Roy, Cheryl Ann2025-10-042025-10-042000https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22841Fossil occurrences ascribed to archaic Homo sapiens, Homo (sapiens) neandertalensis, or early Homo sapiens sapiens or associated with the Middle Palaeolithic or Mousterian Techno-complex from twenty caves and rockshelters in the Near East are examined. These sites include: A mud, Bisitun, Dederiyeh 2, Geulah, possibly el-Wad, Hayonim, Karain, Kebara, Ksar' Akil, Masloukh, Qafzeh, Ras el-Keib, Shanidar, Shovakh, Shukbah, Skhul, Tabun, Tamtama, Zuttiyeh, and Kanal, Tikali, or Merdevenli (near Magracik in Turkey). The patterns of behavior expressed at these sites through disposal of the dead evidence suggest regional continuity with the gradual emergence of social complexity during the Middle Palaeolithic and reflect symbolic prescience on the part of the social groups. Curation or post-mortem processing of skeletal remains intensified over time and continued into the Upper Palaeolithic. The Near Eastern Middle Palaeolithic was a period of social development which laid the foundations for Upper Palaeolithic behaviors.enAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis