Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jasrep Novel chrono-cultural constraints for the Middle Paleolithic site of Rosh Ein Mor (D15), Israel Mae Goder-Goldberger a, ⁎ , Mira Bar-Matthews b a Department of Bible, Archaeology and Ancient Near East, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel b Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Rosh Ein Mor U-series dating Late Middle Paleolithic ABSTRACT The site of Rosh Ein Mor is constantly used as a cultural marker for the presence of “Tabun D” type industries in the Negev. A re-analysis of the lithic assemblage shows that the techno-typological characteristics fit better within the late Middle Paleolithic variability than within the early Middle Paleolithic. Using the powerful tool of U-series for dating calcite crusts on the artifacts a cluster of dates between ~70–35 ka has been obtained. Taking into consideration the central Negev highlands paleoclimate record and the geomorphological setting, this study presents valid data to suggest that Rosh Ein Mor was occupied during MIS 4 and possibly into MIS 3. 1. Introduction Geomorphological mechanisms shaping the landscape, are pri- marily governed by climate, geology and the locally variable topo- graphy. These geomorphological processes shape the environmental settings of open-air sites and have a profound effect on their pre- servation, especially in exposed desert landscapes. The Levantine Mediterranean ecological region can accommodate for several hunter- gatherer groups of 25 members each with small annual territories (Hovers and Belfer-Cohen, 2013; Hovers et al., 2014). While in the desert and semi-desert regions similar sized bands would need to ex- ploit a much larger annual territory, resulting in patchy use of the landscape and ephemeral sites. However, there are specific landmarks which are repeatedly visited, such as perennial water sources, outlook view points and raw material sources. Rosh Ein Mor (D15), a Middle Paleolithic site in the Negev Desert has yielded one of the largest lithic assemblages assigned to the Middle Paleolithic (Marks and Crew, 1972; Crew, 1976). The site, its chron- ological and techno-typological affinities, have important implications when discussing the relevance of Middle Paleolithic variability to the emergence of Upper Paleolithic traditions, especially in marginal re- gions (Marks and Volkman, 1983; Marks and Monigal, 1995; Rose and Marks, 2014; Derex and Boyd, 2016). Located < 2 km downstream from Rosh Ein Mor there are two sites, Boker Tachtit and Boker, as- signed to the Initial and early Upper Paleolithic respectively (Marks, 1977, 1983; Jones et al., 1983; Marks and Kaufman, 1983). Similarities between the assemblages was used to suggest a technological stasis during the Middle Paleolithic in the region (Marks and Monigal, 1995; Rink et al., 2003). Rosh Ein Mor (D15) is an open-air Middle Paleolithic site excavated in the early 1970's as part of the Central Negev Project of the Southern Methodist University (Marks et al., 1971; Marks and Crew, 1972). The site is situated (Fig. 1) on the western cliff of the Mor Canyon at an elevation of 495 m above sea level overlooking the Ein Avdat spring, located ~70 m bellow (Marks et al., 1971). The archaeological assem- blage was assigned to the Middle Paleolithic “Tabun D” type techno- logical tradition (Marks and Monigal, 1995; Rose and Marks, 2014). However, the exact age of the site not fully resolved, with dates varying from 200 ka onwards (Crew, 1976; Goldberg, 1976; Marks and Monigal, 1995; Rink et al., 2003). Marks and Monigal (1995) argued that in the Negev the “Tabun D” type technological tradition persisted for over 100 ka until its final transformation into the Upper Paleolithic, as seen at Boker Tachtit. Other researchers suggested that the lithic assemblage from D15 fits better within the late Middle Paleolithic industries and should not be regarded as an early Middle Paleolithic industry (Goder, 1997; Goren-Inbar and Belfer-Cohen, 1998; Henry, 1995:37; Henry and Miller, 1992; Hovers, 1998; Meignen, 1995). A growing number of open-air sites excavated over the last decade offer new insights into the influence of landscape mechanisms on site formation processes (Goring-Morris and Goldberg, 1990; Hovers et al., 2014; Hovers, 2017; Malinsky-Buller et al., 2011; Roskin et al., 2014). Recent geological, geomorphological and paleoclimatic studies in the central Negev Highlands suggest that the landscape was shaped by successive processes of erosion and deposition, governed by changing https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.12.021 Received 28 August 2018; Received in revised form 6 December 2018; Accepted 30 December 2018 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: maego@post.bgu.ac.il (M. Goder-Goldberger), matthews@mail.gsi.gov.il (M. Bar-Matthews). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 24 (2019) 102–114 2352-409X/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T