Photos: Israel's largest Neolithic excavation
Neolithic site
Archaeologists are excavating the largest known Neolithic site in Israel.
[Read more about the Neolithic Excavation]
Ancient settlement
The site is about 9,000 years old. It was likely a crop-farming community that also kept goats and other animals.
Big excavation
Archaeologists Hamoudi Khalaily (right) and Jacob Vardi (left), directors of the excavations at Motza on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, inspect the site.
Stone figurine
A 9,000-year-old figurine found at the site that depicts a human face.
An ox
A stone figurine of an ox found at the Neolithic site.
Obsidian beads
Archaeologists found beads made of obsidian (volcanic glass) at the site that came from Anatolia, which is now modern-day Turkey.
Little bracelets
The archaeologists unearthed many small bracelets, which were likely worn on the upper arm by children.
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Flint knife
This flint knife is one of the thousands of flint tools found at the Neolithic site.
Spearhead
Other groups continued to use the site after the Neolithic. This spearhead — found buried in a warrior's tomb — dates to the middle Bronze Age.
Stony site
Archaeologists excavate the stony site.
Bird's-eye view
Archaeologists have covered part of the site with a tent to protect it from the elements.
Laura is the archaeology and Life's Little Mysteries editor at Live Science. She also reports on general science, including paleontology. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Scholastic, Popular Science and Spectrum, a site on autism research. She has won multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting at a weekly newspaper near Seattle. Laura holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in science writing from NYU.