well preserved, unrolled Middle Palaeolithic artifacts occur on the surface. The Mureibat Formation varies from 1-10 m above modern floodplain and is older than a series of Neolithic tells found on its surface. In a broad way the Mureibat fill corresponds to van Liere's 5 - meter Holocene silt terrace, while the Shajara deposits can be correlated in part with the Main Gravel Terrace as well as with some of van Liere's older alluvia. More detailed publications on the middle Euphrates will be necessary before satisfactory conclusions can be drawn.

In the Orontes system a "Main Gravel Terrace" is ascribed to the late Pleistocene (van Liere, 1961). Gravels are again overlain by several meters of stratified silt of fine sandy loam, and a broad floodplain, 4 times the size of the modern alluvial valley, suggests greater run-off. More detailed facies change have been recorded from the Ghab depression, where the Orontes once deteriorated into a swampy or lacustrine environment. Here, pollen spectra analyzed by B. Polak(see van Liere, 1961) suggest appreciable environmental changes, possibly during early Upper Pleistocene times. Quercus, Pinus, Cedrus and Olea were the dominant arboreal genera. Levalloiso-Mousterian and Aurignacian-like artifacts are abundant in the sterile fluvial clays that overlie the polliniferous peats and marls. A single radiocarbon date of greater than 53,000 years (Vogel and Waterbolk, 1964) from a depth of -5 m indicates that the entire pollen sequence is no younger than early WÜrm. Further radiocarbon dating should provide valuable insights into late Pleistocene and, perhaps, early Holocene environments and tectonic history of central Syria. Holocene fill terraces are not recognized in the Orontes system.

In the areas of interior drainage near and south of Damascus there are a variety of late Pleistocene alluvial and colluvial deposits. The Wadi Midaneh, a major tributary of the Yamrur, has a gravel terrace, with rolled Acheulean and fairly fresh Levalloiso-Mousterian artifacts, capped by 5-6 m of stratified clay (van Liere, 1961). The silty cap is pre-neolithic. Similar gravels take the form of alluvial fans adjacent to the Demascus Basin (van Liere, 1961). They are overlain by colluvial brown clays, which may be broadly synchronous with black fluvial clays that line the floor of the Damascus Basin. The exact age of these beds is uncertain. Analogous basin sediments, all of indeterminate late Pleistocene to early Holocene age, have been described from different parts of the Jordanian desert (van Liere, 1961; Zeuner, 1957; Vita-Finzi, 1964). On the other hand,contemporary alluvial deposits appear to be absent from the great wadis that drain the Syrian Desert towards the Euphrates Valley (Wirth, 1958).

A more detailed succession of late Pleistocene to Holocene sediments has been described from the Jordan Graben and the adjacent tributaries, particularly those of the eastern bank (Picard, 1963; Vita-Finzi, 1964; Nir and Ben-Arieh, 1965). Following the disappearance of the Lisan Lake and its counterpart, Lake Hula, during the late Pleistocene times, massive spring tufas were deposited along the wadis debouching at the edge of the Jordan scarps. These beds exceed 10m in thickness and may be intercalated with well-rounded wadi conglomerates or cemented screes. Overlying the tufas, interpreted by a greater rainfall, are massive alluvia (to over 30 m thick), collectively known as the Jordan Upper Terrace. These deposits consist of broad, shallow fans, often intercorporating derived terra rossa soils, in the Jordan Valley. Upvalley, in the tributaries, the lateral equivalents of the Upper Terrace average 10-20 m thick and consist of poorly sorted, subangular to subrounded gravel with limited stratification. Fluvial beds are frequently intercalated with lateral screes, suggesting torrential stream flow and sheetwash.

The age of this terrace is again uncertain, but Vita-Finzi (1964) reported an Upper Palaeolithic ("Kebaran") workshop from its surface, supporting the general assumption that these deposits are of terminal Pleistocene age. The last general fill, known as the Younger Terrace has an average thickness of 3-4 m and consists of better-rounded materials and contain abundant Roman potsherds. The presence of two freshwater snails (Melanoides tuberculata and Melanopsis praemorsa) suggests some permanent or semipermanent waters. In Wadi Hasa there are two further files, intermediate in age between the Upper and Younger Terrace. The older of these is 2 m thick, and consists of angular to subangular gravel with Upper Palaeolithic blades. The younger attains a maximum thickness of 5 m and consists of well-stratified sandy silt or subrounded to rounded gravel, with Upper Palaeolithic ("Kebaran") artifacts. Radiocarbon dates are, unfortunately, not available.

