Initial Upper Paleolithic Elements of the Keoue Cave, Lebanon

Abstract

The Keoue Cave, located in Lebanon, is a Middle Paleolithic site excavated by a University of Tokyo team in 1970. Studies in the subsequent decades assigned its lithic assemblages to the Levantine Mousterian industry of Tabun-B type, dated from the late Middle Paleolithic. Interestingly, those studies revealed the existence of a chamfered piece and a couple of Emireh point pieces in the assemblage from the latest layer, which are the hallmarks of the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) of the Levant. Their association with a Tabun-B type assem- blage at the Keoue Cave is, if tested, intriguing in regard to the interpretation of the pro- cesses of the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition. However, this issue has not been studied to date. In this paper, the occurrence of the IUP elements at the Keoue Cave is examined from stratigraphic and techno-typological viewpoints. Results confirmed the presence of at least one typical chamfered piece and one typical Emireh point, but revealed that those ele- ments were derived from a secondary stratigraphic context. Therefore, the evidence from this cave cannot be used to verify the association of either the chamfered piece or Emireh point with the Tabun-B type industry; alternatively, the possibility that an IUP occupation layer once existed at the Keoue Cave is suggested. Despite the uncertainty in the strati- graphic context, the IUP elements’ occurrence at the Keoue Cave is an important addition to our currently small dataset that will aid in understanding the chrono-spatial variability of the IUP cultural processes in the Levant.