Palestine - Wadi Natuf and Shuqba Cave

WADI NATUF Latitude: 35ْْْ 2'33.749 Longitude: 31ْْْ 58'51.871 SHUQBA CAVE Latitude: 35ْْْ 2'32.673 Longitude: 31ْْْ 58'53.953 The cave, formed by karstic activities, was discovered for the scientific world by A. Mallon in 1924. It was excavated by D. Garrod in 1928. Garrod uncovered the evidence for a hitherto unrecognised late Stone Age, pre-agricultural culture which was named after the wadi as the ‘Natufian Culture'. The cave, one of the largest in Palestine, opens into a central chamber (diameter 18 m) with two chimneys in its roof and three side chambers. The excavation revealed the stratigraphic history of the site, with two major prehistoric occupations, the Upper Levallois-Mousterian period (layer D), and Upper Natufian period (layer B), with evidence of use thereafter from the Early Bronze Age to the present. The lithic remains of the Upper Levallois-Mousterian layer consist of points, retouched flakes, a few disks and hand axes, burins, and a large quantity of side scrapers. The major, Upper Natufian layer consisted of black, ashy soil containing a number of human burials, mostly of children, close to the habitation area. The lithic assemblage found for the first time by Garrod in layer B consisted of lunates or crescents, geometric microlithics, sickle blades and a rich bone industry that included points and needles. The Natufian community of Shuqba was characterised by practising a settled pattern of hunter-gatherer activity. Most of the flints are tiny microliths which served as spearheads and arrowheads for hunting. There were also flint sickle blades were used for harvesting wild grain and straw. The Natufian remains indicate a mode of production based on hunting and intensive food gathering by a co-operating group of pre-agricultural communities.