9,000 year old "Vast" Neolithic site found near Jerusalem

Angela

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By the standards of that time it was indeed "vast", with 3000 inhabitants, and an area half a kilometer from point to point.

It's surprising for a couple of reasons: it's only a few feet below the surface yet never discovered, and the conventional thinking was that the larger Neolithic settlements were to the north or across the Jordan.

See:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/vast-...usalem/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

"[FONT=&quot]According to co-director Khalaily, the people who lived in this town had trade and cultural connections to widespread populations, including Anatolia, which is the origin for obsidian artifacts discovered at the site. Other excavated material indicate intensive hunting, animal husbandry, and agriculture."

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They seem to have specialized in the raising of sheep, which is also a bit of a surprise.

"[FONT=&quot]In addition to prehistoric tools such as thousands of arrowheads, axes, sickle blades, and knives, storage sheds containing large stores of legumes, especially lentils, were uncovered. “The fact that the seeds were preserved is astonishing in the light of the site’s age,” said the archaeologists.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Alongside utilitarian tools, a number of small statues were unearthed, including a clay figurine of an ox and a stone face, which Khalaily joked was either a human representation “or aliens, even.”

"Among the architecture uncovered in the excavation are large buildings that show signs of habitation, as well as what the archaeologists identify as public halls and spaces used for worship. In a brief video published by the IAA, archaeologist Lauren Davis walks a narrow path between remains of buildings — a prehistoric alleyway. “Very much like we see in buildings today, separated by alleys between,” said Davis...Likewise, the archaeologists discovered that plaster was sometimes used for creating floors and sealing various facilities during the construction of the residents’ domiciles and buildings.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In addition to signs of life, the archaeologists uncovered several graves. According to Davis, in the midst of a layer dating to 10,000 years ago, archaeologists found a tomb from 4,000 years ago. “In this tomb are two individuals — warriors — who were buried together with a dagger and a spear head,” she said.

9%2C000-year-old-figurine-of-an-ox.jpg
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This looks like other representations of human faces that have been found in the Neolithic Levant. Perhaps it's a representation of a mask used for ritual purposes?

5.-%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9D-%D7%A4%D7%A0%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%93%D7%9D.%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%A8%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%AA.tif_.jpg
 

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