Apports de la datation par la luminescence des sites du Proche-Orient et résultats préliminaires du site de Nesher Ramla (Israël)

After a short presentation of the thermoluminescence (TL) dating method, we propose a review of the ages obtained on heated flints coming from Middle East caves attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic period. As some of these sites have produced human fossils, the TL datings give clues to evolution of the prehistoric settlement of this region and appearance of modern man, more than 100,000 years ago. Then, we focus on the Nesher Ramla site (Judea, Israel), an exceptional open-air site that displays an extended Middle Palaeolithic stratigraphy. Preliminary TL datings of heated flints are discussed and compared to optically stimulated luminescence ages obtained on quartz grains from the archaeological levels (Zaidner et al., 2014).