The Natufian culture is named for the Wadi Natuf between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv where it was first studied. The Natufian period had its beginnings about 10,000 B.C.E. These people lived in caves or in groups of small, round houses made of mudbrick. They participated in one of the great revolutions that changed human beings forever: the transition from food gathering to agriculture. Their art, which was both naturalistic and schematic, includes this polished, incised and carved bone depicting a young deer. It was probably a sickle shaft. The piece is about 4 1/4 inches long and is from one of the best-known Natufian sites, the Cave of el-Wad on Mt. Carmel.