Micka Ullman

Department of Archaeology and ancient near east

Subject: Human selection and exploitation patterns of complex karstic caves during the later prehistory of the southern Levant

Supervisor: Dr. Uri Davidovich, Prof. Amos Frumkin

Abstract: From the dawn of prehistory, humans made use of natural caves for various purposes. In the southern Levant, occupation of caves began during the mid-Lower Paleolithic (ca. 600 ka) and increased during the Middle Paleolithic (ca. 250-50 ka). Paleolithic selection preferences of cave sites focused on large, spacious, well-lit and ventilated chambers with large openings. Groups of gatherers-hunters used those sites for a range of domestic activities, such as daily group gatherings, food preparation and consumption, and tool making. At times, the same sites were also used for mortuary purposes, probably in between occupation phases.     
During the Pottery Neolithic period (from ca. 6,500 BCE onward), as a result of the revolutionary changes associated with the transition to sedentary ways of life and food production (agriculture and animal husbandry), a shift can be observed in cave use patterns. Alongside a continuation in exploiting large, relatively open chambers, for the first time humans began to penetrate into deep and complex caves, which are difficult to negotiate through, challenging for orientation and navigation, completely dark and damp, and often presenting a variety of remarkable natural phenomena, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Preliminary study of the archaeological finds from several complex caves in the southern Levant indicates that during certain time-spans within the 7th-3rd millennia BCE (spanning the Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age periods), the depths of complex karstic caves were used for multiple activities, at least some of which are related to ritual and burial.      
The present research revolves around the interactions between humans and their natural landscape during the emergence of early complex societies, as can be deciphered from the study of human exploitation patterns of complex karstic caves. Karstic caves are abundant in most highland regions of the southern Levant, and dozens of them reach a total length exceeding 300 m. Many of these caves were recently explored by the Israeli Cave Research Center (ICRC), Institute of Earth Sciences, the Hebrew University, and archaeological finds from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age periods surfaced in numerous such caves, however these are yet to be thoroughly studied. The present research will focus on the comparative analysis of cave use patterns from the aforementioned periods, including regional distribution of complex caves, spatial distribution of artifacts and ecofacts within them, and analysis of material culture remains and their context of deposition. In addition, the environmental aspects of the caves and their surrounding landscape will be explored, and Holocene geological and geomorphological processes inside the caves will be inspected. This will allow discussing human selection and exploitation patterns of complex caves during the late prehistory, at the time of emergence of complex societies, as well as detecting trends of continuity and change in these patterns. The uniqueness of this research is drawn from its focus on the remains of ancient human activities that took place outside the settlement sites, and the possibility to shed light on least-known aspects of social interactions and worldviews.

Bio: I was born and raised at Kibbutz Bar-Am in the Upper Galilee.  After my military service I began hiking and trekking, both in Israel and abroad, with clear preference for the mountains and deserts. The love of nature and outdoors evolved into academic studies of archaeology and geography, which took place at the Hebrew University. During my bachelor’s and master’s degrees I specialized in prehistory studies at the Archaeological Institute of Mount Scopus, and about a decade ago I joined the Israeli Cave Research Center, located at the same academic institution. In the past decade year I participated in tens of cave-mapping and cave-research (speleology) projects, often involving significant archaeological aspects. Caving gradually became my major occupation and hobby. These days I work as an archaeologist: conducting excavations, field surveys and academic research. Between projects and excavations, I keep on traveling and exploring the outdoors. 

Publications:

English Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

• Ekshtain R., Barzilai O., Inbar M., Milevski I., and Ullman M. (2012). "Givat Rabi East, a new Middle Paleolithic knapping site in the Lower Galilee (Israel)". Paléorient 37(2): 107-122.‏
• Davidovich U., Ullman M., and Leibner U. )2013(. "Late Prehistoric occurrences in Har Nitai and Khirbat Wadi Hamam, Northeastern Lower Galilee". Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 43: 186-204.‏
• Frumkin A., Bar-Matthews M., Davidovich U., Langford B., Porat R., Ullman M., and Zissu B. (2014).  "In-situ dating of ancient quarries and the source of flowstone (‘calcite-alabaster’) artifacts in the southern Levant". Journal of Archaeological Science 41: 749-758.‏
• Yahalom-Mack N., Langgut D., Dvir O., Tirosh O., Eliyahu-Behar A., Erel Y., Langford B., Frumkin A., Ullman M., and Davidovich U. (2015). “The earliest lead object in the Levant”. PLOS ONE 10 (12): e0142948. https://doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142948
• Marder O., Ashkenazy H., Frumkin A., Grosman L., Langford B., Sharon G., Ullman M., Yeshurun R., and Peleg Y. (2015). “El-Hamam Cave: A New Natufian Site in the Samaria Hills”. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society 45: 131–142.
• Frumkin A., Langford B., Marder O., and Ullman M. (2016). “Paleolithic caves and hillslope processes in south-western Samaria, Israel: Environmental and archaeological implications”. Quaternary International 398: 246-258.
• Langgut D., Yahalom-Mack N., Lev-Yadun S., Kremer E., Ullman M., and Davidovich U. (2016). “The earliest Near Eastern wooden spinning implements”. Antiquity 90(352): 973-990.
• Langgut D., Yahalom-Mack N., Lev-Yadun S., Kremer E., Ullman M., and Davidovich, U. (2017). “On Chalcolithic maceheads and spinning implements”. Antiquity 91(357): 777-782.
• Toffolo M.B., Ullman M., Caracuta V., Weiner S., and Boaretto E. (2017). “A 10,400-year-old sunken lime kiln from the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B at the Nesher-Ramla quarry (el-Khirbe), Israel”. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14: 353-364.
• Davidovich U., Ullman M., Langford B., Frumkin A., Langgut D., Yahalom-Mack N., Abramov J., and Marom N. (2018). “Distancing the dead: Late Chalcolithic burials in large maze caves in the Negev Desert, Israel”. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 379: 113-152.
• Frumkin A., Aharon S., Davidovich U., Langford B., Negev Y., Ullman M., Vaks A., Ya‘aran S., and Zissu B. (2018). "Old and recent processes in a warm and humid desert hypogene cave: ‘A’rak Na ‘asane, Israel". International Journal of Speleology 47 (3), 307-321. Tampa, FL (USA) ISSN 0392-6672. https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.47.3.2178
• Frumkin A., Barzilai O., Hershkovitz I., Ullman M., and Marder O. (2019). “Karst terrain in the western upper Galilee, Israel: Speleogenesis, hydrogeology and human preference of Manot Cave”. Journal of Human Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.006
• Ekshtain R., Malinsky-Buller A., Greenbaum N., Mitki N., Stahlschmidt C.M., Shahack-Gross R., Nir N., Porat N., Bar-Yosef Mayer E.D., Yeshurun R., Been E., Rak Y., Agha N., Brailovsky L., Krakovsky M., Spivak P., Ullman M., Vered A., Barzilai O., and Hovers E. (2019). “Persistent Neanderthal occupation of the Open-air site of ‘Ein Qashish, Israel”. PLoS One. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0215668
• Ullman M., Brailovsky L., Schechter C.H.,  Weissbrod L, Zuckerman-Cooper R., Toffolo B.M., Caracuta V., Boaretto E., Weiner S, Abramov J.,, Bar-Yosef Mayer E.D., Avrutis W.V, Kol-Ya‘kov S., and Frumkin A. (2021). “The Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site at Nesher-Ramla Quarry, Israel”. Quaternary international, Nesher-Ramla special Issue. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.04.019
• Lazagabaster I.A., Ullman M., Porat R., Halevi R., Porat N., Davidovich, U. and Marom N. (2021). “Changes in the large carnivore community structure of the Judean Desert in connection to Holocene human settlement dynamics”. Scientific reports, 11(1): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2021.04.019
• *Lazagabaster A.I., Rovelli V., Fabre P.H., Porat R., Ullman M., Davidovich U., Lavi T., Ganor A., Klein E., Weiss K., Nuriel P., Meiri M., and Marom N. (2021). “Rare crested rat subfossils unveil Afro–Eurasian ecological corridors synchronous with early human dispersals”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118.  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2105719118
• *Dvir R., Ullman M., Langford B., Frumkin A., Porat R., and Zissu B. (2021). “Finds from the Bar-Kokhba Revolt on the Cliffsides of Wadi Chariton (Naḥal Teqoa)”. Israel Exploration Journal 71(2): 204-223.
   

