23past horizons comparable with other contemporary sites in the region and include mountain gazelle, wild goat, fallow deer, wild boar, wild cattle, red fox and hare, as well as rodents, birds and rare fish. Goat occurs in higher percentages than in Late Pleistocene assemblages in the area, perhaps indicating incipient domestication, similar to other PPNB sites in the region. The material culture at Kfar HaHoresh is rich and varied. Extensive exchange networks are indicated by Mediterranean, Red Sea and freshwater sea shell ornaments. Exotic minerals include malachite from south of the Dead Sea, obsidian from central Anatolia, and a serpentine votive axe from northern Syria or Cyprus. Symbolic items include plain or incised polished pebble tokens. Neolithic fertility symbols are often associated with female imagery, but at Kfar HaHoresh only phallic figurines have been found. Also recovered at the site are stone and clay figurines depicting both human and animals. The use of clay at KHH, prior to the emergence of pottery in the succeeding period ( the Pottery Neolithic 6400- 4500 calBC), is currently under analysis. It appears that clay was widely used at the site, especially for the manufacture of beads, tokens and figurines. Thus far, it seems that all clay products were manufactured on site, and that various degrees of firing were used in the process. Based on its location, together with the wide range of unusual mortuary installations and practices documented at the Kfar HaHoresh, as well as the varied nature of the material culture remains, it has been interpreted as a mortuary site, serving the populations of nearby settlements in the lowlands, such as Yiftah'el and Ayanot Zippori. The 2007/ 2008 seasons focused on exposing a large plaster- surfaced structure, assigned to the earlier phases of occupation at the site. As the continued ? ? Map of the Near East, showing the location of Kfar HaHoresh at kfar hahoresh only phallic figurines have been found

past horizons24 seasons progressed, it became clear that what was first considered to be a relatively large structure was, in fact, a massive precinct measuring over 200 square metres. Depressions and subsidence in this large plastered surface indicate the probable presence of underlying pits, akin to ones excavated in previous years. Such a pit, named ' inhumation L1005', also located under this structure, was excavated in former seasons. This burial, in which several wild cattle specimen were buried with the dead, was associated with evidence for feasting on a herd of wild cattle. It is quite clear that this precinct will continue to challenge us in the upcoming 2009 season. Two burials excavated in the 2007/ 8 seasons are noteworthy. L1804, within early PPNB midden deposits, is the shallow secondary pit burial of ' half- a- man,' a male 40- 45 years old. The burial lacked anatomical associations, although the individual bones were carefully arranged with an east- west alignment for the long bones. The individual comprised part of the left side of the mandible together with some post- cranial bones. The skull was absent. The only two matching long bones, namely the right tibia and the right fibula, were placed in opposite directions. Long bones were placed above the post- cranial bones, including the mandible and lower part of the vertebral column. Although the ribs all derive from the left side of the individual, they ' framed' both sides of the long bones. Adjacent to a stone platform within a midden deposit overlying the large plaster surfaced complex was a mid to late PPNB shallow grave containing the tightly- contracted primary burial of a 50- plus year- old male, with the head propped up facing northwest. Grave goods included a sickle blade, a Mediterranean Cerastoderma shell and a large lump of reddened burnt clay. A concentration of around 60 other freshwater Melanopsis shells found nearby may relate to the burial. As these discoveries continue to shed light on PPNB mortuary rites and social structure, work at the site of Kfar HaHoresh continues. As we prepare for the 2009 season, we hope to reveal more of the secrets hidden beneath these plastered surfaces. The site of Kfar HaHoresh, with its rich material culture and its ever- surprising mortuary rituals, gives us a unique opportunity to investigate and explore this exciting era in human prehistory: a Left: L1926, note mollusk, sickle blade and reddened burnt clay grave goods near right knee ( credit: J. Williams) Below: L1804, primary tightly articulated burial of adult male ( credit: M. Birkenfeld) L1926, secondary burial of ' half- a- man' ( credit: A. N. Goring- Morris) Grave goods included a sickle blade, a Mediterranean Cerastoderma shell and a large lump of reddened burnt clay