Papers by Rachael Brown-Goodman
A long season of excavation took place at Raqefet cave during the summer of 2006. In the first ch... more A long season of excavation took place at Raqefet cave during the summer of 2006. In the first chamber we exposed an area rich with Natufian human burials (Locus 1), a large bedrock basin with a burial and two boulder mortars (Locus 2), an in situ Natufian layer (Locus 3), and two areas with rich cemented sediments (tufa) covering the cave floor (Loci 4, 5). The latter indicate that at the time of occupation the Natufian layers covered the entire floor of the first chamber. During the ensuing millennia, these were washed away and/or removed by later visitors to the cave. We found in the cave and the terrace almost 80 human-made bedrock holes (most of which are commonly but somewhat erroneously termed mortars and cupmarks). Several contained in situ Natufian remains, and at the top of one a human skeleton was unearthed. The variety of the HBHs, in terms of shape and dimensions indicates that they were used in many ways, some of which could not have been for food or mineral processing. The paper provides results of on-going studies regarding the burials, the HBHs, the flint assemblage, the faunal remains, the ground stone industry, the bone tools and the beads. It also presents aspects of geoarchaeology and ground penetrating radar analyses. Some of the detailed plans and sections were prepared by the use of photogrammetry.
The third season of the renewed project at Raqefet cave took place in the summer of 2008. In the ... more The third season of the renewed project at Raqefet cave took place in the summer of 2008. In the first chamber additional Natufian human burials were exposed near the north wall of the cave. In the narrow crevice of Locus 1 and nearby, a total of 11 burials were so far excavated. This is indeed a very dense Natufian burial area. Furthermore, the Natufian layer to the east Journal of The Israel Prehistoric Society 39 (2009), 21-61 21 DANI NADEL et al.
Paléorient 36/2: 189-204, 2010
The transition from mobile hunter-gatherers to sedentary farmers in the Near East was one of the ... more The transition from mobile hunter-gatherers to sedentary farmers in the Near East was one of the most crucial steps in human evolution. Several sites belonging to either the Late Epipalaeolithic or the Early Neolithic periods were studied in the Jordan Valley, one of the primary research regions for this important shift. However, occupation sites dating to the transitional phase between these periods are rare. Here we present our reconnaissance investigations at one such site, Huzuq Musa (Jordan Valley). The finds bear both Late/Terminal Epipalaeolithic (Natufi an culture) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) characteristics, attesting to an occupation, which most probably dates to a fi nal stage of the Epipalaeolithic period and/or to the earliest local PPNA period. Highly similar lithic components were previously ecognized only at one other site—Nahal Ein Gev II. As such, Huzuq Musa may be one of the better-preserved sites that bridge the gap between the Late/Final Natufi an and the PPNA in the Jordan Valley.
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Papers by Rachael Brown-Goodman