Along the coast of Syria (van Liere, 1961) the WÜrm Regression was heralded by alluviation of coarse gravel fans across the coastal plains in areas of resistant bedrock, by rapid downcutting (At least 35 to 40 m below present bed) in unconsolidated substrata. These features suggest a much heavier run-off than at present. Later on during the WÜrm Regression, regressional eolianites were deposited on the coastal plains, while only fine gravelly clays were carried and deposited by the local streams. This would suggest a noticeable decrease in discharge. Analogous features are described from the Lebanese coast by Wright (1962b), where one or more red soil profiles (or colluvial soil horizons) may interrupt the eolianites. Along the littoral of Israel there is further evidence of accelerated discharge at the beginning of the WÜrm Glacial, with drier conditions dominant thereafter. In Holocene times the undercut valleys have been filled in with fine sediments, often marked by colluvial wash, coastal dunes, or storm-beach gravels (van Liere, 1961).

In review, the Levantinue evidence suggests one or more periods of greater stream discharge in late Pleistocene times, indicating a moister or cooler climate, or both. Isolation and regional correlation of paleoclimatic events must await further radiocarbon dates although, on present evidence, there may have been a moister phase in early WÜrm times, and one or more minor moist intervals at the very end of Pleistocene. The evidence for comparatively moist phase during the Holocene appears to be confined to Israel and Jordan. More detailed work and isotopic dating may, however, uncover more clues of post-Pleistocene fluctuations of hydrographic regimes elsewhere.

Microclimatic, stratigraphic and palaeobotanical evidence of exceptional value has been obtained from a number of cave sites in Europe. But, in Southwestern Asia sufficiently detailed studies are lacking or the cave sediments themselves are ill-suited for palaeoclimatic interpretation. Reviews of the older literature have been published by Howell (1959) and Butzer (1958) and Farrand (1971, 1972), and a number of reports by van Liere (1961), Hooijer (1961), Solecki and Leroi-Gourhan (1961), Solecki (1971), Gonzalez (1966), Suzuki and Takai (1970), and Suzuki and Kobori (1970) have subsequently added to the available information. Unfortunately, few sedimentary sequences of faunal successions extend continuously into the Late Glacial and the Holocene. Consequently the available information for the time range under study is highly fragmentally.

At the abri of Ksar Akil, Lebanon, there is a layer of angular stone at a depth of 2 m, associated with a terminal Palaeolithic ("Gravettian") culture level. Although one might be tempted to relate this stone layer to thermoclastic weathering at the very end of the WÜrm Glacial, Wright (1962b) believes that its Climatic significance is uncertain. The Ksar Akil fauna of levels I-V (0 to -3.0 m) is dominated by Dama mesopotamica, Capra aegarus and Capreolus capreolus with Cervus elaphus, Bos sp., and Vulpes vulpes. Ursus arctos and Felis silvestris also present. This fauna is not incompatible with the natural vegetation of coastal Lebanon under modern climatic conditions.

In the Judean Highlands of Palestine, the cave of el-Khiam (Gonzalez et al.,1966) shows that the Late Glacial and Holocene (Kebaran, Khiamian and Tahunian level, ca. 10,000-5,500 B.C.) environment of that area was not unlike that of today. The sediments are rich in carbonates, with uniformally high pH values (over 8.0), and no evidence of weathering. The terrestrial and fluvial mollusca include Helix, Helicogena, Eupharypha, Pyramidula and Theba indicating a probably warm, dry environment. The megafauna, Gazella sp. Sus scrofa libycus, Vulpes vulpes, Equus asinus cf. somaliensis and Capra hircus, is compatible with this interpretation, as is the palynological evidence which suggests a treeless setting of steppe or desert vegetation, dominated by Chenopodiaceae. By contrast, Bate (1940) concluded that there was a significant faunal change in the Mt. Carmel during Early Holocene (Natufian, ca. 9000-7000 B.C.) times. A half dozen species of gazelles, a hedgehog, and a species of hyena became extinct, possibly suggesting the oncoming of a more humid phase. Less securely dated than the Natufian is the Early Neolithic of the Abu Usaba Cave, also in Mt. Carmel, where Stekelis and Haas (1952) suggest an appreciably moister environment on faunal grounds. Typical steppe species were absent but numerous thrushes, reptilian types as such as Chamaeleo chamaelon, Agama stellio, Ophisaurusapus as well as the snail Cyclostoma oliveri would probably presume a dense vegetation with more bountiful moisture.

Finally, the cave of Shanidar, at an elevation of 730 m in the Zagros Ranges of Iraq (Solecki and Leroi-Gourhan, 1961) deserves mention. The Late Glacial and Early Holocene deposits (level B2 and Bl with ¹⁴C dates of 10,450 and 8650 B.C.) have never been geologically studied, but a trace element analysis from Bl by B.E. Sabels indicates the presence of sodium, potassium, copper and chromium, suggesting a cooler and moister climate than overlying, recent deposits.Unpublished pollen data from B2 and Bl partially corroborate this suggesting a greater abundance of arboreal species than at present, with Cupressus, Pinus, and Castanea. The fauna from these levels, studied by D. Perkins, is little different from that to be expected in historical times; Capra sp. and Ovis orientalis dominant, with some Cervus elaphus, Dama sp., Capreolus and Gazella sp..

