Nahal Oren is an archaeological site on the northern bank of the wadi of Nahal Oren ( Hebrew)/Wadi Fallah ( Arabic) on

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...

, south of Haifa, Israel.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 ( Upper Paleolithic), Natufian (

Epipaleolithic In archaeology, the Epipalaeolithic or Epipaleolithic (sometimes Epi-paleolithic etc.) is a period occurring between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic during the Stone Age. Mesolithic also falls between these two periods, and the two are someti ...

) and

Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) denotes the first stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, in early Levantine and Anatolian Neolithic culture, dating to years ago, that is, 10,000–8,800 BCE. Archaeological remains are located in the Levantine and Up ...

and B (PPNA, PPNB) industries were found.

Upper Paleolithic

Grain

Wheat 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 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 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 gazelles, 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