The first appearance of humans in the region occurred approximately 500,000 years ago. Early humans lived as hunter-gatherers in open encampments on the Hamra (red sandy loam) hills and near the forest, utilizing it as a source of food - both plant and animal. Depending on the availability of water sources, such as swamps and streams, prehistoric humans migrated in small groups across the hills. At their encampment sites, they left behind remnants of their culture: rough flint tools, primarily hand axes, made from flint nodules brought from the foothills of the Samaria Mountains to the east. Most Paleolithic (Lower Acheulean culture, 500,000–200,000 BCE) sites in the Sharon region are located in its eastern part, on the Hamra hills.
In the Tel Mond bloc, two Paleolithic open-air encampment sites with concentrations of hand axes are known:
Map Reference 14041832, west of Herut. Flint tools were collected by Ze’ev Oren (Jobe) and Yeruham Levin of Herut, and handed over to the late Dr. David Gilad for research. (This site also contains Epipaleolithic and Neolithic material.)
Plot 280, west of Ein Vered. Artifacts were collected by Danny Zilberman of Ein Vered.
During the Epipaleolithic period, including the Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran cultures (17,000–10,500 BCE), humans continued to rely on hunting and gathering, though their subsistence methods became more advanced. These were nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers who left behind open-air encampments on hilltops containing traces of daily life and craftsmanship. Based on findings from contemporaneous sites in northern Sharon, they hunted gazelle, cattle, deer, fallow deer, and wild boar, typically near water sources beyond the hills, and gathered plant foods. This period marks the beginning of wild grain harvesting and processing for food - an important milestone in the transition from hunting-gathering to food production and animal domestication.
Although permanent settlements with permanent structures appear toward the end of this era, in the Tel Mond area only temporary hunter-gatherer encampments have been identified. These are characterized by microlithic flint industries - tiny flint tools that were parts of more complex tools used for hunting, fishing, and processing materials such as leather, wood, and bone.
Known Epipaleolithic Sites in Tel Mond:
Map Reference 14041832, west of Herut.
West of Ein Vered. (Artifacts collected by Danny Zilberman.)
In the Neolithic period, particularly during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8,300–6,000 BCE), the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and animal domestication reached its peak. Human society exhibited a range of lifestyles, from hunters and pastoralists to highly developed agrarian village life. Material culture from this period is rich in tools, some made of imported materials indicating early trade.
In the Tel Mond area, concentrations of characteristic flint tools found atop the Hamra hills suggest temporary encampments of migrating groups. These may have moved seasonally from east to west along river valleys. The prevalence of axes and flint adzes in eastern Sharon sites, compared to the abundance of arrowheads in western sites, supports the hypothesis that eastern inhabitants may have been clearing forests and preparing land for agriculture, while those in the west continued subsisting on hunting and gathering. These may have been the same populations during different seasons.
Neolithic Pre-Pottery B Culture Sites in Tel Mond (not fully excavated):
Kadmia area (now outside the Tel Mond bloc): Flint waste collected by Eli Yanai.
Southeast of Ein Vered (near the packing house): Flint adzes, arrowheads, and flakes discovered by Danny Zilberman.
West of Herut, Map Ref. 14041832: Contains hand axes and Epipaleolithic material.
West of Herut, Map Ref. 13881817, west of the Byzantine site.
Sources:
Ronen, A., Lamdan, M., 1990, “Prehistory in the Sharon” in: The Sharon Between Carmel and Yarkon, Ministry of Defense, pp. 149–160.
Goren, Orna, 1992, Lord’s House Archive, File: Archaeological Findings in the Tel Mond Bloc.