Symbolic emblems of the Levantine Aurignacians as a regional entity identifier (Hayonim Cave, Lower Galilee, Israel)

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 115; no. 20; pp. 5145 - 5150
• Main Authors: Tejero, José-Miguel, Belfer-Cohen, Anna, Bar-Yosef, Ofer, Gutkin, Vitaly, Rabinovich, Rivka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 15-05-2018
• Subjects: Archaeology; Bones; Human behavior; Humanities and Social Sciences; Paleolithic; Social Sciences; Stone Age; Galilee; Israel; Upper Paleolithic; human symbolic behavior; Levantine Aurignacian; Near East; bone tools
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1717145115

The Levantine Aurignacian is a unique phenomenon in the local Upper Paleolithic sequence, showing greater similarity to the West European classic Aurignacian than to the local Levantine archaeological entities preceding and following it. Herewith we highlight another unique characteristic of this entity, namely, the presence of symbolic objects in the form of notched bones (mostly gazelle scapulae) from the Aurignacian levels of Hayonim Cave, Lower Galilee, Israel. Through both macroscopic and microscopic analyses of the items, we suggest that they are not mere cut marks but rather are intentional (decorative?) human-made markings. The significance of this evidence for symbolic behavior is discussed in its chrono-cultural and geographical contexts. Notched bones are among the oldest symbolic expressions of anatomically modern humans. However, unlike other Paleolithic sites where such findings were reported in single numbers, the number of these items recovered at Hayonim Cave is sufficient to assume they possibly served as an emblem of the Levantine Aurignacian.