Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:48:22.980Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Short Paper: Reevaluating the tectonic uplift of western Mount Carmel, Israel, since the middle Pleistocene

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Dov Zviely ,
Ehud Galili ,
Avraham Ronen ,
Amos Salamon  and
Zvi Ben-Avraham
Dov Zviely*
Affiliation:
The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
Ehud Galili
Affiliation:
Israel Antiquities Authority, POB 180 Atlit 30350, Israel
Avraham Ronen
Affiliation:
Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
Amos Salamon
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel, Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Zvi Ben-Avraham
Affiliation:
Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
*
⁎Corresponding author. zviely@netvision.net.il, galilish@netvision.net.il, aronen@research.haifa.ac.il, salamon@gsi.gov.il
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Reevaluation of geological and archaeological evidence from western Mount Carmel constrains its maximal tectonic uplift since the Middle Pleistocene. Tabun Cave, presently 45 m above sea level (asl), revealed human occupation from about 600 ka to 90 ka before present. The 25 m thick archaeological strata at Tabun are composed of laminated fine sand, silt and clays. Moreover, no marine deposits were found in Tabun or nearby caves. Since sea level in the last 600 ka reached a maximal of 5 to 10 m asl, Tabun Cave could not have been uplifted since then by more than 35 to 40 m, that is a maximal average rate of 58 to 67 mm/ka.

Keywords

Eastern MediterraneanCarmel coastal plainCarmel faultTabun CaveSea-level changesMIS 5e
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , March 2009 , pp. 239 - 245
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achmon, M., and Ben-Avraham, Z. The deep structure of the Carmel fault zone, northern Israel, from gravity field analysis. Tectonics 16, 3 (1997). 563–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartov, Y., Sneh, A., Fleischer, L., Arad, V., and Rosensaft, M. (2002). Potentially active faults in Israel; Stage B. Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem., Report GSI/29/02, 8 p (in Hebrew, English appendix).Google Scholar
Bar-Yosef, D.E. Mollusks as food and ornament in prehistoric times. Israel Journal of Zoology 35, (1988–89). 79–80.Google Scholar
Bar-Yosef, D.E. The exploitation of shells as beads in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic of the Levant. Paléorient 31/1, (2005). 176–185.Google Scholar
Bate, D.M.A. Palaeontology; the fossil fauna of the Wady El-Mughara caves. Garrod, D.A.E., and Bate, D.M.A. The Stone Age of Mount Carmel, I, Part II. (1937). Clarendon Press, Oxford. 135–237.Google Scholar
Begin, Z.B., Zilberman, E., (1997). Main stages and rate of the relief development in Israel. Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem., Report GSI/24/97, 63 p (in Hebrew, English abstract).Google Scholar
Ben-Avraham, Z., Ginzburg, A., Makris, J., and Eppelbaum, L. Crustal structure of the Levant basin, eastern Mediterranean. Tectonophysics 346, 1–2 (2002). 23–43.Google Scholar
Coppa, A., Grün, R., Stringer, C., Eggins, S., and Vargiu, R. Newly recognized Pleistocene human teeth from Tabun Cave, Israel. Journal of Human Evolution 49, (2005). 301–315.Google Scholar
Even-Tzur, G. Monitoring vertical movements in mount Carmel region Proceedings. 11th FIG Symposium on Deformation Measurements, Santorini, Greece (2003). 23–32.Google Scholar
Even-Tzur, G., and Agmon, E. Monitoring vertical movements in Mount Carmel by means of GPS and precise leveling. Survey Review 38, 596 (2005). 146–157.Google Scholar
Farrand, W.R. Chronology and palaeoenvironment of Levantine prehistoric sites as seen from sediment studies. Journal of Archaeological Science 6, (1979). 369–392.Google Scholar
Farrand, W.R., and Ronen, A. Observations on the kurkar–hamra succession on the Carmel Coastal Plain. Tel-Aviv 1, (1974). 45–55.Google Scholar
Ferranti, L., Antonioli, F., Mauz, B., Amorosi, A., Dai Pra, G., Mastronuzzi, G., Monaco, C., Orrứ, P., Pappalardo, M., Radtke, U., Renda, P., Romanoa, P., Sanso, P., and Verrubbi, V. Markers of the last interglacial sea-level high stand along the coast of Italy: tectonic implications. Quaternary International 145-146, (2006). 30–54.Google Scholar
