Natufian culture

The Natufian culture existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant . It was an Epipalaeolithic culture, but unusual in that it established permanent settlements even before the introduction of agriculture . The Natufians are likely to have been the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. There is also evidence that the Natufians themselves had already begun deliberate cultivation of cereals . They were certainly making use of wild grasses.

The spread of Natufian culture. Remains of a wall of a Natufian house. The Natufian culture ( ) was a Mesolithic culture that existed in the Levant , a region in the Eastern Mediterranean . It was unusual in that it was sedentary , or semi-sedentary, before the introduction of agriculture . The Natufian communities are possibly the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. There is no evidence for the deliberate cultivation of cereals , but people at the time certainly made use of wild cereals. The name "Natufian" was chosen by Dorothy Garrod who studied the Shuqba cave in Wadi an-Natuf, Palestine , about halfway between Jaffa and Ramallah .

Archaeological culture The Natufian culture ( / n ə ˈ t uː f i ə n / ) is a Late Epipaleolithic archaeological culture that existed from around 12,000 to 9,500 BC or 13,050 to 7,550 BC in the Levant . The culture was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction of agriculture . The Natufian communities may be the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. Natufians founded a settlement where Jericho is today, which may therefore be the longest continuously inhabited urban area on Earth. Some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals , specifically rye , by the Natufian culture, at Tell Abu Hureyra , the site of earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. The world's oldest evidence of bread-making has been found at Shubayqa 1 , a 14,500-year-old site in Jordan's northeastern desert. In addition, the oldest known evidence of beer , dating to approximately 13,000 BP , was found at the Raqefet Cave in Mount Carmel near Haifa in Israel . Turner II , there is archaeological and physical anthropological evidence for a relationship between the modern Semitic -speaking populations of the Levant and the Natufians. Archaeogenetics have revealed derivation of later (Neolithic to Bronze Age) Levantines primarily from Natufians, besides substantial admixture from Chalcholithic Anatolians. Dorothy Garrod coined the term Natufian based on her excavations at Shuqba cave (Wadi an-Natuf) in the western Judean Mountains . (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) Edwards, Phillip C. Times of Neolithic Transition along the Western Mediterranean . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 105 (46): 17665– 9. T. ; Hillman, Gordon C. ; Legge, Anthony J. The Times of Israel . 12 September 2018 . In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the four fields of anthropology. Since there is archaeological and physical anthropological reason to believe that the Natufians were related to modern Semitic-speaking peoples of the Levant, I suggest that some part, if not all of, the Afro-Asiatic family originated north of Africa porper. Since Natufian culture dates to ca. 10,000 to 12,000 years ago it is suggested that the age of the AfroAsiaic language family might also be about that old. The qualitative evidence for this is that PCA, ADMIXTURE, and outgroup f3 analysis cluster Levantine hunter–gatherers (Natufians) with Levantine farmers, and Iranian and CHG with Iranian farmers (Fig. 1b and Extended Data Figs 1, 3). We confirm this in the Levant by showing that its early farmers share significantly more alleles with Natufians than with the early farmers of Iran" Epipaleolithic Natufians were substantially derived from the Basal Eurasian lineage. We obtained the highest estimates in the earliest populations from both Iran (66±13% in the likely Mesolithic sample, 48±6% in Neolithic samples), and the Levant (44±8% in Epipalaeolithic Natufians) (Fig. 2), showing that Basal Eurasian ancestry was widespread across the ancient Near East. [...] The idea of Natufians as a vector for the movement of Basal Eurasian ancestry into the Near East is also not supported by our data, as the Basal Eurasian ancestry in the Natufians (44±8%) is consistent with stemming from the same population as that in the Neolithic and Mesolithic populations of Iran, and is not greater than in those populations (Supplementary Information, section 4). Further insight into the origins and legacy of the Natufians could come from comparison to Natufians from additional sites, and to ancient DNA from North Africa."

