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Daniella Bar-Yosef

Tel Aviv University, Zoology, Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Researcher, Collections Manager

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The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Baylor University

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Kallista Bernal

The George Washington University

Kersten Bergstrom

Washington State University Tri Cities

Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa

umesh chattopadhyaya

University of Allahabad

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

University of Johannesburg, South Africa

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Papers by Daniella Bar-Yosef

Shell beads and “ decorated ” bones at the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Manot Cave , Israel : Symbolic expressions of early Modern Humans in the Levant

The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that ... more The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that witnessed the evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa and the Neanderthals in Eurasia, and the transition from the Early Stone Age/Lower Palaeolithic to the Middle Stone Age/Middle Palaeolithic. This latter change can be broadly characterized by the gradual replacement of large cutting tools and bifaces by points, flakes and blades produced through a variety of hierarchical core strategies, among which the Levallois method is most prominent. Within the Southern Caucasus, a pivotal geographic region between Africa and Eurasia, virtually nothing is known about the archaeological record of this period. Nor Geghi 1 (NG1) is a LMP open-air site located within the Hrazdan valley north of Yerevan, Armenia. During 2008 and 2009, over 3,000 obsidian artifacts were recovered from a paleosol (Unit 2) that developed on the floodplain of the paleo-Hrazdan. These artifacts document the variable behaviors ...

The beads of Çatalhöyük: seasons of 2000-2008

First results of the excavations at Salibiya I, Lower Jordan Valley

… culture in the …, 1991

Investigations at An Early Neolithic Settlement In the Lower Galilee: Results of the 1991 Season at Kefar HaHoresh

'Atiqot, 1995

RefDoc Bienvenue - Welcome. Refdoc est un service / is powered by. ...

Saflulim: A Late Natufian Base Camp in the Central Negev Highlands, Israel

Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 1999

Egyptian-Canaanite Interaction during the Fourth and Third Millennia B.C.: The Shell Connection

Egypt and the Levant: Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium B.C.E. Edited by E.C.M. van den Brink and T.E. Levy. Continuum, London., 2002

Natufian Green Stone Pendants from el-Wad: Characteristics and Cultural Implications

Berghahn Books, Dec 31, 2022

Nawamis, Shells, and Early Bronze Age Pastoralism

Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant: Papers in honour of Walter E. Rast and R.Thomas Schaub, 2011

THE ROLE OF AQUATIC RESOURCES IN THE NATUFIAN CULTURE

Eurasian Prehistory, 2010

The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of ... more The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The direct evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be nec es sary for the var i ous ac tiv i ties involved in fish ing. Fish ing (and pos si bly shellfishing) was prob a bly part of the strat egy of a broad spec trum econ omy that is vis i ble also in other fau nal re mains, while the large num bers of ma rine shell or na ments and es pe cially the new in no va tion of cre at ing shell disk beads, tes ti fies to the im por tance of per sonal or na ments in this cul ture.

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, 2014

The People and Their Landscape(s): Changing Mobility Patterns at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

Nawamis, Shells, and Early Bronze Age Pastoralism

Between Two Worlds

The Mega Project at Motza (Moẓa): The Neolithic and Later Occupations up to the 20th Century, 2019

The Role of Aquatic Resources in the Natufian Culture

Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploi... more Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploitaiton of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The di ect evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be necessary for the various activities involved in fishing. Fishing (and possibly shellfishing) was probably part of the strategy of a broad spectrum economy that is visible also in other faunal remains, while the large numbers of marine shell ornaments and esepcially the new innovation of creating shell disk beads, testifies to the importance of personal ornaments in this culture.

