Geological and pedological aspects of an Early-Paleolithic site: Revadim,Central Coastal Plain,Israel

An Early Paleolithic site was recently discovered within a sequence of paleosols in the Revadim Quarry, central coastal plain of Israel. The section is composed of three superimposed soils in a continuous sequence, but separated by two unconformity surfaces. The uppermost paleosol is a modern Dark Brown Grumusol (Vertisol), the middle is a Quartzic Gray Brown Soil (Haploxeralf), and the lower is a Red Hamra (Rhodoxeralf). Normal magnetic polarity was detected in the two lower soils, indicating that they are younger than the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary (<780 ka). A human occupation bed, enriched in secondary carbonate nodules, forms the lower part of the Quartzic Gray Brown Soil and overlies the Red Hamra. The living floor is located on top of the unconformity surface, separating the Red Hamra from the overlying Quartzic Gray Brown Soil. Middle to Late Acheulian handaxes, choppers, cores, and flake tools, including tools made by the Levallois technique, and man-laid flint pebbles were excavated in the human occupation bed. In addition, two elephant tusks, an elephant pelvis, an elephant tooth (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), tusk splinters, and bones of equid, suid, cervid, bovid, felid, and rodents were also collected. Based on well-documented nearby boreholes and on regional correlation, it appears that the underlying dune sands, the parent materials from which the Red Hamra developed, were deposited probably during a phase of high-stand sea level of Isotope Stage 9. The Red Hamra developed simultaneously with the human occupation of the site, probably during a phase of low-stand sea-level of Isotope Stage 8, before some 300–245 ka. The overlying dune sands, the parent materials from which the Quartzic Gray Brown Soil developed, were deposited probably during a phase of high-stand sea level of Isotope Stage 7. The climate prevailing in the area during Stage 8, as well as during the human habitation, was moist, with a dense vegetation cover of grassland and probably scattered trees. A small lake of trapped fresh water at a junction of two small tributaries of the Soreq River drainage system near the area occupied was available to hominids and animals. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Trends in CO2 emissions in Israel—an international perspective

As a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Israel conducts a periodical inventory of greenhouse gases emissions. These data allowed the generation of time series of CO₂ emissions per capita and per GDP for the period 1990–2004. It was found that CO₂ emissions per capita increased dramatically from 1990 to 2000, reflecting the rapid economic growth that was initiated by the massive immigration wave at the beginning of the nineties. These emissions remained stable between 2000 and 2004, reflecting the economic stagnation caused by the uprising in the Palestinian Territories, as well as stagnation in the global economy. CO₂ emissions per GDP (CO₂ intensity) remained stable along the whole reviewed period. This stability can be explained by a shift in electricity consumption from the industrial sector towards the commercial and the residential sectors, corresponding to an increase in the standard of living in the same period. A comparison was held with countries considered as developed for many years represented by the five largest economies (G-5) and recently developed countries (RDCs). Although Israel exhibits emission levels within the range of the G-5 countries, it does not fit the patterns demonstrated by these countries. Trends observed in Israel resemble these observed in other RDCs, such as Spain or Greece, confirming the classification of Israel in this category.     

A model of a heterogeneous neighborhood

Tel Aviv is a highly ethnic city in which ethnicity is deeply embedded in people’s perceptions of their social milieus. Shapira, as one of the most heterogeneous neighborhoods in Tel Aviv, supplies a unique demonstration of the inadequacy of the Chicago model, which assumes the emergence of homogeneous neighborhoods. The study shows that ethnicity is exercised as a major force in determining social life in Shapira. Interactive segregation indices reveal that residents of Shapira tend to prefer intra-ethnic social networks although two-thirds of them maintain inter-ethnic networks as well. Despite this, residential and activity spaces are highly heterogeneous. Residential spaces are heterogeneous on all scales from residents’ immediate surroundings to the block and the neighborhood as a whole. In most buildings one may find neighbors from two or three different ethnic groups with only non-Jewish residents excluded from publicly owned buildings. Most residents perform large part of their everyday life outside the neighborhoods in ethnically heterogeneous surroundings, but nonetheless in choosing their more meaningful partners for social networks they choose them from their ethnic groups. The fact that residents tend to perform a large part of their activities out of their neighborhood, and to live in heterogeneous surroundings in social categories that are perceived by them salient to their daily life, does not undermine the relevance of the neighborhood as a socially constituted entity in the urban field. People organize and act in order to improve life conditions in the neighborhood, they feel sense of attachment to the neighborhood and they develop some local social networks in the neighborhood.