Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas Mousterian vegetal food in Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel Efraim Leva,), Mordechai E. Kislevb, Ofer Bar-Yosef c a Department of Eretz Israel Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 31905 b Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel 52900 c Department of Anthropology, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA Received 9 February 2004 Abstract This paper reconstructs the vegetal diet of the Middle Paleolithic humans in Kebara cave (Mt. Carmel, Israel) on the basis of a large collection of charred seeds and other vegetal food remains uncovered during the excavations. The human choices of mainly legumes reflects the gathering activities during springtime when often the common hunted species (gazelle and fallow deer) were fat depleted. Minor fall activities are indicated by the collection of acorns and pistachio nuts. This vegetal dietary information adds another aspect to the range of subsistence activities of the late Mousterian occupants of Kebara cave, and sheds further light on the semi-sedentary use of the cave as revealed from analysis of animal bones. Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Middle Paleolithic; Mousterian; Levant; Plant remains; Seasonality; Neanderthal 1. Introduction Plant remains are rarely found in Paleolithic excavations. The prevailing site formation process in most caves and open-air sites did not encourage the preservation of these kinds of organics. Exceptions in Near Eastern prehistory are the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov [16–19,40], the Middle Paleolithic site of Douara cave in the Palmyra basin [1,37], the Upper Paleolithic site of Ohalo II dated to cal 23 ka B.P. [25– 27], and the Epi-Paleolithic layers at Mureybit and Abu Hureyra [20,21,60], and Hallan Çemi [47] dated to ca. cal 12–11.5 ka B.P. The nut assemblage of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (Fig. 1), namely nuts of Atlantic pistachio (Pistacia atlantica), acorns of Mt. Tabor Oak (Quercus ithaburensis), and wild almonds (Amygdalus communis), are ) Corresponding author. Tel.: C972 4 6392820; fax: C972 4 8240959. E-mail address: efraiml@research.haifa.ac.il (E. Lev). 0305-4403/$ - see front matter Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2004.11.006 thought to have been consumed by humans [18]. The small number of seeds reported from the early Mousterian deposits in Douara cave is insufficient to provide a general view of Middle Paleolithic vegetal diet. Most of the assemblages that do clearly demonstrate human gathering of plant foods, as well as the collecting of building and bedding materials, come from much later sites, such as Ohalo II and the even late Epi-Paleolithic sites. Hence, the large Mousterian carbonized plant assemblage retrieved during the excavations at Kebara cave fills a major gap in our knowledge of Middle Paleolithic gathering (Fig. 1; [5]). It also provides critical missing information about subsistence strategies that often are reconstructed solely on the basis of animal bones. A fuller picture of Middle Paleolithic foraging as practiced by the Kebara inhabitants is achieved due to the fortuitous preservation of plant remains. The most recent series of excavations in Kebara cave (Fig. 1), which lasted from 1982 to 1990, uncovered an archaeological sequence of Middle and Upper Paleolithic layers [5]. The Mousterian layers, with a total 476 E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 Fig. 1. Kebara cave location among other Middle Paleolithic sites in the Near East [5]. 1, El Kowm; 2, Douara; 3, Jerf Ajla; 4, Keoue; 5, Nahr Ibrahim; 6, Ksar Akil; 7, Yabrud; 8, Adlun; 9, Shukbah; 10, Fara II; 11, Rosh Ein Mor; 12, Ain Aqev; 13, Ain Difla; 14, Tor Faraj; 15, Tor Sabiha. thickness of about 4.5 m, have been TL and ESR dated to ca. 65–48 ka B.P. [49,58]. The current stratigraphical subdisivion of Kebara cave is as follows: Units II–IV: Unit V: Units I–II: Upper Paleolithic deposits containing the Aurignacian industry [5]. Upper Paleolithic blade industry, also known as Early Ahmarian, which resembles the earliest layer of a similar age in Ksar ’Akil cave. reddish silty clay, similar to modern terra rossa. Largely of geogenic origin, resulting from washed-in sediment. E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 It contains Mousterian industry [38]. Units V–VI: ashy deposit, originally the result of anthropogenic activities, but physically modified by slumping, erosion and bioturbation. Mousterian industry. Units VII–XIII: superposed burned layers interstratified with brown silt and clay. Anthropogenic activities are clearly expressed with first appearance of intact hearths in Unit XIII. Mousterian industry. Unit XIV–XVI: cemented, bedded and laminated sandy silt of geogenic origin reflecting accumulation by water. No archaeological remains. During most of the field operation water flotation was practiced