Fleischer, L., Gafsou, R., (2003). Top Judea Group digital structural map of Israel. Geophysical Institute of Israel, Lod, Israel., Report 753/312/03, 19 p.Google Scholar
Frechen, M., Neber, A., Tsatskin, A., Boenigk, W., and Ronen, A. Chronology of Pleistocene sedimentary cycles in the Carmel Coastal Plain of Israel. Quaternary International 121, (2004). 41–52.Google Scholar
Galili, E., Zviely, D., and Weinstein-Evron, M. Holocene sea-level changes and landscape evolution in the northern Carmel coast (Israel). Méditerranée: Revue Geographique des pays Mediterraneens 104, 1/2 (2005). 79–86.Google Scholar
Galili, E., Zviely, D., Ronen, A., and Mienis, H.K. Beach deposits of MIS 5e high sea stand as indicators for tectonic stability of the Carmel coastal plain, Israel. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 2544–2557.Google Scholar
Garrod, D.A.E., and Bate, D.M.A. The Stone Age of Mount Carmel, I. (1937). Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Goldberg, P., (1973). Sedimentology, stratigraphy and paleoclimatology of Et-Tabun Cave, Mt. Carmel, Israel. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Michigan, USA.Google Scholar
Goldberg, P., and Bar-Yosef, O. Site formation processes in Kebara and Hayonim caves and their significance in Levantine prehistoric caves. Akazawa, T., Aoki, T., and Bar-Yosef, O. Neanderthals and Modern Humans in Western Asia. (1998). Plenum Press, New York. 107–1125.Google Scholar
Grün, R., and Stringer, C.B. Tabun revisited: revised ESR chronology and new ESR and U-series analyses of dental material from Tabun C1. Journal of Human Evolution 39, (2000). 601–612.Google Scholar
Gvirtzman, G., Netser, M., and Katsav, E. Last-Glacial to Holocene Kurkar ridges, Hamra soils and dune fields in the coastal belt of central Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Science 47, (1998). 29–46.Google Scholar
Hall, J.K., and Calvo, R. Digital shaded relief maps of Israel, 1:500,000 scale. Hall, J.K., Krasheninnikov, A., Hirsch, F., Benjamini, C., and Flexer, A. Geological Framework of the Levant, Historical Productions-Hall, Jerusalem, Plate XI. (2005). Google Scholar
Hofstetter, A., Van Eck, T., and Shapira, A. Seismic activity along fault branches of the Dead Sea Jordan Transform system: the Carmel-Tirtza fault system. Tectonophysics 267, 1–4 (1996). 317–330.Google Scholar
Issar, A. Geology of central coastal plain of Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 17, (1968). 16–29.Google Scholar
Jelinek, A.J. A preliminary study of flakes from the Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel. Eretz-Israel 13, (1977). 87–96.Google Scholar
Jelinek, A.J. The Tabun Cave and Paleolithic man in the Levant. Science 216/4553, (1982). 1369–1375.Google Scholar
Jelinek, A.J., Farrand, W.R., Hass, G., Horowitz, A., and Goldberg, P. New excavation at the Tabun Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel, 1967–1972: a preliminary report. Paléorient 1, (1973). 151–183.Google Scholar
Kafri, U. Recent crustal movement in northern Israel. Journal of Geophysical Research 74, 17 (1969). 4246–4258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kafri, U. Pleistocene tectonic movement in the coastal plain of Israel emphasizing the Mount Carmel area, a review. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 19, (1970). 147–152.Google Scholar
Kafri, U. Young tectonics in the Carmel; corrections and completions. Carmel Research Conference. University of Haifa and Galilee Research Institute, Israel (1988). 4–7. (in Hebrew) Google Scholar
Kafri, U., and Ecker, A. Neogene and Quaternary subsurface geology and hydrogeology of the Zevulun Plain. Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Bulletin 37, (1964). 13 Google Scholar
Karcz, Y. The structure of the northern Carmel. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, Section G: Geo-Sciences 8, 2–3 (1959). 119–130.Google Scholar
Kashai, E., (1966). The geology of the eastern and southwestern Carmel. Ph.D. Thesis, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 115 p. (in Hebrew, English abstract).Google Scholar
Lambeck, K., Antonioli, F., Purcell, T., Stirling, C., (2004). MIS 5.5 Sea level in the Mediterranean and inferences on the global ice volumes during late MIS 6 and MIS 5.5. In: Proceedings of the 32nd International Geological Congress, Florence. Italy.Google Scholar
