These twenty-three papers focus on recent research into the Upper Palaeolithic of the Levant, a murky period of human history (ca 45,000 to 20,000 years ago) during which modern patterns of human behaviour and communication became the norm. The vast majority of archaeological data from this period relates to chipped stone tools and most contributors focus on defining and distinguishing the two main traditions in lithic technology - the Levantine 'Aurignacian' and the 'Ahmarian'. Some papers report on recent fieldwork, others seek to define and explain reasons for variation and change in material culture. Do lithic traditions represent different corporate groups of hunter-gatherers, or can variation be explained by other factors, such as adaptations to local landscapes and environments or changing patterns of mobility? An appendix provides a comprehensive list of available Upper Palaeolithic 14C dates in the Near East. Most of the papers derive from a conference session on the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic, held as part of the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting in 2000.
Introduction
1. Current issues in Levantine Upper Palaeolithic research (Anna Belfer-Cohen and A. Nigel Goring-Morris)
Environment and Resources
2. Climatic conditions in the eastern Mediterranean during the Last Glacial (60-10 ky bp) and their relations ot the upper Palaeolithic in the LevantL oxygen and carbon isotope systematics of cave deposits (Miryam Bar-Matthews and Avner Ayalon)
3. Some observations on Middle and Upper Palaeolithic Ashey Cave and rockshelter depositis in the Near East (Paul Goldberg)
4. The Levantine upper palaeolithic faunal record (Rivka Rabinovich)
The Middle to upper Palaeolithic Transition
5. Generating the middle to upper palaeolithic transition: A Chaine Operatoire approach (Michael Chazan)
6. A quest for antecedentsL a comparison of the terminal middle palaeolithic and early upper palaeolithic in the Levant (Gilbert B. Tostevin)
7. The middle/upper palaeolilthic transition in northern and southern Israel: a technological comparison (Josette Sarel and Avraham Ronen)
8. The Tor Sadaf Lithic Assemblages: a technolotical study of the early upper palaeolithic in the Wadi al-Hasa (Jake R. Fox)
The Early Upper Palaeolithic
9. Variability and Change in the Early upper Palaeolithic of the Levant (James L. Phillips and Iman N. Saca)
10. The Early upper palaeolithic at Ucagizli Cave (Hatay, Turkey): Some preliminary results (Steven L. Kuhn, Mary C. Stiner, Kristoher W. Kerry and Erksin Gulec)
11. Technology, economy and mobility at the beginning of the Levantine upper palaeolithic (Katherine Monigal)
12. Spatial Patterning in the Upper Palaeolithic: a perspective from the Abu Noshra sites (Mark S. Becker)
13. The Upper Palaeolithic of jordan: New Data from the Wadi al-Hasa (Nancy R. Coinman)
14. Tor Fawaz (J403): An upper palaeolithic occupation in the Jebel Qalkha area, Southwest Jordan (Kristopher W. Kerry and Donald O. Henry)
Flake-Based Industries
15. Twisted debitage and the Levantine Aurignacian problem (Christopher A. Bergman)
16. An examination of Upper Palaeolithic flake technologies in the Marginal Zone of the Levant (John K. Williams)
The Later Upper Palaeolithic and the Transition to the Epipalaeolithic
17. Cultural variability in the late upper palaeolithic of the Levant (Daniel Kaufman)
18. The Ohalo II Flint Assemblage and the Beginning of the Epipalaeolithic in the Hordan Valley (Dani Nadel)
19. The conundrum of the Levantine late upper palaeolithic and early epipalaeolithic: perspectives from the Wadi al-Hasa, Jordan (Deborah I. Olszewski)
Commentaries
20. The Levantine upper palaeolithic: a commentary on contributions to the Philadelphia symposium (Lorraine Copeland)
21. Refections on Levantine upper palaeolithic studies: past and present (Anthony E. Marks)
22. Reflections on the selected issues of the upper palaeolithic (Ofer Bar-Yosef)
Postscript
23. Final remarks and epilogue (Anna Belfer-Cohen and A. Nigel Goring-Morris)
