This paper presents a recently discovered incised reed object from Wadi Murabba'at Cave 2, in the northern Judaean Desert, that dates to the early second millennium BCE. This is the first reed object from this period to be discovered in the Southern Levant. The incised decorations recall decorative motifs known from a plethora of objects of different materials, functionality and contexts. The reed belongs to a small group of Middle Bronze Age objects found in the cave in the 1950s, many of which are found in contemporaneous burials, including at Jericho. The study argues that the object was likely produced on site, and not by a professional craftsperson. The precise meaning of the object remains unknown, but the pervasiveness of the reed's decorations within the artistic traditions of the region suggests a widespread cultural template that was rooted in long-term regional symbolism.

Here we illuminate the evolutionary trajectory of domesticated wheat through genomic analysis of 3,000-6,000-year-old grains excavated in the southern Levant. Our results identify these specimens as an early domesticated form closely related to wheat accessions from Ethiopia, the Arabian Peninsula and India. Genomic evidence supports a multi-stage domestication model centred on the non-shattering spike, requiring mutations in both TtBtr1-A and TtBtr1-B genes. These mutations probably arose independently in northern and southern wild populations, respectively. The foundational domestication event was hybridization of these populations, uniting the required mutations to create domesticated wheat. Remarkably, this hybridization occurred at least twice, producing distinct domesticated lineages. Following this, ancient grain lineages acquired advantageous traits through gene flow from local wild emmer populations. These findings redefine wheat domestication as a prolonged, dynamic and regionally interconnected process, characterized by repeated independent hybridization events that were later diversified through human-led dispersal and local adaptation.

Despite extensive archaeological explorations in En-Gedi, the largest oasis along the western shore of the Dead Sea, over the past seven decades, a significant component of its settlement landscape has so far gone unnoticed. This component, referred to in this article as Cenotaph Hill, is located in the northern part of the oasis plain, somewhat removed from the nucleus area of previously explored ancient settlement remains. Recent investigation of Cenotaph Hill, combining analysis of a forgotten excavation conducted on its slope in the 1960s with a high-resolution surface survey and new trial excavations, underscores the existence of significant activity from the Hellenistic and Roman periods in this part of the oasis. The discovery and research of this hitherto unknown multi-period site has important implications for settlement dynamics in the oasis during the late Second Temple period.

Barley is one of the oldest cultivated crops, with a complex evolutionary and domestication history1. Previous studies have rejected the idea of a single origin and instead support a model of mosaic genomic ancestry2,3. With increasingly comprehensive genome data, we now ask where the haplotypes - the building blocks of this mosaic - originate, and whether all domesticated barleys share the same wild progenitors or whether certain wild populations contribute more heavily to specific lineages. To address these questions, we apply a haplotype-based approach to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of wild and domesticated barley. We analyse whole-genome sequences from 682 genebank accessions and 23 archaeological specimens, tracing the spatiotemporal origins of haplotypes and identifying wild contributors during domestication and later gene flow events. Ancient DNA supports our genome-wide findings from modern samples. Our results suggest that a founding domesticated population emerged in the Fertile Crescent during a prolonged period of pre-domestication cultivation. A key practical insight is that the high haplotype differentiation among barley populations - arising independently, or layered on top, of selection - poses challenges for mapping adaptive loci.

Unraveling the driving forces behind human colonization, settlement and abandonment throughout history has been a prominent research avenue for centuries. While social, political, technological, or environmental factors are commonly identified as the driving forces behind these processes, in this paper we explore a different factor - demographic stochasticity. Through an analysis based on the metapopulation theory, we assess whether demographic processes of a stochastic nature are the likely cause behind settlement abandonment and colonization within past human societies. We implement the analysis for a geographical region in the Levant and compare the results with historical and archaeological evidence. In all case studies tested but one, we show that our null hypotheses cannot be rejected. This suggests that, similarly to other species' metapopulations, demographic stochasticity holds a significant role in shaping human settlement dynamics. We thus claim that this approach should serve as a null hypothesis for the assessment of settlement dynamic and the role of social and cultural processes.

Research on the use of copper during the Late Chalcolithic (LC), the first metal-bearing era in the southern Levant, has hitherto neglected an important component-copper-coated steatite beads, uncovered in multiple LC sites and contexts. In this study, we conducted a multifaceted study of green and off-white beads found in 1960 in the Cave of Skulls (Judean Desert, Israel), where the largest LC bead collection known to date was uncovered. For the first time, the green coating was extracted from the beads and analyzed separately. Combining scanning electron microscope and lead isotope analysis (LIA), the study shows that all beads were made of fired steatite, and some were coated with a copper mineral. The LIA results could not trace the origin of the steatite, but point to the either Faynan or Amram Valley in the Arabah Valley as likely sources of the Cu minerals. It is therefore suggested that the green beads were manufactured in two separate processes-one for the production of the steatite beads, and the other for the addition of the copper coating, each taking place in a different location. Tracing the Cu-mineral coating process to the Arabah sheds further light on economic connections between south Levantine sedentary and mobile groups during the late fifth millennium BCE.

