Institute for Prehistory, University of Cologne, Weyertal 125, 50923 Cologne, Germany.
J Hum Evol. 2011 Nov;61(5):519-37. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.01.014. Epub 2011 Sep 3.
The site of Hummal is one of several artesian springs in the El Kowm area (Central Syria) that became the focus of archaeological research at the beginning of the 1980s. The archaeological sequence spans the whole Paleolithic period and the spring is therefore a reference site for the Paleolithic in the interior part of the Levant. Archaeological remains are found in a more than 15 m thick succession of deposits that contain Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic assemblages. The present paper addresses archaeological and geological data, which were recovered during recent years' excavations of Mousterian deposits. With a compiled stratigraphy of over 6 m and more than 30 archaeological levels, the Hummal Mousterian sequence is especially apt for the reconstruction of changing site-use patterns through time. Lithic analysis helps to elucidate technological traditions as well as organization and the changing ways in which mobile foragers used a site in the context of an arid steppe. Results contribute further to existing models of Levantine Middle Paleolithic land-use strategies and demography in the time span of between 130,000 and 50,000 BP, and partly contradict existing interpretations. Two different lithic industries were defined, which correspond to a C- and B-type Levantine Mousterian according to the three-stage Tabun model. The discovery of a C-type Mousterian in the lower deposits further extends the geographical range of this cultural facies into the interior arid part of the Levant. An increasing importance and standardization of Levallois points is observable and thereby supports models that postulate a growing specialization of hunting techniques at the end of the Middle Paleolithic.
胡马尔遗址是叙利亚中部埃尔科姆地区（Central Syria）几个自流泉泉眼之一，自 20 世纪 80 年代初以来，该遗址成为考古研究的焦点。考古序列贯穿整个旧石器时代，因此该泉眼是黎凡特内陆地区旧石器时代的一个参照点。在一个 15 米以上的沉积层序中发现了考古遗迹，其中包含了旧石器时代的下层、中层和上层组合。本文介绍了近年来对莫斯特（Mousterian）沉积层挖掘中获得的考古学和地质学数据。胡马尔莫斯特序列的地层堆积超过 6 米，有 30 多个考古层位，特别适合通过时间重建不断变化的遗址使用模式。石器分析有助于阐明技术传统以及组织形式，以及流动觅食者在干旱草原环境中使用遗址的方式的变化。研究结果进一步补充了现有的黎凡特中石器时代土地利用策略和人口统计学模型，时间跨度在 13 万年至 5 万年前之间，部分结果与现有解释相矛盾。定义了两种不同的石器工业，根据三阶段塔邦（Tabun）模型，这两种石器工业分别对应于 C 型和 B 型黎凡特莫斯特石器工业。在下部沉积物中发现了 C 型莫斯特石器工业，进一步将这种文化形态的地理范围扩展到了黎凡特内陆干旱地区。勒瓦娄哇技术（Levallois points）的重要性和标准化程度不断提高，这支持了这样的模型，即在中石器时代末期，狩猎技术的专业化程度不断提高。
