Bar-Yosef 1998The Natufian Culture in the Levant, Threshold to the Origins of Agriculture.evolAnthr

8/3/2019 Bar-Yosef 1998The Natufian Culture in the Levant, Threshold to the Origins of Agriculture.evolAnthr

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ARTICLES

The Na tufia n Culture in the Leva nt,Threshold to the Origins of AgricultureOFER BAR-YOSEF

As with other crucial thresholds in

cultural evolution, the im pact of the

Neolithic Revolution, as it was la-

beled by V. G. Childe, 5 or t he incip ien t

cultivation and dom es tication as i t

w a s d e fin e d b y R . B r a i d wo o d ,6

ca nonly be evaluated on the bas is of i ts

outcome. I begin with a brief descrip-

t io n o f t h e c u lt u r a l s e qu e n c e o f t h e

late hu nter-gatherers w ho inhabited

the Near East u ntil about 13,000 B.P.7

Thes e foragers , w ho had a variety of

subsistence strategies and types of an-

n u a l s ch e d u le s, r a n g ed fr o m s em i -

s ed e n t a r y g r o u p s t o s m a ll m o b i le

band s. The establishment of sedentary

Natufian hamlets in the Levant (Fig. 1)

marked a major organizational depar-

tur e from th e old ways of life. This was

fo llo w ed b y a s ec o n d m a j or s oc io -

economic threshold, characterized ar-

cheologically by Early Neolithic culti-

vators. This sequence of changes canonly be understood within th e context

of the entire region and the s hifting

paleobotanical conditions of the Le-

vant during this period.

I therefore begin with a b rief descrip-

t io n o f t h e L eva n t a n d i ts n a t u ra l

res ources during the term inal P leis -

tocene and early Holocene (18,000 to

9,000 B.P.: uncalibrated radio carbon

years8) . D uring this period, the land-

s ca p e o f t h e N e a r E a s t w a s n o t d r y,

barren , and thorn y as it appear s today.

Using palynological, pa leobotanical,

a n d g eo m o r p h o lo gi ca l d a t a , w e a r e

able to propos e ins tead a reconstruc-

tion of the s patial dis tribution of an

o a k-d o m i n a te d p a r k la n d a n d w o od -

la n d t h a t p r o vi d ed t h e h i gh e st b i o-

mass of foods exploitable by humans.

This vegetational belt m ostly covered

the M editerranean coas tal plains an d

hilly ranges , as w ell as a few oas es .

Recently publis hed reports from the

excavated Late P aleolithic (or Epi-

P aleolithic), N atufi an, and N eolithic

s ites , together w ith this recons truc-

tion of na tural res ources, allow u s to

a n sw er t h e q u es ti on s o f w h e n a n d

w here the N eolithic Revolution oc-

curred. H owever, we a re still far from

providing a defi nitive ans w er to the

question of why it occurred.

Within the large region of the NearEas t, recent archeological w ork has

d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e

area know n as the M editerranean Le-

vant. Today it is one of the m os t re-

searched parts of the Near East.14,918

It is therefore possible that th e picture

I will draw is somewhat biased due to

the limited n um ber of excavations else-

where, such as in western Iran, north-

ern Ir aq, or sou theast Turkey.1922 How-

ever, n o fi eld p roject outs ide of the

Levant has yet exposed any ind ication

of a prehis toric entity that res em bles

the Natufian. As will become clear in

the following pages, such a n ent ity can

be recognized th rough its com bined

a r c h e o l o gi c a l a t t r i b u t e s , i n c lu d i n g

dwellings, graves, lithic and bone in-

dustries, ground stone tools, ornam en-

tation, and art objects, as w ell as the

e a rly a ge o f i ts s ed e n ta r y h a m le ts

a m o n g a ll fo r a ge r s s o ci et ie s i n t h e

Near East.

THE REGIO N: RESOURCES AND

POTENTIAL FORAG ING PATTERNS

T h e M e di te r r a n ea n L eva n t , a b o u t

1, 100 km long and about 250 to 350

k m w id e , i n c o r po r a t es a va r ie t y o f

lands capes , from the s outhern fl anks

of the Taurus Mountains in Turkey to

the Sinai peninsula (Fig. 1). The vari-

able topography com pris es a narrow

coastal plain, two parallel continuous

m ountain ranges w ith a r ift valley in

between, and an eastward sloping pla-

teau dis s ected by m any eas tw ard run -

ning w adis . The region is character-

The aim of this paper is to provide the reader with an updated description of the

archeological evidence for the origins of agriculture in the Near East. Specifically, I

will address the question of why the emergence of farming communities in the Near

East was an inevitable outcome of a series of social and economic circumstances

that caused the Natufian culture to be considered the threshold for this major

evolutionary change.14 The importance of such an understanding has global

implications. Currently, updated archeological information points to two other

centers of early cultivation, central Mexico and the middle Yangtze River in China,that led to the emergence of complex civilizations.4 However, the best-recorded

sequence from foraging to farming is found in the Near East. Its presence warns

against the approach of viewing all three evolutionary sequences as identical in

terms of primary conditions, economic and social motivations and activities, and the

resulting cultural, social, and ideological changes.

Ofer Bar-Yosef studies Middle and UpperPaleolithic sequences in the Near East, aswell as the origins of agriculture as ex-pressed in the archaeology of Epi-Paleo-lithic Neolithic sites. He has published pa-pers and co-edited volumes on variousprehistoric sites of Pleistocene and Holoceneagein theLevant.He isthe MacCurdy Profes-sor of Prehistoric Archaeology in the De-partment of Anthropology, Harvard Univer-sity. E-mail: [email protected]

Key words: origins of agriculture; Levant; Natu-fian; Early Neolithic

Evolutiona ry Anthropolog y 159


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ized by m arked s easonality: w inters

are cold and rainy, s um m ers are hot

and dr y. Mediterranean woodland and

o p e n p a r k la n d ve ge t a ti o n d e ve lo p

w h e r e a n n u a l p r e ci p it a t io n r e a ch e s

400 to 1, 200 m m a year. S hrub land,

steppic vegetation (Irano-Tura nian),

and arid plant as s ociations (S aharo-

Arabian ) cover the areas wh ere annu al

precipitation is less than 400 mm (forthe curren t situation see Zohary23).

Today, tw o annual patterns of w in-

ter s torm tracks prevail. O ne carries

humidity from the Mediterranean Sea

t o t h e s ou t h e r n L eva n t ; t h e s ec o n d

a r r ive s fr o m n o r th e r n E u r o pe a n d

turns to the northern Levant, leaving

t h e s o u th e r n p o r t io n d r y. Ch e m i ca l

s tudies of the b eds of Lake Lis an, an

U pper P leis tocene lake in the J ordan

Valley, and the early Holocene distribu-

tion of C3 and C4 plants in the Negev

dem ons trate that the geographic pat-

tern of an nual rainfall during the late

P le is t oc en e a n d t h e e a r ly H o lo c en e

was sim ilar to toda ys.24 D ecadal an d

centennial fl uctuations of precipita-

tion, m ore than tem perature changes,

w ere res pons ible for the expans ion

a n d c o n tr a c ti on o f t h e ve ge t a ti on a l

belts as reflected in the palynological

sequences.16,25

F loral res ources in the Levant are

s easonal, w ith s eeds m os t abun dant

fr o m Ap r il t o J u n e a n d fr u i ts fr o m

S eptem ber to N ovem ber. Tubers are

r a r e . Am o n g t h e t h r e e ve ge t a ti on a l

zones, the M editerranean is the r ich-

e st , w it h m o r e t h a n o n e h u n d r e d e d -

ible fruits, seeds, leaves, an d tubers.23

Th e fa u n al b io m a ss gr a du a lly

d w in d le s a w a y fr o m t h e M e di te r r a -

n e a n c o r e a r e a . D en s e o a k fo r es t s,

where precipitation surpasses 800 mm,

m a i nt a in a lo we r b io m a ss t h a n d o

open par klands. Thus the m osaic asso-

ciations of Mediterranean vegetation,

bordering the Irano-Turanian s hrub

land, are the m os t optim al in term s of

carrying capacity.26,27 I t i s a l o n g t h e

prehistoric pos ition of this belt that

. . . no field project

outside of the Leva nt has

yet exposed a nyindica tion of a

prehistoric entity that

resemblesthe Natufian.

Figure 1. A ma p of the Near East indica ting the t erritorieso f the Early Natufian ho meland , the e xpansion of the Late Natufian c ulture, and the

area o f the Harifian c ulture, a de sertic a da pta tion of the Late Na tufian to the c old, dry cond itionso f the Younge r Dryas.