Laukhin, S.A., Ronen, A., Ranov, V.A., Pospelova, G.A., Burdukiewicz, J.M., Sharonova, Z.V., Volgina, V.A., Kulikov, O.A., Vlasov, V.K., and Tsatskin, A. New data on the Paleolithic geochronology in southern Levant. Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 8, (2000). 498–510.Google Scholar
Mashiah, M. Effects of the geomorphologic and tectonic processes on the western front design of the Carmel Block. Geological Survey of Israel, Report GSI/06/05, Jerusalem (2005). 103 (in Hebrew, English abstract) Google Scholar
Mercier, N., and Valladas, H. Reassessment of TL age estimates of burnt flints from the Palaeolithic site of Tabun Cave, Israel. Journal of Human Evolution 45, (2003). 401–409.Google Scholar
Mercier, N., Valladas, H., Froget, L., Joron, J.-L., and Ronen, A. Datation par thermoluminescence de la base du gisement paléolithique de Tabun (Mont Carmel, Israël). C. R. Académie des Sciences, Paris, Sciences de la Terre et des planétes / Earth and Planetary Sciences 330, (2000). 731–738.Google Scholar
Michelson, H. The geology of the Carmel coast. Tahal, Israel Water Planning Ltd, Report HG/70/025. Tel Aviv (1970). 61 (in Hebrew) Google Scholar
Neber, A., (2002). Sedimentological properties of Quaternary deposits on the central coastal plain, Israel. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Archaeology, Haifa University., 216 p.Google Scholar
Novitsky, R., (2006). Recent crustal movements along the Carmel fault system using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements. M.Sc. Thesis, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva., 106 p (in Hebrew, English abstract).Google Scholar
Olami, Y. Prehistoric Carmel. (1984). Israel Exploration Society, Jerusalem. 216 Google Scholar
Picard, L., and Kashai, E. On the lithostratigraphy and tectonics of the Carmel. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, Section G: Geo-Sciences 7, 1 (1958). 1–19.Google Scholar
Rabineau, M., Bemé, S., Olivet, J.-L., Aslanian, D., Guillocheau, F., and Joseph, P. Paleo sea levels reconsidered from direct observation of paleoshoreline position during Glacial Maxima (for the last 500,000 yr). Earth and Planetary Science Letters 252, (2006). 119–137.Google Scholar
Rak, Y. Does any Mousterian cave present evidence of two hominid species?. Akazawa, T., Aoki, K., and Bar-Yosef, O. Neandertals and Modern Humans in Western Asia. (1998). Plenum Press, New York. 353–366.Google Scholar
Rink, W.J., Schwarcz, H.P., Ronen, A., and Tsatskin, A. Confirmation of near 400 ka age for the Yabrudian industry at Tabun Cave, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science 31, (2004). 15–20.Google Scholar
Ronen, A. The Palaeolithic archaeology and chronology of Israel. Wendorf, F., and Marks, A.E. Problems in Prehistory: North Africa and the Levant. (1975). Southern Methodist University, Dallas. 229–248.Google Scholar
Ronen, A. Réflexions sur l'origine,la genése et la chronologie des grés dunaires calcifiés dits premiére et deuxiéme chaînes cîotiéressur le littoral israélien. Bulletin de la société Préhistorique Francaise 72, (1975). 72–77.Google Scholar
Ronen, A. The Skhul burials: an archaeological review. IX UISPP Congress, Nice, Colloque XII, (1976). 27–40.Google Scholar
Ronen, A. Mousterian sites in red loam in the Carmel Coastal Plain. Eretz Israel 13, (1977). 183–190.Google Scholar
Ronen, A. Mt. Carmel Caves — the first excavations. Ronen, A. The Transition from Lower to Middle Paleolithic and the Origin of Modern Man 151, (1982). British Archaeological Reports, Oxford, International Series. 7–28.Google Scholar
Ronen, A. Sefunim prehistoric sites Mount Carmel, Israel. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 230 (i) 1, (1984). 224 Google Scholar
Ronen, A., and Tsatskin, A. New interpretations of the oldest part of the Tabun Cave sequence. Mount Carmel, Israel. Ullrich, H. Man and Environment in the Palaeolithic, ERAUL 62, (1995). Études et recherches archéologiques de l’universite de Liège, 265–281.Google Scholar
Ronen, A., Tsatskin, A., and Laukhin, S.A. The genesis and age of Mousterian paleosols in the Carmel Coastal plain, Israel. Davies, W., and Charles, R. Studies in Honour of D.A.E. (1999). Garrod. Oxbow Books, Oxford. 135–151.Google Scholar
