Ain Mallaha (Eynan)
Eynan · Ain Mallaha · Mallaha
Late Natufian (c.12000–9600 BCE)·Natufian·🇮🇱 Hula Valley, Upper Galilee, Israel
About
About Ain Mallaha (Eynan)
Natufian open-air hamlet (c.12000–9600 BCE) at the Hula lake edge, excavated by Jean Perrot. Over 50 round semi-subterranean stone houses with plastered floors, storage pits and burials document the first sedentary forager village in the Levant. Houses yielded dog burials (earliest domesticated), fish hooks and Dentalium beads.
Why it mattersKey Hula Valley, Upper Galilee sequence for Late Natufian (c.12000–9600 BCE); sedentary fishing–hunting base with storage and cemetery.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology of Ain Mallaha (Eynan) relative to neighbouring centres?
Theories
- 01Regional centre hypothesis for Hula Valley
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.12000 BCE
- Period
- Late Natufian (c.12000–9600 BCE)
- Culture
- Natufian
- Builders
- Natufian communities
- Purpose
- Sedentary fishing–hunting base with storage and cemetery
- Abandoned
- c. 9600 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 20th century survey
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1960
Foundation/earliest horizon
1980
Major excavations
2020
Conservation/monitoring
On the ground
Structures & features
33.0880° N · 35.5770° E · 75 m · 2 mapped features
Natufian round houses
structureStone semi-subterranean houses with plastered floors and hearths
33.0882° N · 35.5773° EDog–human burial
graveDouble burial with puppy alongside human (earliest dog)
33.0878° N · 35.5767° E