and a wealth of Mousterian carbonized plant remains was retrieved. The distribution of the charred remains, found primarily near the hearths, may indicate that the collection is only a small fraction of the amount originally consumed by the cave inhabitants (Fig. 2). There is no evidence that storage, as practiced during the Upper and Epi-Paleolithic periods [20,25], facilitated the preservation of the seeds, fruits, and other plant remains. Flotation samples, amounting to 900 l out of 120 m3, were systematically collected from numerous excavation units (Table 1). In general we tried to sample each arbitrary excavation unit of 50!50!5 cm by removing a sample of 1 or 2 l of sediment and floating it. However, we concentrated more on units IX–X, where a larger surface at the center of the cave, known as the De´capage, was excavated [5]. The carbonized plant remains were hand-picked in the laboratory with the help of binoculars (stereomicroscope). The seeds, fruits, and plant fragments were identified by means of enlargements of up to !50. In addition, to document the findings and to help with identification of problematic specimens, we used the Fig. 2. Mousterian squares location in Kebara cave [5]. 477 Table 1 The Mousterian stratigraphic units in Kebara cave, their average TL dates [58], and provenience (1-m grid square) of plant remains Units Years BP squares with plant remains VI VII 48,300G3500 51,900G3500 H21, J21, M22, M23, M24, N24, O24, O26, P20, P26 57,300G4000 K16, K18; K21, L21, M21, M22, N21, N22, N24 58,400G4000 to 61,600G3600 J21, K16, K17, K18, K21, L19, L21, M16, M17, M19, M21, M24; M26, N21, N24; Q17 61,600G3600 H19, I19, J19 60,000G3500 59,000G3500 VIII IX–X X XI XII FEOL JSM-840 scanning electron microscope. Identification of the seeds was facilitated by the large comparative collection of Near Eastern modern and archaeological specimens curated in the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University (Ramat Gan, Israel). 2. The plant remains Of the 4205 charred seeds and fruits that were recovered, 3956 seeds were identified (Table 2, Figs. 3–6). Most of the species are the earliest ever found at archaeological excavations. Table 2 shows that almost all plant remains (3313 seeds, 78.8% of total charred remains) belong to the legume family (Papilionaceae). Only ten grains of the Gramineae were found (0.23% of total charred remains). The evidence may suggest that a considerable part of their vegetarian diet belonged to wild plants and seeds that contain some poisonous substances. The effect that sometimes occurs nowadays after continuous consumption of certain domesticated pulses will be discussed later. 3. Discussion The plant remains found in Kebara cave seem to indicate that the inhabitants had a sufficient supply of all the necessary elements for a healthy diet available mostly during spring, early summer, and fall. Their potential importance and seasonality are discussed here. The legumes may well have been suitable plants for starting a fire on account of such morphological characteristics as small leaves and narrow stems. Still, we believe that most were brought into the cave when ripe or almost ripe, and the presence of thousands of charred seeds strongly suggests that they were used for human consumption. Ethno-botanical surveys suggest that about 153 species of the plants that grow in the Mt. Carmel area can be used by humans [9]. Most species have only few edible parts, such as leaves, branches, stalks and buds, 478 E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 Table 2 Mousterian plant remains from Kebara Cave (after [30], Latin names after [10], common names after [13]) Latin name Family No. of seeds Common name/figure no. ()/Stratigraphic level or unit []/optional medicinal uses * Aegilops geniculata/peregrina Astragalus echinus Avena barbata/wiestii Bellevalia sp. cf. Brachypodium distachyon cf. Bromus Carthamus sp. Carthamus tenuis Chenopodium murale Cicer pinnatifidum cf. Cynodon dactylon cf. Cyperus Echium angustifolium/judaeum cf. Euphorbia aleppica Galium sect. Kolgyda Hordeum spontaneum Hordeum spotaneum/bulbosum Hymenocarpos circinnatus Lathyrus hierosolymitanus Lathyrus inconspicuous Lathyrus sect. Cicercula cf. Lathyrus sect. Cicercula Lens sp. Malva sp. Mercurialis annua Onosma gigantea Onosma orientalis Pistacia atlantica (nutlet fragments) Pisum fulvum/Vicia palaestina Pisum fulvum/Vicia narbonensis/peregrina Quercus sp. (shell fragments) Raphanus raphanistrum cf. Raphanus raphanistrum Scorpiurus muricatus cf. Scorpiurus muricatus cf. Silene aegyptiaca Trifolium sp. Vicia cuspidata/lathyroides Vicia ervilia Vicia laxiflora/tetrasperma Vicia lutea/sativa/sericocarpa cf. Vicia narbonensis Vicia palaestina Vicia palaestina/sativa Vicia palaestina/villosa Vicia peregrina Vicia pubescens Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris Large-seed legumes Medium-seed legumes Small-seed legumes Unidentified Total Gramineae Papilionaceae Gramineae