Exploring and using remote segments of complex karst systems represents the incorporation of one of the wildest and most demanding natural environments into the cultural fabric of Neolithic-Chalcolithic village-based communities in the Levant. The unique preservation of an early fifth-millennium bce activity phase in Har Sifsof Cave in northern Israel allows for a detailed investigation of an early case of human interaction with the deep underground in this region. The study of archaeological assemblages, environmental and speleological data and spatial distribution of cultural remains form the basis for interpreting the activity inside the cave in the context of fertility cults. The rituals conducted in Har Sifsof Cave revolve around the agricultural cycle of cereal grains and include the interment of multiple individuals, some of whom were buried in remote cul-de-sac passages. The emergence of complex caves as favourable off-settlement arenas dedicated to ritual activity during the later stages of Neolithization marks a conscious effort of ‘domestication’ of these unique wildscapes, while sowing the seeds for the enduring connection observed in later Levantine societies between mortuary rituals, fertility and the underground.

Monitoring microclimatic conditions in underground environments is crucial for understanding chemical and biological processes occurring in caves and their effect on archaeological, palaeontological, and palaeobotanical records. The Israel Cave Climate Project (ICCP) dataset provides high-resolution microclimatic data from twelve caves across three climate zones — Desert, Steppe, and Mediterranean — measured during 2019–2021 using a uniform protocol. All twelve are natural karstic caves containing diverse, rich, and typically multi-period archaeological records. Within each cave, hourly air temperature and relative humidity measurements were recorded over a year, and these data are presented here in full. The physical and speleological characteristics of the studied caves and the content and nature of their archaeological records are also detailed. The combined high-resolution datasets, incorporating speleological, climatological, and archaeological records, provide unparalleled raw data valuable for studying cave environments, particularly cave archaeology, site formation processes, and preservation and conservation of ancient material and bioarchaeological records.

The oasis of En-Gedi, on the western shore of the Dead Sea, served during the late Iron Age as a regional hub for the Judahite activity in the Judean Desert. The main Iron Age site in En-Gedi is Tel Goren, a small mound in the oasis plain, excavated in the 1960s by Benjamin Mazar and Immanuel Dunayevsky. The exposed Iron Age remains, attributed to the lowermost occupation (Stratum V), yielded substantial material assemblages associated with a thick destruction layer dated to the early 6th century b.c.e. The excavators interpreted the site as an unfortified, short-lived agricultural estate dedicated to the production of high-valued commodities. Drawing on a critical reassessment of past excavations, coupled with new evidence gathered in small-scale excavations conducted in 2020, it is suggested that the development of late Iron Age Tel Goren was a gradual process that involved at least two major phases, as well as the construction of a fortified compound on the summit of the hill. The implications of this suggestion are further examined within the broader regional and historical context, shedding new light on the multiphase trajectory of Judah's expansion into its eastern fringe during the late monarchic period.

The impact of human-driven hunting on large carnivores has been an important factor in altering recent and sub-recent ecosystems. However, comprehending this vital interaction in ancient times is compromised by the scarcity of carnivore remains in archaeological records. To address this, we examined historical human carnivore hunting dynamics in the Judean Desert of the Southern Levant using archaeological leopard traps, a unique hunting device common throughout the Saharo-Arabian region which has never been subjected to comprehensive analytic research. In this research, we applied a multi-faceted approach involving OSL dating, distribution modeling, and ancient DNA techniques, that provide direct evidence to spatio-temporal trends in top predator hunting. Our investigation dates the oldest known traps and implies that human hunting has been directed towards the Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) population in the Judean Desert since the mid-Holocene. Leopard hunting, which was probably carried out mostly by nomadic herding communities, intensified during the late Holocene, resulting in a substantial decline in the leopard population. By the time conservation regulations were enforced in the region, the leopard population had already plummeted to unsustainable levels due to these historical hunting practices.

