New interpretation of the oldest part of the Tabun Cave sequence, Mount Carmel, Israel

Detailed geoarchaeological studies of the lowermost sediments (layer G and the base of F) at Tabun allow a more detailed interpretation of environmental changes in the Lower Palaeolithic. Micromorphological techniques coupled with SEM observations in the most ancient beds (G) attest to a strong pedogenesis under warm and humid conditions, with at some point a gley formation. This was followed by an increase in aeolian sand accumulation, and ended (lower layer F) with a new phase of biological activity, more limited than the former. New TL and ESR dates, and preliminary paleomagnetic measurements, place this palaeoenvironmental record between Isotope stages 11 and 19. The cultural remains, the anthropogenic features and the considerable time scale sustain the key position of Tabun as a prehistoric yardstick and a Quaternary type-section.