Early Neolithic Tribes in the Levant

The Archaeology of Tribal Societies

Prehistoric Settlements on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea

Early Maritime Cultures in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, 2018

Резюме Рыбный филин (Ketupa blakistoni)-редкий эндемичный восточноазиатский вид, населяющий бассе... more Резюме Рыбный филин (Ketupa blakistoni)-редкий эндемичный восточноазиатский вид, населяющий бассейны рек Японского и Охотского морей. До последнего времени границу распространения рыбного филина на северном побережье Охотского моря ограничивали долинами рек Челомджа и Яна, впадающими в Тауйскую губу Охотского моря. В статье приводятся все известные на сегодняшний день сведения о встречах рыбного филина на северном побережье Охотского моря в границах Магаданской области. Постоянные наблюдения и фиксация голоса рыбного филина с начала XXI века в долине р. Яма (залив Шелихова) на территории Ямского участка заповедника «Магаданский» позволяют продвинуть северо-восточную границу его ареала ещё на 280 км к востоку. По встречам в разные годы на р. Яма можно выделить от 3-х до 5-ти участков обитания рыбного филина. Ключевые слова: редкие виды, пернатые хищники, совы, рыбный филин, Ketupa blakistoni, гнездовой ареал, Магаданский заповедник. Поступила в редакцию: 06.04.2017 г. Принята к публикации: 12.04.2017 г.

Heads or Snails? A Rustic Feast at Hellenistic Philoteria (Tel Bet Yeraḥ, Israel), circa 150 BCE

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2020

The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria ... more The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria (Tel Bet Yeraḥ/Khirbet el-Kerak) offer a unique opportunity to study the components of what appears to have been a single festive meal. Extant remains include numerous mammal bones, mollusc shells, and ceramic tableware; they suggest a rustic Mediterranean cuisine, compatible with the presence of Greek settlers in pre-Hasmonean Galilee.

The Exploitation of Shells as Beads in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic of the Levant

Paléorient, 2005

... In : BYRD BF (éd.), The Natufian Encampment at Beidha : 102-104. Moesgaard, Aarhus : The Carl... more

Mollusca from Yiftah'el, Lower Galilee, Israel

Paléorient, 1987

... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur c... more ... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur contexte stratigraphique pas très clair. Mollusca from Yiftah'el, Lower Galilee, Israel. ... (23)BAR-YOSEF, in preparation. ... LAM DAN M. and D AVI ES M. 1983 Le site de Yiftah'el (Israel). ...

The Last Glacial Maximum at Meged Rockshelter, Upper Galilee

Israel. Journal of the Israel …, 2004

... at Meged Rocksheiter, Upper Galilee, Israel STEVE L. KUHN1 ANNA BELFER-COHEN2 OMRY BARZILAI2 ... more

Shell beads and “ decorated ” bones at the Early Upper Palaeolithic of Manot Cave , Israel : Symbolic expressions of early Modern Humans in the Levant

The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that ... more The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that witnessed the evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa and the Neanderthals in Eurasia, and the transition from the Early Stone Age/Lower Palaeolithic to the Middle Stone Age/Middle Palaeolithic. This latter change can be broadly characterized by the gradual replacement of large cutting tools and bifaces by points, flakes and blades produced through a variety of hierarchical core strategies, among which the Levallois method is most prominent. Within the Southern Caucasus, a pivotal geographic region between Africa and Eurasia, virtually nothing is known about the archaeological record of this period. Nor Geghi 1 (NG1) is a LMP open-air site located within the Hrazdan valley north of Yerevan, Armenia. During 2008 and 2009, over 3,000 obsidian artifacts were recovered from a paleosol (Unit 2) that developed on the floodplain of the paleo-Hrazdan. These artifacts document the variable behaviors ...

The beads of Çatalhöyük: seasons of 2000-2008

First results of the excavations at Salibiya I, Lower Jordan Valley

… culture in the …, 1991

Investigations at An Early Neolithic Settlement In the Lower Galilee: Results of the 1991 Season at Kefar HaHoresh

'Atiqot, 1995

RefDoc Bienvenue - Welcome. Refdoc est un service / is powered by. ...

