AHIHUD, Israel — In the cool twilight of a cave once home to prehistoric humans, biologist Stephen Weiner ran a sediment sample the size of a pinhead through an infrared spectrometer.
Numbers flashed on the screen of his computer--protected against bird droppings by plastic sheets--and within seconds a printer spewed out a spectrum with the sample's mineral composition.
Weiner, a professor at Israel's Weizman Institute, is a pioneer in on-site analysis. His method examines the decay of wood ash in sediment to reveal the conditions for preservation of bone and other matter. The technique helps guide American, French and Israeli archeologists digging in the Hayonim Cave, or Cave of the Doves, in northern Israel.
"This is probably the only excavation in the world where we monitor in real time what is coming out of the ground," said Weiner, who also has participated in digs in China and Greece.
The scientists were searching for remains that would shed light on the lifestyle of the Mousterians, humans who lived some 200,000 years ago in caves in the area in groups of no more than two dozen.
The dig has already yielded one of the Middle East's largest collections of animal bones, including gazelle tarsals and the scorched shells of tortoises the Mousterians roasted on an open fire.
While biblical digs usually yield a large number of artifacts, from pottery to coins to ancient ruins, those studying the dawn of mankind have little to work with: a human skeleton if they are very lucky, stone tools, bones.
Hayonim Cave, located near the village of Ahihud five miles east of the Israeli port city of Acre, is the size of a three-story apartment building. It sits in limestone hills covered by Mediterranean scrub vegetation and olive groves.
During a recent visit, two archeology students braving the blistering noon sun stood at the mouth of the cave, shaking large sieves to separate soil from rocks. Inside the cave, an iron gangway traversed the floor from front to back.
To the left, a steep ladder descended into a large hole, the Mousterian dig. Students sitting on foam pads loosened the soil inch by inch, using hammers, chisels and small brushes.
To the right, remains of the Natufian period, dating back 13,000 years, were uncovered, including stone hearths and shelters with stone walls arranged in a circle.
