15,000-Year-Old Funeral Rites Revealed
Friday, August 21, 2015
HAIFA, ISRAEL—Some of the largest hewn stone artifacts in the ancient Middle East may have been used for a surprising purpose. According to a new study released by the University of Haifa, these large stone boulder mortars—some of which are almost three feet high and weigh as much as 200 pounds—were used to pound food and were also an integral part of funeral rituals of the Natufian culture that inhabited this region between 15,000 and 11,500 years ago. Researchers believe that the sound made by the pounding of the food would have signaled to members of surrounding communities that an important ceremony was underway, and that this was a crucial part of building social and community cohesion and identity. To read more about burial customs in the Natufian period, go to “World Roundup.”
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