A Belfer-Cohen
Biographic Data
| ID | 43610 |
|---|---|
| NAME | A Belfer-Cohen |
| GIVEN NAMES | A |
| FAMILY NAME | Belfer-Cohen |
| SIGNATURE | BELFER-COHEN A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3072-6657 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 93 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1935 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 93 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1981 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 23 |
Pondering Prehistory
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue…” Ornaments in the Levantine Early Neolithic
Insights into Natufian Social Identity
Summing up the data deriving from the Natufian burials at Hayonim Cave which incorporates information pertaining to the last grave uncovered on site (Grave XVII), the paper endeavours to understand the role of burials within the evolving Natufian society at large. It seems that certain sites—Hayonim Cave being a case in point—served as special localities, used by a particular group as a burial ground all through the Natufian time-span (i.e. for m…
Ruminations on the Role of Periphery and Centre in the Natufian
Hof Shahaf
Breaking the Mold
The Role of Networks in The Connectivity of The Levantine Epipaleolithic
Anna Belfer-Cohen, אנה בלפר-כהן, A. Nigel Goring-Morris, נייג'ל גורינג-מוריס, The Role of Networks in the Connectivity of the Levantine Epipaleolithic - מקומם של קשרי גומלין במערכות הקשרים של התקופה האפיפליאולית בלבנט, Mitekufat Haeven: Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society / מתקופת האבן, כרך נ"א (2021), pp. 65-81
Janine Major – Wadi Hammeh 27, Jordan Valley. Natufian Art items, a Contextual Analysis
The is rather a hefty book, ca. 400 pages, of a big format, each page measuring 29.5 × 21 cm. It comprises 9 chapters and a detailed catalogue (68 pages), part of chapter 5, of art items (=69) from Wadi Hammeh 27 providing all data imaginable per each item: dimensions, preservation, categorization by raw material, artifact type, decorative motif, location, indexing, provenance, detailed description and manufacture techniques as well as several il…
Personal ornaments from Hayonim and Manot caves (Israel) hint at symbolic ties between the Levantine and the European Aurignacian
Situated at the crossroads of Africa and Eurasia, the Levant is a crucial region for understanding the origins and spread of Upper Paleolithic (UP) traditions associated with the spread of modern humans. Of the two local Early Upper Paleolithic technocomplexes, the Ahmarian and the Levantine Aurignacian, the latter appears to be unique in the endemic UP sequence, exhibiting greater similarity to the West European 'classic' Aurignacian than to the…
Are Lithics and Fauna a Match Made in (Prehistoric) Heaven
From the Epipalaeolithic into the earliest Neolithic (PPNA) in the South Levant
This paper examines the nature of initial neolithisation indications during the terminal Pleistocene and earliest Holocene in the Southern Levant. This interval corresponds to a period of significant and geographically variable environmental changes in the region. Various lines of evidence are provided to demonstrate the long durée (c. 15 000 years) character of interactions during the Early, Middle and Late Epipalaeolithic that were instrumental…
Noisy beginnings
Ofer Bar-Yosef (1937-2020) and the New Israeli Prehistory
The Upper Paleolithic in Western Georgia
A Mousterian Engraved Bone
The appearance of art as a constant component of human culture is attributed to several Upper Paleolithic traditions. The record of earlier artistic manifestations is rather scanty and chronogeographically varied, although crucial for studies of human behavioral evolution. Here we describe an engraved bone from the Middle Paleolithic site of Quneitra, depicting an image similar to that of another artwork found in the same layer. The results of th…
Ruminations on the Role of Periphery and Centre in the Natufian
Hof Shahaf
An Anthropological Review of the Upper Paleolithic in the Southern Levant
Burials, P aleolithic
Burial is a uniquely human behavior and can be observed in the Paleolithic archaeological record. This record allows the tracing of a worldwide evolutionary trajectory from simple caching to increasingly complex and elaborate practices. Ethnographic analogies as well as contextual and taphonomic analyses suggest that what motivated burial was first and foremost emotional and spiritual bonds between living and dead members of hunter‐gatherers grou…
The Ahmarian in the Context of the Earlier Upper Palaeolithic in the Near East
Breaking the Mold
Current Issues in Levantine Upper Palaeolithic Research
Morphological description and morphometric analyses of the Upper Palaeolithic human remains from Dzudzuana and Satsurblia caves, western Georgia
The environment in the Caucasus in the Upper Paleolithic (Late Pleistocene)
