The Natufian Culture and the Origin of the Neolithic in the
Levant
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Bar-Yosef, O., and F. Valla. 1990. “The Natufian Culture and
the Origin of the Neolithic in the Levant.” Current
Anthropology 31 (4) (January): 433.
Published Version
doi:10.1086/203867
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June 15, 2017 7:37:57 AM EDT
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Volume 3i, Number 4, August-October I990
The NatufianCultureand
the Originofthe Neolithic
in the Levant'
0. BAR-YOSEF
AND F. VALLA
Harvard University,
DepartmentofAnthropology,
Mass. 02I38, U.S.A.!Centredes
Cambridge,
RecherchesFrangaisde Jerusalem,CNRS, P.O. Box
547, Jerusalem9I004, Israel. 5 III 90
1433
nists,and microwearanalysts.The followingis a summary of the main topics discussed. The papers of the
conferencewill soon be published.
Paleoenvironments.Afterrecent coringin the Hula
Valley,S. Bottemaand U. Baruchwere able to suggesta
general climatic sequence for the Levant from about
to 8,ooo B.P. derivedfromtheirdenselysampled
I5,000
pollen cores. While previouswork in the Ghab marshes
of the northernOrontesValley was taken into account,
it seems thatthe conflictin chronologicalinterpretation
between the Hula Valley and the Ghab sequence may
result fromthe paucity of radiocarbondates fromthe
Ghab. The recent palynologicalprofilefromthe Hula
Basin, as yet dated by only two readings,correlateswell
with the earlier palynological graph from another
boreholein the Hula Valley done by H. Tsukada, which
is dated by i 6 radiocarbonsamples (Bottemaand van
The Natufiancultureoccupies a special place in the evolutionofhuman societies in the Near East, namely,that
of the threshold to the emergence of farmingcommunities.The idea that the Natufianswere the earliest
farmersis as old as the originaldiscoveryof theircul- Zeist I98I, Cowgilli969). BottemaviewstheGhabseturalremainsby Garrod(I932). Whatseemed at the time quence as well foundedand considersthe colder Plenian intuitivesuggestionis now consideredperhaps the glacial period to have been longerin the northernLeright interpretation(Moore i982, Unger-Hamilton vant. Warmingled to the expansionofforestvegetation
i989).
The shiftfromhunting-and-gathering
with some firstin the southernLevant,where a peak was reached
horticultureto a truefarmingeconomy seems a logical around iI,500 B.P. The later slightdecrease in arboreal
continuum(Henryi989). The factthatmost of the hard pollen in theHula Basin possiblyrepresentstheYounger
evidence fromthe Natufiansites comes fromthe Early Dryas, and a slightincrease marks the onset of wetter
or even Middle Natufian (Valla i984), which predates HoloceneconditionsprobablyaroundI0,000 B.P. The
the EarlyNeolithic by at least 8oo radiocarbonyears,is pollen evidence indicates that the Early Holocene was
rarelytaken into account (Bar-Yosefand Belfer-Cohen wetter than the Mid- and Late Holocene. Tchernov's
i989). The discoveryof earlyfarming
sites in the Jordan (Noy, Schuldenrein,and Tchernov i980) faunalanalysis
Valley and the adjacent hilly areas on both the east and of large samples fromNetiv Hagdud and Gilgal, Early
thewest side ofthe RiftValleyhas made it clear thatthe Neolithic (Pre-Pottery
Neolithic A) sites i 3 km northof
origins of wheat and barley agriculturewere in the Jericho in the Lower Jordan Valley, supports this
southernLevant (van Zeist I988, Bar-Yosefi989). Thus climaticinterpretation.
He concludes thatthe only way
the need to understandculturalprocessesin and around to account for the presence there of so many diverse
the Natufian homeland (Stordeuri98i) has assumed freshwateravian and rodentspecies is in termsof the
special importance.
formerexistence of bodies of freshwater nearby.PalyExplainingnot only how but also why the Natufian nological evidence from Netiv Hagdud studied by
cultureemergedfroma worldofhunter-gatherers
appar- Leroi-Gourhanand Darmon (i987) reflectsthe presence
in materialculturefromtheir of a rich aquatic flora and corroboratesthe geomorentlynot much different
contemporarieshas become the concernof a numberof phologicalevidenceproducedbySchuldenreinand Goldscholars. Henry (i989) has producedperhaps the most berg(i98i). While thereis disagreementabout the value
substantialdiscussion,which takes population dynam- of pollen data derivedfromarchaeologicalsites, it is of
ics into account. As more and more new data have been interestthat Leroi-Gourhanand Darmon have reached
retrievedfromNatufian sites, pollen cores, and faunal conclusions similar to those based on the pollen cores
collections,the need fordirectinternationaldiscussion fromthe Hula Valley.
