Neandertals and Modern Humans in Western Asia

In this fascinating volume, the Middle Paleolithic archaeology of the Middle East is brought to the current debate on the origins of modern humans. These collected papers gather the most up-to-date archaeological discoveries of Western Asia - a region that is often overshadowed by African or European findings - but the only region in the world where both Neandertal and early modern human fossils have been found. The collection includes reports on such well known cave sites as Kebara, Hayonim, and Qafzeh, among others. The information and interpretations available here are a must for any serious researcher or student of anthropology or human evolution.

Issues of Evolution and Chronology: Evolutionary Implications of Altered Perspectives on Hominine Demes and Populations in the Later Pleistocene of Western Eurasia; F.C. Howell. Chronological and Biogeographic Perspectives on Later Human Evolution; C. Stringer. The Chronology of the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant; O. Bar-Yosef. Archaeological Assemblages: Cultural Interpretations and Subsistence Strategies: The Earliest Paleolithic Occupation in Syria; S. Muhesen. Site Formation Processes in Kebara and Hayonim Caves and Their Significance in Levantine Prehistoric Caves; P. Goldberg, O. Bar-Yosef. Intrasite Spatial Patterns and Behavioral Modernity: Indications from the Late Levantine Mousterian Rockshelter of Tor Faraj, Southern Jordan; D.O. Henry. The Human Fossils: Climatic Changes, Paleogeography, and the Evolution of the Neandertals; J.-J. Hublin. Sapiens and Neandertals: Rethinking the Levantine Middle Paleolithic Hominids; B. Arensburg, A. Belfer-Cohen. Cultural and Human Evolution: Views from Neighboring Regions: The Evolution of Culture: A Comparative Perspective; K.N. Laland. Domestic Fire as Evidence for Language; A. Ronen. 24 Additional Chapters. Index.