Hilazon Tachtit is located in a small karstic cave half-way down the steep northern embankment of Wadi Hilazon in the Lower Galilee, northern Israel. It is one of the earliest specialized burial sites in the southern Levant. The artefacts associated with the human remains provide evidence that a wide range of activities took place in the cave including flint knapping, animal butchery, food preparation and consumption. Although many of the cultural remains appear mundane in nature, they were deposited as part of meaningful ritual events. This is especially true of the animal remains, such as tortoises and gazelles, whose large numbers, unique age profiles, and butchery patterns display strong evidence for feasting. In this cave a special woman, a shaman, was interred with unique grave inclusions. This burial, at the base of the first structure, may have given the cave symbolic and ritual values that served as an incentive to bury future dead alongside her.