Saflulim: A Late Natufian Base Camp in the Central Negev Highlands, Israel

Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 1999

Egyptian-Canaanite Interaction during the Fourth and Third Millennia B.C.: The Shell Connection

Egypt and the Levant: Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium B.C.E. Edited by E.C.M. van den Brink and T.E. Levy. Continuum, London., 2002

Natufian Green Stone Pendants from el-Wad: Characteristics and Cultural Implications

Berghahn Books, Dec 31, 2022

Nawamis, Shells, and Early Bronze Age Pastoralism

Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant: Papers in honour of Walter E. Rast and R.Thomas Schaub, 2011

THE ROLE OF AQUATIC RESOURCES IN THE NATUFIAN CULTURE

Eurasian Prehistory, 2010

The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of ... more The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The direct evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be nec es sary for the var i ous ac tiv i ties involved in fish ing. Fish ing (and pos si bly shellfishing) was prob a bly part of the strat egy of a broad spec trum econ omy that is vis i ble also in other fau nal re mains, while the large num bers of ma rine shell or na ments and es pe cially the new in no va tion of cre at ing shell disk beads, tes ti fies to the im por tance of per sonal or na ments in this cul ture.

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, 2014

The People and Their Landscape(s): Changing Mobility Patterns at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

Nawamis, Shells, and Early Bronze Age Pastoralism

Between Two Worlds

The Mega Project at Motza (Moẓa): The Neolithic and Later Occupations up to the 20th Century, 2019

The Role of Aquatic Resources in the Natufian Culture

Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploi... more Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploitaiton of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The di ect evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be necessary for the various activities involved in fishing. Fishing (and possibly shellfishing) was probably part of the strategy of a broad spectrum economy that is visible also in other faunal remains, while the large numbers of marine shell ornaments and esepcially the new innovation of creating shell disk beads, testifies to the importance of personal ornaments in this culture.

Early Neolithic Tribes in the Levant

The Archaeology of Tribal Societies

Prehistoric Settlements on the Red Sea Coast of Eritrea

Early Maritime Cultures in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, 2018

Резюме Рыбный филин (Ketupa blakistoni)-редкий эндемичный восточноазиатский вид, населяющий бассе... more Резюме Рыбный филин (Ketupa blakistoni)-редкий эндемичный восточноазиатский вид, населяющий бассейны рек Японского и Охотского морей. До последнего времени границу распространения рыбного филина на северном побережье Охотского моря ограничивали долинами рек Челомджа и Яна, впадающими в Тауйскую губу Охотского моря. В статье приводятся все известные на сегодняшний день сведения о встречах рыбного филина на северном побережье Охотского моря в границах Магаданской области. Постоянные наблюдения и фиксация голоса рыбного филина с начала XXI века в долине р. Яма (залив Шелихова) на территории Ямского участка заповедника «Магаданский» позволяют продвинуть северо-восточную границу его ареала ещё на 280 км к востоку. По встречам в разные годы на р. Яма можно выделить от 3-х до 5-ти участков обитания рыбного филина. Ключевые слова: редкие виды, пернатые хищники, совы, рыбный филин, Ketupa blakistoni, гнездовой ареал, Магаданский заповедник. Поступила в редакцию: 06.04.2017 г. Принята к публикации: 12.04.2017 г.

Heads or Snails? A Rustic Feast at Hellenistic Philoteria (Tel Bet Yeraḥ, Israel), circa 150 BCE

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2020

The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria ... more The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria (Tel Bet Yeraḥ/Khirbet el-Kerak) offer a unique opportunity to study the components of what appears to have been a single festive meal. Extant remains include numerous mammal bones, mollusc shells, and ceramic tableware; they suggest a rustic Mediterranean cuisine, compatible with the presence of Greek settlers in pre-Hasmonean Galilee.

The Exploitation of Shells as Beads in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic of the Levant

Paléorient, 2005

... In : BYRD BF (éd.), The Natufian Encampment at Beidha : 102-104. Moesgaard, Aarhus : The Carl... more

Mollusca from Yiftah'el, Lower Galilee, Israel

Paléorient, 1987

... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur c... more ... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur contexte stratigraphique pas très clair. Mollusca from Yiftah'el, Lower Galilee, Israel. ... (23)BAR-YOSEF, in preparation. ... LAM DAN M. and D AVI ES M. 1983 Le site de Yiftah'el (Israel). ...