Archaeological culture of the Levant, dating to around 15,000 to 11,500 years ago The Natufian culture ( / n ə ˈ t uː f i ə n / ) is a Late Epipaleolithic archaeological culture of the Neolithic prehistoric Levant in Western Asia , 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 introduction of agriculture . The Natufian communities may be the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. Some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals , specifically rye , by the Natufian culture at Tell Abu Hureyra , the site of earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. The world's oldest known evidence of the production of bread-like foodstuff has been found at Shubayqa 1, a 14,400-year-old site in Jordan's northeastern desert, 4,000 years before the emergence of agriculture in Southwest Asia In addition, the oldest known evidence of possible beer-brewing , dating to approximately 13,000 BP , was found in Raqefet Cave on Mount Carmel , although the beer-related residues may simply be a result of a spontaneous fermentation . Generally, though, Natufians exploited wild cereals and hunted animals, including gazelles . Archaeogenetic analysis has revealed derivation of later (Neolithic to Bronze Age) Levantines primarily from Natufians, besides substantial admixture from Chalcholithic Anatolians . Dorothy Garrod coined the term Natufian based on her excavations at the Shuqba cave (Wadi an-Natuf) near the town of Shuqba . (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) Moore, Andrew M. T. ; Hillman, Gordon C. ; Legge, Anthony J. "Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the origins of bread 14,400 years ago in northeastern Jordan" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 115 (31): 7925– 7930. "Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel: Investigating Natufian ritual feasting" . The qualitative evidence for this is that PCA, ADMIXTURE, and outgroup f3 analysis cluster Levantine hunter–gatherers (Natufians) with Levantine farmers, and Iranian and CHG with Iranian farmers (Fig. 1b and Extended Data Figs 1, 3). We confirm this in the Levant by showing that its early farmers share significantly more alleles with Natufians than with the early farmers of Iran" Epipaleolithic Natufians were substantially derived from the Basal Eurasian lineage. We obtained the highest estimates in the earliest populations from both Iran (66±13% in the likely Mesolithic sample, 48±6% in Neolithic samples), and the Levant (44±8% in Epipalaeolithic Natufians) (Fig. 2), showing that Basal Eurasian ancestry was widespread across the ancient Near East. [...] The idea of Natufians as a vector for the movement of Basal Eurasian ancestry into the Near East is also not supported by our data, as the Basal Eurasian ancestry in the Natufians (44±8%) is consistent with stemming from the same population as that in the Neolithic and Mesolithic populations of Iran, and is not greater than in those populations (Supplementary Information, section 4). Further insight into the origins and legacy of the Natufians could come from comparison to Natufians from additional sites, and to ancient DNA from North Africa."

Archaeological culture of the Epipalaeolithic Levant The Natufian culture ( / n ə ˈ t uː f i ə n / nə-TOO-fee-ən ) is an archaeological culture of the late Epipalaeolithic Near East in West Asia from 15–11,500 Before Present . The culture was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction of agriculture . Natufian communities may be the ancestors of the builders of the region's first Neolithic settlements , which may have been the earliest in the world. Some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals , specifically rye , by the Natufian culture at Tell Abu Hureyra , the site of the earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. The world's oldest known evidence of the production of bread-like foodstuff has been found at Shubayqa 1, a 14,400-year-old site in Jordan's northeastern desert, 4,000 years before the emergence of agriculture in Southwest Asia . In addition, the oldest known evidence of possible beer-brewing , dating to approximately 13,000 BP , was found in Raqefet Cave on Mount Carmel , although the beer-related residues may be a result of spontaneous fermentation . Generally, though, Natufians exploited wild cereals and hunted animals, notably mountain gazelles . Archaeogenetic analysis has revealed derivation of later (Neolithic to Bronze Age) Levantines primarily from Natufians, along with substantial later gene flow from Anatolia . Dorothy Garrod coined the term Natufian based on her excavations at the Shuqba Cave at Wadi Natuf . (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) Grosman, Leore (2013). T. ; Hillman, Gordon C. ; Legge, Anthony J. "Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the origins of bread 14,400 years ago in northeastern Jordan" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 115 (31): 7925– 7930. "Fermented beverage and food storage in 13,000 y-old stone mortars at Raqefet Cave, Israel: Investigating Natufian ritual feasting" . The qualitative evidence for this is that PCA, ADMIXTURE, and outgroup f3 analysis cluster Levantine hunter–gatherers (Natufians) with Levantine farmers, and Iranian and CHG with Iranian farmers (Fig. 1b and Extended Data Figs 1, 3). We confirm this in the Levant by showing that its early farmers share significantly more alleles with Natufians than with the early farmers of Iran" Epipaleolithic Natufians were substantially derived from the Basal Eurasian lineage. We obtained the highest estimates in the earliest populations from both Iran (66±13% in the likely Mesolithic sample, 48±6% in Neolithic samples), and the Levant (44±8% in Epipalaeolithic Natufians) (Fig. 2), showing that Basal Eurasian ancestry was widespread across the ancient Near East. [...] The idea of Natufians as a vector for the movement of Basal Eurasian ancestry into the Near East is also not supported by our data, as the Basal Eurasian ancestry in the Natufians (44±8%) is consistent with stemming from the same population as that in the Neolithic and Mesolithic populations of Iran, and is not greater than in those populations (Supplementary Information, section 4). Further insight into the origins and legacy of the Natufians could come from comparison to Natufians from additional sites, and to ancient DNA from North Africa."