Nahal Oren
Encyclopedia
Nahal Oren is an archeological site in a cave 10 kilometers south of Haifa
, Israel
, which was first excavated in 1941. Kebaran
and Natufian Pre-Pottery A and B industries were found.
s, and judging from the high incidence of immature gazelles' bones, these animals were domesticated. The later shift to goat husbandry may have occurred because goats are less selective in their diets than are gazelles, and can graze regions where the gazelle would not fare well.
Wheat
was also recovered from Nahal Oren, but it was not certain whether it was cultivated or wild. Grain was relatively rare at the site, in comparison with other food resources.
Nahal Oren was occupied repeatedly over thousands of years by culture after culture, which means that it was a preferred site for occupation, rather than an occasional one.
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, which was first excavated in 1941. Kebaran
Kebaran
The Kebaran or Kebarian culture was an archaeological culture in the eastern Mediterranean area , named after its type site, Kebara Cave south of Haifa...
and Natufian Pre-Pottery A and B industries were found.
Domestication of Gazelles and Goats
The main source of food at the site appears to have been gazelleGazelle
A gazelle is any of many antelope species in the genus Gazella, or formerly considered to belong to it. Six species are included in two genera, Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera...
s, and judging from the high incidence of immature gazelles' bones, these animals were domesticated. The later shift to goat husbandry may have occurred because goats are less selective in their diets than are gazelles, and can graze regions where the gazelle would not fare well.
Wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
was also recovered from Nahal Oren, but it was not certain whether it was cultivated or wild. Grain was relatively rare at the site, in comparison with other food resources.
Nahal Oren was occupied repeatedly over thousands of years by culture after culture, which means that it was a preferred site for occupation, rather than an occasional one.