160 Evolutionary Anthropolog y ARTICLES


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t h e m a j o r c u l ti va t i n g c o m m u n i t ie s

emerged.28

G am e anim als included the m oun-

tain gazelle (Gazella gazella), a station-

ary antelope w ith a s m all hom e range

that varies from a few to as man y as 25

s quare kilom eters .29 A l a r ge r h o m e

range can be inferred for Gazella sub-gutturosa, the dominant species in the

Syro-Arabian desert. Other mammals

included wild cattle (Bos primigeniu s ),

fallow deer ( Dam a m esopotmaica), roe

d e e r (Capreolus capreolus ) , and w ild

b o a r (Su s scrofa) . The rare w ild goat

(Capra aegagru s) o c cu p i ed p a r k la n d

area s while the ibex (Cabra ibex) inhab -

ited the cliffy, drier lands capes .27,30

The optim al foraging pattern of late

Pleistocene hu nter-gatherers, one th at

combined both r esidential and logisti-

cal movements, was probably the most

e ffi c ie n t . To p o g r a p h y m a d e a n t i c i-

p a t ed m o ve s o f s o ci a l u n i t s o r t a sk

forces along east-west transects easier,

fo r t h i s r o u t e t o o k a d va n t a ge o f t h e

north-south layout of mou ntain ran ges

and vegetational belts. The optim um

territory for a band of hun ter-gather-

ers w ithin the M editerranean vegeta-

tional belt is estimated to be abou t 300

to 500 square kilometers.2 In contrast,

foragers in s teppe or des ert regions

w e r e r e q u i r e d t o m o n i t o r a n a r e a o f

500 to 2, 000 s quare kilom eters as a

buffer against annual fluctuations.I n t h is s ys t em , d e cr e a si n g a n n u a l

precipitation and shifts in th e distribu-

tion of rains that diminished yields of

w ild fruits , s eeds , and gam e anim als

would place stress ma inly on the steppe

a n d d e se r t b e lt s .31 I n c o n t ra s t , r e -

s ou r c es i n t h e M ed i te r r an e a n b e lt

would have been more stable. Levan-

t in e f or a ge r s w o u ld h a ve h a d m a n y

w a ys t o a lle vi at e s h or t - a n d lo n g-

term stresses: population aggregation

in the M editerranean core areas ; s o-

cial and techno-economic reorganiza-

tion w ithin the s am e territories that

w ould affect the core area; im m igra-

tion to a djacent regions northw ard or

southwar d along the coastal ran ges; or

the use of warfare to take over territo-

ries , es pecially w here bands did not

belong to the same alliance.28 Each of

thes e s trategies or a com bination of

s eve r a l w o u ld h a ve r e su l te d i n t h e

emergence of new spatial alignm ent of

the popu lation, which would have been

expressed in adjusted ideologies.

THE PALEOCLIM ATIC RECORD

P aleoclim atic inform ation is often

derived from the records of oxygen

isotope fl uctuations regis tered in ice

cores , deep s ea cores , and terres trial

vegetational reconstructions ba sed on

pollen cores from lakes. The following

sequence emerges when such data sets

a r e s u p p le m e n t ed w it h i n fo r m a t io n

f r o m g e o m o r p h o l o gi c a l s e q u e n c es ,

bio-geograph ic interpretations of fluc-

tuating faunal spectra, incomplete ar-

c h e o -b o t a n i ca l r e c or d s , a n d p o ll en

from archeological sites:24,16,17,32,33

1 . D u ri n g t h e L a te G la c ia l M a xi -

m um , dated to ca. 20, 000 to 14, 500

B.P. the en tire region was cold a nd d ry,

b u t t h e h i ll y c o a s ta l a r e a s e n jo ye d

winter precipitation an d were covered

by forests.

2. P recipitation over the entire re-

gion slowly increased beginning about

14,500 B. P. and m ore rapidly from

13,500 to 13,000 B.P. The rate of pre-

cipitation peaked around 11,500 B.P.

in the southern Levant.

3 . R a i n f a ll d e c re a s ed d u r i n g t h e

Younger Dryas period (ca. 11,000 to

10,000 B.P.).

4 . P lu vi al c on d it io n s r e tu r n e d

around 10,300 B.P., indicating a very

w e t e a r l y H o lo c en e i n t h e n o r t h er n

Levant a nd Anatolia, but did n ot reach

the previous peak in the central and

southern Levant.16,25

5. Agrad ua l rise in sea level after th e

Late G lacial M axim um until the m id-

H o lo ce n e r e du c ed t h e fl at , s a n dy

coastal plain of the Levant by a stretch

5 t o 2 0 k m w id e a n d 5 00 k m lo n g.

G iven the poor aqua tic res ources in

this section of the Mediterranean sea,

the r ise in sea level main ly affected the

s iz e o f fo r a gi n g t e r ri to r ie s a n d t h e

collection of m arine shells often u sed

for decoration.

FROM MOBILE

HUNTER-GATHERERS TO

SEDENTARY FORAGERS

T h e a r c h eo lo gy o f t h e la t e P a le o -

l it h i c fo r a ge r s i s r e la t i ve ly w e ll -

know n.1,34,35 S o ci a l u n i t s h a ve b e en

identified based on selective analysis

of stone artifacts comb ined with other

attr ibutes s uch as s ite s ize and s truc-

ture, the distribution of s ettlem ents ,

and the recons tructed pattern of s ea-

s onal m obility.14,11,28,34,3641 F o r i n -

s t an c e , t h e K eb a r a n ( ca . 1 8, 00 0 t o

14,500 B.P.) sites were limited geo-

graphically to the coas tal Levant and

isolated oases due the prevailing cold,

dry climate. Geometric Kebaran forag-

e r s t o o k a d va n t a ge o f t h e c li m a t ic

amelioration around 14,500 to 13,000

B.P., expanding into the formerly deser-

t i c b e l t , w h i c h h a d b e c a m e a l u s h e r

s teppe.3941 G r ou n d s to n e m o r t a r s,

bow ls , and cupholes , w hich fi rs t ap-

peared in the U pper P aleolithic, are

cons idered to indicate vegetal food

processing.42 The invention of thes e

tools marks a revolutionary departure

from M iddle P aleolithic m ethods of

p la n t f oo d p r e p a ra t io n . I t n o t o n ly

her alds the broa d-spectru m exploita-

tionth at was conceived as a prerequ i-

site for th e agricultural revolution, bu t

also is supported by th e recent d iscov-

ery of carbonized plant rem ains in a

water-logged site, Ohallo II, dated to

19,000 B.P.43 The assemblage contains

a rich suite of seeds and fruits, already

k n o wn t o s ci en t i st s fr o m t h e b a s al

layers of Abu Hureira.44 Both collec-

tions refl ect intens ified gathering of

r-res ources from a variety of habitats

and plant as s ociations . F allow deer,

gazelle, and wild boar were hunted in

the central Levant, w hereas gazelle,

ibex, and hare were the common gam e

i n t h e s t ep p ic b e lt . W il d g oa t a n d

sheep were comm on in the Tauru s and

Zagros mountains.

T h e c li m a t ic i m p r o ve m e n t a f te r

14,500 B.P. seems to h ave been r espon-

s ible for the pres ence of m ore s table

. . . the mosaic

a ssociations of

Mediterranean

vegetation, borde ring

the Ira no-Tura nia n shrub

land, are the most

optimal in terms of

ca rrying c a pa city. It is

along the prehistoricposition of this belt that

the ma jor cultivating

communitiesemerged.

ARTICLES Evolutiona ry Anthropolog y 161


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hum an occupations in the s teppic and

desertic belts. Groups moved into ar-

eas that were previously uninhabited,

fr o m t h e M e di t er r a n e a n s t ep p e i n t o

the m argins of the S yro-A rabian de-

sert. Others came from the Nile valley,c r ea t in g a n i n te r es ti n g s o ci a l m o -

saic.1,11,35,40,45

THE EMERGENCE OF THE

NATUFIAN CULTURE

The em ergence of the N atufi an cul-

ture around 13,000 or 12,800 B.P. was

a major turning point in the history of

the Near East.1,28 Originally defined by

G arrod and N euville on the bas is of

t h e li th ic , b o ne , a n d g ro u n d s to n e

indus tries , as w ell as burials uncov-

ered in their excavations in caves in

M o u n t C a r m e l a n d t h e J u d ea n h i lls ,

the N atufi an culture has continued to

a t tr a ct t h e a t t en t io n o f a r ch e olo -

gists.5,4648 E x ca va t i on s d u r i n g t h e1950s in Ain Mallaha (Eynan), which

exposed semi-subterranean houses, re-

ferred to as pit-houses in the American

terminology, led J. Perrot to interpret

t h e s i t e a s t h e r e m a i n s o f a v i l l a g e .

