The Kebaran is the first phase of the
Epipalaeolithic in the
Levant. Kebaran
stone tool assemblages are characterized by small,
geometric microliths, and are thought to have lacked the specialized grinders and pounders found in later
Near Eastern cultures. Small stone tools called
microliths and retouched bladelets can be found for the first time. The microliths of this culture period differ greatly from the
Aurignacian artifacts. The Kebaran is preceded by the final phase of the
Upper Paleolithic Levantine Aurignacian (also known as the Athlitian or Antelian) and followed by the proto-agrarian
Natufian culture of the
Epipalaeolithic. The appearance of the Kebaran culture, of microlithic type implies a significant rupture in the cultural continuity of Levantine Upper Paleolithic. The Kebaran culture, with its use of microliths, is associated with the use of the bow and arrow and the domestication of the dog. The Kebaran is also characterised by the earliest collecting of wild cereals, known due to the uncovering of grain grinding tools. It was the first step towards the
Neolithic Revolution. The Kebaran people are believed to have practiced dispersal to upland environments in the summer, and aggregation in caves and rock shelters near lowland lakes in the winter. This diversity of environments may be the reason for the variety of tools found in their kits. Situated in the Terminal
Pleistocene, the Kebaran is classified as an Epipalaeolithic society. They are generally thought to have been ancestral to the later Natufian culture that occupied much of the same range, who advanced the use of wild grains, building on the Kebaran traits to acquire some symptoms of permanent settlements, agriculture, and hints of civilization. In the prehistoric site of
Ein Gev, the skeleton of a 30-40 year old woman associated with the Kebaran was discovered. The morphological characteristics assigned the individual to a Proto-Mediterranean population, being very similar to the Natufians.
Artistic expression ,
Israel, Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran ca. 23,000-16,500 BP) Evidence for symbolic behavior of Late Pleistocene foragers in the Levant has been found in engraved limestone plaquettes from the Epipaleolithic open-air site Ein Qashish South in the
Jezreel Valley, Israel. The engravings found in Ein Qashish South involve symbolic conceptualization.
Artifacts File:Kebaran Culture Flint Knife.jpg|Flint knife, Kebaran culture, 22,000-18,000 BP File:Kebaran culture microliths 22000-18000 BP.jpg|Kebaran culture microliths, 22,000-18,000 BP File:Microlith productions, Kebaran culture, 22,000-18,000 BP, Israel (detail).jpg|Microlith productions, Kebaran culture, 22,000-18,000 BP File:Microlith tools from Ein Qashish South, Jezreel Valley, Israel, Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran deposits (ca. 23ka and ca. 16.5ka BP).jpg|Microlith tools from Ein Qashish South, Jezreel Valley, Israel, Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran deposits (ca. 23ka and ca. 16.5ka BP) File:Associations of wild cereals and other wild grasses in northern Israel.jpg|Associations of wild cereals and other wild grasses in northern Israel ==References==