Barley is an old crop with a complex history. Its evolution and the molecular basis of domestication have been intensely studied. This research has ruled out a single origin of the crop and motivated a model of mosaic genomics ancestry. As more and better genome sequences have become available, this concept can be refined: where do the building blocks of the mosaic, that is, the haplotypes come from? Were all cultivated barleys created equal or did some wild barley populations contribute more to some domesticated lineages? To answer these and other questions, we pursue a haplotype-based approach to connect diversity and population structure in wild and domesticated barley. We sequence the genomes of 628 genebank accessions and 23 archaeological specimens. Using these data, we infer the spatiotemporal origins of haplotypes and map the contributions of different wild barley populations either during the initial phase of domestication or through later gene flow. Ancient DNA sequences corroborate our genome-wide analysis in present-day samples. Our results indicate that an early domesticated founder population formed in the Fertile Crescent during an extended period of pre-domestication cultivation. A practical implication of our findings is that the high haplotype differentiation between barley populations, which arose possibly without, and most likely on top of, selective forces, complicates the mapping of adaptive loci. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

The color red has held significant historical symbolism and meaning throughout history and can be produced from various sources, including plants and animals. Some of the most luxurious red dyes were derived from various species of scale insects, particularly those of the Coccoidae superfamily. Today, advanced analytical methods allow to trace the origins of dyes even after thousands of years, providing insights into the technological capabilities of the ancient world as well as past economic and social conditions. In our research on textiles discovered in the Cave of Skulls in the Judean Desert, we conducted dye analyses using High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and identified one unique, red-dyed textile, which was dyed with scale insects. Our analysis enables to pinpoint the precise source of the red color in archaeological textiles down to the species level, and it can be determined with a high degree of certainty that the dye used was Kermes vermilio. Direct radiocarbon dating places this textile in the Middle Bronze Age (1954-1767 BCE), shedding light on the early use of scale-insect dyes in ancient textile production.

Morphologically composite caves constitute a unique spatial sphere for social activity, remote and different from everyday landscapes. As in numerous regions with carbonate rocks worldwide, the southern Levant houses a plethora of complex caves, reaching hundreds and thousands of meters in total length. Yet, despite occasional archaeological discoveries, comparative analysis of complex cave use patterns over the longue duree has not been attempted for this region. This article presents a comprehensive investigation of temporal and spatial trends in the use of composite underground systems in the southern Levant during the late prehistoric sequence, between the seventh and third millennia BCE. Based on the observable regional and chronological shifts, as well as the material-cultural remains deposited in the caves, it is suggested that the frequency and distribution of complex cave use may be employed as a sensitive recorder of cultural dynamics. Since the activity in the deep underground is commonly associated with symbolic behavior, the cultural preference to operate in or avoid the use of complex caves should be viewed as socially structured, reflecting deep social identity and ideology.

The emergence of perennial fruit cultivation represents a potentially important change in land use in the past, being associated with long-term investments in land and the transformation and commodification of particular crop products. Indeed, it has even been argued to have been closely linked to urbanization and social stratification in parts of Eurasia. Olives (Olea europea) and grapes (Vitis vinifera) were among the first and most popular of the fruit cultivars (Early Chalcolithic) and commodities (by Early Bronze Age), however, the cultivation practices used to manage these crops remain fairly poorly-understood prior to evidence from the historical record. In this study we seek to determine the applicability of stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope analysis to perennial plant remains using archaeobotanical remains of olives and grapes from the Early Bronze Age site of Tel Qedesh in Israel. For grapes, we provide the first archaeobotanical δ13C values for this crop, necessitating further study development for more in-depth interpretation. Meanwhile, we plot our olive values against an existing dataset to show that the plants from Tel Qedesh appear to have been efficiently hydrated. Our attempts at δ15N analysis for grape and olive remains did not yield satisfactory results, highlighting the need for future methodological development. We present a comprehensive plan for the development of a methodological framework and interpretative model for perennial plants, based on the models previously applied for the investigation of cereals and pulses. We argue that recognition of the past cultivation methods of perennial plants is crucial for better understanding agricultural changes and their role in key socioeconomic transitions in the past.

The role of marginal areas in the dynamic relations between mobile and sedentary groups in Early Bronze Age Levant is examined through the site cluster of Mitzpe Shalem. This morphologically anomalous cluster was discovered and excavated more than 50 years ago, yet its function has not been subject to rigorous archaeological analysis. A holistic reconsideration of various aspects of the site cluster, including its geographic situation, morphology and artifact distributions, suggests an inter-cultural engagement centre with ties to multiple socio-cultural spheres. An integrative analysis of the remains indicates that encounters at the cluster were oriented around a transformative ritual performance.

