AN ATLANTEAN OUTPOST

It has been demonstrated in the anthropological and linguistic pages of this web site that the occupation areas of Cro-Magnon type people and the pattern of the Berber-Ibero-Basque Language Complex coincided to near perfection. But we do have an anomaly in this one instance. In the case about to be described, the fossil evidence (skeletal bones, skulls, teeth, etc.) and the archeological evidence (cookware, tools, weapons, etc.) coincide; yet to my knowledge there is no evidence of the complimentary "linguistic island" resembling our Atlantean language complex.

Therefore, I consider this culture anomalous to the other Atlantean remains for two reasons: (1) its "eastern" location in respect to the usual western orientation which we have been observing, and (2) the lack of any evidence of a linguistic connection. The toolkit is virtually the same; the skulls and associated skeletons are similar; and the occupational chronology well within the expected time-frame. But because of the anomalies noted I have tentatively labeled it an "outpost".

Dating the beginning of this series has been somewhat problematical--differing methods have yielded dates ranging from 30,000 to 92,000 (Wikipedia: scroll down to "Less than 50,000 years old"--Jabel Qafzeh 6). In such cases, we are forced to deal in approximations. But regardless of the exact date, evidence indicates that these people appeared in this area along about the time that Neanderthal was disappearing. (AAPA, 2007)

In a manner similar to the four Cro-Magnon invasions of the Atlantic coastal regions, several consecutive Cro-Magnon-like cultures seem to have cropped up in an area of northern Palestine. Although this cultural series follows basically the same time-frame as the western Cro-Magnon invasions, its distance and isolation from the corresponding western series is somewhat surprising.

This archeological series in no way derives from earlier European "Neanderthal" culture. According to Kaufman (2002) the Aurignacian in the Levant (i.e., the Antelian) is "intrusive" and dates back 35,000 years. Like the Aurignacian in the west, it arrives suddenly, "ready made," and is considerably more innovative and dynamic than other contemporary Upper Paleolithic industries in the area.

In my book Quest for Atlantis I wrote: "A so-called 'Aurignacian' outpost may have existed in Palestine. The latter, known as the Antelian, was contemporaneous with the Aurignacian in the west and possessed a number of Aurignacian characteristics." In addition, the physical characteristics of these people are virtually identical to the western European "invaders" we have been studying.

When a joint British-American expedition dug in the Cave of the Kids, at Mugharet el Wad in Israel, they came upon one of anthropology's great finds. The cave, near Mount Carmel, contained ten buried skeletons embedded in a densely cemented matrix. The people were different from the earlier Neanderthals which had inhabited the area; yet they were also unlike "eastern" Modern Man types--in short, they were more "robust".

According to the late William W. Howells (1967), professor of anthropology at Harvard, they were similar to Modern Man. But he describes them as tall, strongly built and with straight limbs, having only a slight hint of "Neanderthal" characteristics. Their brain case is like ours in both size and shape: high, flat-sided and round, with no "Neanderthal" projection in the rear. Some skulls exhibit a slightly sloping forehead, while others are of respectable height (a normal variation in any population).

The brow ridges are pronounced, but not heavy or bulbous as in Neanderthal. The jaw has an abrupt angle, but again not like Neanderthal. And most important, they have prominent chins! Neanderthal is virtually chinless. Howells comments, "It is hard to assess these people accurately." (Howells, 1967)

Anthropologist Carleton Coon describes Cro-Magnon Man as a large, heavy-boned, muscular people with large heads and powerful jaws; and declares that this type is well illustrated by "the skeletons taken from a number of caves in Palestine and Lebanon, notably from the Cave of the Kids (Mugharet es-Skhul) near Mount Carmel, excavated in 1926 and 1927 by an Anglo-American expedition." (Coon, 1954)

The earlier examples of this Palestinian series (some dates crowding 35,000 B.C.--about the time Neanderthal disappears) should be expected to be a little more "robust" than their later Magdalenian-like descendants which make up the Atlitian culture. But generally anthropologists describe them as resembling the "western" Cro-Magnon types in Europe.

Again Prof. Howells comments: "The latter [Cro-Magnons] could hardly have developed [evolved] from the Tabun Neanderthals and migrated into Europe in a mere ten thousand years. So the idea of replacement and absorption is more appealing . . . Such an interpretation means that Homo Sapiens must already have existed elsewhere . . . It also requires that he developed in some place outside of Europe and the Near East." (Howells, 1967)

When one looks at the four Cro-Magnon invasions in the west, it appears that a another intrusive culture should follow the Antelian in the Levant. I thought I might have found indications of such a culture--one which would match the Solutrean in Western Europe--but on closer inspection this did not prove to be the case. At a few sites (El Khaim, Nahal Oren, Ein Gev) signs of a tool assembly known as the Kebaran were apparent between the Antelian and the Atlitian.

