Center of Excellence

Botany Research Sub-Group

Projects - Reconstructed habitats

The remains of seeds and fruits as well as those of woods suggest that the landscape and the land vegetation in which the GBY hominins lived were more or less similar to those prevailing today. The surroundings of the paleo-Lake Hula were then covered mainly by a park forest of Quercus ithaburensis and Pistacia atlantica, and maquis of Q. calliprinos.

Dry habitats

The park forest is represented by Mt. Tabor oak (Quercus ithaburensis) together with Atlantic pistachio (Pistacia atlantica) and officinal styrax (Styrax officinalis).

Mt.Tabor oak (Quercus ithaburensis), unripe acorn

Mt.Tabor oak (Quercus ithaburensis), with edible and sweet acorns

Atlantic pistachio (Pistacia atlantica) tree in the eastern Galilee near the Hula Valley

Wood and fruit remains of kermes oak (Q. calliprinos), common olive (Olea europaea) and the less frequent terebinth (Pistacia palaestina) represent Mediterranean maquis.

Savanna

The African savanna is represented by a few stones and wood fragments of wild jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) that appear mainly in Layer II-6.

Wild jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in the autumn with flowers

Wild jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in the autumn with ripening fruits

Wet habitats

Wet habitats are common near GBY and include riparian as well as water vegetation, which produced most of the plant material.

River and stream banks

River and stream banks are represented by wood and seed remains of riparian-forest plants such as willow (Salix), fig (Ficus carica) and Syrian ash (Fraxinus syriaca), the climber wild grapevine (Vitis sylvestris) and bushes of bramble (Rubus sp.).

Stream in the slope facing the Hula Valley from the east, with giant reed (Arundo), fig (Ficus carica), and holy bramble (Rubus sanctus)

Lake and marsh plants

Several categories of water plants were found: (a) emerging marsh plants are represented by small fruit remains of cattail (Typha sp.); (b) floating-leaf plants, which grew in the open waters of bays in the lake or ponds in the marshes, and which are represented by seed and fruit remains of common arrow-head (Sagittaria sagittifolia), prickly water lily (Euryale ferox) and pondweed (Potamogeton spp.); and (c) submerged plants, which had to compete with the floating-leaf plants for space, light and nutrients and which are represented by water-nymphs, such as Najas foveolata.

Agmon – renewed pool in the drained Hula Lake, with submerged floating-leaf and emergent water plants. The Golan Heights are seen in the background.

According to a preliminary zoning of these habitats, GBY was situated on the lake margin, between water habitats and park forest. To the south there was a savanna, and on the Golan Heights and the Galilee slopes, Mediterranean maquis.