A dditional excavations w ere done at

N ahal O ren,49 Hayonim Cave and Ter-

race,5053 Rosh Zin 54 and Ros h H ore-

s ha,55 Wa d i H a m m e h 2 7,56 W adi J u-

dayid,1 and the lower layers at Beidha,5

providing a wealth of new da ta. These

data have led to the recognition that a

Natufian hom eland existed in the

c en t r a l L e va n t ( Fi g. 1 ) a n d t h a t t h e

N a t u fi a n s w e r e s e co n d a r y f or a g er s

and, perhaps, the earliest farmers. This

information led to the recognition that

t h e N a t u fi a n c u l t u r e p l a y e d a m a j o r

r o le i n t h e e m er ge n ce o f t h e e a rlyN e ol it h i c f a r m in g c o m m u n i t i es , o r

w h a t i s k n o w n a s t h e Ag r ic u lt u r a l

Revolution. 14,12,28,58

The m ain attraction of the N atufi an

cultural rem ains is the wealth of infor-

ma tion u ncovered in every site. Aside

f r om s e tt le m e n t s iz e , t h e d w e ll in g

s tructures , graves , and art objects in

m o r e t h a n o n e s i t e r e s e m b l e t h e r e -

m ains of N eolithic villages . In addi-

tion, lithics, elaborate bone industry,

p o u n d in g a n d g r in d i n g t o ol s, l ar g e

quantities of m arine s hells , and ani-

ma l bones have furnished the required

inform ation for a better recons truc-

tion of pas t l ifew ays. E ach of thes e

aspects provide the basis for the vari-ous interpretations of the s ocio-eco-

nomic system of the Natufian culture.

Site Size a nd Settlem ent Pa ttern

All N a tu fia n b a se c a m p s i n t h e

hom eland area were located in the

w oodland belt, w here oak and pis ta-

chio w ere th e dom inant s pecies (F ig.

2).1,25 The undergrow th of this open

forest was grass with high frequencies

o f c er e als . T h e h i gh m o u n t ai ns o f

Lebanon an d the Anti-Lebanon, the

s teppic a reas of the N egev and S inai,

a n d t h e S yr o -Ar a b ia n d e se r t i n t h e

eas t accom m odated only sm all N atu-

fia n o cc u pa t io n s d u e t o b o th t h ei r

lower carrying capacity and the pres-

ence of other groups of foragers w ho

exploited this vast region. In general,

N atufi an s ites fall into three s ize cat-

egories: small (15 to 100 m 2), medium

( 40 0 t o 5 00 m 2) , and large (greater

than 1,000 m 2) . O nly during the Late

Natufian were several larger sites es-

. . . the Natufianswere

sec ondary fora ge rs a nd,

perhaps, the earliest

farmers.

Figure 2. A ma p o f the Levant with the loca tion of most of the sitesof the Na tufian culture (after

Bar-Yosef and M ea do w 4).



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tablished within th e steppic belt. Even

so, none of the larger sites ever reach ed

t h e s iz e o f a l ar g e E a r ly N e oli th i c

village.

N atufi an bas e cam ps are character-

ized by semi-subterr anean dwellings

(pit-hous es ). The foundations w ere

built of s tone and the upper s tructure

w as probably brus h and w ood. There

is no evidence of the u se of mud bricks

or w attle and daub. F ine exam ples of

N a t u fia n h o u s es w e re u n c o ve r ed i n

Ain Mallaha (Fig. 3), Wadi Hammeh

27, and H ayonim Cave and Terrace.

Every base camp suggests the reb uild-

ing of hous es, indicating tem porary

abandonm ent of the s ettlem ent.

Domestic structures were about 3 to

6 m in diam eter, w ith either roun ded

or s quarish fi replaces. Although the

fi lls of the dw ellings contained rich

assemb lages, identifying specific floors

was not easy. A rare case is the semi-

c ir c u la r h o u s e 1 31 i n Ai n M a lla h a

( Fi g. 4 ), w h i c h i s 9 m i n d i a m et e r,

w here a s eries of pos t holes w as pre-

s erved. In certain areas of the fl oor,

clus ters of artifacts w ere uncovered.

Worth n oting is a sma ll building in Ain

M a lla h a i n w h i c h a r o u n d ed b e n ch

c o ve r ed w it h l im e p la s te r w a s p r e -

s erved. This hous e is different from

the domestic one and could have been

used for ritual purposes by the leader

or s ham an of the group.

In Ha yonim Cave, there is a series of

small adjoining oval rooms inside the

cave, each 2.5 to 3.5 m in dia met er an d

built of undr essed stones. There was a

h e a r th o r t w o i n e a ch r o o m e x ce p t

one. Finds from the lower fill of every

room indicated its dom es tic u s e, al-

t h o u gh t h i s f u n ct i on s ee m s t o h a ve

changed s ubs equently: one room w asfi rst a kiln for burning lim es tone an d

later was the site of bone tool produc-

tion.

Late N atufi an s ites have produced

i n co m p l et e i n fo r m a t i on . At N a h a l

O r e n Te r r a c e , e l o n g a t ed e n c lo s u r e

walls were uncovered. In a lower level

of this site, a series of postholes sur-

rounded a large fireplace amid a cem-

etery area.49 Circular structures were

exposed in Rosh Zin.54 O ne room had

a s la b p a ve m en t a n d a lim e st on e

m onolith 1m tall erected at i ts edge.

This could just h ave been a dom es ticstructure, bu t it is also possible that it

served specific ritual pu rposes. At Jebel

S aade, a Late N atufi an s ite in the

Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, t he r emain s

of collapsed walls were identified, de-

spite much destruction caused by mod-

ern terracing.60

Despite expectations to the contrary,

storage installations are rare in Natu-

fian sites. The few examples include a

paved bin in H ayonim Terrace61 an d

Figure 3. A: The Early Natufian ha bitations, primary and sec ond ary burials, of the upp er layersat

Ain Mallaha . Note the spe cial pit-house in the left upp er co rner. B: A crosssec tion along the A-B

line demonstrating the entire stratigraphy of Ain Mallaha. Note the dug-out pits (after Perrot

and Lad iray 157).

Figure 4. The la rge Na tufian house in Ain Ma l-

laha w ith a proposed reco nstruction of its

upp er structure. Note the series of po stholes

and the numb er of hearthsthat seem to have

been used for com munal a ct ivit ies (after

Valla 59).



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several plastered pits at Ain Mallaha,

w h ic h c o u ld h a ve s er ve d a s u n d e r-

ground storage facilities.62 I t i s p o s -

sible tha t baskets were used for above-

ground storage. Indirect evidence for

basketry comes from the special bone

tools know n from ethnographic s tud-

ies to have been u sed in such activity.63

Gravesand Burials

The N atufi an population has been

identified as being of Proto-Mediterra-

nean s tock.64 Graves were uncovered

in all base camps in the Natufian heart-

l an d a s w e ll a s i n s m a lle r s it e s.65,66

S tratigraphic indications from H ay-

onim Cave an d Ain M allaha dem on-

strate tha t graves were dug in d eserted

dw ellings an d outs ide of hous es , but

not under the fl oors of active hous e-

holds. Graves were in pits, either shal-

l o w o r d e e p , a n d w e r e r a r e l y p a v e d

w ith s tones or plas ter. In s everal in-

s tances lim es tone s labs covered the

graves, but gra ves generally were filled

in w ith s edim ent from the s ite i ts elf .

That sediment contained cobb les, lith-

ics, broken mortar s, and anim al bones.

S ealed graves w ere m arked at N ahal

O r en b y d e e p m o r t a r s c a ll ed s to n e

p i pe s. I n N a h a l O r e n a n d H a yo n i m

Cave, small cupholes pecked in rocks

m a r k e d t h e lo c a ti on o f g r ave s.67 In

N a h a l O r en , a n e xc e pt io n a ll y l ar g e

fi replace, 1.2m in diam eter and s ur-

roun ded by limestone slabs, was placed

in the center of a clus ter of inhum a-

tions.49

The burials demonstrate variability

in m ortuary practices . The pa ttern of

body disposition in primary burials is

supin e, semiflexed, or flexed, with vari-

ous orientations of the head. The num-

ber of inhum ations p er grave varies

from single to multiple. Collective buri-

a ls a r e m o r e c om m o n i n t h e E a r ly

Natufian. Several cases of skull remov-

als were observed in the Late Natufian

context at Hayonim Cave, Nahal Oren,

and Ain Mallaha,12,67 heralding a Neo-

lithic pra ctice. Secondary bu rials were

either isolated or mixed with primary

burials. Secondary burials, which oc-

cur m ore often in the Late than E arly

N atufi an, are interpreted a s evidence

of increased group mob ility. Scattered

hum an bones occur within the occupa-

t io n a l d e p os it s , i n d i ca t i n g t h a t t h e

N a t u fia n s d i st u r b ed b u r ia ls o f t h e ir

own people. Children comprise about

o n e -t h i rd o f t h e d e a d , i n d ic a t in g a

relatively high mortality among those

aged 5 to 7 years.68 This is interpreted

as evidence of grow ing s tress w ithin

sedentary communities.12

A special type of mortuary practice

i s i n d i c a t e d b y t h e j o i n t h u m a n a n d

dog burials in two graves, one in AinMallaha69 a n d t h e o t h e r a t H a y o n i m

Terrace.70 B ot h a r e i n te r pr e te d a s

m arking a departure from the P aleo-

lithic vision of the natural world as a

dichotomy between humans and wild-

life.