has become obvious, especially since many scholars
In sum, the various lines of evidence demonstrate
workingin various countriesof the Near East have no cold, wet conditions during the Geometric Kebaran/
such communicationbecause of the political situation. Mushabianperiod(I4,000-I2,800/i2,500
B.P.) preceding
The participantsin the conferenceon the Natufianheld the Natufian,a dryspell duringtheveryEarlyNatufian,
at the Centre des Recherches Archeologiques,Sophia a steady increase in arboreal pollen duringthe Early
Antipolis, Valbonne, June 6-8, I989, were archaeolo- Natufian, and an ensuing drier period in the Late
gists, zooarchaeologists,palynologistsand palaeobota- Natufian (YoungerDryas). An increase in humidityis
documentedforthe EarlyHolocene bothfromMureybet
i. ? I990 by The Wenner-Gren
FoundationforAnthropological in the middle EuphratesValley in northernSyria and
Research. All rights reserved ooII-3204/90/3Io4-0005$I.OO.
We fromthe Lower JordanValley.
FoundationforAnthropological
thanktheWenner-Gren
Research
The archaeologyofNatufiansites. The presentationof
Research(Pea- archaeologicalreportswas an inevitablemixtureoffinal
(New York),the AmericanSchool forPrehistoric
theCNRS,andtheMinistry
of
bodyMuseum,HarvardUniversity),
ForeignAffairs
reported sitereportsfromthe excavationscarriedout in the I96os
(Paris)formakingpossibletheconference
here.We also thankMme. Pallierand L. Meignen,who helpedin and I970S and preliminaryreportson new excavations
it.
organizing
or sites discoveredin recentsurveys.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
434
CURRENT
ANTHROPOLOGY
J.Perrotdescribedand discussed the typesof burials ers joined the successful Early Neolithic (Pre-Pottery
exhumed in the excavations of Ain Mallaha (Eynan), Neolithic A) farmingcommunitiesin the JordanValley
now fullypublished (Perrotand Ladirayi988). Skeletal or southernJordan,it seems more probablethat the onremainswere oftenfoundin flexedand semiflexedposi- set of the wet Early Holocene conditions,which must
tion,rarelywithbodydecorationsmade ofseriesofDen- have improvedthe success of earlycultivators,did not
talium shells. Accordingto Solivers-Massei(i988), the entirelycoincide with the disappearanceofthe Harifian,
populationof Ain Mallaha demonstratesmarkedsexual as has been indicated recentlyby C'4 dates obtained
dimorphism,often greaterstature than among other fromPre-Pottery
Neolithic A sites in the JordanValley
Natufiangroups,and greatermorphologicalrobusticity (Bar-Yosefi989).
(which Ferembach[I976] has attributedto dietarydifThe othermarginalzone forthe Natufiandistribution
ferences).
was the EuphratesValley. TogetherwithA. Moore,who
B. Byrd described the scanty Natufian remains ex- described the stratigraphicand architecturalremains
cavated under the Pre-PotteryNeolithic B village of fromAbu Hureyra,D. Olszewski presentedsome ideas
Beidha,datedto i2,500 B.P. (Byrdi989). He stressedthat, concerningthe taxonomyof the lithic industryderived
contraryto earlierreports,thereis no evidence forthe fromthe deposits.The comparisonwith Tell Mureybit,
use ofmud bricksby the Natufianoccupants.In an addi- which lies only2o km away on the oppositebank ofthe
tional communicationhe describedthe potentialof an- river,is inevitable.Cauvin (i982) and Calley (i986) sugofWadi Hasa gestthatthereis no good reasonnot to include thelithic
othersite recentlydiscoveredin a tributary
(southernJordan),where numerousmortarswere found assemblage from Mureybet IA in the Natufian. This
in what seems to be a rich EarlyNatufianoccupation. does not necessarilymean thatthe same can be said for
A paucityof Natufianoccurrenceswas reportedby A. Abu Hureyra(Olszewski i986); it is not impossiblethat
Garrardforthe Azraq Basin (Garrardet al. i987) and by it was occupied by a different
groupwith the same subA. Bettsforthe Black Desert in Jordan.The only site in sistence strategy as the preceding Epi-Palaeolithic
the Azraq Basin at which a few secondaryburials were hunter-gatherers
of the region. The stratigraphicseuncovered was destroyedby subsequent development quence at Mureybit,which leads to the EarlyNeolithic
activities.EphemeralNatufianoccupationsleftonlyim- and resembles Khiamian and Sultanian sites in the
poverishedlithicassemblagesin theBlack Desert,where southernLevant,indicatesthatthereare real differences
watersources are only seasonal (Betts i982).
betweenthe culturalsequences of these two mounds.
