Soil geomorphology in archaeological sites
The contributions of geologists, geomorphologists, and pedologists to archaeology can help in many ways to better interpret and reconstruct paleo-environments. In recent years we work closely with archaeologists, mainly in prehistoric sites, in all aspects of the research. These include so far excavations in Jerusalem (Emek Rephaim, Arnona), in the Galilee (Evron), and in the Negev (Far’ah II, Nahal HaBesor).
Fluvial loess sequences at Far’ah II site, lower Besor basin, Israel (Goder-Goldberger et al., 2020)
Understanding landscape evolution is crucial for an accurate interpretation of past settlement dynamics. During the late Pleistocene, an enormous influx of eolian loess was deposited and reworked simultaneously and subsequently in the northern Negev desert, Israel, filling the Negev fluvial valleys with deposits of up to 20 m thick. This geologically short event has drastically altered the pre-existing landscape and sedimentology as well as surface and subsurface hydrology of the Negev and most probably impacted human settlement and mobility patterns of hunter-gathers.
In the Besor basin, the largest of the Negev watersheds, this “Loess event” is unique in both magnitudes and its geomorphic impact. Yet, it was only studied in a limited number of localities. The cause of its magnitude and the reason that most loess deposits were not washed to the Mediterranean are not well understood. The valley fill, its diverse depositional environments, and its interaction with other sedimentary features such as aeolianite ridges and coastal dunes, could have played an important role in the presence or absence of seasonal/perennial water bodies. These, in turn, could have attracted wildlife and hunter-gatherers from neighboring regions, despite the arid climate.
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In collaboration with Mae Goder-Goldberger and Isaac Gilead (BGU).
Publications:
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Goder-Goldberger, M., Gilead, I., Boaretto, E., Edeltin, L., Kolska-Horwitz, L., Jacoby-Glass, Y., Lavi, R., Neumann, F.H., Porat, N., Toffolo, M. B., Van Aardt, A. C., Zilberman, T., and Crouvi, O. (2023). Living in an ecotone: Late Middle Palaeolithic occupations in the lower Besor Basin, north-western Negev Desert, Israel. Antiquity, 1-8, doi:10.15184/aqy.2023.89
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Goder-Goldberger, M., Crouvi, O., Caracuta, V., Kolska-Horwitz, L., Neumann, F.H., Porat, N., Scott, L., Shavit, R., Jacoby-Glass, Y., Zilberman, T., Boaretto, E. (2020). The Middle to Upper Paleolithic Transition in the Southern Levant: New insights from the late Middle Paleolithic site of Far’ah II, Israel. Quaternary Science Reviews, 237, 106304, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106304.
Field photo (a) and the pedosedimentary units and luminescence ages along the Emeq Rephaim site (b) (Crouvi et al., 2018)
Little is known about the prehistory of the Jerusalem area. A series of recent salvage excavations conducted in southern Jerusalem at several water divides indicate the presence of a Middle Paleolithic workshop in direct association with local Mishash flint outcrops.
We studied the geological setting, chronology, and lithic industry of sites in Emek Rephaim and Arnona.
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In collaboration with Omry Barzilai (IAA).
Publications:
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Barzilai, O., Goldsmith, Y., Shemer, M., Porat, N., and Crouvi, O. (2020). Evidence for a Middle Paleolithic flint workshop in Arnona, south Jerusalem. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society, 50, 6-34.
Crouvi, O., Barzilai, O., Goldsmith, Y., Amit, R., Matskevich, Z., Porat, N., and Enzel, Y. (2018). Middle to late Pleistocene shift in eolian silts contribution into Mediterranean soils at the fringe of the Negev loess, Israel. Quaternary Science Reviews, 191, 101-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.04.030.