Liliaceae Gramineae Gramineae Compositae Compositae Chenopodiaceae Papilionaceae Gramineae Cyperaceae Boraginaceae Euphorbiaceae Rubiaceae Gramineae Gramineae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Malvaceae Euphorbiaceae Boraginaceae Boraginaceae Anacardiaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Fagaceae Cruciferae Cruciferae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Caryophullaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Vitaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae Papilionaceae 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 19 1 1 2 1 1 6 2 1 1 1 1 16 56 247 1 43 1 5 503 2 1 43 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 8 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 712 1369 877 249 4205 Ovate goat-grass [VII, X] Milk-vetch [IX–X] Slender oat (Fig. 3) [VII] * Roman squill [VII] Purple false-brome [X] Brome cf. [IX–X] Safflower [IX–X] * Slender safflower [IX–X] * Nettle-leaved goosefoot [VII, IX–X] Judean chickpea [IX–X] * Bermuda grass cf. [X] Nut-grass cf. [VIII] * Hispid/judean viper’s bugloss [IX–X] Pine spurge cf. [VII] * Bedstraw [VII, VIII, IX–X, X] Wild barley [IX–X] * Wild/bulbous barley [VII] Disk trefoil [VII] Jerusalem vetchling (Fig. 4) [VII] Small-flowered vetchling [IX–X] Vetchling [VII] Vetchling cf. [VII, VIII, IX–X, X] Lentil [VII, VIII, IX, X] Mallow [IX–X] * Annual mercury [VII, VIII, IX–X, X] Giant golden-drop [X] Syrian golden-drop [VII, IX–X] Atlantic pistachio (Fig. 5) [VII, VIII, IX–X, X] * Yellow wild pea/Palestine vetch [VII] Yellow wild pea/purple broad-bean/rambling vetch [IX–X] Oak [VII, VIII, IX–X, X] * Wild radish [VII] * Wild radish cf. [VII] * Two-flowered caterpillar (prickly scorpiontail) [VII] Two-flowered caterpillar cf. (prickly scorpiontail) [VII] Egyptian campion cf. [VIII] Clover (trefoil) [VII] Spring vetch [VII, VIII, IX–X, X] Bitter vetch (Fig. 6) [VII, IX–X, X] * Slender/smooth tare [IX–X] Yellow/common (true) vetch [VII] Purple broad-bean cf. [VII] Palestine vetch [IX–X] Palestine/common (true) vetch [IX–X] Palestine/winter (hairy) vetch [VII] Rambling vetch [VIII] Vetch [VIII] Wild grape-vine [IX–X] * [VII, VIII, IX, IX–X, X] [VII, VIII, IX, IX–X, X] [VII, VIII, IX, IX–X, X] All units and only a small number that produce seeds, fruits, tubers, and roots can function as major caloric providers. We therefore discuss here some nutritional aspects of the gathered plants. Only 15 plants out of 153 edible plants recorded in the vicinity of Kebara cave [9,28,31,56] have edible underground organs. Known for their edible roots are common asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus), fall dandelion (Taraxacum cyprium), field eryngo (Eryngium creticum), greater bindweed (Calystegia sepium), rampion bellflower (Campanula rapunculus), and wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). Edible tubers include coco nut-grass E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 479 Fig. 4. Jerusalem vetchling (Lathyrus hierosolymitanus), seed !20 (bar=1 mm). Several plants reported in Table 2 have a high caloric content and are also among the exploitable species today; these include acorns, legumes, and cereals. Seeds of only ten grasses were found, including two wild barley grains. Given the generally good preservation of the plant assemblage in Kebara cave, cereals apparently did not play any major role in the diet of Mousterian humans. The number of identified acorns is small. The common oak species in the vicinity of the cave, also Fig. 3. Slender oat (Avena barbata/wiestii). Grain, dorsal view !50 (bar=500 mm). (Cyperus rotundus) and winter crocus (Crocus hyemalis). Edible rhizomes are common liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), common reed (Phragmites australis), flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus), narrow-leaved reedmace (Typha domingensis), and bulbous barley (Hordeum bulbosum). Although the use of edible underground organs was documented by Hillman [20], who suggested that the hunters and gatherers of Upper Paleolithic Kubbaniya (Upper Egypt) exploited these organs as food, no such evidence was found until now in Kebara. Fig. 5. Atlantic pistachio (Pistacia atlantica), nutlet !20 (bar=1 mm). 