In Syria, Yabrud and Jerf Ajla are only 210 and 360 km distant respectively from et-Tabun, but Yabrud lies at 1427 m above sea level on the eastern foot of the Anti-Lebanon and Jerf Ajla is in the Syrian Desert and only 550 m above the sea level.

Following discussions on Jerf Ajla and Yabrud are quoted from Farrand (1972:228-229):

"The small cave of Jerf Ajla, only 12 km N.W. of the oasis of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert, contains a relatively simple sedimentary sequence. Sediment analysis (Goldberg, 1968) reveals some 6 m of cryoclastic limestone rubble (èboulis of the French) interrupted by one distinct weathering horizon at about 3 m depth. The weathering is indicated by a marked increase in rounding and porosity of the limestone fragments and a marked decrease in the pH and CaCO₃ content of the matrix (less than 2 mm in grain size), as well as by the dark brown colour of the bed. Another weathering episode of lesser intensity is found at a depth of about 5 m. In the case of each weathering horizon an accumulation of secondary concretionary CaCO₃ is found in the immediately underlying sediments, but this concretionment is much less developed than in the upper 21/2 m of the section where a heavy caliche-type deposit has formed, apparently in response to post-glacial climate. One can draw the inference that the weathering intervals represented by the horizons at 3 and 5 m depths were more humid and less protracted than post-glacial conditions in this same area.

Typologically the transition from a Mousterian industry of Levallois facies to an Upper Palaeolithic industry occurs at a depth of 1.25 m at Jerf 'Ajla (Schroeder, 1966); it is not accompanied by a change in sediment type. At 2.25 m depth a radiocarbon analysis has given a date of 43,000 ± 2,000 yrs B.P. (NZ-76, Grant-Taylor and Rafter, 1963). Since the Middle Palaeolithic-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the eastern Mediterranean area took place some 34,000 to 35,000 years ago (Farrand, 1965), a rough extra-polation suggests that sedimentation in the Jerf'Ajla cave began only about 80,000 years ago. Furthermore, there is no evidence of the Last Interpluvial. Therefore, it is quite resonable to conclude that the filling of Jerf 'Ajla took place during the first half of the Last Pluvial, or approximately from 80,000 to 30,000 years ago.

The situation is decidedly more complicated at Yabrud. There are four rock-shelters that have been studied in some detail (Rust, 1950; Solecki and Solecki, 1966) in the Skifta valley which debouches from the east flank of the Anti-Lebanon at the village of Yabrud, some 60 km north of Damascus. Only Rock-shelter I had been subjected to sedimentological analysis (Farrand, 1965, 1969), but it is the most important of these sites for the time period under consideration here; it contains the much-discussed Yabrudian and "Pre-Aurignacian" industries of Rust (1950). Rockshelter II apparently overlaps in time and in typology the upper beds of Rock-shelter I, but no detailed sedimentological information is available for it. Rockshelter III, the youngest of the Yabrud sites, ranges in time from "Upper Aurignacian" to Natufian (Rust, 1950). Rock-shelter IV, discovered by the Columbia University expedition in 1963-65 (Solecki and Solecki, 1966), contains a sparse Tayacian-like industry and appears to pre-date the earliest sedimentation in Rock-shelter I; perhaps it dates from the penultimate (Riss) pluvial or the Last Interpluvial (de Heinzelin, 1966).

The first sedimentological analysis of Rock-shelter I was based on Rust's (1950) description and my own [Farrand's] observation of his section (Farrand, 1965, 1969)."... "Other studies of the Rock-shelter I sediments have been made by Brunnacker (1969) and de Heinzelin (1966). Brunnacker studied samples originally collected by Rust, and his conclusions parallel and complement our own. De Heinzelin observed the new excavations by Solecki in 1964-65 at Rock- shelter I and at Rock-shelter IV. His interpretation of the lower half of the section in Rock-shelter I differs widely from all others in that he sees therein evidence of torrential stream activity. However, de Heinzelin (1966) presents no quantitative data in his preliminary report, and the analysis of Goldberg (1968) shows that there is no qualitative difference between the lower and upper parts of the sedimentary column in Rock-shelter I.The sediments of the lowermost subdivision D ("torrential" for de Heinzelin) have all the characteristics of cryoclastic èboulis that are found well developed in subdivision B ("sub-aerial" for de Heinzelin). The intervening subdivision C is less cryoclastic in nature and contains evidence of eolian activity; the Flugsand of Rust is equivocal, but it may well be wind-blown since Brunnacker (1969) believes he has identified an eolian silt component in the matrix of the deposits of subdivision C. In addition, subdivision C includes peaks of secondary CaCO₃ just above and below the Flugsand layer; this is best interpreted as soil carbonate and is indicative of relatively warm and dry conditions.