The Last Glacial Maximum at Meged Rockshelter, Upper Galilee

Israel. Journal of the Israel …, 2004

... at Meged Rocksheiter, Upper Galilee, Israel STEVE L. KUHN1 ANNA BELFER-COHEN2 OMRY BARZILAI2 ... more

The colour of ornaments in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic of the Levant: Their symbolic meaning and economic value

The Value of Color: Material and Economic Aspects in the Ancient World, 2019

Humans’ transition from a foraging economy to agriculture in the Neolithic of the Levant brought ... more Humans’ transition from a foraging economy to agriculture in the Neolithic of the Levant brought with it the first use of stone beads. These came in many colours and shapes, with a variety of green minerals dominating. Beads in white, red, yellow, brown, and black colours had been used previously, thus the occurrence of green beads was related to the onset of agriculture. Subsequently they were used as amulets to ward off the evil eye and as fertility charms. A synthesis of personal ornaments of the Chalcolithic period provides insight into the possible ways in which the society of agro-pastoralists used to decorate itself. The study of ornaments, their raw materials, and colours informs us on possible belief systems, at the time of religion formation. Their spatial distribution testified for economic ties of the period.

Hof Shahaf: a new Natufian site on the shore of Lake Kinneret

by Reuven Yeshurun, Oren Ackermann, and Daniella Bar-Yosef

Not Just for Show: The Archaeology of Beads, Beadwork and Personal Ornaments [2017]

by Daniella Bar-Yosef, Clive Bonsall, and Alice Choyke

Beads, beadwork, and personal ornaments are made of diverse materials such as shell, bone, stones... more Beads, beadwork, and personal ornaments are made of diverse materials such as shell, bone, stones, minerals, and composite materials. Their exploration from geographical and chronological settings around the world offers a glimpse at some of the cutting edge research within the fast growing field of personal ornaments in humanities’ past. Recent studies are based on a variety of analytical procedures that highlight humankind’s technological advances, exchange networks, mortuary practices, and symbol-laden beliefs. Papers discuss the social narratives behind bead and beadwork manufacture, use and disposal; the way beads work visually, audibly and even tactilely to cue wearers and audience to their social message(s). Understanding the entangled social and technical aspects of beads require a broad spectrum of technical and methodological approaches including the identification of the sources for the raw material of beads. These scientific approaches are also combined in some instances with experimentation to clarify the manner in which beads were produced and used in past societies.

Table of Contents

1: The archaeology of beads, beadwork and personal ornaments.
Alice M. Choyke and Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer

PART 1: SOCIO-CULTURAL REFLECTIONS

2. Traditions and change in scaphopod shell beads in northern Australia from the Pleistocene to the recent past.
Jane Balme and Sue O'Connor

3. Magdalenian “beadwork time” in the Paris Basin (France): correlation between personal ornaments and the function of archaeological sites.
Caroline Peschaux, Grégory Debout, Olivier Bignon-Lau And Pierre Bodu

4. Personal adornment and personhood among the Last Mesolithic foragers of the Danube Gorges in the Central Balkans and beyond.
Emanuela Cristiani and Dušan Borić

5. Ornamental Shell Beads as Markers of Exchange in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B of the Southern Levant.
Ashton Spatz

6. Games, Exchange, and Stone: hunter-gatherer beads at home.
Emily Mueller Epstein

PART 2: AUDIO AND VISUAL SOCIAL CUES

7. The Natufian audio-visual bone pendants from Hayonim Cave.
Dana Shaham and Anna Belfer-Cohen

8. Bead Biographies from Neolithic Burial Contexts: Contributions from the Microscope.
Annelou van Gijn

9. The Tutankhamun Beadwork, an Introduction to Archaeological Beadwork Analysis.
Jolanda E. M. F. Bos

PART 3: METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES

10. A Mother-of-Pearl Shell Pendant from Nexpa, Morelos.
Adrián Velázquez-Castro, Patricia Ochoa-Castillo, Norma Valentín-Maldonado, Belem Zúñiga-Arellano

11. Detailing the bead maker: Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) of steatite disk beads from prehistoric Napa Valley, California.
Tsim D. Schneider and Lori D. Hager

12. Exploring Manufacturing Traces and Social Organization using Prehistoric Mortuary Beads in the Salish Sea Region of the Northwest Coast of North America.
David Bilton and Danielle A. Macdonald

The first Neanderthal remains from an open-air Middle Palaeolithic site in the Levant OPEN

by Jean-Jacques Hublin, Ravid Ekshtain, Joel Roskin, Ruth Shahack-Gross, Ariel Malinsky-Buller, and Daniella Bar-Yosef

