The Late Natufian at Raqefet Cave: The 2006 Excavation Season

A long season of excavation took place at Raqefet cave during the summer of 2006. In the first chamber we exposed an area rich with Natufian human burials (Locus 1), a large bedrock basin with a burial and two boulder mortars (Locus 2), an in situ Natufian layer (Locus 3), and two areas with rich cemented sediments (tufa) covering the cave floor (Loci 4, 5). The latter indicate that at the time of occupation the Natufian layers covered the entire floor of the first chamber. During the ensuing millennia, these were washed away and/or removed by later visitors to the cave. We found in the cave and the terrace almost 80 human-made bedrock holes (most of which are commonly but somewhat erroneously termed mortars and cupmarks). Several contained in situ Natufian remains, and at the top of one a human skeleton was unearthed. The variety of the HBHs, in terms of shape and dimensions indicates that they were used in many ways, some of which could not have been for food or mineral processing. The paper provides results of on-going studies regarding the burials, the HBHs, the flint assemblage, the faunal remains, the ground stone industry, the bone tools and the beads. It also presents aspects of geoarchaeology and ground penetrating radar analyses. Some of the detailed plans and sections were prepared by the use of photogrammetry

Ein Qedem 2. A Kebaran site in Nahal Galim, Mount Carmel, Israel

Ein Qedem 2 (EQ2) is an open-air Kebaran site (Early Epipalaeolithic period, ca. 22 000 –17 500 calBP) located on the slope of Mount Carmel, Israel. The site is a part of a complex of prehistoric sites situated around the perennial spring of Ein Qedem and near the outskirts of the city of Haifa. EQ2, located near affluent sources of flint, presents ample evidence for Kebaran flint knapping. The rich flint assemblage provides valuable information concerning the microlithic industry, one of the hallmarks of the Epipalaeolithic period in this region.Ein Qedem 2 (EQ2) je najdišče na prostem, ki datira v obdobje Kebaran (zgodnji epipaleolitik, ok. 22000–17500 calBP), in se nahaja na pobočjih gore Carmel v Izraelu. Najdišče predstavlja del kompleksa prazgodovinskih najdišč, ki se nahajajo v okolici trajnega izvira Ein Qedem in na obrobju mesta Haifa. EQ2, ki se nahaja v bližini bogatih virov kremena, nudi veliko dokazov o kebaranski tehniki obdelave kamnitih orodij. Bogat inventar kremenovih orodij nudi dragocene podatke o mikrolitski industriji, ki predstavlja enega izmed razpoznavnih znakov obdobja epipaleolitika v tej regiji

The use of stone at Ohalo II, a 23,000 year old site in the Jordan Valley, Israel

A wide range of stones were found at the 22,000-24,000 year old lakeshore camp of Ohalo II, the Sea of Galilee, Israel. The well-preserved camp includes the floors of six brush huts, several open-air hearths, a grave, a midden, and small installations. Stones were found in all excavated loci. These include a small assemblage of basalt and limestone tools, among which bowls, grinding implements and weights are the most common. Use-wear analysis supports the identification of the grinding tools, suggesting that cereals were indeed processed with them, but not in an intensive manner. The presence of thousands of cereal grains as well as several sickle blades accord well these finds. Bowls were all shallow and only their fragments were found. Weights were likely used as fishing net sinkers. Limestone and basalt flakes indicate local knapping. Basalt and limestone fragments, shattered from heat, were abundant in all the excavated loci. Their original use is yet to be verified, but their shattering from heat was affirmed by a series of experiments. Stones were also used as wall supports. The range of types, contexts and activities reflected by stone tools and natural stones is unprecedented in other contemporaneous sites in the southern Levant

A grid-like incised pattern inside a Natufian bedrock mortar, Raqefet Cave, Israel

[Report]Bedrock features are a hallmark of the Natufian (ca. 15,000-11,500 cal BP) in the southern Levant and beyond and they include a large variety of types, from deep variants to shallow ones and from narrow mortars to wide basins. They are usually interpreted as food preparation facilities, associated with Natufian intensification of cereal and acorn consumption. However, inside the shaft of one deep narrow Natufian mortar at the entrance to Raqefet Cave (Mt. Carmel, Israel), we found a set of grid-like incisions accompanied by irregular lines. This pattern is similar in the general impression and the details of execution to incised stone slabs and objects found in other Natufian sites. As in several other Natufian objects, the incised patterns were hardly visible at the time, due to their light appearance and concealed location. The engraving act and symbolic meaning of the contents were likely more important than the display of the results. Furthermore, the Raqefet mortar was incorporated in a structured complex that also included a slab pavement and a boulder mortar. Thus, the complex motif, the specific feature it was carved on (inside a deep mortar), the associated features, and the location at the entrance to a burial cave all suggest an elaborate ceremonial and symbolic system

Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East

We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 44 ancient Near Easterners ranging in time between ~12,000 and 1,400 BC, from Natufian hunter–gatherers to Bronze Age farmers. We show that the earliest populations of the Near East derived around half their ancestry from a ‘Basal Eurasian’ lineage that had little if any Neanderthal admixture and that separated from other non-African lineages before their separation from each other. The first farmers of the southern Levant (Israel and Jordan) and Zagros Mountains (Iran) were strongly genetically differentiated, and each descended from local hunter–gatherers. By the time of the Bronze Age, these two populations and Anatolian-related farmers had mixed with each other and with the hunter–gatherers of Europe to greatly reduce genetic differentiation. The impact of the Near Eastern farmers extended beyond the Near East: farmers related to those of Anatolia spread westward into Europe; farmers related to those of the Levant spread southward into East Africa; farmers related to those of Iran spread northward into the Eurasian steppe; and people related to both the early farmers of Iran and to the pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe spread eastward into South Asia

