A Natufian ritual event

Ritual practice plays crucial social roles in human societies by communicating information about social status, calming tensions, and integrating communities. Although communication occurs through the act of ritual performance itself, the archaeological record rarely has the resolution to identify individual ritual actions. The high quality of preservation and recovery of a well-preserved grave of an unusual woman at the Late Natufian (12,000 cal BP) site of Hilazon Tachtit, Israel, enables the identification of multiple stages of a funerary ritual. These represent a variety of actions that allow glimpses into ritual performance as well as larger generalizations about Natufian ritual practice during this dynamic period at the beginning of the agricultural transition.