However, upon looking deeper into this culture, it quickly became clear that it was neither Cro-Magnon nor "intrusive". (Garrod, 1954) Like the Perigordian in the west, the Kebaran encompassed a much longer period of time than the narrow time-frame of the Solutrean; and it was far too widespread for it to have any connection with its Solutrean equivalent in Europe.

The flintwork did not resemble the Solutrean, and finally the physical types did not resemble Cro-Magnon (Arensburg & Baryosef, 1973). So until such an Upper Paleolithic culture is discovered, it seems that we must be content with our three intrusive cultures making up this outpost. The Solutreans are represented all over the Americas, so it seems they simply drifted in a different direction.

The very next "intrusive" culture which has been determined as settling in Palestine is that known as the Atlitians around 14,000 B.C. To get an idea of the correlation between the main Cro-Magnon intrusions (i.e., Western Europe and North Africa) and the Palestine sequence, I have included the chart below.

A little further on in my book, I wrote, "Once again an isolated culture, the Atlitian, existed in Palestine strangely similar to a western Cro-Magnon culture, this time the Magdalenian" (Leonard, 1979). The Atlitian culture has been called the eastern equivalent of the Magdalenian in Western Europe (Garrod & Bate, 1937), and is described as "rare and inigmatic" (Dr. Robert E. Bell, personal communication).

Concerning one particular skull, Carleton Coon writes: "One Jabel Qafza skull, No. 6, looks more modern than any of the Skhul specimens. Essentially it is the same as the Upper Paleolithic skulls from western Europe . . . ." (Coon, 1962) This particular skull may be respresentative of the later Atlitian culture. Dating can be difficult, since the caves are often used as "cemetaries," resulting in bones being separated from their associated archeological context.

A wide diversity exists typologically in the stone artifacts of the Atlitians, although microliths are not found. But most Atlitian experts believe that a number of sites can be included in this stage despite the differences between them. A few such sites would be Mugharet el Wad, El Khiam, Ksar Akil, Nahal Ein-Gev I, and the Nahal Oren terrace site.

The Atlitian culture lasted for roughly four thousand years with only minor changes--then something happened. I believe it is not without significance that it ended abruptly circa. 10,000 B.C., a date approximating the demise of Atlantis--in fact, a Natufian bone calendar has been found which begins circa. 10,000 B.C. (Marshack, 1972) Thus we see the Atlitian was succeeded immediately by another even more advanced and innovative culture, the Natufian. Chronologically, the Natufian corresponds to the Azilian in Western Europe--both appeared at the very beginning of the Mesolithic Age.

THE NATUFIANS

The Natufian culture was considerably advanced for a Mesolithic culture, and most anthropologists believe it was among them that the domestication of animals and agriculture began--although I have shown elsewhere that both were practised earlier by the Cro-Magnon people. Tools for reaping and grinding of grains have been unearthed, as well as a large assemblage of microliths. The Natufians are believed also to have invented clay pottery and domesticated the dog (Dr. Bell, personal communication).

Even though cultural scientists have not been able to discover what kind of ships they may have had, one must assume some form of sea navigation enabling the armies of the island of Atlantis to impinge on the established cultures of mainland Europe and Africa (see my Atlanteans in America page).

Noting the geographical gap between the Cro-Magnon cultures of western Europe and Africa and the "eastern" colony in the Levant, one has to assume that a party (actually several over time) of Atlanteans had sailed eastward to the far end of the Mediterranian during the Upper Paleolithic and established some sort of outpost there. Whether it was valuable minerals or simply fertile land they were after is so far unclear; but whatever the reason, it seems the outpost, beginning with the Antelian, survived for tens of thousands of years.

So why bother with this obscure and out-of-the-way outpost? I am convinced that, at least toward the end, the Atlantean civilization was an empire. From the evidence uncovered, there were outposts, not only in the Levant, but also on the Atlantic seaboard of Africa, the Canary Islands, in northern France, in Egypt, the Bahama Islands, in Peru and Bolivia, and possibly even Antarctica.

But most importantly, the outpost discussed here is not far from the ruined acropolis of Baalbek, in Lebanon (see Archeology page). There is late archeological evidence that this small Palestinian outpost eventually extended into the southern Negev of Palestine (Goring-Morris, 1987), but the area needs a lot more work.

AAPA, 76th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Philadelphia, March 2007.
Arensburg, B. and Baryosef, O., "Human remains from Ein Gev I, Jordan Valley," Paleorient, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1973.
Bell, Robert E., Professor of Prehistoric Archeology, University of Oklahoma, 1974.
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Coon, Carleton, "The Story of Man," Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1954.
Coon, Carleton, "The Origin of Races," Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1962.
Garrod, D., & Bate, D., "The Stone Age of Mount Carmel," in Excavations at the Wady El-Mughara, Vol. I, 1937.
Garrod, D., "Excavations at the Mugharet Kebara at Mount Carmel," in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, Vol. 20, 1954.
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