Nahal Oren is an archaeological site on the northern bank of the

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water ...

of Nahal Oren (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

)/Wadi Fallah (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

) on Mount Carmel, south of

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

.A.M.L. Moore, ''The Neolithic of the Levant'', Oxford University, 1978
/ref> The site comprises a cave and the small terrace in front of it, which steeply descends towards the wadi floor.A.M.L. Moore, ''The Neolithic of the Levant'', Oxford University, 1978. Chapter 2 (pp. 99-106)

/ref> The site was first excavated in 1941.

Kebaran The Kebaran culture, also known as the Early Near East Epipalaeolithic, was an archaeological culture in the Eastern Mediterranean area (c. 23,000 to 15,000 BP), named after its type site, Kebara Cave south of Haifa. The Kebaran were a highly ...

(

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

Natufian The Natufian culture () is a Late Epipaleolithic archaeological culture of the Levant, dating to around 15,000 to 11,500 years ago. The culture was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introducti ...

( Epipaleolithic) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and B (PPNA, PPNB) industries were found.

Upper Paleolithic

Grain

Wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

was recovered from the Nahal Oren site, but it was not certain whether it was cultivated or wild. Grain was relatively rare at the site in comparison with other food resources. The age of the

emmer Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid (4''n'' = 4''x'' = 28 chromosomes). The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''Triticum turgidum ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is ...

wheat grains found there is an indication that the cultivation of grain might have started as early as 16,000 years ago. In 1985 the three spikelets of cultivated emmer found in a Kebaran context in Wadi Oren were seen to be so early as to be considered an anomaly.

Neolithic village

A PPNA village of some 13 subcircular houses and other structures stood on four artificial, closely set terraces. The buildings were similar to those of PPNA Jericho. Only one human burial was discovered at the PPNA village site. There were no grave goods in the burial pit, and the skeleton was complete with the exception of the skull, which had been removed - an early example of a practice better known from the later Neolithic. The remains of the

PPNB Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) is part of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, a Neolithic culture centered in upper Mesopotamia and the Levant, dating to years ago, that is, 8800–6500 BC. It was typed by British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon duri ...

village are far more scarce, but seem to be in continuation of the PPNA phase.A.M.L. Moore, ''The Neolithic of the Levant'', Oxford University, 1978. Chapter 4 (pp. 218-221)

/ref> File:Skeletons from Nahal Oren.JPG, Skeletons from Nahal Oren (Miriam Moshe Stekelis, Stekelis Museum of Prehistory, Haifa) File:Basalt & Limestone Mortar & Pestle, Natufian Culture.jpg, Mortar and pestle from Nahal Oren, Natufian, 12500-9500 BC. File:Basalt Sharpening Stones, Natufian Culture.jpg, Basalt sharpening stones, Eynan ('Ain Mallaha) and Nahal Oren, Natufian Culture, 12500-9500 BC.

Domestication of gazelles and goats

During Neolithic occupation, the main source of food at the site appears to have been

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...

s, and judging from the high incidence of immature gazelle bones, these animals were domesticated. The later shift to goat husbandry may have occurred because goats are less selective in their diets than gazelles, and can graze in areas where the gazelle would not fare well.

Repeated occupation

Nahal Oren was occupied repeatedly over thousands of years by culture after culture, which means that it was a preferred site for occupation, rather than an occasional one.

External links

Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Items found at Nahal Oren

References

{{Navbox prehistoric caves 1941 archaeological discoveries Natufian sites Prehistoric sites in Israel Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Mount Carmel Kebaran culture