Research on the sedentarization and intensification processes in the Epipaleolithic period of the... more Research on the sedentarization and intensification processes in the Epipaleolithic period of the Levant, which culminated in the Natufian Culture, often turns to the earlier Epipaleolithic cultures to discern the roots of these important developments. Specifically, the investigation of Geometric Kebaran sites in the Mediterranean southern Levant, using up-to date research methods, may enable robust comparisons between the latest pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic phase and the Natufian phase. A site that has played a key role in all discussions of the pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic is Neve David, inside the modern city of Haifa, which was investigated between 1984 and 1990 by one of us (D. Kaufman). Here we provide a summary of the previous fieldwork at the site, followed by a report on our renewed project at Neve David which commenced on September 2014. We present new studies on the geomorphology and sedimentology, accounts of the new lithic and faunal assemblages, and the first microbotanical (phytolith) data from the site. We conclude that rich Epipaleolithic layers are still preserved at Neve David, and that they are thicker and more spread than previously estimated. The renewed fieldwork at the site, in conjunction with revisiting the materials collected in the previous campaign, has significant potential to contribute to the insufficient knowledge of the pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic in the Mediterranean southern Levant.
Research on the sedentarization and intensification processes in the Epipaleolithic period of the... more Research on the sedentarization and intensification processes in the Epipaleolithic period of the Levant, which culminated in the Natufian Culture, often turns to the earlier Epipaleolithic cultures to discern the roots of these important developments. Specifically, the investigation of Geometric Kebaran sites in the Mediterranean southern Levant, using up-to date research methods, may enable robust comparisons between the latest pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic phase and the Natufian phase. A site that has played a key role in all discussions of the pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic is Neve David, inside the modern city of Haifa, which was investigated between 1984 and 1990 by one of us (D. Kaufman). Here we provide a summary of the previous fieldwork at the site, followed by a report on our renewed project at Neve David which commenced on September 2014. We present new studies on the geomorphology and sedimentology, accounts of the new lithic and faunal assemblages, and the first microbotanical (phytolith) data from the site. We conclude that rich Epipaleolithic layers are still preserved at Neve David, and that they are thicker and more spread than previously estimated. The renewed fieldwork at the site, in conjunction with revisiting the materials collected in the previous campaign, has significant potential to contribute to the insufficient knowledge of the pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic in the Mediterranean southern Levant.
Uploads
Epipaleolithic Archaeology by Yona Riemer