480 E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 shells could have been brought in with the branches of the different oak trees as firewood. Few studies have compared the amount of preserved acorn shells with the amount of wood charcoal, and while both are preserved in relatively small amounts there is in some cases as much acorn shell as charcoal [2]. So if one assumes that fires were important it is likely that acorns were too. (d) According to the flimsy amount of acorns the cave was occupied during the fall when acorns were readily available (see Table 3). Moreover, the faunal remains [53] indicate that humans were present in the cave during this season. In this case it is possible that these acorns and pistachios were stored in small quantities and then consumed during the winter and spring. We believe that acorns were eaten and provided an important source of energy. But since we have only scant scientific evidence we assume that the main source of energy in the diet of the Kebara inhabitants was the legumes, as their seeds form the vast majority of plant remains found in the cave. Acorns mature in late fall and winter in the Levant, and finding their charred fragments, few as they may be, in the cave meets our reconstruction of the cave occupation. Proteins are common in the seeds of the Papilionaceae family, which constitute the majority (83.7% of identified seeds) of the Kebara plant assemblage. Twenty-five species of legumes are currently known in the area of Mt. Carmel and the coastal plain [61], of which some 18 were identified in the Kebara assemblage. Recall that intensive consumption of legumes may cause lathyrism, which results in partial paralysis [44]. Studies of wild vetchling demonstrated that they contain twice the amount of poison of domesticated vetchling (Lathyrus sativus) [48]. We surveyed the main present-day legume species growing in the vicinity of the cave. Tens of plants were collected, the pods were counted, seed number per pod was recorded, as well as the seeds’ weight. Twelve average local Lathyrus species (mainly Lathyrus annuus) plants yielded 250 pods, in which we counted 1000 seeds weighing a total of 52.5 g. Average daily consumption Fig. 6. Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia), seed !30 (bar=500 mm). represented by the charcoal analysis, are Mt. Tabor and common oaks (Quercus ithaburensis and Q. caliprinos) [6]. The species whose acorns are nutritionally richest, and contain the least bitter tannins, is the Mt. Tabor oak, containing 71% digestible substance including 54% carbohydrates, 5% protein, and 5% fat. The energetic value is 270 calories per 100 g. A tall adult tree in a wet year yields 1200–1400 acorns, but only 300–500 in a dry year [23]. Acorns are a good source of carbohydrates and the rather limited number of nutshells could be explained by one of the following arguments: (a) Poor preservation due to a particular processing technique. In eastern North America and in California, where acorns were probably a major food, their recovery in sites is generally very poor, except in dry caves, because carbonization usually destroys the thin-walled shells [4,41,46]. (b) Acorns were peeled and eaten away, outside the cave. (c) The inhabitants did not like this source of staple, or had no idea how to leach from it the small amount of tannin it contains. In this case, the carbonized Table 3 Potential seasonal distribution of plants found in Kebara Cave Plant Atlantic pistachio Wild cereals Wild vine Legumes Oak acorns Safflower Wild radish and mallow Apr *** May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov *** *** *** *** * * *** *** * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ** * ***Major availability; *minor availability [30]. Dec Jan Feb Mar *** *** * * * * *** *** *** *** *** E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 by modern Western adults is 2500–3000 kcal (the energetic value of 100 g of legumes is 350 kcal). The danger of excess consumption of legumes is contracting lathyrism; this medical condition causes its victims to walk on the balls of their feet with the pelvis tilted. On the Indian subcontinent, the stage of lathyrism is crudely but usefully classified on a four point scale of increasing physical impairment: no-stick cases (mildly affected), one stick cases, two-stick cases (severe impairment), and crawler-stage cases, when victims are unable to move the legs and the hands are used to move the body on the rump [22]. However, this happens only when a person’s intake amounts to 290–430 g of Lathyrus seeds a day over a period of about 45 days [48]. To become sick, the dwellers of Kebara cave would have had to consume legumes comprising up to 33–50% of their daily food intake (1000–1500 kcal), which would mean eating about 1450–2150 pods a day (5800–8600 seeds). Given the natural distribution of legumes in small patches, they would have been insufficient to create such a health hazard, which was unlikely ever to have arisen during the Middle Paleolithic. Instead, it seems the pods were collected when green and almost ripe, a time when the amount of poison is still low. It is our impression that the carbonized seeds indicate that pods were partially parched before eating. When the pods dry they open and the seeds are ejected. Therefore, gathering the green legumes is a more efficient strategy; however, the pods cannot be kept long as they rot and decay due to their high water content. Most of the plant material derived from the area of the fireplaces [5,39] similarly to the distribution of the artifacts. Given the complicated microstratigraphy of the hearths, there is no way to attribute this material to any particular hearth. Nuts