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Introduction How can one begin to address the questions pertinent to the ongoing discussion on religion, property, and power at early Neolithic Çatalhöyük? It seems that a productive avenue is to stand back and consider how Çatalhöyük integrates within the broader perspective of Southwest Asian (Near Eastern) Neolithization processes. Nevertheless, such an effort with regard to every aspect of human existence is a mighty endeavor, and certainly w…
The origins of sedentism and farming communities in the Levant
From Africa to Eurasia — early dispersals
The Excavations in Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel [and Comments and Replies]
This paper summarizes the results of recent excavations (1982-90) at the Middle Paleolithic site of Kebara Cave. Work at the cave by earlier excavators is also discussed. Although analysis of the Kebara materials is still far from completed, an overview of the current stage of the investigations includes (1) a synthesis of the site's complex stratigraphy and dating; (2) a description of the spatial patterning of hearths, ash lenses, and bone and …
Ahead of the Game
Over the past several decades a variety of models have been proposed to explain perceived behavioral and cognitive differences between Neanderthals and modern humans. A key element in many of these models and one often used as a proxy for behavioral modernity is the frequency and nature of hunting among Palaeolithic populations. Here new archaeological data from Ortvale Klde, a late Middleearly Upper Palaeolithic rockshelter in the Georgian Repub…
Following Pleistocene road signs of human dispersals across Eurasia
The Rise and Fall of Seasonal Mobility among Hunter-Gatherers
The Natufian in the Levant
Infrastructures are material forms that allow for the possibility of exchange over space. They are the physical networks through which goods, ideas, waste, power, people, and finance are trafficked. In this article I trace the range of anthropological ...Read More
On Variability and Complexity
A century of research has led to the recognition of multiple levels of technological variability in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic (MP) that cannot be resolved through single-cause explanatory models. Recent ecological models argue for continual occupation of the region and competitive coexistence of Neanderthal and modern human populations. Current paleogenetic studies underline the feasibility of the latter scenario. The Levantine MP offers a…
Neolithization Processes in the Levant
The Near East is one of those unique places where the transition(s) from hunter-gatherers to farmers occurred locally, so it is possible to observe the whole sequence of these processes within the region as a whole. We discuss the archaeological evidence pertaining to those transformations within the Levant, presenting the particularistic local changes in settlement patterns and the character of the different communities juxtaposed with the lands…
The articulation of cultural processes and Late Quaternary environmental changes in Cisjordan
The dynamics of Epipalaeolithic and Early Neolithic adaptations in the southern Levant from areas west of the Rift Valley are briefly described and evaluated against the backdrop of climatic changes. Taking account of recent advances in environmental studies and important revisions in the chronological framework of pollen diagrams from the Hula, a high degree of correlation between environmental and cultural developments is apparent. The variable…
The Natufian Graveyard in Hayonim Cave
Le cimetière natoufien de la grotte d'Hayonim a livré de nombreuses informations touchant aux pratiques funéraires des Natoufiens. Des observations ont pu être faites concernant aussi bien la technique de construction des sépultures que la position des corps lors de l'inhumation, la distribution par sexe et par âge, ou le mobilier funéraire. Ont également été recueillies des données concernant les changements observés diachroniquement. Ainsi les …
The Aurignacian at Hayonim Cave
Stratum D at Hayonim Cave represents temporary Upper Palaeolithic occupations in three successive sub-layers. Although the occupation area was quite small (15 m2), two of the sub-layers contained hearths (D 3 and D 4). Sub-layers D 1-2 and D 4 also had some architectural remains. The lithic assemblage of Stratum D is related to other middle Upper Palaeolithic assemblages in northern Levant with a high Aurignacian index. Yet it displays a number o…
Becoming Farmers
Neolithization processes in the Levant differed from those in Europe. A major population growth was already occurring in the former at the onset of the Late Glacial Maximum. Population growth was not linear but rather reflected local circumstances, both external and internal. In addition to changing environmental conditions, the social implications of growth in community sizes within specific areas should be taken into account. The solutions and …
In the Eye of the Beholder
Why Microliths? Microlithization in the Levant