The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of ... more The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of caves and open landscape sites. The fossil record shows that two types of hominins occupied the region during this period—Neandertals and Homo sapiens. Until recently, diagnostic fossil remains were found only at cave sites. Because the two populations in this region left similar material cultural remains, it was impossible to attribute any open-air site to either species. In this study, we present newly discovered fossil remains from intact archaeological layers of the open-air site 'Ein Qashish, in northern Israel. The hominin remains represent three individuals: EQH1, a nondiagnostic skull fragment; EQH2, an upper right third molar (RM 3); and EQH3, lower limb bones of a young Neandertal male. EQH2 and EQH3 constitute the first diagnostic anatomical remains of Neandertals at an open-air site in the Levant. The optically stimulated luminescence ages suggest that Neandertals repeatedly visited 'Ein Qashish between 70 and 60 ka. The discovery of Neandertals at open-air sites during the late MP reinforces the view that Neandertals were a resilient population in the Levant shortly before Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens populated the region. The Middle Palaeolithic (MP) of the southern Levant is a significant period for the study of human evolution because two types of hominins, Neandertals and Homo sapiens, occupied the region at that time (see, for example, refs 1 and 2). Diagnostic fossil remains of the two species have been found in the Mediterranean woodland region, but until recently, they were discovered only at cave sites (Fig. 1). The absolute chronology of the Levantine MP fossils indicates that H. sapiens existed there between 120 and 90 ka and again from 55 ka on; Neandertals existed in that region between ca. 80 and ca. 55 ka 3–16. The genomic evidence suggests gene flow from early H. sapiens to

Shell beads from EPPNB Nesher-Ramle (Hebrew poster)

by Heeli Schechter and Daniella Bar-Yosef

The only evidence of Neolithic presence (EPPNB) at the Nesher-Ramle site-complex were found in an... more The only evidence of Neolithic presence (EPPNB) at the Nesher-Ramle site-complex were found in an ancient sink-hole, which was filled with sediment and artefacts during the neolithic period. Among other finds from this site shells are surprisingly common. A rich assemblage of land, freshwater and marine shells were found, some artificially perforated to be used as beads for adornment. The types of shells found in the assemblage, the ways in which they were appropriated for use as beads and the use-ware marks found on them, may shed light on different cultural aspects in the lives of the Neolithic people using this underground cavity.

Shell beads in Neolithic burial contexts - the curious case of Kfar HaHoresh

by Heeli Schechter, Nigel Goring-Morris, and Daniella Bar-Yosef

This study examines the use of shell beads in specific burial contexts found at the Pre-Pottery N... more This study examines the use of shell beads in specific burial contexts found at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) cultic-mortuary site of Kfar HaHoresh, Israel. The site includes strata representing the three major phases of the PPNB -Early, Middle and Late. Architectural elements, material culture and mortuary practices change through the Neolithic sequence found at the site, reflecting changing cultural behaviors, norms and beliefs. Architectural changes include the transition from the use of a massive walled and lime-plastered podium, to multiple complexes of terraces, smaller structures and plastered surfaces, cists, installations and combustion features, scattered in groups throughout the site. Burial customs change from single, mostly primary adult burials, to multiple secondary burials, some with bone arrangements and an increase in accompanying grave goods. These developments are graduated, complex and not necessarily synchronous yet represent a general vector of change. A very large molluscan assemblage (> 3,200 items), including marine, freshwater and land snail shells, was found in different contexts at the site. Concentrating on the marine shells, the assemblage is typical of Mediterranean zone PPNB sites, including mostly Mediterranean bivalves, accompanied by a small group of Mediterranean gastropods and rare Red Sea gastropods. The presence of Red Sea shells, originating at least 350 km away, attests to the long distance connections between different human populations in the Levant. A small fraction of the shells from the site are worked, perforated, or otherwise manipulated to function as beads and pendants. The shell beads recovered from burial contexts at the site, representing an integral aspect of developing funerary practices, are examined, and the different trends of change and continuity in this cultural behavior during the course of the PPNB, are discussed.