Palynological investigations at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet, Israel Sophia Aharonovich a , Gonen Sharon b , Mina Weinstein-Evron a, * a Laboratory of Palynology, Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel b Prehistory Laboratory, Tel Hai College, Upper Galilee, Israel article info Article history: Available online xxx abstract A detailed palynological sequence of the late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) open-air site Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), northern Jordan Rift Valley, Israel, dated to ca. 65e51 ka, constitutes a rare case of a south Levantine archaeo-palynological study for this period. The sequence is characterized by relatively high Arboreal Pollen (AP) ratios, comparable to humid fluctuations in the near-by Hula cores. The pollen spectra represent a Mediterranean maquis with Quercus calliprinos (Palestine oak), Quercus ithaburensis (Mt. Tabor oak), Pistacia sp. (pistachio), Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine), and Olea europaea (wild olive) as the main tree taxa. Among the Non Arboreal Pollen (NAP) the dominant families are Poaceae (true grasses family), Chenopodiaceae (goosefoot family), Apiaceae (parsley family) and Liliaceae (lily family), and the genera Artemisia (sagebrush) and Centaurea (centaury). Two humid fluctuations with higher AP ratios, separated by a somewhat drier one, seem to emerge. The earlier humid fluctuation represents a cooler climate as indicated by the occurrence of Cedrus libani (Lebanon cedar), Abies (fir), and Alnus (alder) pollen. Altogether, the palynological data suggest wet habitats near the site in a rather humid period, when a Mediterranean maquis was widespread on the mountains surrounding the valley, with some minor fluctuations in humidity and temperature. Results of the current study fit those of a previous study of the Hula Basin for roughly the same time period. They further provide valuable details and a unique palaeoenvironmental reconstruction specifically related to the occupation period of NMO. Given the postulated short-term nature of its human occupation, the palynological sequence may represent a longer period of accumulation, extending before, during and after human presence at the site, with short human habitation spell/s incorporated within the sequence. The unique preservation of rich and diverse micro-botanical (pollen) and macro-botanical (wood, bark, seeds and fruits) assemblages at the site further contributes to the comprehensive reconstruction of a variety of biotopes exploited by the in- habitants of the site, both in the vicinity and further afield. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The Middle Palaeolithic (MP) is a period of significant cultural change in the Levant, encompassing technological, social, subsis- tence and symbolic developments among its human populations (e.g., Bar-Yosef, 2000; Shea, 2003; Speth, 2012). Moreover, it in- volves the yet enigmatic issue of the possible relationships between the Neanderthals and early modern humans, the two carriers of the culture of the period, the Mousterian. Data on climate change during the culture’s time frame between 250 ka and 50 ka are critical to understanding factors which may have influenced these important cultural transformations and human population dy- namics and evolution during this period (see also Tchernov, 1998; Weissbrod and Zaidner, 2013). Various palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of the Late Pleis- tocene Levant have been based on long and continuous regional records derived from lakes in the Jordan Rift Valley (Niklewski and van Zeist, 1970; Horowitz, 1979; Weinstein-Evron, 1983; Bartov et al., 2002), the Mediterranean Sea (Langgut et al., 2011) and from cave speleothems (Bar-Matthews et al., 1997, 2003; Vaks et al., 2003). However, direct evidence from the archaeological sites themselves, which are critical for correlating accurately between cultural and palaeoenvironmental dynamics, are scarce. The avail- able sequences obtained from MP archaeological sites are rarely continuous, and often reflect the impact of various biasing factors * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: sophia.aharonovich@gmail.com (S. Aharonovich), gonen. sharon@mail.huji.ac.il (G. Sharon), evron@research.haifa.ac.il (M. Weinstein-Evron). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.10.043 Quaternary International xxx (2013) 1e18 Please cite this article in press as: Aharonovich, S., et al., Palynological investigations at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet, Israel, Quaternary International (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.10.043