are generally a good source of oils [56]. The numerous pieces of pistachio nutlets indicate that the gathering of Pistacia atlantica fruits was a common activity. One hundred grams of a closely related species, Pistacia vera, contain (without water) about 19 g of protein, 54 g of fat, and 17 g of carbohydrates, and have a caloric value of 594 [3]. Parching for consumption is a well known processing technique [24]. Worth noting are two seeds of Carthamus sp. that have high fat content, with the highest ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids even compared with olive oil [14]. Fresh fruits are the common sources of sugar and vitamins, and worth noting is a sole seed of Vitis vinifera. Similar finds are known from Ohalo II [25,26] and Gesher B’not Yaaqov. We assume consumption of other fruits of trees such as spiny hawthorn (Cretaegus aronia), Syrian pear (Pyrus syriaca), and terebinth (Pistacia palaestina), of bushes such as lotus jujube (Ziziphus lotus), mesquite (Prosopis farcta), and tanning sumach (Rhus coriaria), as well as wild vegetables such 481 as different species of mallow (Malva sp.) and Egyptian hartwort (Tordylium aegyptiacum). Likewise flowers, whose nectars are rich in sugar and vitamins. The monthly distribution of the plant remains (Table 3) suggests that the main gathering season was springtime (April–June). Low frequencies of pistachios and acorns may reflect a fall collection of fruits, which presumably were processed and eaten in the wild. One of the major factors that dictates the pattern of annual mobility of hunter-gatherers is the seasonality of their food resources. Plants, more than mammals and birds, are available for human consumption during a particular season. While gazelles or fallow deer, the common species at Kebara, and, one need hardly add, the tortoise, could be hunted during most months of the year, the situation concerning the plants is different as shown in Table 3. The studies by Speth and Tchernov indicate that the Kebara occupants hunted during the winter and early spring (according to the animal remains in units IX–XI), as well as in late spring and summer as reflected in the assemblage of in units VII–VIII [52]. Hence the meat supplies in part overlap with the spring legumes and fall nuts and acorns, and widen the dietary breadth represented in the Kebara remains. They also support the proposal based on the paucity of microvertebrates in the excavations that the site was occupied more extensively, and that the social group was less mobile than expected. Finally, an interesting aspect is the use of medicinal plants by humans. The exploitation of such plants is well known among present-day hunter-gatherers but only a few of the identified species in Kebara are among those known in this region. The identified medicinal plants or closely related species are marked with an asterisk in Table 2. Several of these species are known from medieval medical uses [31]. The use of medicinal plants is known from historical sources [31,32]. The traditional ones were recorded during several ethno-botanical surveys [33,34,45]. We suppose that the medical use of various plants and other substances began in prehistory [15], and the knowledge was passed on throughout the ages as oral information. The first historically written records are from Egypt [7,11,43,54] and Mesopotamia [8,29,55]. These uses were known and applied until the emergence of modern scientific medicine during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We thus presume that historical as well as traditional medical knowledge might indicate similar uses of the same plant species in prehistory. Such data are presented about four main species: fruits and products of Vitis vinifera were used in medieval Levant to treat poisons and internal disease, to clean the blood and to heal the heart, nerve diseases, wounds, and skin diseases. Vinegar has been used for body strengthening and to relieve itching in traditional 482 E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 medicine until the present day. Kernels, oil, and resin of Pistacia atlantica were used to treat diarrhea, internal disease and cold in the medieval Levant and its fruits still serve to treat stomachache today. Seeds of Vicia ervilia were used to treat skin diseases and burns, coughing, leprosy, and hemorrhoids and their oil has been used as a tonic until the present day. Oak acorns were used to reduce urination, to treat wounds and inflammation, to stop bleeding and diarrhea, and to treat kidney stones in the past and in the present [32,33]. In conclusion, the evidence presented in this paper clearly indicates that there are general indicators for broad-spectrum plant foraging during the Middle Paleolithic. A similar conclusion was reached through the analysis of phytoliths from Amud cave where the Mousterian industry is essentially of the same age and techno-typological features as in the late Mousterian of Kebara [36]. A much larger