The Dawning of the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B in the Southern Levant

The study examines the patterns in architecture, burials, and contexts of Helwan and Jericho points throughout the three-phase EPPNB sequence of Motza in the site’s upper and lower sectors (gradients). The study aims to identify special, potentially ritual-related contexts and to evaluate the previously suggested idea that Jericho points were used in ceremonial hunting or proto-sacrifice of ungulates managed in the massive structures exposed in the lower sector of the site. We further assess the emergence of the concepts of PPNB ritual, i.e., communality, dominant symbolism, vitality, and human-animal linkage in the Southern Levant. The results suggest that all the concepts of PPNB ritual were consolidated in the Southern Levant already in the early phase of the period. The study highlights the significance of Jericho points in identifying special ritual-related contexts, emphasizes the connection between ritual, economic, and technological aspects of PPNB lifestyles, and suggests that ritual concepts may have distinct regional variations in their expressions.