The Middle Paleolithic sequence of Wadi Mushkuna Rockshelter and its implications for hominin settlement dynamics in western Syria

The Tübingen-Damaskus Ausgrabungs-und Survey Projekt (TDASP) conducted Paleolithic field work in the Damascus Province of western Syria between 1999 and 2010. The TDASP team excavated four stratified sites dating to the Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic. Here we report on Wadi Mushkuna Rockshelter, a well stratified Middle Paleolithic sequence excavated by TDASP. Specifically, we focus on diachronic changes of technological characteristics and settlement behavior and test if they co-vary throughout the sequence of 20 archaeological horizons (AH) spanning about 4 m of deposits. Our results on technological characteristics indicate continuity over large parts of the sequence with a gradual change observed towards the top. To explore hominin settlement behavior we analyzed artifact densities and ratios between tools and flakes for each of the layers. In contrast, the data on settlement behavior point to clear differences between the strata above and below layer AH VI. From these results we conclude that the sequence at Wadi Mushkuna provides no evidence for co-variation of technological change and settlement behavior.