Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Manot Cave in Galilee, Israel, has provided significant insights into early human history. It reveals evidence of ritualistic gatherings dating back 35,000 years—the earliest known on the Asian continent. This cave served as a habitat for both Neanderthals and humans over millennia.
A large cavern deep in Manot Cave served as a ritual gathering space. Credit: Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority
In 2015, researchers from Case Western Reserve discovered a 55,000-year-old skull in the cave that offered physical proof of interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens; the skull fragment displayed features characteristic of both species. While the living area was located near the entrance of Manot Cave, recent studies have uncovered a large cavern eight stories below in its deepest part. This space appears to have been used for gatherings potentially aimed at enhancing social cohesion through rituals.
The research team was led by three Israeli scientists who identified an engraved rock as a focal point within this cavern. The rock is intricately carved with a turtle-shell design and placed deliberately in a niche; it dates back to around the same period as some of France’s oldest cave paintings.
“It may have represented a totem or spiritual figure,” said Omry Barzilai, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa and the Israel Antiquities Authority, who led the team. “Its special location, far from the daily activities near the cave entrance, suggests that it was an object of worship.”
The cavern boasts natural acoustics that are ideal for hosting large gatherings, and the presence of wood ash on nearby stalagmites indicates that prehistoric humans used torches to illuminate the chamber. Manot Cave was uncovered in 2008 by workers constructing condominiums at a mountain resort near Israel’s border with Lebanon. In 2012, Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dental Medicine joined the excavation efforts. The then-dean, Jerold Goldberg, pledged $20,000 annually over a decade to CWRU’s Institute for the Science of Origins. This funding supported dental students’ summer research projects in Israel.
A rock carved to look like a turtle was placed in a niche in the cavern. The carvings were done approximately 35–37,000 years ago. Credit: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority
“I’m an oral and maxillofacial surgeon by training,” Goldberg said. “I provided the commitment and the money because I wanted people to understand the breadth and intellectual interest that dental schools have.”
And although not trained in archaeology, dental students can quickly identify bone fragments from rock, which makes them invaluable at excavations like Manot Cave. “Most people would not suspect that a dental school would be involved in an archaeological excavation,” said Mark Hans, professor and chair of orthodontics at the dental school.
CWRU dental school faculty and staff with 10 dental students in Israel in 2016. Faculty members include Bruce Latimer, Jerold Goldberg and Mark Hans, along with staff member Yvonne McDermott and Kent State University’s Linda Spurlock. Credit: Yvonne McDermott
“But one of the things that are preserved very well in ancient skeletons are teeth, because they are harder than bone. There is a whole field of dental anthropology. As an orthodontist, I am interested in human facial growth and development, which, it turns out, is exactly what is needed to identify anthropological specimens.”
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For 10 years, Case Western Reserve sent 10 to 20 dental students every summer to help with the Manot Cave excavation. The summer research became so popular that students from other dental and medical schools began applying to visit Israel with the CWRU team, according to Yvonne McDermott, the project coordinator.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer