The Natufian culture ( /nəˈtjuːfiən/) was an Epipaleolithic culture that existed from 13,000 to 9,800 years ago in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was unusual in that it was sedentary, or semi-sedentary, before the introduction of agriculture. The Natufian communities are possibly the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. There is some evidence for the deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye, by the Natufian culture, at the Tell Abu Hureyra site, the site for earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. Generally, though, Natufians made use of wild cereals. Animals hunted include gazelles.
The term "Natufian" was coined by Dorothy Garrod who studied the Shuqba cave in Wadi an-Natuf, Palestinian Territories, about halfway between Tel Aviv and Ramallah.
Read more about Natufian Culture: Dating, Precursors and Associated Cultures, Settlements, Sedentism, Lithics, Other Finds, Subsistence, Development of Agriculture, Domesticated Dog, Art, Burials, Long Distance Exchange, Language, Sites
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