Microlith production in the Levant began with the Upper Paleolithic. Two microlithic production techniques have been observed: straight retouched (Ahmarian) bladelets from a blade bladelet-oriented reduction sequence; and tiny, twisted "Dufour" (Levantine Aurignacian) bladelets, intentional and/or unintentional byproducts of carination. Twisted bladelets appear in varying frequencies throughout the Upper Paleolithic. The straight variety ultimate…
Taphonomy and zooarchaeology of the Upper Palaeolithic cave of Dzudzuana, Republic of Georgia
We present the results of a detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological study of the faunal remains from the Upper Palaeolithic layers of Dzudzuana Cave, Republic of Georgia. This study presents the first carefully analysed Upper Palaeolithic faunal assemblage from the southern Caucasus and thus serves as a significant point of reference for inter-regional studies of Upper Palaeolithic subsistence in Eurasia. A series of intra-site taphonomic compa…
Cognition and communication in the Levantine lower palaeolithic
The issue of tracing the mental abilities of prehistoric hominids is overwhelming in its complexity. Not only are there different schools of thought as regards the very feasibility of such an enterprise, but we are also facing difficulties in obtaining relevant data and their interpretation. For a while it seemed as if lithic studies could contribute but little to this domain of prehistoric research. However, it seems that there is a breakthrough…
The Dating of the Upper Paleolithic Layers in Kebara Cave, Mt Carmel
Hayonim Cave
New radiocarbon dating of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic in Kebara Cave, Israel
Dating the demise
Modernity, Enhanced Working Memory, and the Middle to Upper Paleolithic Record in the Levant
The Eurocentric (or rather Western European) outlook on cultural evolution envisioned a sharp demarcation between the phenomena grouped under the title Middle Paleolithic (i.e., archaic) and the phenomena recognized as Upper Paleolithic (i.e., modern). This view became the framework for testing cognitive, social, and economic hypotheses explaining the emergence of modern behavior. After nearly a century of research, it seems that this categorizat…
Paleolithic recycling
Mesolithic Hunters at Kotias Klde, Western Georgia
Les fouilles conduites à Kotias Klde, une grotte karstique de l’Ouest de la Géorgie, ont permis de mettre au jour une séquence formée de quelques restes de l’âge du Bronze qui surmontent une séquence néolithique (A1 et A2), une couche complexe mésolithique (B) et le sommet d’une couche C, qui relèverait d’un Paléolithique supérieur tardif. Ce rapport préliminaire porte sur les assemblages du dépôt mésolithique daté de 12 400-10 380 cal. BP, dont …
The Ecological Genetics of Domestication and the Origins of Agriculture [and Comments and Reply]
The Aurignacian at Hayonim Cave
Stratum D at Hayonim Cave represents temporary Upper Palaeolithic occupations in three successive sub-layers. Although the occupation area was quite small (15 m2), two of the sub-layers contained hearths (D 3 and D 4). Sub-layers D 1-2 and D 4 also had some architectural remains. The lithic assemblage of Stratum D is related to other middle Upper Palaeolithic assemblages in northern Levant with a high Aurignacian index. Yet it displays a number o…
Har Horesha I
ANNA BELFER-COHEN, A. NIGEL GORING-MORRIS, Har Horesha I: An Upper Paleolithic Occupation in the Western Negev Highlands, Mitekufat Haeven: Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society / מתקופת האבן, כרך י"ט (תשמ"ו / 1986), pp. 43*-57
Thermoluminescence dates for the Neanderthal burial site at Kebara in Israel
Abstracts — Second Symposium on Upper Paleolithic
The Natufian Graveyard in Hayonim Cave
Le cimetière natoufien de la grotte d'Hayonim a livré de nombreuses informations touchant aux pratiques funéraires des Natoufiens. Des observations ont pu être faites concernant aussi bien la technique de construction des sépultures que la position des corps lors de l'inhumation, la distribution par sexe et par âge, ou le mobilier funéraire. Ont également été recueillies des données concernant les changements observés diachroniquement. Ainsi les …
The Prehistory of Jordan. The State of Research in 1986. Parts i and ii, BAR International Series 396 by A.N. Garrard, H.G. Gebel
Néandertaliens et hommes modernes au Proche-Orient
Meignen Liliane, Vandermeersch B., Tillier Anne-Marie, Laville H., Arensburg B., Bar-Yosef O., Belfer-Cohen A., Goldberg P., Rak Yoel, Tchernov E. Néandertaliens et hommes modernes au Proche-Orient. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 86, n°10-12, 1989. Du terrain au laboratoire : Pour un meilleur dialogue en archéologie. pp. 354-362
Datations relatives, datations absolues
Meignen Liliane, Valladas Hélène, Tchernov E., Vandermeersch B., Bar-Yosef O., Tillier Anne-Marie, Arensburg B., Belfer-Cohen A., Goldberg P., Laville H., Rak Yoel. Datations relatives, datations absolues : les populations du Paléolithique moyen au Proche-Orient. In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 86, n°10-12, 1989. Du terrain au laboratoire : Pour un meilleur dialogue en archéologie. pp. 328-333