G iven the N atufi ans habit of plac-

ing graves within their own sites and

then r efilling them with m aterial from

t h e p i t a n d s u r r ou n d i n g a r e a s, o n l y

objects found attached to s keletons

c a n b e s ec u r el y i d e n ti fie d a s g r a ve

goods. Comm on grave goods included

head decorations , necklaces, brace-lets, belts, earrings, and pend ants m ade

o f m a r in e s h ell s, b o n e, t e et h , a n d

beads . A few objects s uch as a bone

dagger (H ayonim cave), a bone fi gu-

rine of a young gazelle (Nahal Oren),

and a s m all m odel of a hum an head in

lim es tone (El-Wad) w ere related by

excavators to the buried individuals. It

should be stressed that decorated bur i-als particularly characterize the Early

Natufian. Finally, the suggestion that

d i ffe r e n ce s i n m o r t u a r y p r a c t ic e s

should be viewed as reflecting social

hierarchy have recently been found to

be untenable.71,72

Lithic Assemblages

The produ ction of stone tools is one

of the m ost conservative hu ma n a ctivi-

ties . Res earch on U pper P leistocene

s i t e s h a s d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t i t i s a l -

m os t im pos s ible to relate changes in

lithic technology and the morphology

of artifacts to environm ental chan ges.

Therefore, specific chara cteristics of

knapping techniques , w ays of s nap-

ping bladelets , and types of retouch

am ong a ssemblages of Termina l Pleis-tocene an d E arly H olocene age in the

N ear Eas t are em ployed in the s earch

for identifiable social entities.1,28 Th e

N a t u fia n h a s t h u s b e en s u b d ivi d ed

into pha ses and regional groups based

o n t h e p r e s e n c e o r a b s e n c e o f p r o d -

ucts o f micr obu rin t echn ique, a spe-

cialized blade-s napping m ethod, and

the size and type of retouch of lunates

(backing versus Helwan). The average

length of lunates, which has a lso been

used as a chronological marker,73 h a s

recently been refi ned to include the

r e g io n a l -e c o lo g ic a l l o ca t i o n o f t h esites.74

The Natufian lithic indu stry is char-

acterized by extens ively us ed cores

a n d t h e p r o d u ct io n o f s m a l l, s h o r t ,

wide bladelets and flakes. Among the

retouched pieces , frequencies of end

scrapers and b urins fluctuate consider-

a b ly. B a ck ed b la d e s g r ad e i n to t h e

retouched and backed bladelets , de-

fined as m icroliths. Microliths and geo-

m etrics reach 40% or m ore in every

assemb lage. In the Ea rly Natu fian, geo-

m etrics include H elw an and backed

lunates, trapeze-rectangles , and tr i-

angles, but in the Late Natufian backed

lunates generally domin ate.12,34,7376

Special tools that occur for the first

t im e i n t h e N a t u fia n a r e p i ck s a n d

sickle blades. The first, considered the

forerunner of the axe-adzes group of

the N eolithic period, are 8 to 10 cm

long and bifacially or trifacially flaked.

The second, the sickle blades or glossy

pieces as they are know n today, are

abundan t in s ites w ithin the N atufi an

homeland (Fig. 6). These blades bear a

gloss that covers a relatively wide area

on both faces . Experim ental and m i-

cros copic s tudies dem ons trated that

thes e w ere us ed for harves ting cere-

als.77,78 The blades were hafted in bon e

o r, p r o b a b ly m o r e o ft e n , w o od e n

handles . I t is quite pos s ible that they

c a n b e i n t er p r e te d a s t o o ls u s ed i n

early experim ents in cereal cultiva-

t io n . T h e u s e o f s i ck le s i n st e a d o f

beaters and baskets has the advantage

of maximizing th e yield ha rvested from

a lim ited area.7982 I t s e e m s t h a t t h e

Resea rch on Uppe r

Pleistocene sites has

de monstra ted that it isa lmost impossible to

relate change s in lithic

technology and the

morphology of a rtifa cts

to e nvironmenta l

changes.



7/19

N atufi ans adopted the us e of s ickles

for harvesting because of their need to

m a x im i z e yi el d a n d m i n im i z e t im e ,

the reason being the limited availabil-

ity of fields of wild stan ds.3,82

Ground Stone Tools

Such tools, including bedrock mor-

tars , portable m ortars , bow ls of vari-

o u s t yp e s, c u p h o le s, m u l le r s, a n d

p e st le s, o c cu r i n la r g e n u m b e r s i n

bas e-cam p s ites , but are not as abun -

d a n t i n t h e m o r e e p h e m e r a l l y o c c u -

p ie d c a m p s. T h e b o u ld e r m o r t a r s,

s om etim es called s tone pipes, w eigh

as mu ch as 100 to 150 kg and are 70 to

8 0 c m d e ep . W h e n b r o k en i n t h e i r

l ow e rm o s t p a r t , t h e se o b je ct s w e re

p l a ce d i n g r a ve s. An a r c h e o m e tr i c

study has indicated that b asalt objects

in t h e M ou n t Ca r m el s it es w er e

b r o u gh t fr o m t h e G ol a n H e ig h t s,83

abou t 100 km away. Microscopic obser-

vations have demonstrated that ground

stone ut ensils were em ployed for food

p r o ce ss in g a s w e ll a s fo r c r u sh i n g

burned limestone and red ochre.41,84

Amon g the grooved stones are whet-

stones mad e of sandston e, which were

us ed for s haping bone objects . S haft

s traighteners, identified on the bas is

of ethnographic com paris ons , have a

deep, parallel-sided groove and bearburning m arks . Thes e m arks , w hich

res ulted from s traightening w ooden

shafts, indicate th e use of bows by the

Natufians.

Bone and Horncore Industry

T h e N a t u fi a n i s m a r k e d b y a b o n e

indus try that is far r icher in quantity

and contains m ore elaborate, varied

morp hologies than d oes any earlier or

l a te r L eva n t i n e a r c h e ol og ic a l e n -

tity.8587 O b j e c t s w e r e m a d e o f b o n e

s h a ft s a n d o f t e e th a n d h o r n -c o re s

from gazelles, wolves, fallow deer, roe

deer, an d bird s. Use-wear an alysis indi-

c a t e s t h a t b o n e t o o l s w e r e u s e d f o r

hidew orking and bas ketry.63 Barbed

items have been reconstructed as parts

of hun ting devices (spears or arr ows),h o o ks a n d g or g et s fo r fi sh i n g, a n d

hafts for sickle blades. Bone beads and

penda nts were shaped by grinding and

drilling.63 Many objects bear specific

d e co r a t io n s . Am o n g t h e se a r e t h e

carved hafts from El-Wad a nd Kebar a

Ca ve w it h yo u n g r u m i n a n ts a t t h e

e d ge a n d t h e p i ec es fr o m H a yo n i m

Cave bearing net pa tterns.47,58,88

Ornamentation and Art Objects

B o dy d e co r a t io n s a n d o r n a m e n t a -

tions dem onstrate variability between

a n d w it h i n s it e s, a s w e ll a s c h a n ge

over t im e. A variety of m arine m ol-

luscs, bone, greenston e, limeston e pen-

d a n ts , a n d b e ad s w er e u se d b y t h e

Natu fians in h eadgear, necklaces, belts,

bracelets, and earrings (Fig. 6).

M arine s hells for N atufi an jew elry

were collected from the shores of the

M editerranean S ea or, m ore rarely,

w ere brought from the Red S ea. A inM allaha s tands out for having a tus k

s hell from the A tlantic ocean and a

f re sh w a t e r b i va l ve fr o m t h e N il e

river.41,89 G r ee n st o n e a n d m a l a ch i t e

b e a d s w er e b r o u g h t f r om a s y e t u n -

identified localities in the Levant. Other

rare items include pieces of Anatolian

o b si d ia n fo u n d a t Ai n M a ll ah a i n a

Late Natufian context. The noticeable

differences in jewelry between t he sites

is considered to indicate th e existence

The Natufia n is ma rked

by a bone industry tha t is

fa r richer in quantity and

containsmore

elaborate, varied

morphologies than does

any ea rlier or later

Levantine archeologicalentity.Figure 5. An Early Natufian dec orated skull from El-Wad, exca vate d by D. Ga rrod (photo graphby S. Burger, Pea bo dy Museum ).



