After 70 Years: New Excavations at the el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel, Israel

Ten Late Natufian graves incorporating 15 individuals were unearthed in a rather limited area and contain an exceptionally high number of children. The identifiable positions are mostly flexed. Many of the skeletons lack skulls, in accordance with their Late Natufian age. The ground stone implements and bone objects, both tools and decorative elements, are typical Late Natufian, with the latter exhibiting some local, site-specific traits. None of the decorative items of shells, the majority of which are Dentalium can be directly related to any of the burials, further corroborating their Late Natufian age. The faunal assemblagc is dominated by gazelles while other species such as fallow deer, aurochs, and wild boar; as well as small game including hare, tortoise, and partridge occur in very low frequencies. Within the microfaunal assemblage, the occurrence of commensals such as the common mouse conforms to the sedentary nature of the Natufian occupation. Both the faunal and palynological data indicate a typical Mediterranean environment, with no indication of extreme conditions resulting in a cold and dry Younger Dryer stage. The interdisciplinary research deals with the Late Natufian complex combination of both natural and anthropogenic factors with indications of intensive human activities. Short "interruptions" and/or fluctuations in the intensity of habitation are suggested. The rich Late Natufian lithic assemblage conforms to Garrod's definitions: with the high ratios of short, abruptly backed lunates and the abundant use of microburin - technique (MbT). However, the high percentage of Helwan lunates is noteworthy. We were unable to identify unequivocally a Final Natufian assemblage and this stage may have been spatially localized. However, we present here a previously undocumented Neolithic component which incorporates finds attributed to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. We report here the results of our renewed, and continuing excavations of the Natufian horizon on el-Wad Terrace. The original excavation conducted by Garrod was restricted to the cave and terrace in front of the cave's entrance and our project was initiated further to the NE in order to develop a more comprehensive view of the Natufian remains extended along most of the slope in front of the cave.