GEOMORPHOLOGIC ASSESSMENT AND RESEARCH STRATEGIES FOR THE STUDY OF STAGES 5 AND 4 PALEOCLIMATES AND MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC OCCUPATIONS IN JORDAN

The Middle Paleolithic and its transition to the Upper Paleolithic is a critical time for understanding the coexistence between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans in Southwestern Asia. It is also a time critical for understanding the extinction of Neanderthals, occurred by ~ 50 ka, and the success of Homo sapiens sapiens as the only extant hominid. Our knowledge on these subjects is primarily based on human remains found in various locations in Southwestern Asia and Europe. Unlike the Levantine coast and areas in the interior of Syria, archaeological deposits of Middle Paleolithic deposits in Jordan have not yielded human remains. However, Mousterian lithic scatters are common in almost all regions of Jordan, suggesting a substantial presence of humans during the Middle Paleolithic. Part of the problem faced in the recording of evidence for the Middle Paleolithic lies in the occurrence of intense tectonic, alluvial, colluvial and eolian processes during the Upper Pleistocene, Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. All these processes modified greatly the evidence for Middle Paleolithic sites and sediments with potential for recovering proxy data for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Therefore, the search for Middle Paleolithic remains requires a great deal of attention on site taphonomy with regard to geomorphic processes that may have modified the original archaeological settings. This paper addresses problems and possibilities for Middle Paleolithic archaeological and paleoenvironmental research on the edge of the Jordanian plateau facing the Dead Sea Rift and in the paleolake basins in the deserts of the Central Plateau. In addition, this paper discusses clues for paleoclimate reconstruction the time comprised during Marine Isotopic Stages 5 and 4, which is necessary for understanding Middle Paleolithic subsistence.