Technology. Several of the archaeological reports
Hayonim Cave was excavated in the late I960s and
by 0. Bar-Yosef,E. Tchernov,and B. Arensburg. touched upon questions related to knappingmethods,
I970S
Most of the lithics and the bone tools (Bar-Yosefand utilization of raw material,and typologicalvariability.
Goren I973) have recentlybeen studied by A. Belfer- Two papersdealt specificallywith the bone industry.D.
Cohen (i988), who discussedtypologicaland technologi- Campana summarizedhis researchon thebone industry
cal changes throughtime on the basis of samples from fromHayonim Cave, while D. Stordeurdiscussed the
the internal stratigraphyof the Natufian deposits. F. large assemblage from Ain Mallaha (Campana I989,
excavatingtheHayonimTerrace, Stordeuri988). Many of the Natufian bone tools were
Valla, who is currently
stressedtheadvantagesofmeticuloushorizontalexcava- made by shaving,scraping,or incisingwith flinttools.
tion in tracinghearths,burials,dumpingzones, and the Signs of utilization are evidenton most pieces, and the
remains of houses. The skeletal material is being ana- piercingofsoftmaterialsseems to have been one oftheir
lyzedby F. Le Mort.A selectedsample offlintartifactsis most common tasks.
The resultsof intensivemicrowearstudies were prebeingstudiedbyH. Plisson to determinetheirfunctions.
Work in the Lower JordanValley was representedby sented by R. Unger-Hamilton,who carriedout systemthe currentexcavationsat Salibiya I, carriedout jointly atic experimentswith sickles both in WesternEurope
i989)
by P. Crabtree,D. Campana, and A. Belfer-Cohen.At and in the Levant.Her suggestion(Unger-Hamilton
thissite was founda small incisedpebble,one oftherare thatthe Natufianswere the firstfarmersmet with some
Late Natufian art objects. Additional art objects were challenge; participantsgenerally wanted more direct
described by T. Noy from the excavations of Nahal evidence,such as carbonizedplant remains.It was suggested that the large number of striationsassociated
Oren,a terracesite dug in the I960s and the earlyI970S
with the sickle gloss on Natufian sickle blades could
and known mainlyfrompreliminaryreports.
Followingthe descriptionof the Natufian sites from have been caused by disturbanceofthe earthotherthan
what is considered to be the homeland of this ar- cultivation,such as yearlyburningto enhance the natuchaeological entity, the marginal regions were dis- ral growthof such annuals as cereals. The increase in
cussed. N. Goring-Morrisdescribedthe Late Natufian the number of striations that is seen on Pre-Pottery
sites fromthe Negev highlandsand went on to reporton Neolithic A and especially on Pre-PotteryNeolithic B
the estabthe latest Natufian adaptation to increasing aridity, sickle blades is perhapsexplainedas reflecting
known as the Harifian(Scott I977, Magaritzand Good- lishmentoffarmingcommunities.In thiscontextP. Anreportedongoingexperimentsin Berrias
friendI987, Goring-Morrisi987). It would appear that derson-Gerfaud
the disappearanceof the Harifianfroma regionofabout (a researchcenterin the Ardechedirectedby J.Cauvin)
km2 was due to the failure of its subsistence in replicatingthe techniques of early farmersin the
25,000
strategy.Althoughone mighthypothesizethat its bear- northernLevant and Turkey.
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Volume 3I, Number 4, August-October 1990
|
435
major change from the mode of life of the Late
known from Levantine
Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers
species is the
cave sites. An additionalself-domesticated
house sparrow (Passer domesticus). Thus Natufian
lifeexpec- sedentismis reflectedbythe overexploitationofgazelles
(O-I2 yearsold)is 22-30%. Natufian
children
tancy was around 32-35 years; the range of causes of and the presenceof commensal species.
Art objects and marine shells. Natufian art objects
deathis stillunknown.The populationwas healthy,and
thereare no clear indications of stress or of prolonged are rare,and most of them have alreadybeen reported
food shortages.According to Smith, a differencebe- (e.g., Cauvin I972). Belfer-Cohendescribedthe as-yettweenNatufianand Neolithic populationsin the Levant unpublished engravedlimestone slabs fromHayonim
may be expressedin the width of the ramus of the jaw. Cave, and Noy added a descriptionof the small-animal
than like skulls uncoveredin Nahal Oren Terrace at Mount CarThe Natufiansare more like hunter-gatherers
farmers.The degreeof dental attritionvaries,however, mel.
