This presentation reports on a palynological analysis conducted at Paleolake Zihor, a ca. 1.6-million-year-old waterbody in the Negev Desert, associated with Lower Paleolithic handaxes (ʻUbeidiya-type techno-complex). The study aims to address the following key questions: (i). What were the ecological conditions in the currently hyper-arid regions separating East Africa and the Levantine Mediterranean during the Early Pleistocene? (for much of the Pleistocene, these desert zones served as terrestrial barriers to human dispersal.); (ii). To what extent were early hominins adaptable to ecological fluctuations?

While the Levantine Corridor was a critical route for northward hominin migrations, its paleoecology remains understudied. Our palynological findings suggest that the immediate surroundings of Paleolake Zihor were characterized primarily by desert vegetation. These results indicate that the lake’s formation was likely due to tectonic activity rather than climate change. Pollen analysis reveals the presence of Mediterranean forest elements within the lake sediments, proposing that the Mediterranean vegetation belt extended much closer to the research area than today. The significant presence of olive pollen in most samples may indicate relatively high temperatures, likely corresponding to an interglacial period. Additionally, pollen from temperate deciduous trees (e.g., Corylus, Betula, and Carpinus), which typically grow in high-altitude, cooler environments, was identified in the lake’s sediments. The nearest modern range of these trees is in southeastern Turkey. The pollen may have been transported aeolianly from closer locations, such as either the Edom and Moab mountains to the east, or from mountains to the north. The Zihor palynological findings form the first vegetation reconstruction of the Negev during the Early Pleistocene and allow a discussion of the degree of adaptability of early humans.