The general climatic interpretation of Rock-shelter I calls for cold, moist conditions at the base D, followed by warmer and drier conditions in C, and followed in turn by cold and moist conditions in B and A. Much sedimentological detail in subdivision A is masked by the heavy carbonate concretionment that formed after the rock-shelter was filled. The ages assigned to the different climatic units differ somewhat for each of the investigators cited above."

The Amud cave, Northern Israel, lies about 3 km of Lake Tiberias. The cave is in the Wadi Amud. Wadi Amud rises to the north of the town of Safad which is of the southernmost edge of the Galilee mountains where are mainly composed of Cretaceous to Eocene limestone mass. The wadi meanders some 20 km across the southern flank of these mountains and finally flows into Lake Tiberias (Chinzei, 1970; Chinzei and Kiso, 1970).

The Cave site is situated at about 800 meters upstream along the Wadi Amud from the Zuttieh cave site and at an approximate height of 35 meters above the wadi floor on the western face of the Wadi Amud. The cave, which is excavated in the Eocene limestone cliff, is about 10 meters wide at its entrance and 12 meters deep. Its maximum height is 6 meters. In front of the cave, there is a terrace sloping down to the wadi. It ends with a steep bluft.

The fossil bearing deposits of the cave were stratigraphically and culturally divided into two layers, i.e., the younger disturbed A-layer (Amud A) and the older and undistrubed B-layer (Amud B).

Amud B yeilds the skeletal remains of the Amud man, animal bones and the palaeolithic stone implements and is composed of Grayish-brown, fine grained, loose, calcareous silt, intercalated with several layers of stalagmatic concretions. There is a breccia bed near the base and is unconformably overlain by Amud A. It is preserved that Amud B has a thickness of 1-2 m and must have resulted from the action of mechanic weathering of surrounding Limestone.

It is difficult to estimate the geological age of Amud B and even correlate it with the levels at the Zuttieh, Emireh, Mt. Carmel and Ksar Akil caves. The Amud man morphologically resembled the Neanderthals from Western Asia, especially the Tabun or the Shanidar. According to the recent C-14 dating for the Tabun Cave site, Tabun B, C and D dated respectively 39,700±800 (GrN-2170) years B.P., C-14 age for the site is between 7340±150 (N765) - Amud Bl and 18,300±400 (N768) - Amud B4. The stratigraphical, prehistorical, and palaeontological as well as climatological data on the Amud B seem to be compatible with one another indicating the age of the Amud B probably interstadial between the early and the Main Würm (Chinzei, 1970). However, the correlation bears a remarkable discrepancy from the age deduced from the carbon datings.

It is pleasure for me to be able to express my gratitude to the many individuals who have made this short article possible. Professor K.W. Butzer (Chicago) has given all facilities for reprints unavailable in Japan including his unpublished mimeograph. Dr. P. Goldberg (Michigan) has given interesting discussions concerning Jerf Ajila, Yabrud and Tabun. Professors J. Braidwood (Chicago), R. Solecki (Columbia) and B. Schroeder (Toronto) gave many suggestive informations. Valuable discussions were made in the process of the report making with our colleaugues of the mission including Professor K. Chinzei who was so kind to read my paper. (This paper is presented to Professor S. Kiuchi in memory of his 60th birthday).

Abdul-Salam, A. (1965):

Morphologische Studien in der Syrischen WÜste und dem Antilibanon.Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlchen Fakultät der Freien Universitat Berlin 123 pp.

Ardel, A. (1938):

Au sujet des variations de niveau du lac de Van durant la pèriode quaternaire. C.R. Congr. Int. Gèogr. Amsterdam 1938 (Leiden), vol 2, Sect. 2a, pp. 261-269.

——— (1954):

Partie occidentale de la règion Turquie. Rev. Gèogr. Inst. Instanbul, Int. Edn., 1: 66-84.

Bate, D.M.A. (1940):

The fossil antelopes of Palestine in Natufian (Mesolithic) times. Geol. Mag. 77:418-433.

Ben-Arieh, Y. (1964a):

A tentative water balance estimate of the Lisan Lake. Israel Jour. Earth Sciences 13: 42-47.

——— (1964b):

Some remarks on the last stages of formation of Lake Tiberias. ibid. 13: 53-62.

Birman, J.H. (1968):

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