and variable collection of plant remains was retrieved at Ohalo II, a 23,000 cal B.P. water-logged site in the Sea of Galilee, [25,42,59] demonstrates the exploitation of a wider variety of plants. The data found in the Mousterian layers at the excavation of Kebara cave are unique in their abundance as well as their importance for research. The data and their analysis takes us beyond the level of conjecture about plants in the Middle Paleolithic human diet and show that at least during the late Middle Paleolithic period, humans probably relied heavily on plant foods, as researchers have always suspected. Widespread evidence of charring furthermore suggests that the Middle Paleolithic humans cooked their vegetal food. Our findings indicate that broad spectrum foraging [12] was thus a long-established human behavior pattern and included wild legumes as well as wild grasses and other fruits and seeds. This concept calls for a reevaluation or a more detailed definition of the notion of ‘broad spectrum revolution’ as a precursor phase in human subsistence strategies prior to agricultural origins [59]. The plant species represented in high frequencies, such as legumes, and others in low numbers, such as acorns and pistachios, were seemingly imported by humans into the cave as their vegetal dietary menu. As mentioned above, the rare occurrence of microvertebrates in Kebara cave (Tchernov, personal communication) indicates a more semi-sedentary human occupation. The comparatively limited evidence of hyena activity, as noted by Speth [5,52], in Kebara cave indicates a more permanent human occupation, however, through the years it was undoubtedly interspersed with periods of abandonment [35]. The seasonal availability of food was prolonged, considering the animal remains as shown by [5,50,51,52]. It therefore seems that Kebara cave was occupied during fall, winter, spring, and early summer, and was abandoned during the high summer time and early fall, probably in favor of higher altitudes. Such a settlement pattern is not much different from the one reconstructed for the Upper and EpiPaleolithic in this region [57], based on a latitudinal movement from the lowlands to the highlands. It should be remembered that in the Levant, the western lowlands are better protected in winter, and in the highlands, springs are readily found in summer. Acknowledgments The excavations at Kebara cave were funded by the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israel Exploration Society, and the American School of Prehistoric Research (Peabody Museum, Harvard University). We had the benefit of considerable aid from the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University through the years. We are grateful to all these institutions, and to all our colleagues who took active part in the excavations and the study of the finds: B. Arensburg, A. Belfer-Cohen, M. Chech, P. Goldberg, the late Henri Laville, Liliane Meignen, Y. Rak, the late Eitan Tchernov, A.M. Tiller, S. Weiner, and B. Vandermeersch. The authors of the paper would like to thank Y. Melamed and M. Marmorstein for their help with the identification process, and J. Langzam for the SEM pictures. Special thanks go to D. Nadel, M. Jones, and in particular to J.D. Speth and E. Weiss, for their helpful comments and editorial suggestions on earlier drafts of this manuscript. References [1] T. Akazawa, The ecology of the Middle Paleolithic occupation at Douara cave, Syria, Bulletin of Tokyo University Museum 29 (1987) 155–166. [2] R.M. Albert, S. Weiner, O. Bar-Yosef, L. Meignen, Phytoliths in the Middle Palaeolithic deposits of Kebara Cave, Mt Carmel, Israel: study of the plant materials used for fuel and other purposes, Journal of Archaeological Science 27 (2000) 931–947. [3] P.L. Altman, D.S. Dittmer, Metabolism, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Bethesda, MD, 1968. [4] N.B. Asch, R.I. Ford, D.L. Asch, Paleoethnobotany of the Koster site: the Archaic horizons, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL, Illinois State Museum Reports of Investigations 24, Illinois Valley Archaeological Program Research Papers 6, 1972. [5] O. Bar-Yosef, B. Vandermeersch, B. Arensburg, A. Belfer-Cohen, P. Goldberg, H. Laville, L. Meignen, Y. Rak, J.D. Speth, E. Tchernov, A.M. Tillier, S. Weiner, The excavations in Kebara Cave, Mount Carmel, Current Anthropology 33 (1992) 497–550. [6] U. Baruch, E. Werker, O. Bar-Yosef, Charred wood remains from Kebara cave, Israel: preliminary results, Bulletin de la Société Botanique de France 139 (1992) 531–538. [7] C.P. Bryan, The Papyrus Ebers, G. Bles, London, 1930. [8] G. Contenau, La Médecine en Assyrie et en Babylonie, Librairie Maloiné, Paris, 1938. [9] A. Dafni, Edible Plants of the Land of Israel, Nature Conservation Promotion Association, Tel-Aviv, 1984 (in Hebrew). E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 [10] A. Danin, Wild Plants of Eretz Israel and their Distribution, Carta, Jerusalem, 