This article discusses the results of the excavations conducted in the Iron II site near the En-Gedi Spring in 1961-1962 and 2019. The site, consisting of a prominent stone platform documented as early as the 19th century and other recently discovered structural remains, is interpreted as a Judahite outpost built in a strategic location within the oasis of En-Gedi. On the basis of the ceramic assemblage, it is suggested that this site was founded during the early 7th century BCE and was abandoned before the end of that century-making it the earliest Iron Age occupation in the oasis. Combined with historical considerations and a regional analysis, the En-Gedi Spring site enhances our understanding of the Judahite expansion into the Judaean Desert during the late Iron Age.

The color red has held significant historical symbolism and meaning throughout history and can be produced from various sources, including plants and animals. Some of the most luxurious red dyes were derived from various species of scale insects, particularly those in the Coccideae family. Today, advanced analytical methods allow us to trace the origins of dyes even after thousands of years. This information provides insights into the technological capabilities of the ancient world, as well as the economic and social conditions of the time. In our research on textiles discovered in the Cave of the Skulls in the Judean Desert, we conducted dye analyses using High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and identified one unique, red-dyed textile, which was dyed with scale insects. Moreover, this capability enables us to pinpoint the precise source of the red color in archaeological textiles down to the species level, and it can be determined with a high degree of certainty that the dye used was kermes. Radiocarbon dating places this textile in the Middle Bronze Age (1954-1767 B.C.). According to our results, this fragment is currently the earliest-known insect-dyed textile in the archaeological record, shedding light on the use of scale-insect dyes in ancient textile production.

The global distribution of footpaths and their inferred antiquity implies that they are widespread spatial and temporal anthropogenic landscape units. Arid environments are of special interest for investigating historically used footpaths, as older routes may preserve better due to minimal modern impact and slower pedogenic processes. Here we examine footpaths in the Judean Desert of the southern Levant, a human hotspot throughout the Holocene. We studied one modern and two archaeological footpaths (one attributed to the Early Bronze Age and one to the Roman period) using micromorphology, bulk samples laboratory analysis, and remote sensing. Field observations and color analysis indicate that footpaths in the studied arid limestone environment can result in brighter surface color than their non-path surroundings. Similar color changes are reflected using both laboratory analysis and high-resolution remote sensing, where the difference is also significant. Microscopically, the footpaths studied tend to be less porous and with fewer biogenic activities when compared to their non-path controls. However, the two ancient footpaths studied do exhibit minimal indicators of biogenic activities that are not detectable in the modern footpath sample. Our study shows that high-resolution remote sensing coupled with micromorphology, while using appropriate local modern analogies, can help to locate and assess both the environmental effect and the antiquity of footpaths.

The Levantine Early Bronze Age (EBA; 3800/3600– 2600/2500 BCE; Regev et al. 2012; Table 1) challenges generations of researchers, that are forced to change approaches, refine methods and reconsider narratives in order to explain the nature of social change and the profound transformations reflected in the material culture (Albright 1949; Chesson 2015; Chesson and Philip 2003; Esse 1991; Greenberg 2019; de Miroschedji 1989; Philip 2001; Philip and Baird 2000). The elephant in the room is, of course, the urbanization processes that swept through the Ancient Near East during the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE, resulting in unmistakable change in the social, economic and political matrix in all sub-regions comprising this area. The EBA in the southern and central Levant involves independent trajectories within the overall pattern of rising complexity, with multifarious regional and local narratives. Co-existing and being in contact with societies that participated in the formation of the first bureaucratic states and literate civilizations, Levantine societies found their own, different, nonlinear ways of re-organization and development (Chesson 2015; Chesson and Philip 2003; Greenberg 2019; Joffe 1993; Pollock 1999; Stein 2012; Yoffe 2005). The co-existing, and sometimes competing, regional narratives of social and political developments in the Levantine EBA are a reflection of the environmental variability and fragmentation characterizing the narrow Mediterranean strip along the Eastern Mediterranean littoral and neighbouring steppe and desert regions. The abundance of archaeological data assembled from the different parts of the Levant expresses the existence of small-scale, yet spatially coherent settlement systems (or activity systems in the case of more arid regions) with high cultural integration. Each of these systems had a somewhat different trajectory within the overall EBA sequence, resulting in distinct patterns of material culture that only partially overlap chronologically (Ben-Yosef et al. 2016; Chesson 2015; Greenberg 2002; 2019; de Miroschedji 1989; 2014; Müller-Neuhof 2014; Richard 2014; Savage et al. 2007). These differences constitute tangible manifestations to the formation and recreation of social identities, circulation of ideas and traditions, reshaping of cultural boundaries, and the rise and decline of regional powers. Deep comparative examination of the material culture in each region may get us closer to delineating the invention of regional entities, in the sense of social and political units, as well as