Figure 1.--Here a group of children from Kibbutz Gvat in northern Israel ae exploring an archeological dig in 1975. It was located on the kibbutz or nearby. A reader asks, "Any idea what the cube with knobs, that the boy in the foreground is holding, is?" We puzzled over that but in fact have no idea. Given the way the boy is holding it, it could not have been very heavy.

Isrealis and Isreali academic instiyitions have given considerable effort to pursuing archeological studies. The country is rich in important sites to be studied. There is evidence of neolithic settlement throughout Israel. There are areas which attracted humans from earliest time. Archeologists have found evidence of human habitation dating back 16,000 years. Small tribal groups migrating out of Africa were channeled through the levant, especually coastal areas. Humans, probably following migrating heards, would have been attracted by freshwater springs or other topographical features that over time resulted in the foundation of villages or in more moder times kibbutzim. Human constructed buildings have neen dated to 10,000 years ago. As a result, many kibbutzim are located close to important archeological sites. Kibbutz members have taken an active part on the study and excavation of these sites in close cooperation with Israeli academic institutions. The kibbutz children are ecposed to the archeological sites which commonly include active digs from an early age. Many find the archeology fascinating. Some kibbutzim nearly important sites have set up museums based on the local findings.

Created: 7:23 PM 2/20/2011
Last updated: 4:24 PM 2/21/2011