1998. [11] J.W. Estes, The Medical Skills of Ancient Egypt, Science History Publications USA, Canton, MA, 1989. [12] K.V. Flannery, Origins and ecological effects of early domestication in Iran and the Near East, in: P.J. Ucko, G.W. Dimbleby (Eds.), The Domestication and Exploition of Plants and Animals, Duckworth, London, 1969, pp. 73–100. [13] O. Fragman, U. Plitmann, D. Heller, A. Shmida, Checklist and Ecological Data-Base on the Flora of Israel and its Surroundings, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1999. [14] Y. Guggenheim, Human Nutrition, Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 1981 (in Hebrew). [15] B.L. Gordon, Medicine Throughout Antiquity, Davis, Philadelphia, PA, 1949. [16] N. Goren-Inbar, S. Belitzky, K. Verosub, E. Werker, M. Kislev, A. Heimann, I. Carmi, A. Rosenfeld, New discoveries at the Middle Paleistocene Acheulian site Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel, Quaternary Research 38 (1992) 117–128. [17] N. Goren-Inbar, C.S. Feibel, K. Verosub, Y. Melamed, M.E. Kislev, E. Tchernov, L. Saragusti, Pleistocene milestone on the Out-of-Africa Corridor at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel, Science 289 (2000) 944–947. [18] N. Goren-Inbar, G. Sharon, Y. Melamed, M.E. Kislev, Nuts, nut cracking, and pitted stones at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 99 (2002) 2455–2460. [19] N. Goren-Inbar, E. Werker, C.S. Feibel, The Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel. The Wood Assemblage, Oxbow, Oxford, 2002. [20] G.C. Hillman, E. Madeyska, J.G. Hather, Wild plant food diet at late Paleolithic Wadi Kubbaniya: the evidence from charred remains, in: R. Wendorf, R. Schild, A.E. Close (Eds.), Stratigraphy, Paleoeconomy and Environment, The Prehistory of Wadi Kubbaniya, vol. 2, Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas, TX, 1989, pp. 162–242. [21] G.C. Hillman, Abu Hureyra 1: The Epipalaeolithic, in: A.M.T. Moore, G.C. Hillman, A.J. Legge (Eds.), Village on the Euphrates – From Foraging to Farming at Abu Hureyra, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000, pp. 327–399. [22] J. Hugon, A.C. Ludolph, P.S. Spencer, b-N-Oxalylamino-Lalanine, in: P.S. Spencer, H. Schaumburg (Eds.), Experimental and Clinical Neurotoxicology, second ed., Oxford University Press, New York, 2000, pp. 925–938. [23] Y. Kaplan, The ecosystem of the Yahudia Nature Reserve with emphasis on dynamics of germination and development of Quercus ithaburansis Dence, published Ph.D. thesis, Agriculture University of Wageningen, 1984. [24] M. Kislev, References to the pistachio tree in Near East geographical names, Palestine Exploration Quarterly 117 (1985) 133–138. [25] M.E. Kislev, D. Nadel, I. Carmi, Epi-Palaeolithic (19,000 B.P.) cereal and fruit diet at Ohalo II, Sea of Galilee, Israel, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 73 (1992) 161–166. [26] M.E. Kislev, O. Simchoni, E. Weiss, Reconstructing the landscape, human economy, and hut use according to seeds and fruit remains from Ohalo II, in: D. Nadel (Ed.), Ohalo II – A 23,000-year-old Fisher-Hunter-Gatherers’ Camp on the Shore of the Sea of Galilee, Hecht Museum, Haifa, 2002, pp. 20–22. [27] M.E. Kislev, O. Simchoni, Reconstructing the palaeoecology of Ohalo II, an early Epipalaeoloithic site in Israel, in: S.L. Mason, J.G. Hather (Eds.), Hunter-Gatherers Archeology: Perspectives from the Northern Temperate Zone, Institute of Archeology, University College London, London, 2002, pp. 174–179. [28] M.E. Kislev, E. Lev, Plant Remains in the Middle Paleolithic Layers at Kebera cave, in: O. Bar-Yosef, L. Meignen (Eds.), The [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] 483 Middle Paleolithic Archaeology of Kebara Cave, Mt Carmel, Part I, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, in press. S.N. Kramer, First pharmacopeia in man’s recorded history, American Journal of Pharmacology 126 (1954) 76–84. E. Lev, The vegetal food of the ‘‘Neanderthal’’ man in Kebera cave, Mt. Carmel in the middle Paleolithic period, M.Sc. thesis, Department of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Israel, 1992 (in Hebrew with English summary). E. Lev, Medicinal Substances of the Medieval Levant, Eretz, Tel Aviv, 2002 (in Hebrew). E. Lev, Reconstructed materia medica of the medieval and Ottoman al-Sham, Journal of Ethnopharmacology 80 (2002) 167–179. E. Lev, Z. Amar, Ethnopharmacological survey of traditional drugs sold in Israel at the end of the 20th century, Journal of Ethnopharmacology 72 (2000) 191–205. E. Lev, Z. Amar, Ethnic Medicinal Substances of the Land of Israel, Eretz, Tel Aviv and Yerid Hasefarim, Jerusalem, 2002 (in Hebrew with English summary). D.E. Lieberman, The rise and fall of seasonal mobility among hunter-gatherers, Current Anthropology 34 (1993) 599–631. M. Madella, M.K. Jones, P. Goldberg, Y. Goren, E. Hovers, The exploitation of plant resources Neanderthals in Amud Cave (Israel): the evidence from phytolith studies, Journal of Archeological