The economic and ritual utilization of plants at the Raqefet Cave Natufian site: The evidence from phytoliths

Abstract

The Natufian culture marks a dramatic in the cultural evolution of our species, the shift from mobile to sedentary communities. Within this framework, analysis of their use of plants is pivotal for social and economic reconstruction. While most researchers believe the Natufians collected the grains of grasses, little direct evidence (e.g. macrobotanical remains) has been found. This current study uses phytoliths (opal silica bodies) to interpret Late Natufian plant use at Raqefet Cave (Mt. Carmel, Israel). We analyzed a wide range of sediment samples for microbotanical phytoliths remains. This analysis, of an assemblage of 35 samples, was aimed at exposing plant use at the site both in burial contexts and hewn bedrock features (e.g. mortars, cupmarks).The results indicate economic use of grass seeds, including both small-seeded varieties and large-seeded grasses such as barley and wheat. They also suggest an opportunistic approach to grass seed collection. Phytoliths found in the burials of Homo 19 and Homo 22 may be the remnants of a final meal. The phytolith assemblages from burial contexts also show abundant morphotypes from dicotyledons that are rare elsewhere in the cave. The evidence suggests that a multi-species layer of vegetation including flowering plants and Phragmites lined the graves, accompanying the dead. This adds new insights to the range of known Late Natufian mortuary practices.