Prehistory in Israel: From the First Humans to the First Villages

Four prehistoric sites to visit

Each one has its own page, with access details, how long to allow for the visit and a button to add it to your itinerary.

Western slope of Mount CarmelNahal Me'arot Caves: 500,000 Years of Human Evolution on Mount CarmelOn the western slope of Mount Carmel, four caves in a limestone cliff hold at least 500,000 years of human history, from Neanderthals to Natufian villages.View site →

Jordan Valley, south of the Sea of Galilee'Ubeidiya: Among the Oldest Human Sites Outside AfricaSouth of the Sea of Galilee, very early humans lived on the shore of a vanished lake. Their stone tools are among the oldest known outside Africa.View site →

Jordan Valley, south of the Sea of GalileeSha'ar HaGolan: the Museum of Yarmukian CultureOn the banks of the Yarmuk, a village around 8,000 years old gave its name to a prehistoric culture. The kibbutz's small museum displays its pottery and figurines.View site →

Galilee, north-west of the Sea of GalileeNahal Amud: The Valley of the Galilee NeanderthalsAbove the stream that runs down to the Sea of Galilee, a cave yielded Neanderthal skeletons. You can hike the valley, but you may not climb up to the cave.View site →

The Carmel caves are the most complete visit. 'Ubeidiya and the Sha'ar HaGolan museum, a few kilometres apart south of the Sea of Galilee, are easy to combine. At Nahal Amud you hike through the valley, but the cave itself is not accessible. Plan your itinerary with the Create my tour tool.

Five major sites closed to the public

These sites have contributed a great deal to research, but we have found no official information on visiting them.

Gesher Benot Ya'aqov: fire and cooked fish

Upper Jordan Valley, about 780,000 years ago. Tools, plant and animal remains, and the oldest known evidence of cooking food: fish that had been cooked, according to a 2022 study. In 2025, the Parks Authority announced that the site would open to the public “in the future”.

Sources: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2022 · Israel Nature and Parks Authority, 2025 (in Hebrew)

Qesem Cave: a hearth at the centre of the cave

Near Rosh HaAyin, 400,000 to 220,000 years ago. A central hearth about 300,000 years old, stone tools and thousands of bones of hunted animals. A few human teeth have been found, but which species they belong to is still debated. The site is protected, roofed and fenced.

Source: Tel Aviv University

Qafzeh Cave: Homo sapiens and ochre

South of Nazareth, about 100,000 years ago. The remains of up to fifteen Homo sapiens and 71 pieces of red ochre, found near the bones. The Smithsonian sees them as the oldest known intentional burials and a ritual use of ochre: these are interpretations.

Source: Smithsonian Institution

Eynan-Mallaha: a village before farming

Hula Valley, between 12,500 and 9,700 BCE (about 14,500 to 11,700 years before present). Round houses and Natufian burials: hunter-gatherers settle in a village, some three millennia before farming replaced hunting and gathering. Settling down is not yet farming.

Source: French Ministry of Culture

Motza: a large Neolithic village

West of Jerusalem, about 9,000 years ago. The largest prehistoric settlement discovered in Israel according to the Antiquities Authority, with 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants, alleys and courtyards. Not to be confused with the Iron Age temple at Tel Motza, some 6,000 years more recent.

Sources: ʿAtiqot 120, 2026 · Israel Antiquities Authority, 2019

Key dates, from oldest to most recent

• at least 1.9 million years — 'Ubeidiya, according to a 2026 study (1.2 to 1.6 million according to earlier estimates)
• about 780,000 years — Gesher Benot Ya'aqov: fire and cooking
• at least 500,000 years — first occupations of the Carmel caves
• 400,000 to 220,000 years — Qesem Cave
• about 100,000 years — Homo sapiens at Qafzeh and Skhul
• 70,000 to 50,000 years — Neanderthals of Amud Cave
• about 14,500 to 11,700 years — Natufian villages (Eynan, el-Wad on Mount Carmel)
• about 9,000 years — Motza, a large Neolithic village
• about 8,000 years — Sha'ar HaGolan, pottery and figurines

For what came next, the mound of Jericho and its Neolithic tower show the beginnings of village life on an open site.

Prehistory and the biblical narrative

Prehistory describes populations on the basis of dated remains; the Genesis account of origins does not place itself on a timeline. So we do not try to match these sites with Adam, Eve or Noah. The places that Jewish and Christian traditions associate with Adam and Eve are presented on our page The Origins.