Changing the Face of the Earth: Human Behavior at Sede Ilan, an Extensive Lower-Middle Paleolithic Quarry Site in Israel

The Middle Pleistocene flint extraction and reduction complex of Sede Ilan is presented as a model for human behavior related to both raw material economy and landscape perception. The organized, large scale quarrying and flintknapping is dated to the Lower Paleolithic (represented by handaxe manufacture) and the Middle Paleolithic (dominated by the use of the Levallois technique). No evidence of Later Paleolithic or Neolithic-Chalclithic extraction and reduction was found at the Sede Ilan complex. The chapter discusses the following issues: (i) the familiarity of Middle Pleistocene Hominins with the landscape and natural resources; (ii) long-term use of specific flint outcrops and recurrent, large-scale use of designated industrial areas; (iii) the significant alteration of the pristine landscape ; (iv) quarry landscape maintenance; (v) the possibility of traditional ecological knowledge, land-use legacies, and resource management and conservation practiced at the Sede Ilan quarrying complex. Our major conclusion is that the extensive Sede Ilan quarrying landscape reflects the talent of prehistoric man to procure large quantities of flint using a rare combination of knowledge, sophistication, and care.