Marine shells, until not long ago a neglectedsubject,
withthe sample; the EarlyNatufiansample fromKebara
samples while those from have receivedthe recentattentionof threeresearchers.
resembles hunter-gatherer
Ain Mallaha, Hayonim,and Nahal Oren resemblethose D. S. Reese, reportingthe finds fromJordaniansites,
fromfarminggroups.
stressedthe factthatalthoughthe shells oftenoriginate
Subsistence. Various aspects of subsistencewere de- fromthe nearestcoast, eitherthe Mediterraneanor the
scribedand discussed. It is veryclear that the paucity Red Sea, the rare findsfromelsewhere are very interof plant remains fromNatufian sites does not reflect esting.For example,the presenceat Ain Mallaha ofAsdeficienciesin excavationtechniquesbut is a real prob- patharia rubens, a large freshwatermussel from the
lem caused by the poor conditions of preservationat Nile, is an interestingindication of the distance that
most of the sites excavated; flotationonly slightlyin- shells travelled through exchange networks (Mienis
creases the size of the available samples. The few sites i987). Most marine shells at the Natufian sites origiwhich do contain plant remains are Mureybetand Abu nated in the Mediterranean,and the assemblagesare by
Hureyraon the EuphratesRiver,Wadi Hammeh 27 in and large dominated by Dentalium shells (Bar-Yosef
northernJordan,and Salibiya I in the Lower JordanVal- i983). Many of these were used forbody decorations,
ley. S. Colledge reportedsome findsfroma seriesofEpi- but large quantities are always found dispersedin the
Palaeolithic sites fromthe Azraq Basin in Jordan(Gar- deposits whereverdomestic activities were performed.
rardet al. i987). She suggestedthattuberswerepreferred C. Perlesand J.L. Phillips,servingas discussants,conofthe Natufian
to seeds in this regionduringthe Natufian.
centratedon the need for(I) redefinition
The faunal remains seem to indicate that the Natu- on the basis of the wealth of data now available and
fianshuntedthe species common in theirenvironment. the largenumberof sites, which representconsiderable
Thus at Mureybit the main species representedare lithic variability,(2) a search forevidence of sedentary
gazelle and equids, with low frequenciesofwild ox, rab- communitiesin biological and archaeological,qualitabit,wild sheep,and fox.Evidenceofstresson thegazelle tiveand quantitativesources,and (3) the developmentof
population in the formof decrease in average size and models that take into account the various reciprocalreincrease in the frequencyof youngeranimals was re- lationships among neighboringcommunities in terms
portedfromHayonim Cave and Hayonim Terraceby C. of geographicorientationto the EuphratesRiver (i.e.,
Cope and from Hatula by S. Davis (i989). J.Pichon northward),the Syro-Arabiandesert(eastward),and the
(i984) compared the avifaunas of Mureybit, Ain Sinai (southward).A combinedand probablymore comMallaha, and Hayonim Cave and reportedthatthe vari- plex socioeconomic model oughtto be able to reconcile
residentialmobilitywith the logistical moous assemblages reflectboth the nearbyenvironments short-term
and more intenseexploitationof waterfowlthan in ear- bilityof task groups.
lier prehistoricperiods.
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Aviv69978,Israel.26 II 90
Archaeologicalexcavation in Nahal Kana Cave, discoveredin the earlyI98os and investigatedin I986-88 by a
team fromTel Aviv University,has revealed a Chalcolithic (4th-millennium-B.c.)
cemeteryof a scale and
complexityhithertounknown in the period.Eightgold
artifactsdiscoveredin one of the graves (fig.i) are the
earliestyet to be foundin the Levant. Their discovery
i. ? I990 by The Wenner-Gren
FoundationforAnthropological
Research.All rightsreservedOOII-3204/90/3I04-0004$I.00.
The
studyofNahal Kana Cave was made possibleby grantsfromthe
IsraelMinistryof Science and Development(grantno. 7i06) and
supportfromthetheCentreofSpeleologicalResearchoftheSociofNaturein Israel.Our thanksaredue to
etyforthePreservation
C. J.Raub,Gal-Or,andD. SchechP. R. S. Moorey,J.P. Northover,
advice and to S. A. Rosen,T. Levy,
termanfortheirprofessional
N. Goren-Inbar,
andE. Orrelleforreading
A. N. Goring-Morris,
early
valuablecomments.D. Enoch
versionsof thispaperand offering
and D. Ladiraypreparedthe drawings,and the photographs
were
takenbyZ. Radovan.
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