The origins of sedentism and farming communities in the Levant
The Origins of Sedentism and Agricultural Communities in The Levant
ANNA BELFER-COHEN, The Origins of Sedentism and Agricultural Communities in the Levant, Mitekufat Haeven: Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society / מתקופת האבן, כרך כג (תש"ן / 1990), pp. 176*-178
Mousterian and Aurignacian Human Remains from Hayonim Cave, Israel
Human remains from the Aurignacian and Mousterian levels of Hayonim cave, Western Galilee, Israel, are documented and described here. Although they are admittedly meager and fragmentary in nature, they testify to the great paleoanthropological potential of Hayonim cave
An Epipalaeolithic Rockshelter at Nahal Neqarot in The Central Negev
Anna Belfer-Cohen, Isaac Gilead, Nigel Goring-Morris, Steve Rosen, An Epipalaeolithic Rockshelter at Nahal Neqarot in the Central Negev, Mitekufat Haeven: Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society / מתקופת האבן, כרך כ"ד (תשנ"א / 1991), pp. 164-168
The Ecological Genetics of Domestication and the Origins of Agriculture [and Comments and Reply]
The Natufian in the Levant
Infrastructures are material forms that allow for the possibility of exchange over space. They are the physical networks through which goods, ideas, waste, power, people, and finance are trafficked. In this article I trace the range of anthropological ...Read More
The Excavations in Kebara Cave, Mt. Carmel [and Comments and Replies]
This paper summarizes the results of recent excavations (1982-90) at the Middle Paleolithic site of Kebara Cave. Work at the cave by earlier excavators is also discussed. Although analysis of the Kebara materials is still far from completed, an overview of the current stage of the investigations includes (1) a synthesis of the site's complex stratigraphy and dating; (2) a description of the spatial patterning of hearths, ash lenses, and bone and …
In the Eye of the Beholder
Comment on B.A. Saidel, 'Round House or Square? Architectural Form and Social Organization in the PPNB'
The Rise and Fall of Seasonal Mobility among Hunter-Gatherers
Cognition and communication in the Levantine lower palaeolithic
The issue of tracing the mental abilities of prehistoric hominids is overwhelming in its complexity. Not only are there different schools of thought as regards the very feasibility of such an enterprise, but we are also facing difficulties in obtaining relevant data and their interpretation. For a while it seemed as if lithic studies could contribute but little to this domain of prehistoric research. However, it seems that there is a breakthrough…
The Language Hypothesis for the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic Transition
The Dating of the Upper Paleolithic Layers in Kebara Cave, Mt Carmel
The Lithic Assemblage of Salibiya I
ANNA BELFER-COHEN, LEORE GROSSMAN, אנה בלפר-כהן, ליאור גרוסמן, המכלול הליתי באתר סליביה I / The Lithic Assemblage of Salibiya I, Mitekufat Haeven: Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society / מתקופת האבן, כרך כ"ז (תשנ"ז, 1997), pp. 19-41
The articulation of cultural processes and Late Quaternary environmental changes in Cisjordan
The dynamics of Epipalaeolithic and Early Neolithic adaptations in the southern Levant from areas west of the Rift Valley are briefly described and evaluated against the backdrop of climatic changes. Taking account of recent advances in environmental studies and important revisions in the chronological framework of pollen diagrams from the Hula, a high degree of correlation between environmental and cultural developments is apparent. The variable…
Le Natoufien Final et les Nouvelles Fouilles a Mallaha (Eynan), Israel 1996-1997
FRANÇOIS R. VALLA, FANNY BOCQUENTIN, HUGUES PLISSON, CHRISTOPHE DELAGE, HAMOUDI KHALAILY, RIVKA RABINOVICH, BORIS VALENTIN, NICOLAS SAMUELIAN, ANNA BELFER-COHEN, פרנסואה וולה, חמודי חליאלי, ניקולא סמואליאן, פאני בוקנטין, כריטוף דלאג', בוריס ואלנטין, היוג' פליסון, רבקה רבינוביץ', אנה בלפר-כהן, החפירות המחודשות במלחה (עינן), ישראל, 1997-1996 והנאטופית הסופית / Le Natoufien Final et les Nouvelles Fouilles a Mallaha (Eynan), Israel 1996-1997, Mitekuf…
Epipalaeolithic occupations in Nahal Neqarot Rockshelter, Negev, Israel
Recent excavations at Nahal Neqarot Rockshelter in the Central Negev, Israel, revealed 60 cm of in situ sediments. The associated lithic industry is mostly attributable to the Middle Epipalaeolithic Ramonian industry, though there is also evidence for sporadic earlier and later Epipalaeolithic use of the site. This is confirmed by three accelerator 14C dates, which contribute to a better understanding of the chronological framework for the Epipal…
Geography (75 works) · Archaeology (72 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (54 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (49 works) · History (47 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (34 works) · Geology (32 works) · Archaeology and Historical Studies (23 works) · Cave (23 works) · Ancient history (21 works)