8/19

of distinct group identities.67 Several

lim es tone s labs recovered from the

r o u n d ed s t ru c t u r es i n si d e H a yo n i m

Cave are incised, mostly with the lad-

der-pattern m otif interpreted as th e

a c c u m u la t e d e ff ec t s o f n o t a t io n a l

marks.90,91 On one large slab, the rou gh

form of a fish is deeply incised. Large

carved limestone slabs with the mea n-

der pattern, als o know n from carved

basalt bowls, were uncovered in one of

the houses of Wadi Hammeh.27,56,88

Portable naturalistic and schematic

fi gurines m ade of bone and lim es tone

include carvings on s ickle hafts and

isolated bone pieces (Fig. 7). Several

of these figurines depict young ungu-

lates, possibly gazelles.88 A limestone

fi gurine from the N ahal O ren s ite has

an ow l at on e end an d a dogs head at

the oth er. An a dditional item is a h orn

core with a ma ns head at on e end an d

a bovids h ead a t th e other end. This

c om b in a t io n o f h u m a n a n d a n im a l

might have emerged from similar ideo-

logical changes that led to the jointdog and hum an burials.70

F igurines that repres ent the hu m an

body or face are rare; only a few, mad e

of lim estone, have been found.92 Th e

exception is the Ain Sakkhri limestone

figurine, interpreted as representing a

m ating couple. Zoom orphic fi gurines

include a tortoise, a kneeling gazelle,

and p ossibly a baboon. 88 The attention

given to young rum inants93 and their

appear ance as decorat ion on sickles is

rather curious, but perhaps represents

a totem ic group idol.

Particular decorative patterns foundo n b o t h b o n e a n d s to n e o b j ec t s i n -

clude the net, chevron (or zigzag), and

m e a n de r p a tt er n s. M os t a p p ea r o n

spatu las, stone bowls, shaft-straighten -

ers, and the r are ostrich-egg shell con-

tainers found as broken pieces in the

Negevsites.54 Because these differ from

site to site, they may further ou r iden-

tification of different Natufian groups.

For the time being, we know tha t their

f r eq u e n c ie s a r e h i gh e s t w i t h i n t h e

N atufi an hom eland in the central Le-

vant.94

Subsistence

Most Natufian sites were excavated

b e fo r e t h e i n t ro d u c ti on , i n t h e l a te

1960s, of recovery techniques such as

systematic dry sieving and floatation.

However, even in recent excavations

w ater fl otation has failed to retrieve

sufficient quan tities of floral remains.

In s om e cas es , the few grains found

w ere later dated by accelerator m as s

s pectrom etry to recent t im es .95,96 Th e

poor pres ervation of vegetal rem ains

in Natufian sites within the Mediterra-

nean w oodland res ulted from the na-

ture of the prevailing terra rossa soil.

Occupational deposits in open-air sites

are s oaked each w inter, then dry up

and crack in s um m er. In the process ,

plant rem ains are destroyed; charcoal,

small bones, and even lithics are sub-

jected to both dow nw ard and upw ard

movements. Better char coal preserva-

tion is noted in the desertic loess in the

Negev and drier deep deposits of sites

Figure 6. Natufian lithic, bo ne, a nd ground stone assemb lage: 1, Helwan lunate; 2, lunate ; 3,

triangle; 4 a nd 5, microburins (produc ts of a spec ial snapp ing technique); 6, truncated

bladelet;7, borer; 8,burin; 9,Helwan sickle blade ; 10, abruptly retouched sickle blade ; 11, pick;

12 and 13, bone points; 14, decorated broken sickle haft; 1519, bone pendants; 20, deco-

rated bone spa tula; 21, pestle; 22, mortar; 23, deep mortarma de of ba salt;24,Harif point.Notethat the ground stone toolshave different scalesthan do the lithicsand bone objects.



9/19

in the Lower Jordan Valley. However,

s am ples are s til l too s m all due to the

l im i t ed n u m b e r a n d s iz e o f e x ca va -

tions. The pa ucity of carbon ized mate-

rial is also expres sed in the relative

scarcity of charcoal radiocarbon dates.

Tools for food acquisition, such as

sickles, and food processors, such as

mortars, bowls, and pestles, are inter-

preted as evidence for harvesting and

processing wild cereals and legumes.

The few available s eeds s upport the

c o n t en t i o n t h a t p u l se s , c e r e a ls , a l -

m onds , acorns , and other fruits w ere

gathered. 18 T h e l is t o f s p ec ie s c o l-

lected w as probably even longer, as

can be deduced from the lis t of plant

rema ins from Oha lo II, the Late Paleo-

lithic site mentioned earlier. Similar

information comes from Tell Murey-

bet 97 and the Epi-Paleolithic layers of

Abu H ureyra,44 w h ic h a r e d a t e d t o

Late Natufian age.

The idea that the Natufians were the

earliest agriculturalists was first sug-

g es te d b y G a r r od i n 1 93 2. D es p it e

later criticism, that idea was revived

b y o t h er s80 a n d s up p or te d in p a rt

b y e xp e r im e n t a l s t u d ie s o f s ic k le

blades.77,78 It was also established th at

s ys t e m a t i c c u l t iv a t io n w o u l d h a v e

caus ed the unintentional dom es tica-

tion of wheat and barley.98,99 However,

even the degree of dom es tication of

cereals in the earliest Neolithic sites is

s till ques tionable on the bas is of the

morphological characteristics of car-

bonized seeds and rach is fragmen ts.100

Am ore cautious interpretation of these

findings is that Natufian communities

practiced inten sive an d extensive har-

ves ting of w ild cereals as part of ananticipated s um m er m obility pattern.

Good bone preservation in m ost sites

has m ade faunal evidence the s ubject

of num erous s tudies .101106 N atufi ans

h u n t e d g a ze lle a n d o t h er g a m e, d e -

pending on the geographical location

o f e a c h s it e ( Fi g. 8 ). I n t h e c o a st a l

ran ges, deer, cattle, and wild boa r were

c o m m o n , w h i le i n t h e s t ep p ic b e lt

equids an d ibex were typical prey. The

attempt to explain the Natufian faunal

assemblages as the result of net hunt-

in g107 has not been w ell accepted,108

a n d d o e s n o t c o n f o r m t o t h e e t h n o -graphic evidence, which indicates tha t

s u ch a t e ch n i qu e i s b e s t s u i t ed fo r

fo r e st e d a r e a s w h e r e t h e d e gr e e o f

visibility is rath er low.109

Water fowl undou btedly formed part

of the Natufian diet, especially in sites

along the J ordan Valley, w here both

m i gr a t or y a n d n e st in g d u c ks w er e

gathered during th e s tress s easons .110

Freshwater species of fish were cau ght

s eas onally in the H ula Lake, as indi-

cated by thous ands of fi s h vertebrae

retrieved at Ain M allaha.111 Fishing

s ee m s t o h a ve b e en l es s i m p o r t a n talong the M editerranean coas t. H ow -

ever, fish remains, though scarce, to-

gether with the presence of bone gor-

g et s a n d h o ok s, i nd ic a te t h a t o ld

excavation techniques often yield in-

complete information.

THE NATUFIAN AND THE

EMERGENCE OF NEOLITHIC

FARMER-HUNTER COMMUNITIES

The em ergence of the N atufi an en-

tity from a world of Levantine hu nter-

g a th e r er s i s s ee n a s r e su l ti n g fr o m

b o th e co n o m ic a n d s oc ia l c ir c u m -

s t an c e s. O n t h e o n e h a n d , c l im a t i c

improvements around 13,000 B.P. pro-

vided a wealth of food resources. On

t h e o t h er h a n d , c on t em p o r a n eo u s

population growth in both the steppic

and desertic regions made any abrupt,

short-term climatic fluctua tion a moti-

vation for hum an groups to achieve

control over resources. The establish-

m e n t o f a s er i es o f s e d en t a r y E a r l y

Figure 7. Natufian art objects: 1, decorated sickle haft (Kebara); 2, limestone human head

(El-Wad); 3 and 4, sche ma tic hum an hea ds (Ain Mallaha); 5, dec orated sickle ha ft (El-Wad); 6,

limestone figurines with two head s, a do g and a n owl (Nahal Oren); 7, limestone animal head ,

possibly a bab oon (Nahal Oren); 8, dec orated limestone slab (Wad i Hammeh 27) (a fter

Bar-Yosef58 and Noy88).



10/19

Natufian hamlets in a delineated home-

land is seen as a reaction to an abrupt

e n vi r on m e n t a l c h a n ge t h a t n e c es si -

tated a s hift of res ource s cheduling.

P revious patterns of s em i-s edentis m

am ong Late Pleistocene foragers gave

way to the acquisition of a firmer hold

over territories.

T h e c ir c u m st a n ce s s u rr o u n d in g

Natufian sedentism are interpreted in

various w ays . S om e res earchers con-

tend that s edentism w as enhanced by

the need to intens ify cereal exploita-

tion.14,112 Others suggest that sedent-

ism itself increased the propa gation of

s u ch a n n u a l s a s c er e a ls .13 Unfortu-

nately, as mentioned earlier, the stor-

a ge p r a ct ic es o f t h e N a tu fi an s a r e

poorly known.