Science 29 (2002) 703–719. A. Matsutani, Plant remains from the 1984 excavations at Douara Cave, in: T. Akazawa, Y. Sakaguchi (Eds.), Paleolithic Site of Doura Cave. Bulletin no. 21, Tokyo University, Tokyo, 1987, pp. 117–122. L. Meignen, O. Bar-Yosef, Les outillages lithiques moustériens de Kébara, in: O. Bar-Yosef, B. Vandermeersch (Eds.), Le Squelette Moustérien de Kebara 2, Mt. Carmel, Israël, CNRS, Paris, 1991, pp. 49–76. L.S. Meignen, S. Beyries, J.D. Speth, O. Bar-Yosef, Acquisition, traitement des matieres animals et function du site au Paleolithique moyen dans la grotte de Kebara (Israel): approche interdiciplinaire, Antipolis, Sophia, 1998. Economie Prehistorique: Les Compartements de Subsistance au Paleolithique, XVIII Rencontres Internationales of Archeologie d’Histoire d’Antibes, Editions APDCCA, 1998. Y. Melamed, Reconstruction of the landscape and the vegetarian diet at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov archeological site in the Lower Paleolithic Period, M.Sc. dissertation, Bar-Ilan University, Israel, 1997 (in Hebrew with English summary). N.F. Miller, Ratios in Paleoethnobotanical analysis, in: C.A. Hastorf, V.S. Popper (Eds.), Current Paleoethnobotany: Analytical Methods and Cultural Interpretations of Archaeological Plant Remains, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1988, pp. 72–85. D. Nadel, E. Weiss, O. Simchoni, A. Tsatskin, A. Danin, M. Kislev, Stone Age hut in Israel yields world’s oldest evidence of bedding, Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences USA 101 (17) (2004) 6821–6826. J.F. Nunn, Ancient Egyptian Medicine, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1996. G. Padmanaban, Lathyrogens, in: I.E. Liener (Ed.), Toxic Constituents of Plant Foodstuffs, second ed., Academic Press, New York, 1980, pp. 239–263. D. Palevitz, Y. Yaniv, A. Dafni, Y. Friedman, Ethnobotanical Survey of the Flora of Israel as a Source for Drugs, Ministry of Science, Jerusalem, 1985 (in Hebrew). K.M. Petruso, J.M. Wickens, The acorn in Aboriginal subsistence in eastern North America: a report on miscellaneous experiments, in: P.J. Munson (Ed.), Experiments and Observations on Aboriginal Wild Plant Food Utilization in Eastern North 484 [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] E. Lev et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 475–484 America, Prehistoric Research Series, 6(2), Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN, 1984, pp. 360–378. M. Rosenberg, M. Nesbitt, K.W. Redding, B.L. Plasmall, Hallan Çemi, pig husbandry, and post-Pleistocene adaptations along the Taurus-Zagros arc (Turkey), Paléorient 24 (1998) 25–41. P.S. Sarma, G. Padmanaban, Lathyrogens, in: I.E. Liener (Ed.), Toxic Constituents of Plant Foodstuffs, Academic Press, New York, 1969, pp. 267–291. H.P. Schwarcz, W.M. Buhay, R. Grun, H. Valladas, E. Tchernov, O. Bar-Yosef, B. Vandermmeersch, ESR dating of the Neanderthal site, Kebara Cave, Israel, Journal of Archaeological Science 16 (1989) 653–659. J.D. Speth, Early hominid subsistence strategies in seasonal habitats, Journal of Archeological Sciences 14 (1987) 13–29. J.D. Speth, Early hominid hunting and scavenging: the role of meat as an energy source, Journal of Human Evolution 18 (1989) 329–343. J.D. Speth, E. Tchernov, The role of hunting and scavenging in Neanderthal procurement strategies: new evidence from Kebera cave (Israel), in: T. Akazawa (Ed.), Neanderthals and Modern Humans in Western Asia, Plenum Press, New York, 1998, pp. 223–239. J.D. Speth, E. Tchernov, Neandertal hunting and meat-processing in the Near East: evidence from Kebara Cave (Israel), in: C.B. Stanford, H.T. Bunn (Eds.), Meat-Eating and Human Evolution, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001, pp. 52–72. [54] C. Stetter, The Secret Medicine of the Pharaohs, Edition Q, Chicago, IL, 1993. [55] R.C. Thompson, Assyrian Medical Texts, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1923. [56] J.C. Uphof, Dictionary of Economic Plants, J. Cramer Press, Lehre, 1968. [57] F.R. Valla, Natufian seasonality: a guess, in: T.R. Rocek, O. Bar-Yosef (Eds.), Seasonality and Sedentism, Archaeological Perspectives from Old and New World Sites, 6, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, MA, 1998, pp. 93–108. [58] H. Valladas, J.L. Joron, G. Valladas, B. Arensburg, O. Bar-Yosef, A. Balfer-Cohen, P. Goldberg, L. Meignen, Y. Rak, E. Tchernov, A.M. Tillier, B. Vandermeersch, Thermoluminescence dates for the Neanderthal burial site at Kebara in Israel, Nature 330 (1987) 159–160. [59] E. Weiss, W. Wetterstrom, D. Nadel, O. Bar-Yosef, The broad spectrum revisited: evidence from plant remains, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 101 (2004) 9551–9555. [60] W. van Zeist, J.A.H. Bakker-Herres, Archaeobotanical studies in the Levant. III. Late Paleolithic Mureybit, Palaeohistoria 26 (1986) 171–199. [61] M. Zohary, Flora Palaestina, vol. II, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem, 1972.