Original scientific paper
Caves at the Crossroads: the Role of Caves in the Epipaleolithic of the southern Levant
Jasmina Osterman
; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Filozofski fakultet, Odsjek za povijest
Abstract
Throughout history, caves have played different roles in the lives of human communities, depending on the spatial
characteristics of the environment and the social circumstances of certain periods. They provided protection in
times of insecurity caused by climatic conditions or other dangers. As a point of entry into the “earth”, they also
had a prominent place in the religious concepts of early societies. Their role in people’s lives is especially important
during the Ice Ages when they provided protection. However, their “protective“ role extended beyond the end
of the last ice age. In this paper I will talk about the role of caves in the lives of communities that lived in the time
of transition to a new way of life conditioned by the end of the last Ice Age. That was the time when significant
changes in human activities were observed within the Natufian culture named after the wadi Natuf where those
changes were first identified in the Shuqba cave. I will focus on the core area of that culture, the southern Levant
(Mount Carmel, Galilee and Upper Jordan Valley in Israel). In this area, we can follow the continuity of life from
the Middle Paleolithic to the so-called Levantine Aurignacian. Changes in cultures were noticed in that area even
before the end of the last Ice Age, so the Epipaleolithic period dated 23,000 to 9,500 BC was singled out. Since the
Natufian culture developed from the Epipaleolithic traditions of the aforementioned area, I will first present basic
information about the key local Epipaleolithic cultures and the Ohallo II site. After that, I will present the current
knowledge about the emergence and development of the two main phases of Natufian culture, the Early and Late
Natufian. I will then focus on the most important cave sites of this area (Hayonim, el Wad, Kebara, Hilazon Tachtit
and Raqefet). Finally, I will compare the findings from the aforementioned sites and present my observations
about the role of caves in the core Natufian area, and I will propose a possible interpretation of the observed
phenomenon.
Keywords
southern Levant, Early and Late Natufian culture, cave sites, dwelings and burial grounds
Hrčak ID:
343505
URI
Publication date:
17.1.2026.
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