Archeologically, the criteria for rec-

ognizing s edentis m include the pres -

ence of hum an com m ens als , s uch as

h o u s e m i ce , r a t s , a n d s p a rr o w s, a t

higher frequencies am ong m icrofau-

n a l a s se m b la ge s t h a n i n fo r ag er

sites.113115 Another biological ma rker

is the s tudy of cem entum increm ents

on gazelle teeth, w hich indicate that

hun ting by the inhab itants of Natufian

base ham lets took place in both winter

and sum mer. In addition, semi-perm a-

nent ham lets can be noted by energy

expenditure, reflected in investments

in leveling s lopes for building pur-

poses, the construction of houses, the

production of plas ter, and the trans -

port of heavy undres s ed s tones into

cave sites. Fin ally, the d igging of graves

and rare un derground s torage pits , as

w e ll a s t h e s h a p in g o f l a r ge , h e a vy

mort ars were activities that took place

in such base camps, but generally not

in locations that w ere exploited on a

short-term, seasonal ba sis.

The clim atic crisis of the Younger

Dryas (ca. 11,000 to 10,300 B.P.) re-

sulted in environm ental deterioration.

This climat ic change, now r ecognized

globally, had an im pact on the N atu-

fi an population. I t is s ugges ted that

t h e t w o m a j o r o u t c o m e s o f t h e c o l d

and dry conditions were a decrease in

the natural production of C3 plants ,

such as th e cereals,4 and a redu ction in

the geographic distribution of natural

s tands of w ild cereals to the w estern

wing of the Fertile Crescent (Fig. 9).

Environmental exploitation by seden-

t a r y L a t e N a t u fi a n c o m m u n i t ie s a s

well as by their neighboring foragers

further depleted plant and anim al re-

sources.115 S ocial reactions to thes e

n e w c o n d it i on s d i ffe r ed w it h in t h e

Near East (Fig. 9).

In the Negev and n orthern Sina i, the

Late N atufi an im proved their hunting

techniques w ith the invention of the

H arif point, an arrow head that prob-

ably was more efficient.36 Whereas the

lithic and bone indus tries of H arifi an

sites are Late Natufian in nature, only

the existence of the Harif point (Fig. 5)

dem ons trates the uniquenes s of this

e n t it y. An i m a l b o n e s r e p r es en t t h ehunting of local fauna: gazelle, ibex,

hare, and perhaps w ild s heep. Grind-

ing tools, mor tars, and cup-holes indi-

cate the process ing of un know n plant

food elem ents . Large collections of

m arine s hells dem ons trate t ight rela-

tions hips w ith both the Red S ea and

M editerranean s hores.41 The overall

territory of the H arifi an, as es tim ated

from surveys, is about 8,000 km, but

could have been as large as 30,000 to

50,000 km 2. However, given their ar-

cheological disappearance within two

t o t h r e e h u n d r e d y e a r s a n d t h e f a c t

that th is area remained essentially un-

inhabited for about one thous and ra-

diocarbon years, the Harifian is inter-

preted a s the u nsuccessful effort of the

local Late Natufian population to adapt

to the prevailing Younger Dryas condi-

tions in their territory (Fig. 9).

In other areas , N atufi an com m uni-

ties responded to the climatic chan ges

by becom ing m ore m obile, probablyreturning to a m ore fl exible s chedul-

ing of resources. Several comm unities

m aintained s ocial r elations hips w ith

t h e ir o r ig in a l h a m l et s a n d r e t u rn e d

there to bury their dead, as s how n by

the large num ber of s econdary buri-

als.53,72 The first experim ents in system-

atic cultivation m ost likely occurred

during the Younger D ryas . The fi rst

Neolithic large villages, up to 2.5 hect-

ares in size, seem to have relied, if not

The establishment of a

series of sede nta ry Ea rly

Natufian hamlets in a

delineated homeland is

seen as a rea ction to an

a brupt environmenta l

change that

nec essita ted a shift ofresource scheduling.

Figure 8. Frequenciesof large and medium size mammalsin Natufian and Neolithic sites. Note

the dominance of gazelle in Natufian and PPNA sites and the shift to caprovines during the

Pre-Pottery Neolithic B.



11/19

on dom es ticated barley and w heat,18

then on planting their w ild progeni-

tors.100 No one claims today that th ese

e a r ly fa r m e r s w e re n e w p e op le . I n

fact, ample evidence demonstrates that

they were the descendan ts of the localNatufian popu lation, which had u nder-

gone changes in m aterial culture, s o-

cial organization, and daily life ways.

THE EARLY NEOLITHIC ENTITIES

Neolithic, mea nin g new stone

age,wa s first used with respec t to the

N e ar E a s t i n t h e t w en t ie t h c en t u r y.

Jericho wa s a key site: it was ther e that

the excavations of K. Kenyon exposed

a Neolithic sequence without pottery,

w h ic h l ed t o n e w t e rm i n o lo gy. B e-

caus e all the other com ponents , and

e sp e c ia l ly t h e s t on e i n d u st r y, r e -

s em b l ed t h e E u r o p e an a s se m b la g es

f r om w h i ch t h e d e s ig n a t io n N e o -

lithic had originated, K enyon s ug-

gested the taxon Pre-Pottery Neolithic.

She further subdivided it on the basis

of the J ericho s tratigraphy into P re-

P ottery N eolithic A and B.116 A t the

s am e tim e, R. Braidw ood s ugges ted

an anthropologically oriented term i-

nology, wh ich incorporated excavated

assemblages within a socio-economic

inter pret ation ; e.g., level of incipien t

cultivation and dom es tication and

level of prim ar y village-farm ing com -

m un ities.117,118 F inally, the F rench

school from Lyon adopted a subdivi-

sion by time horizons.119,120

Early N eolithic farm ing com m uni-

ties in th e Levant were geograph ically

distributed a long todays bou nda ry be-

t w ee n t h e M ed it er r a n ea n a n d t h e

Irano-Turan ian steppic vegetational-

belts. However, the environm enta l con-

ditions during the early Holocene were

entirely different from those of today.

Hence, these sites were located within

the M editerranean w oodland, w hich

was, at that time, the richest in vegetal

and anim al resources (Fig. 10). Recog-

nition that the early farm ing com m u-

nities were actually stretched along a

rather narrow north-to-s outh belt led

us to identify the Levantine Corridor

as th e locus of the origins of agricul-

ture.28 On both sides of that corridor,

i n t h e c o as t al r a n g e o n t h e w e st a n d

t h e s te pp ic r e gi on i n t h e e as t a n d

south, sma ll band s of foragers contin-

ued to survive (Fig. 10). Sites of these

hunter-gatherers were excavated in the

An t i -L e b a n o n m o u n t a i n s 12 1 a n d in

s outhern S inai.122 Both areas provide

am ple evidence for the continuation

of old life w ays and the adoption of

specific projectile tools from th e neigh-

boring farmers.

The fi rs t m anifes tation of the cul-

tural ch ange th at h eralded th e Neo-

lithic Revolution is known in th e Le-

vant as the K hiam ian. This entity isstill poorly defined, in p art because th e

tim e s pan of i ts existence is hard ly a

few centuries of radiocarbon years ,

perhap s ca. 10,500 to 10,300/10,100

B.P. In addition , the available inform a-

t io n o n t h e K h i a m ia n w a s o b t a in e d

from very limited soun dings and sites

w here m ixing w ith earlier layers is

likely to have occurred .123126 The lithic

indus try of the K hiam ian com pris es

the a erodynam ically shaped el-Khiam

projectile points, asphalt-hafted sickle

blades, some m icroliths, and h igh fre-

quencies of perforators, a typical Neo-lithic feature (Fig. 11). Bifacial or pol-

ished celts, considered to be Neolithic

ma rkers, are absent from the Khi-

amian contexts.

THE SULTANIAN ENTITY

We i d en t i fy b e t we e n 1 0, 30 0 a n d

9,300 B.P. a few geographically delin-

eated entities . The S ultanian, the one

in th e Jord an Valley, which includes

the neighboring hilly ranges on both

s id e s, i s b e t t er k n o wn t h a n t h o se

farther n orth. The m ain sites (Fig. 11)

are J ericho,127 Gilgal,128 N etiv H ag-d u d ,129,130 Gesher,131 Dra,65 and several

i n t h e h i ll y r e g io n , i n clu d i n g H a t -

oula,12 5 Iraq ed-D ubb,65 a n d N a h al

Oren.49 In the northern Levant, s om e-

what similar contexts represent other

cultural entities. The m ain s ites are

M u reyb et a nd J er f el Ah m a r

(Syria),97,120 Q erm ez D ereh (Iraq),132

an d th e lower level a t Cayon u (Tur-

key).133 The following br ief overview is

therefore bas ed m ainly on the S ulta-

The first ma nifestation of

the cultura l cha nge that

heralded the Neolithic

Revolution isknown in

the Leva nt a s theKhiamian.

