Archaeologists excavating a Paleolithic cave site in Israel’s Galilee discovered that the site’s deep cave compounds were used for ritual gatherings, according to a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). He said he had found evidence that it may have been done. Evidence includes the presence of symbolically carved rocks in prominent locations and the remains of what appear to be torches used to illuminate the interior. And its acoustics would have been suitable for communal gatherings.
Dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period, Manot’s Cave The building was discovered by chance during construction in 2008 when a bulldozer destroyed the roof. Archaeologists soon swooped in and recovered artifacts, including stone tools, bits of charcoal, various animal carcasses, and a nearly complete human skull.
The latter turned out to be particularly important. Subsequent analysis showed that the skull (called Manot 1) has both Neanderthal and modern features and is estimated to be about 54,700 years old. This supports the hypothesis that modern humans and Earth coexisted. Probably interbreeding Neanderthals and Neanderthals during a critical transition period in this region further strengthened By genome sequencing.
Manot Cave has an 80 meter long hall leading to two lower chambers from the north and south. The living section was located near the entrance and was the hub for flint-throwing, animal slaughter, eating, and other daily life activities. However, about eight floors below, there is a large cavern consisting of a high corridor and adjacent smaller “hidden” rooms, separated from the main area by a collection of mineral deposits called stalactites.
That’s the area that’s the subject of a new PNAS paper. Unlike the main residential area, the authors found no evidence of daily human activity at this site, suggesting that it had another purpose, perhaps a ceremonial gathering.
