The Ahmarian culture was a Paleolithic archeological industry in

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

dated at 46,000–42,000 BP and thought to be related to Levantine Emiran and younger European Aurignacian cultures. The word “Ahmarian” was adopted from the

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

of Erq el-Ahmar (also written Erk el Ahmar),

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, a rockshelter in the Judean Desert in the northern Dead Sea Rift. It was explored and excavated by French Prehistorian

René Neuville René Neuville (30 October 1899, Gibraltar – 23 June 1952, Jerusalem) was a French prehistorian and diplomat posted to the French consulate in Jerusalem. Diplomatic career Neuville's father was the consul general of France in Gibraltar. He ...

in 1951. The "Ahmarian" category had only been recognized since the 1980s, and was previously designated as "Phase II Upper Paleolithic" or "

Ksar Akil Ksar Akil (also Ksar 'Akil or Ksar Aqil) is an archeological site northeast of Beirut in Lebanon. It is located about west of Antelias spring on the north bank of the northern tributary of the Wadi Antelias. It is a large rock shelter below ...

Phase B".

Ahmarian period

The Ahmarian period together with the Emiran period, both from the

, are among the first periods of the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

, corresponding to the first stages of the expansion of ''

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

'' out of Africa. From this stage, the first modern humans migrated to Europe to form the beginning of the European Upper Paleolithic, including the Aurignacian culture, where they become known as the Cro-Magnons. The European Bohunician culture, probably linked to the Emiran and Ahmarian, may slightly predate the Ahmarian at 48,000 BP. There is also a claim that it is roughly contemporary with the Aurignacian and the

Gravettian The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by ...

cultures of Europe, all emerging prior to the Atlitian, which was also contemporary with the

Solutrean The Solutrean industry is a relatively advanced flint tool-making style of the Upper Paleolithic of the Final Gravettian, from around 22,000 to 17,000 BP. Solutrean sites have been found in modern-day France, Spain and Portugal. Details ...

and Magdalenian cultures of Western Europe. Ahmarian technology, which included the complex of blade/bladelet-knapping techniques is also linked to the tools used by the hunter-gatherers of southwestern Asia. Late Ahmarian is called Masraqan.

Technology

Ahmarian blades are usually elongated with some curves. The

Levallois technique The Levallois technique () is a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone knapping developed around 250,000 to 300,000 years ago during the Middle Palaeolithic period. It is part of the Mousterian stone tool industry, and was ...

is still in use, but only sparsely, thereby making Ahmarian the first fully

period. Ahmarian assemblages can be found throughout the

, including Syria,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. The Lagaman industry in the Sinai can be considered as derivative to the Ahmarian culture. "

Levantine Aurignacian The Levantine Aurignacian (35,000-29,000 BP, calibrated, 32,000-26,000 BP, non-calibrated) is an Upper Paleolithic culture of the Near-Eastern Levant that evolved from the Emiran culture. It was named so because of the similarity of stone tools ...

", from the

, is a type of blade technology very similar to the European Aurignacian, immediately following chronologically the Emiran and Early Ahmarian in the same area of the Near East, and closely related to them. File:Flint Knives, Ahmarian Culture, Nahal Boqer, 47000-40000 BP (detail).jpg, Flint Knives, Ahmarian Culture, Nahal Boqer, 47,000-40,000 BP. Israel Museum. File:Stone Core for Making Blades - Boqer Tachtit, Negev, circa 40000 BP (detail).jpg, Stone core for making fine blades, Boqer Tachtit, Negev,

, circa 40,000 BP. Image:El-Wad point.png, El-Wad points are typical of the Ahmarian culture. File:Ksar-Akil-Flake.jpg,

flake made by

. Found on the surface at Ksar Akil,

. Another point type typical of the Ahmarian culture (Northern Facies). File:El-Wad cave & terrace.JPG, Entrance to el-Wad Cave, an important Ahmarian site File:El-Wad Cave (2).jpg, Inside of el-Wad Cave.

Ahmarian sites

* Erq el-Ahmar (type site) *

Manot Cave Manot Cave ( ''Me'arat Manot'') is a cave in Western Galilee, Israel, discovered in 2008. It is notable for the discovery of a skull that belongs to a modern human, called Manot 1, which is estimated to be 54,700 years old (U–Th dating of the c ...

* Boker Tachtit * Nahal Boqer * El-Wad *

(Ahmarian Northern Facies,

)

References

{{Reflist Upper Paleolithic cultures Paleolithic cultures of Asia Prehistory of the Middle East Archaeological cultures of West Asia Peopling of Europe Industries (archaeology) Judaean Desert