Ronen, A., Shifroni, A., Laukhin, , and Tsatskin, A. Observations on the Acheulean of Tabun Cave, Israel. ERAUL 95, (2000). 209–224.Google Scholar
Ronen, A., Zviely, D., and Galili, E. Did the Last Interglacial sea penetrate Mount Carmel caves? Comments on “The setting of the Mt. Carmel caves reassessed” by C. Vita-Finzi and C. Stringer. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 2684–2685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosen, D., and Kit, E. Evaluation of the wave characteristics at the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 30, (1982). 120–134.Google Scholar
Rotstein, Y., Bruner, I., and Kafri, U. High-resolution seismic imaging of the Carmel fault and its implications for the structure of Mount Carmel. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 42, (1993). 55–69.Google Scholar
Sass, E. Late Cretaceous volcanism in Mount Carmel, Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 29, (1980). 8–24.Google Scholar
Sass, E., and Bein, A. Platform carbonates and reefs in the Judean hills, Carmel and Galilee. Guide Book of the 10th International Congress on Sedimentology, Jerusalem. (1978). 241–274.Google Scholar
Schattner, U., Ben-Avraham, Z., Reshef, M., Bar-Am, G., and Lazar, M. Oligocene-Miocene formation of the Haifa basin: Qishon-Sirhan rifting coeval with the Red Sea-Suez rift system. Tectonophysics 419, (2006). 1–12.Google Scholar
Schellmann, G., and Radtke, U. A revised morpho- and chronostratigraphy of the late and middle Pleistocene coral reef terraces on Southern Barbados (West Indies). Earth-Science Reviews 64, (2004). 157–187.Google Scholar
Segev, A., and Sass, E. The geology of the central and southern Carmel region. 2006 Marco, S., and Porat, N. Israel Geological Society, Annual Meeting, Field Trips. (2006). 69–87. (in Hebrew) Google Scholar
Shahar, L., and Even-Tzur, G. Recent vertical movements inferred from high-precision leveling data in the Carmel Mountain. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 54, 4 (2005). 219–228.Google Scholar
Shifroni, A., and Ronen, A. The “Tabun snap” from the Yabrudian/Acheulean interface at Tabun. Praehistoria 1, (2000). 109–116.Google Scholar
Siddall, M., Chappell, J., and Potter, E.-K. Eustatic sea level during past interglacials. Sirocko, F., Claussen, M., Sanchez-Goni, M.F., and Litt, T. The climate of past interglacials, Developments in Quaternary Science 7. (2006). Elsevier, Amsterdam. 75–92.Google Scholar
Sneh, A., Bartov, Y., and Rosensaft, M. Geological Map of Israel, 1:200,000 scale, Sheet 1. (1998). Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Tsatskin, A., Weinstein-Evron, M., and Ronen, A. Weathering and pedogenesis of wind-blown sediments in the Mount Carmel caves, Israel. Quaternary Proceedings 4, (1995). 83–93.Google Scholar
Vita-Finzi, C. Prehistory and tectonics on Mount Carmel. Archaeology and History in Lebanon 15, (2002). 6–10.Google Scholar
Vita-Finzi, C., and Stringer, C. The setting of the Mount Carmel caves reassessed. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 436–440.Google Scholar
Waelbroeck, C., Labeyrie, L., Michel, E., Duplessy, J.C., McManus, J.F., Lambeck, K., Balbon, E., and Labracherie, M. Sea-level and deep water temperature changes derived from benthonic foraminifera isotopic records. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, (2002). 295–305.Google Scholar
Weinstein-Evron, M. Early Natufian el-Wad revisited. ERAUL 77, Études et recherches archéologiques de l’universite de Liège (1998). 265 Google Scholar
Weinstein-Evron, M., Tsatskin, A., Porat, N., and Kronfeld, J. A 230Th/234U for the Acheulo-Yabrudain layer in the Jamal Cave, Mount Carmel Israel. South African Journal of Science 95, (1999). 186–188.Google Scholar
Zviely, D., Klein, M., Rosen, D.S., and Sharvit, Y. The dominant wave storm and the monitoring of coastal changes along the Israeli coast. Galil, B., and Mart, Y. 13th Conference on the Mediterranean Continental Shelf of Israel. (2001). Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, University of Haifa. 74–75.Google Scholar
Zviely, D., Kit, E., and Klein, M. Longshore sand transport estimates along the Mediterranean coast of Israel in the Holocene. Marine Geology 238, (2007). 61–67.Google Scholar