Middle to Late Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherer encampments at the Ashalim site, on a linear dune-like morphology, along dunefield margin water bodies

Ten optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements conducted for the dune-like morphology indicate that the occupations of the site post-date ∼15.5 ± 3.1 ka BP, while bodies of water were present intermittently until at least ∼11 ka BP, possibly even after the Harifian occupation. Two radiocarbon dates, taken from ostrich eggshell fragments that were found upon the flat surface of the dune-like morphology, further support this time range. The current study demonstrates how aeolian-fluvial interactions, and not necessarily a wetter climate, are important for forming conditions conducive for occupation by prehistoric groups in arid zones.