Natufian

views updated May 29 2018

Natufian of, relating to, or denoting a late Mesolithic culture of the Middle East, dated to about 12,500–10,000 years ago, which provides evidence for the first settled villages, and is characterized by the use of microliths and of bone for implements. The name comes from Wadi an-Natuf, the type site (a cave north-west of Jerusalem).

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