Levantine Upper Palaeolithic - Early Epipalaeolithic burial customs : Ohalo II as a case study

The paper presents two kinds of evidence concerning the commonly held notion that the archaeological record of the Levantine Upper Palaeolithic/Early Epipalaeolithic period is the "poorest" in human skeletal remains. First, the details of the H2 grave at the well-dated site of Ohalo II (19,000 B.P.) point to a tradition of burying the dead in very shallow pits. This behaviour is probably a key factor in understanding the scarcity of preserved articulated skeletons. Second, a comparison of all prehistoric periods shows that when the relative numbers of sites (with skeletons) and skeletons are evaluated (by calculating them per time unit), the period in question is similar to the Middle Palaeolithic.Cet article présente deux types d'information se rapportant à la notion bien établie que le Paléolithique supérieur et l'Epipaléolithique ancien du Levant sont les périodes de la Préhistoire les plus "pauvres" en restes humains. En premier lieu, la sépulture H2 du site bien daté ď Ohalo II (19.000 BP) implique que la coutume était alors d'enterrer les morts dans des fosses peu profondes. En second lieu, une comparaison de toutes les périodes préhistoriques montre que lorsque l'on évalue le nombre des sites (avec restes humains) et des squelettes (en calculant par unité de temps), la période en question est très semblable au Paléolithique moyen qui la précède.Nadel Dani. Levantine Upper Palaeolithic - Early Epipalaeolithic burial customs : Ohalo II as a case study. In: Paléorient, 1994, vol. 20, n°1. pp. 113-121

Changes in burial customs from the Pre-Pottery to the Pottery Neolithic periods in the Levant: The case-study of Tel Roim West, Northern Israel

This paper presents burial practices at Tel Roim West (TRW), a small Neolithic mound located on the northern fringes of the Hula Basin, Northern Israel. There are rich Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), PPNC and Pottery Neolithic (PN) layers at the site. Eight burials were excavated in the site, each defined as a grave of one individual. Three belong to the PPNB period and five to the PN period. Two PPNB adults were buried under plastered floors, in a flexed position and without the skull. A PPNB baby was buried above a plastered floor and beneath a stone ‘ platform’. Four of the five PN burials were in simple pits, while one grave was built of stones ; among them, three were marked by a large stone set on edge. The individuals were all in primary positions, in articulation and with the skull, and most probably were all buried in a flexed position. One burial was found with a seal, the others had no grave goods. TRW is one of the few mounds in the Southern Levant where PPNB and PN burials can be compared in the same site. These show continuity in some burial customs and innovations in terms of stone utilization.Cet article présente les pratiques funéraires à Tel Roim West (TRW), un petit tell du Néolithique situé sur les marges nord du bassin de la Hula, dans le nord d’Israël. Il comporte de nombreux niveaux du PPNB, PPNC et du Néolithique céramique. Huit sépultures ont été fouillées sur le site, chacune correspondant à une tombe individuelle. Trois d’entre-elles appartiennent au PPNB et cinq au Néolithique céramique. Deux adultes du PPNB ont été enterrés sous un sol de chaux, dans une position fléchie, sans le crâne. Un bébé du PPNB a été déposé au-dessus d’un sol revêtu de chaux, sous une «plateforme » de pierre. Quatre des sépultures du Néolithique céramique étaient placées dans de simples fosses, tandis qu’une tombe était aménagée avec des pierres ; parmi elles, trois étaient signalées par une grande pierre disposée en bordure. Les individus étaient tous en position primaire, en connexion et avec leur crâne, et ont été très probablement enterrés en position fléchie. Une sépulture était accompagnée d’un sceau ; les autres n’avaient aucun mobilier d’accompagnement. Tel Roim West est l’un des rares tells dans le Levant Sud où les sépultures du PPNB et du Néolithique céramique permettent des comparaisons sur le même site. Elles montrent une continuité dans certaines pratiques funéraires et des innovations dans l’utilisation de pierres.Eshed Vered, Nadel Dani. Changes in burial customs from the Pre-Pottery to the Pottery Neolithic periods in the Levant: The case-study of Tel Roim West, Northern Israel. In: Paléorient, 2015, vol. 41, n°2. pp. 115-131

The Sultanian Flint Assemblage from Gesher and its Implications for Recognizing Early Neolithic Entities in the Levant

This article presents a typological and technological analysis of the Sultanian lithic assemblage from Gesher, a recently discovered "PPNA" site in the Central Jordan Valley. The site is unique in its very short period of occupation, which provides a homogeneous clean context. The tool assemblage includes El Khiam points, bifacial tools, and lunates. The finds from Gesher point to the problematic nature of the definitions of the Sultanian and the Khiamian cultures, and stress the need for better criteria to distinguish cultural entities in the first stage of the Neolithic period in the Levant.Cet article présente l'analyse typologique et technologique de l'assemblage lithique sultanien de Gesher, site "PPNA" récemment découvert dans la vallée du Jourdain. La brièveté de son occupation lui assure une industrie homogène. L'assemblage lithique comprend des pointes d'el-Khiam, des outils bifaciaux ainsi que des microlithes (segments). Les trouvailles de Gesher posent le problème des définitions du Sultanien et du Khiamien, et démontrent la nécessité d'établir des critères adaptés à l'identification d'entités culturelles pour le début du Néolithique levantin.Garfinkel Yosef, Nadel Dani. The Sultanian Flint Assemblage from Gesher and its Implications for Recognizing Early Neolithic Entities in the Levant. In: Paléorient, 1989, vol. 15, n°2. pp. 139-151