Prehistoric Inhabitants of the Land of Israel Invented Recycling and the Barbecue

Archaeologists exploring Qesem cave, a prehistoric site outside of Tel Aviv, have been painstakingly reconstructing what life was like there 400,000 years ago, and how it changed. Residents of the cave seem to have discovered how to make fire an everyday part of food preparation, developed bone and flint tools, and learned to repair and recycle these tools. Some of the technological advances seem to have been spurred by the disappearance of elephants from the region, Isabel Kershner writes: