Anthony Marks | Southern Methodist University (original) (raw)

Papers by Anthony Marks

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2025

Open-air accumulations of chipped stone debris are a common feature in arid landscapes, yet despi... more Open-air accumulations of chipped stone debris are a common feature in arid landscapes, yet despite their prevalence, such archives are often dismissed as uninformative or unreliable. In the canyonlands of Dhofar,
southern Oman, lithic surface scatters are nearly ubiquitous, including extensive, multi-component workshops associated with chert outcrops. These sites typically display chronologically diagnostic features that correspond to distinct taphonomic states, which in turn appear linked to spatial distribution, with more heavily weathered artifacts often found farther from the chert outcrops. We propose that post-depositional modifications and spatial distributions of chipped stone artifacts reflect site formation processes and, under certain conditions, may provide relative chronological information when absolute dating methods are unavailable. Our study tests this hypothesis by mapping artifact distribution and lithic taphonomy across a series of surface sites in southern Oman, spanning the Lower, Middle, and Upper/Late Palaeolithic periods. The results largely support our model, offering valuable insights into surface site formation and technological change over time. While these findings serve as broad predictive markers for age, their applicability for analyzing finer-scale assemblage variability remains to be determined. Future taphonomic recording systems should aim to quantify surface modifications to enhance replicability for such studies.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1974

De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 1989

American Anthropologist, Dec 1, 1984

American Anthropologist, Jun 1, 1986

Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, Aug 3, 2023

The meaning of the word 'Nubian' in Middle Palaeolithic archaeology has changed markedly since it... more The meaning of the word 'Nubian' in Middle Palaeolithic archaeology has changed markedly since its first published use in 1965 in the context of the Nubian rescue campaign in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Initially referring to two types of prepared point cores, 'Nubian' later became attached to a widespread technocomplex in the 1990s and in more recent research describes a specific Levallois reduction strategy. In this review, we situate 'Nubian' in its geographic and historical contexts, exploring how its terminology and concepts emerged, developed, and are now viewed in the frame of subsequent research. Whilst the taxonomic origin of the Nubian descriptor-as a technology or technocomplex-is associated with this region of northeastern Africa, its widespread distribution, as shown in the works presented in this collection, suggests that Nubian reduction played as complex a role in past human behaviour and cultural dynamics as it does in current archaeological debates.

American Anthropologist, Sep 1, 1995

This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between Radiocarbon and the Universi... more This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Journal of Anthropological Research, Dec 1, 1996

American Anthropologist, Sep 1, 1987

American Anthropologist, Mar 1, 1997

ABSTRACT Prehistoric Cultural Ecology and Evolution: Insights from Southern Jordan. Donald O. Hen... more ABSTRACT Prehistoric Cultural Ecology and Evolution: Insights from Southern Jordan. Donald O. Henry. New York: Plenum Press, 1995. 466 pp.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Feb 1, 2014

In the Levant, the origins of the Upper Palaeolithic is closely linked to the question of modern ... more In the Levant, the origins of the Upper Palaeolithic is closely linked to the question of modern human emergence. This paper reviews a century of research on the subject. The history of discoveries in Mount Carmel (1900-1945) is argued to have particular importance in shaping the debate, yielding both archaeological and physical anthropological remain that were initially considered to be "transitional" between modern humans and their Neanderthal predecessors. This perspective changed dramatically in the 1980s, with the introduction of the Replacement hypothesis, necessitating a new view of the IUP as a foreign, intrusive industry into the Levant. In recent years, distinctions between species in the Levant have been called into question, while ancient DNA evidence suggests there was genetic admixture between early humans and Neanderthal populations somewhere in the greater Near East. There is no archaeological evidence for a movement of peoples out of Africa, nor is there evidence for complete cultural continuity. New data from the Arabian Peninsula show that the most likely precursor of Levantine IUP technology was the Arabian Nubian technocomplex. Therefore, we argue that the Levantine IUP developed at the interface of the southern Levant and northern Arabian Peninsula.

Publikationsansicht. 4077658. The Mousterian industries of Nubia. (1966). Marks, Anthony E. Abstr... more Publikationsansicht. 4077658. The Mousterian industries of Nubia. (1966). Marks, Anthony E. Abstract. Thesis--Columbia University. 1966.. Bibliography: leaves 312-317.. Microfilm.--Ann Arbor, Mich.,--University Microfilms--[1973---1 reel. ...

Current Anthropology, Dec 1, 1972

Page 1. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Vol. 13, No. 5, December 1972 Copyright 1972 by The Wenner-Gren Foun... more Page 1. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Vol. 13, No. 5, December 1972 Copyright 1972 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Rosh Ein Mor, an Open-Air Mousterian Site in the Central Negev, Israel by ...

