Kebara Cave

Encyclopedia : K : KE : KEB : Kebara Cave

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Kebara Cave ( Hebrew: מערת כבארה Me'arat Kebara, Arabic: مغارة الكبارة Mugharet el-Kebara) is an Israeli limestone cave locality of the Wadi Kebara, situated at 60 - 65 metres ASL on the western escarpment of the Carmel Range, some 10km north-east of Caesarea. The cave was inhabited between 60,000 - 48,000 BP and is famous for its excavated finds of hominid remains, made under the direction of Professor Ofer Bar-Yosef.

By far the most significant discovery made at Kebara Cave was that in 1982 of the most complete Neanderthal skeleton found to date. Nicknamed "Moshe" and dating to circa 60,000 BP, the skeleton preserved a large part of one individual's torso (vertebral column, ribs and pelvis). The head and lower limbs were missing; nonetheless, as studies of Neanderthals had been based largely on the various crania discovered since 1856, and as subsequent excavations had not revealed an even remotely complete extra-cranial skeleton, Moshe's was an astounding discovery.

Further reading

Selected bibliography, in order of publication:

• Schick, T. & Stekelis, M. "Mousterian Assemblages in Kebara Cave, Mount Carmel", Eretz-Israel 13 (1977), pp.97-150.
• Bar-Yosef, O. & B. Vandermeersch, et alii, "The Excavations in Kebara Cave, Mount Carmel", Current Anthropology 33.5 (1992), pp.497-546.
• Goldberg, P. & Bar-Yosef, O., "Site formation processes in Kebara and Hayonim Caves and their significance in Levantine Prehistoric caves", in T. Akazawa, K. Aoki and O. Bar-Yosef (eds), Neandertals and Modern Humans in Western Asia, New York & London: Plenum Press, 1998, pp.?
• Albert, Rosa M., Steve Weiner, Ofer Bar-Yosef, and Liliane Meignen, "Phytoliths of 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), pp.931-947.
• Lev, Efraim, Kislev, Mordechai E. & Bar-Yosef, Ofer, "Mousterian Vegetal Food in Kebara Cave, Mt Carmel", Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005), pp.475–484.

External links

• [Ramat Hanadiv] - the Rothschild Memorial public gardens at Ramat Hanadiv preserve the Kebara Cave within their boundaries for visitors
• [Kebara Cave] at About.com

 

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