Books

• Ullman M. (2020). “The Early Pre-Pottery B Neolithic site at Nesher-Ramla Quarry (NRQN), Israel”. The Zinman Institute of Archeology, University of Haifa.

Chapters in books

• Hovers E., Ullman M., and Rak Y. (2017). “Palaeolithic Occupations in Nahal Amud”. In: Enzel Y., and Bar-Yosef O. (eds), Quaternary of the Levant - Environments, Climate Change, and Humans. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Pp. 255-266.
• Ullman M. (2020). “Chapter six - The groundstone assemblage”. In: M. Ullman (ed), The Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site at Nesher-Ramla Quarry (NRQN), Israel. Jerusalem. Pp. 75-112
• Ullman M., and Brailovsky L. (2020). “Chapter five - The flint assemblage”. In M. Ullman (ed), The Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site at Nesher-Ramla Quarry (NRQN), Israel. Jerusalem. Pp. 37-74.
• Frumkin A., and Ullman M. (2020). “Chapter two - The geology of an early Holocene sinkhole (NRQN) associated with hydrothermal karst, Israel”. In: M. Ullman (ed), The Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site at Nesher-Ramla Quarry (NRQN), Israel. Jerusalem. Pp. 9-16.

Conference Proceedings

• Ullman M., Hovers E., Goren-Inbar N., and Frumkin A. )2013(. “Levantine cave dwellers: geographic and environmental aspects of early human use of caves, case study from Wadi Amud, northern Israel”. Proceedings of 16th International Congress of Speleology. Vol. 1: 169-174, Brno.
• Sukenik N, Ulanowska A., Goshen N., Porat R., Klein E., Ganor A., Ullman M., and Davidovich U. (2020). “A New South Levantine Chalcolithic Tool and Its Possible Relations to Textile Manufacture. Redefining Ancient Textile Handcraft Structures, Tools and Production Processes”. Proceedings of the VIIth International Symposium on Textiles and Dyes in the Ancient Mediterranean World. Pp. 499-511. Granada.

Other publications

• Klein E., Davidovich U., Porat R., Ganor A. and Ullman M. (2017). In the Cave of the Skulls – Again. Biblical Archaeology Review 43 (4): 18-19, 57.

Hebrew Publications

Books

• Davidovich U., Frumkin A., Langford B., Lisker S., Porat R., Ullman M. (edited by Frumkin A.) (2015). Holey Land Atlas: Judean Desert Caves. The Hebrew University, Magnes Press, Jerusalem (in Hebrew).

Conference Proceedings

• Porat R., Amit D., Frumkin A., Ullman M., and Langford B. (2019). “The caves of Wadi Charitun (Nahal Tqoa)”. Studies on the land of Judea: Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Conference in Memory of Dr. David Amit. Pp. 9-32 (in Hebrew).
• Ullman M. and Davidovich U. (2019). “Keep the Dead at a Distance: Burials in the Depth of Complex Chalcolithic Caves in the Northern Negev”. In: D. Varga, Y. Abadi-Reiss, G. Lehmann, and D. Vainstub (eds). Worship and Burial in the Shfela and Negev Regions throughout the ages. Proceedings of the 15th Annual Joint Conference the Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and The Southern Regional Office of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Pp. 29-50 (in Hebrew).
• Klein E., Ganor A., Porat R., Ullman M., Sukenik N., and Davidovich U. (2020). “A renewed excavation in the “Large Cave Complex” in Nahal Ze’elim in the Judean Desert”. In: Y. Abadi-Reiss, D. Varga and G. Lehmann (eds). Desert Archaeology. Proceedings of the 16th Annual Joint Conference the Department of Bible, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and The Southern Regional Office of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Pp. 33-56 (in Hebrew).

Other publications

• Klein E., Sion O., Cohen C., and Ullman M. (2020). “Enot Qumeran (West): Preliminary Results”. Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel 132 (in Hebrew).
• Langford B., Davidovich U., Ullman M., and Amos F. (2021). “The caves of Nahal Hever”. Niqrot Zurim – Journal of the Israeli Cave Research Centre (ICRC) 21: 109-135.
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President Stipend 2018/19