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Natufian culture
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Natufian culture

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Children made some of the Middle East’s oldest known clay figures • Nov. 11, 2026, 2:00 PM ET (Popular Science)

Natufian culture, Mesolithic culture of Palestine and southern Syria dating from about 9000 bc. Mainly hunters, the Natufians supplemented their diet by gathering wild grain; they likely did not cultivate it. They had sickles of flint blades set in straight bone handles for harvesting grain and stone mortars and pestles for grinding it. Some groups lived in caves, others occupied incipient villages. They buried their dead with their personal ornaments in cemeteries. Carved bone and stone artwork have been found.