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2025

Open-air accumulations of chipped stone debris are a common feature in arid landscapes, yet despi... more Open-air accumulations of chipped stone debris are a common feature in arid landscapes, yet despite their prevalence, such archives are often dismissed as uninformative or unreliable. In the canyonlands of Dhofar,
southern Oman, lithic surface scatters are nearly ubiquitous, including extensive, multi-component workshops associated with chert outcrops. These sites typically display chronologically diagnostic features that correspond to distinct taphonomic states, which in turn appear linked to spatial distribution, with more heavily weathered artifacts often found farther from the chert outcrops. We propose that post-depositional modifications and spatial distributions of chipped stone artifacts reflect site formation processes and, under certain conditions, may provide relative chronological information when absolute dating methods are unavailable. Our study tests this hypothesis by mapping artifact distribution and lithic taphonomy across a series of surface sites in southern Oman, spanning the Lower, Middle, and Upper/Late Palaeolithic periods. The results largely support our model, offering valuable insights into surface site formation and technological change over time. While these findings serve as broad predictive markers for age, their applicability for analyzing finer-scale assemblage variability remains to be determined. Future taphonomic recording systems should aim to quantify surface modifications to enhance replicability for such studies.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1974

De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 1989

American Anthropologist, Dec 1, 1984

American Anthropologist, Jun 1, 1986

Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, Aug 3, 2023

The meaning of the word 'Nubian' in Middle Palaeolithic archaeology has changed markedly since it... more The meaning of the word 'Nubian' in Middle Palaeolithic archaeology has changed markedly since its first published use in 1965 in the context of the Nubian rescue campaign in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Initially referring to two types of prepared point cores, 'Nubian' later became attached to a widespread technocomplex in the 1990s and in more recent research describes a specific Levallois reduction strategy. In this review, we situate 'Nubian' in its geographic and historical contexts, exploring how its terminology and concepts emerged, developed, and are now viewed in the frame of subsequent research. Whilst the taxonomic origin of the Nubian descriptor-as a technology or technocomplex-is associated with this region of northeastern Africa, its widespread distribution, as shown in the works presented in this collection, suggests that Nubian reduction played as complex a role in past human behaviour and cultural dynamics as it does in current archaeological debates.

American Anthropologist, Sep 1, 1995

This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between Radiocarbon and the Universi... more This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Journal of Anthropological Research, Dec 1, 1996

American Anthropologist, Sep 1, 1987

American Anthropologist, Mar 1, 1997

ABSTRACT Prehistoric Cultural Ecology and Evolution: Insights from Southern Jordan. Donald O. Hen... more ABSTRACT Prehistoric Cultural Ecology and Evolution: Insights from Southern Jordan. Donald O. Henry. New York: Plenum Press, 1995. 466 pp.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Feb 1, 2014

In the Levant, the origins of the Upper Palaeolithic is closely linked to the question of modern ... more In the Levant, the origins of the Upper Palaeolithic is closely linked to the question of modern human emergence. This paper reviews a century of research on the subject. The history of discoveries in Mount Carmel (1900-1945) is argued to have particular importance in shaping the debate, yielding both archaeological and physical anthropological remain that were initially considered to be "transitional" between modern humans and their Neanderthal predecessors. This perspective changed dramatically in the 1980s, with the introduction of the Replacement hypothesis, necessitating a new view of the IUP as a foreign, intrusive industry into the Levant. In recent years, distinctions between species in the Levant have been called into question, while ancient DNA evidence suggests there was genetic admixture between early humans and Neanderthal populations somewhere in the greater Near East. There is no archaeological evidence for a movement of peoples out of Africa, nor is there evidence for complete cultural continuity. New data from the Arabian Peninsula show that the most likely precursor of Levantine IUP technology was the Arabian Nubian technocomplex. Therefore, we argue that the Levantine IUP developed at the interface of the southern Levant and northern Arabian Peninsula.

Publikationsansicht. 4077658. The Mousterian industries of Nubia. (1966). Marks, Anthony E. Abstr... more Publikationsansicht. 4077658. The Mousterian industries of Nubia. (1966). Marks, Anthony E. Abstract. Thesis--Columbia University. 1966.. Bibliography: leaves 312-317.. Microfilm.--Ann Arbor, Mich.,--University Microfilms--[1973---1 reel. ...

Current Anthropology, Dec 1, 1972

Page 1. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Vol. 13, No. 5, December 1972 Copyright 1972 by The Wenner-Gren Foun... more Page 1. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY Vol. 13, No. 5, December 1972 Copyright 1972 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Rosh Ein Mor, an Open-Air Mousterian Site in the Central Negev, Israel by ...

In Dhofar, southern Oman, the Nejd plateau's deep canyons once flowed with perennial rivers, feed... more In Dhofar, southern Oman, the Nejd plateau's deep canyons once flowed with perennial rivers, feeding wetland environments, forests, and grasslands across the now desiccated interior. The first peoples of Oman flourished along these waterways, drawn to the freshwater springs and abundant game, as well as the myriad chert outcrops with which to fashion their hunting implements and other tools. The landscapes of the Nejd plateau are a natural museum of human prehistory, covered in carpets of chipped stone debris. The archaeological evidence presented in this work encompasses the cultural remains of over a million years of successive human occupations - from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Late Palaeolithic. Once considered an evolutionary backwater or merely a migratory way station, the archaeology of Dhofar requires a fundamental reconsideration of the role of southern Arabia in the origin and dispersal of our species.