With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Geoffrey Clark will excavate a deeply stratified archaeological site, Ain Difla, located in West-Central Jordan. Prior work indicates that the successive levels are rich in both faunal remains and stone tools which are associated with the Mousterian culture. Dr. Clark will continue the excavation there to collect large samples of both cultural and faunal remains. Using the thermolumenencence technique he hopes to obtain absolute dates on burnt flint. With these data, he will then be able to reconstruct successive environments and to show how Mousterian culture developed over time and adapted to these changes. This area and time period are of great archaeological significance because fossils seem to indicate the concurrent presence of both early modern humans as well as a more archaic Neanderthal form. It is unclear when and where anatomically modern humans first appear in Europe and the Near East and whether the later form develops directly from the earlier. Some anthropologists argue for in situ development while others believe that replacement occurred. Archaeological data such as Clark will collect are relevant to this issue. Mousterian culture is traditionally associated with Neanderthals, and Clark's materials should show whether this tradition at some point changed and whether this may be associated with the appearance of a different way of life. This research is important because it will increase our understanding of the emergence of anatomically modern humans. It will also provide data of interest to a large group of archaeologists.
