Man in the Gal'ed Hills
The first farmer, a Neolithic, like the Canaanite villager, the sattler in the Iron age, the Roman farmer and the Fallah in an Arab village - all built their homes of the same stones, under the same conditions, and each was part of a rural society that has been little studied.
The findings in the Museum of the mankind in the Galed Hills reflect the daily material culture of these people: the simple household vessels with modest decorative patterns, the offerings for the dead left in their tombs, work tools, implements of hunting and defense, game boards carved from stone and jewelry.
Archeological survey that were carried out beginning in the 1950s' revealed that since the early ceramic Neolithic era, around 10,000 years ago, and up to today, there has been continuous human settlement, expect for in two short periods.
The area of Ramat Menashe is a geologic syncline between the rises of the Mount Carmel to the north and Mount Amir and Samaria to the south. The plateau consists of soft limestone and contains levels of flint and layers of chalky soil and clay that are impervious to water. This rock chips and breaks easily and creates huge quantities of fieldstones in a variety of sizes, many of which can serve as natural "building blocks". The layers which are impervious to water, the poor soil and the average annual rainfall of around 650 mm, cause a strong flow in the streams during the winter months and create hundreds of small springs that well up along the waterways.
The Man behind the Museum
Michael Mayer was born very far from here, in Karlsruhe, Germany, a descendent of a renowned dynasty of Rabbis and rabbinic Sages from the city of Worms, son of a middle-class traditional family who owned a factory that produced oils and waxes for paraquat floors.
When asked once how he came to collect antiquities, Michael answered: "It turned out that the first olive grove planted by the kibbutz was right above a cemetery from 4,000 years ago! A hole that we dug hit a tomb that was not deep and parts of jugs rolled about the surface. I gathered them up, without knowing what they were..."
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