Figure 9. A rec onstructed vege tational ma p o f the Younge r Dryas period. The hat che d a rea

de lineat esthe b elt in which wild c erealswere present. Note the loca tion of a few selecte d Late

Natufian and Early Neolithic sites. Data are based on Hillman.31 The loc ation o f lake p ollen

co resisalso shown.



12/19

nian s ites , w ith additional inform a-

tion from settlements elsewhere in the

Near East.

Site Size, Intrasite Variability, andSettlem ent Pa ttern

The larges t N eolithic s ites , am ong

them M ureybet, J ericho, N etiv H ag-

dud, Gilgal, and Dra, are at least three

to eight t im es larger than the larges t

N a t u fi a n s i te s .2, 4 Intras ite variabil-

ity indicates that there are clear dif-

ferences betw een the large villages

and the s m all ham lets . F or exam ple,

i n N e ti v H a g d u d t h e d w ell in g s a r e

la r ge a n d o va l, a n d e ac h h o use -

hold is probably m ade of tw o room s .

T h er e a r e o p en s p a ce s b e t w ee n t h e

h o u s e s w h e r e s o m e o f t h e d o m e s t i c

activities took place.129,134 Similar ob-

s er va t io n s c a n b e m a d e fo r J e ri ch o

and M ureybet. N ahal O ren, how ever,

r ep r es en t s a s m a ll s it e w h er e t h e

roun ded houses are clustered together

like a com poun d of an extended fam -

ily.

S ultanian and other P P N A hous es

are pit-houses, with stone foun dations

and s upers tructures of unbaked m ud

bricks, often with a p lano-convex cross

section (Fig. 12). The u se of mud bricks

along w ith cons iderable am ounts of

o r ga n i c s u b st a n c e s r e s u lt e d i n t h e

rapid accum ulation of deposits in Neo-

lithic moun ds. Therefore, Neolithic de-

posits generally have low frequencies

of artifacts per volume-unit when com-

pared to t he previous Natufian sites.

D om e s ti c h e a r t h s w e r e s m a ll a n d

o va l w it h c o bb le fl oo r s. T h e u s e o f

heated rocks in cooking res ulted inabundan t fi re-cracked rocks , w hich

were uncommon in Natufian sites. Si-

los, either s m all s tone-built bins or

larger built-up mud-brick structures,

were found in every site.

The bes t exam ple as yet of com m u-

nal bu ilding efforts are the w alls a nd

t o we r o f J e ri ch o . K en y on 11 6 inter-

p r et ed t h es e a s p a r ts o f a d efe n se

system again st ra ids. However, Kenyon

i g n o r e d t h e f a c t t h a t a t o w e r t h a t i s

p a r t o f a d e fe n se s ys te m i s u s u a l ly

built on the outer face of the w alls to

e n a b l e t h e p r o t e c t o r s t o s h o o t s i d e -

w a ys a t t h e c li m b in g a t t a ck er s . An

alternative interpretation suggests that

the w alls w ere erected m ainly on the

w estern s ide of the s ite to protect the

settlement against mud flows and flash

floods135 (Fig. 12). In add ition, a top o-

graphic cross s ection through the en-

tire tell indicates that there was prob-

a b ly o n ly o n e t o we r. Alt h o u gh i ts

fu n c t io n i s u n k n o w n , i t c o u ld h a ve

a c co m m o d a t e d a s m a ll m u d - b r ic k

shrine on the top. Although u nequivo-

cal evidence for public ritual is miss-

ing, the open space north of the tower

m ay ha ve been sim ilar to th e pla zain

Cayon u (Tur key), wh ich served as a

place for pub lic gatherings.133

Sulta nian Tool Kits

Lithic technology exhibits cultural

c on t in u it y fr o m t h e K h ia m i a n .13 6

Blades were manufactured essentially

for s ickles a nd other cutting objects .

Projectiles included el-Khiam points

with additional varieties; perforators

are frequent. Axes-adzes with a work-

ing edge formed by a tr ansversal blow

a n d p o li sh e d c e lt s m a d e t h e ir fi rs t

appearance during this time (Fig. 11).

A shift from th e Natu fian is evident

i n t h e a b u n d a n t p o u n d i n g t o o l s , i n -

c lu d i n g s la b s w i th c u p h o le s , h a n d

stones, and roun ded, shallow grinding

bow ls . O nly the rare m ortar or deep

bowl continued the previous tradition

of heavy-duty kitchen equipmen t (Fig.

11).

Figure 10. A map of the Levant showing the distribution of known Pre-Pottery Neolithic A sites,

the a rea of the Levantine Corridor, and t he presenc e of o ther soc io-econom ic entities.



13/19

Mortuary Practicesand Art

Objects

Most bur ials are single with no grave

goods. Skull removal, a practice begun

d u r i n g t h e L a te N a t u fia n , w a s p e r -

form ed only on adults ; child burials

were left intact. The separated crania

w e re s om e t im e s fo u n d i n d o m e st ic

locales or special-purpose buildings. A

current interpretation views these skull

caches as having been formed thr ough

p u b li c r i tu a l a i m e d a t n e go t ia t in g

e qu a li ty a m o n g t h e i n h a bi ta n t s o f

these villages.137 The differentiation

a lo n g a ge li n es p r o ba b ly r e fle ct s

changes in attitudes tow ard the dead

within the Early Neolithic society, and

perhap s is evidence for the veneration

of ancestors.120 In sum , it seems that a

long-term social value was attributed

to adults , as s how n by the cons erva-tion of their skulls, but not t o children.

Additional changes in s ociety are

e x p r e s s e d b y t h e s h a p i n g o f h u m a n

figurines from either limestone or clay

along gender lines (Fig. 13). Several

depict a kneeling female, while others

are of the s eated w om an type.138

Co m m o n i n t er p r e ta t io n vi ew s t h i s

specification of gender, not evident in

the Natufian, as indicating the emerg-

i n g r o le o f w o m e n i n a c u lt iva t in g

s ociety. I t is as s um ed that this m a jor

s h ift b r ou gh t a b ou t t h e c u lt o f t h e

mo ther goddessin later centu ries.

Subsistence

F lotation procedures at s ites in the

L e va n t i n e C or r i d o r h a v e p r o d u c e d

high frequencies of carbonized seeds

of bar ley, w heat, legum es , and other

p l a n t s .18,97100,139,140 U nfortunately,

there is no agreem ent on the m ethods

h u m a n s u s ed t o a c qu ir e t h e s ee ds ,

whether by intensive collection in the

wild, cultivation, or gathering animal

dung as fuel.18,99,100,141 The debate fo-

c u se s o n t h e fr e q u en c ie s o f c e r t a in

m orphological features that are con-

s idered to be s igns of dom es ticated

species and whether these are, in fact,

the results of parching harvested wild

cereals when still green. Regardless of

w hether they w ere cultivators or har-

vesters, the geograph ic shift in settle-

m ent pattern and the increas ing s ite

s iz e d u r i n g t h e E a r ly N e ol it h i c a r e

s ou n d i n d ic a t or s o f a m a j o r s o c io -

e co n o m i c d e p a r t u r e f r om t h e N a t u -

fian way of life.

Ear ly Neolithic village inhab itants

c o n ti n u ed t o g a th e r w il d fr u i ts a n d

seeds and to hun t. Gazelle, equids, and

cattle w ere hunted in the m iddle Eu-

ph rat es area (Fig. 8); gazelle, fox, a few

fallow deer, wild boar, and wild cattle

Figure 11. A typic al assem bla ge from a Pre-Potte ry Neolithic A site in the southe rn Leva nt: 1 and

2, Khiam p oints; 3 and 4, Hag dud trunca tions; 5, awl on b lade; 6, a tranc het b ifacial axe; 7, a

sickle blad e (type Beit Ta am ir); 8, grooved stone or a shaft straightener; 9, limestone slab

with cu p ho les; 10, a limestone c elt (afte r Bar-Yosef and Go phe r129).

Flotation proce dures a t

sites in the Leva ntine

Corridor have produce d

high frequencies of

carbonized seedsof

ba rley, whea t, leg umes,

a nd other plants.

Unfortunate ly, there isno

agreement on the

methodshumansused to

acquire the seeds,

whether by intensive

collec tion in the wild,

cultivation, or ga theringanimal dung as fuel.



14/19

w e r e t h e m a i n g a m e a n i m a l s i n t h e

Jord an Valley. Large num bers of bird s,

especiallydu cks, were trapped by occu-

pants of all s ites .130 Lizards and tor-

toises were gathered as well. The over-

all pictu re is tha t of a br oad -spectru m

subsistence strategy similar to that of

the N atufi ans .

Long-distance exchange is dem on-

strated by th e central Anatolian obsid-

i a n f o u n d i n J e r i c h o a n d i n s m a l l e r

q u a n t it i es i n N e ti v H a g d u d , N a h a l

O ren, and H atoula. N o obs idian w as

fo u n d i n G ilg a l o r G es h er. M a r in e

shells were brought from th e Mediter-

ranean coas t and few er from th e Red

Sea. There is a clear shift in the types

selected for exchange. Glycym eris an d

cow ries becom e im portant, but D en-

talium shells, where excavated depos-

its were sieved, are still common, as in

Natufian sites.

DISCUSSION

M os t readers are fam iliar w ith the

different hypotheses th at have been

offered as explanations for the emer-

gence of agriculture in the Near East.

The following is a brief summary. One

o f t h e fir st p r op o sa ls w a s m a d e b y

Rap hael Pum pelly, an Amer ican geolo-

gist who hypothesized that the warm-

i n g c li m a t e o f t h e H o lo c en e fo r ce dpeople to settle near drying lakes. This

idea led him to initiate excavations at

the site of Anau in Turkmenistan, Cen-

tral Asia.3,141 The same idea was picked

up by V. G. Childe, who p ropo sed wh at

toda y is called t he oasis hypot hesis.

Childe asserted that the Holocene post-

glacial warming r esulted in increasing

d e n s i t i e s o f h u m a n s a n d a n i m a l s i n

river valleys, ther eby mot ivating a new

s ubs is tence s trategy bas ed on anim al

domestication an d cultivation.141 Rob-

e r t B r a id w o od a n d h i s a s s o ci a t es

shifted their focus from the river val-

leys to what today is the nuclear zone

i n w h ic h w ild c er e a ls a n d le gu m e s

grow,18,142 often r eferr ed to a s the hilly

flanks. They excavated sites in no rth -

e r n I r a q a n d s ou t h e as t er n Tu r k ey.Braidw ood propos ed that w ithin the

evolving cultural contexts, technologi-

cal progress led to village life and the

ens uing dom es tication of plants and

anim als. The climatic factor was omit-

ted from Braidwoods m odel as a re-

s u lt o f fi e ld o b se r va t io n s m a d e b y

H. E. Wright. Wright, a palynologist

a n d l im n o l o gi st , r e c en t l y c o n c ed e d

that thes e obs ervations w ere errone-

o u s a n d a gr ee d t h a t a gr e at er r o le

s hould be attr ibuted to clim atic fl uc-

t u a t i o n s .14 3 At t h e t i m e , h o w eve r,

Braidw ood accepted the notion thatclima tic fluctuations played only a mi-

nor role, and therefore suggested that

fo o d p r o d u c t io n d i d n o t b e gi n a t a n

earlier period becaus e culture w as

no t rea dy.144

The role of increasing human popu-

lations at the end of the P leis tocene

and the reaction of groups surviving in

m a r g in a l a r e a s t o c li m a t ic fl u ct u a -

tions w ere prim e s tim uli in the w rit-

i n gs o f B in f or d ,145 Flannery,146 Co-

hen,147 Sm ith and Youn g,148 H as s an,149

and others . The idea of dem ographic

p r e ss u r e, w h ic h h a d o r ig in a t e d i n

Childes writings, was explicitly ex-

pres sed w ithin a cultural ecological

model. Evidence to suppor t the imp or-

tance of this relative increas e in hu-

man population densities was derived

from n ew surveys and excavations ac-

c o m p li sh e d i n t h e 1 95 0s a n d 1 96 0s

across the Near East.

Other scholars have attemp ted more

general explanations . Thus , D . Rin-

dos 150 viewed the em ergence of agricul-

ture and the dom es tication of plants

a s a l on g p r o c e ss o f m u t u a l is m t h a t

began w ith incidental dom es tication

and termina ted with a fully developed

agricultural system. However, if this

proces s w ere truly a bas ic pattern of

behavior for all foragers, then agricul-

t u r e w o u ld h a ve e m e r ge d i n d ep e n -

dently in every region of the w orld.

T h e e vi d en c e d o es n o t s u p p or t t h is

h y p ot h e s is . An o t h e r a p p r o a c h p r o -

posed by Hayden,151 term ed th e com -

petitive feastingmo del, emer ged from

a growing interes t in s ocial factors.

Figure 12. PPNA p it houses excava ted in Netiv Hagd ud. The da rker c ircular b uilding in the

center was built of mud bricksand could have b een a large silo.



15/19

Unfortunately, the archeological rec-

o r d o f t h e L e v a n t i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e

surplus offood and pr ecious commodi-

ties needed for potlatch com petition

was not available before the develop-

m ent of agriculture but w as , ins tead,

a n o u t co m e o f t h a t d e ve lo p m en t .

H aydens m odel w ould better fi t the

evidence for com petition from the fol-

lowing Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period

(ca. 9,300 to 7,800 B.P.) when large,

well-established villages occupied the

Fertile Crescent an d beyond.

The explanatory model used in this

p a p e r a n d o t h er s24,28,152 follows th e

histor ical na rra tive explanat ionp ro-

posed by Flannery.153 It not on ly takes

i n t o a c c o u n t t h e u n i qu e g eo gr a p h ic

conditions of the Levant, but also com-

bines th e a rcheological history of for-

agers, their reconstructed social struc-

ture, an d their s ubs is tence s trategies

w ith environm ental changes . The re-

s u lt in g s eq u e n ce m a k e s t h e e m e r-

gence of cultivation, under these given

conditions , the optim al s trategy for

s em i-s edentary and s edentary hunter

gatherers. The regional conditions dur-

ing the Late Pleistocene included the

availability, pred ictability, an d accessi-

bility of numerou s edible annua l seeds

s u ch a s c er ea ls a n d le gu m e s (r-re-

sources) and perenn ial plant resources,

essentially fruits, and the presence of

mostly stationary medium -sized ungu-

lates and cervids that did not require

the m onitoring of large territories. The

result was dense spatial distribution of

com bined res ources that enabled for-

agers to survive in biologically viable

populations in sm all territories.

The current trend to view clim aticfl uctuations as a m echanis m for tr ig-

gering cultural change is based on the

grow ing unders tanding that environ-

men tal im pacts are screened thr ough

a c u lt u r a l fi lt e r. I n e a ch r e gi on a t a

given time, societies of hunter-gather-

ers have had their own cultural filters

a s m u c h a s t h e y h a v e h a d t h e i r o w n

kinship systems, cosmologies, and eco-

nom ic and ideological adaptations to

particular features of their landscape.

Cultural filters are constructed through

par ticular grou p histories. Thus, differ-

ent hum an popu lations m a y react dif-ferently in the face of environm ental

cris es . There is no need to s eek one

single model to explain the origins of

agriculture.

S in c e t h e e n d o f t h e L a te G la c ia l

M axim um (ca. 14,500 B.P. ), people

o cc up ie d e ve ry e co -z on e i n t h e

N ear Eas t. The Levant w as the m os t

favorably inhab ited belt. Desert oases

c o n ti n u e d t o a c co m m o d a t e h u n t e r-

g a th e r er g r ou p s , b u t t h e se p o p u la -

tions w ere highly m obile and thinly

d i st r ib u t ed . I n t h e c o as ta l L eva n t ,

s em i-s edentis m or s everely reduced

m obility w as already an es tablished

s et t le m e n t p a t t er n a m o n g f or a g er s .

Hence a short, cold, and abrupt crisis

at ab out 13,000 B.P., which wa s imm e-

diately followed by an increase in p re-

cipitation and an expans ion of w ood-

la n d a n d p a rk la n d, h a d a m a jo r

i m p a ct . I t m a d e s ed e n t is m w it h in a

certa in hom eland t he mo st pract ical

s et t le m e n t p a t t er n , r e su l ti n g i n t h e

form ation of the Early N atufi an. The

technological innovations introduced

by the Natu fians, such a s sickles, picks,

and improved tools for archery, were

additions to a n a lready existing Upper

Paleolithic inventory of utensils that

included s im ple bow s , corded fi bers ,

and food processing tools such as m or-

tars and pes tles . D em ographic pres -

s ure w as therefore the outcom e w hen

certain groups of foragers became sed-

entary w hile others rem ained m obile.

This condition limited both groups in

their access to resources when further

c li m a t i c c r i se s c a u s e d d i m i n i sh i n g

Figure 13. Pre-pot tery Neolithic A fema le figurines from Mureyb et (13,5) and Ne tiv Hag dud (4).

Note that they are in two positions, sitting (2,4) and standing (1,3,5) (after Cauvin 158; Ba r-Yosef

and Gopher129).



16/19


17/19

10 Moore AMT (1989) The transition from forag-

ing to farming in southwest Asia. In Harris DR,

Hilma n GC ( e d s ), Foraging and Farm ing: The

Evolution of Plant Exploitation, pp 620631. Lon-

don: Unwin Hyman.

11 Henry DO (1995) Prehistoric Cultural Ecology

and Evolution. New York: Plenum Press.

12 Belfer-Cohen A (1991) The Natufian in the

Levant. Ann R ev Anth ropol 20 :16786.

13 McCorriston J, Hole F (1991) The ecology ofseasonal stress and the origins of agriculture in

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