Design and Performance of Microlith Implemented Projectiles During the Middle and the Late Epipaleolithic of the Levant: Experimental and Archaeological Evidence

The study comprises an experimentally based investigation of interaction between temporal change in the morphology of microlithic tools and transformations in projectile technology during the Late Pleistocene in the Levant. Archery experiments with differently designed arrows fitted with various types of microliths representing subsequent Epipaleolithic cultures of the Levant allowed analyzing performance abilities of the arrows, identifying projectile damage types characteristic of particular hafting modes, detecting factors influencing the frequency of projectile damage and estimating the frequency of projectile damage expected to be found in archaeological samples. The data obtained through the experiments applied in the analysis of the archaeological microliths from Geometric Kebaran and Natufian sites in Israel indicate different approaches to the design of projectiles fitted with microliths characteristic for these cultures. The shift in design, associated with such important economic and social transformations as transition to sedentary settlements and a broad-spectrum economy, may reflect a demand for light, flexible and efficient projectile weapons requiring low time and labor investment for preparation and retooling. The use of such efficient weapons in conditions of growing population density and restricted areas available for Natufian hunter–gatherers can be considered as one of the factors that could have affected the subsequent transition to food production that took place in the early Holocene.Anthropolog

Experimentally obtained examples of projectile damage: cases of similar fracture types on microlithic tips and side elements

This paper presents experimentally obtained examples of microlithic tools hafted as tips and as side elements of projectile weapons exhibiting similar types of macro-damage diagnostic of impact. Considering the wide range of designs represented by archaeological finds of projectiles fitted with microliths these examples emphasize the importance of a comprehensive approach to interpreting variability in microlithic assemblages with regard to the function of these projectile tools

The obsidian assemblages from the Wadi Rabah occupations at Ein Zippori, Israel

A total of 266 obsidian items were found during four seasons of excavation at the Late Prehistoric site of Ein Zippori, Israel. Most of the assemblage was assigned to the Wadi Rabah culture. The obsidian artefacts originated in three Anatolian sources – Cappadocian Göllü Dağ and eastern Anatolian Bingöl A and B. Several colour and texture differences were noticed on some of the items from the different sources. The presence of items such as flakes, blades, core trimming elements, cores and tools reflect some on-site production. The high ratio of tools and bladelet segments to other debitage items may indicate an import of prepared bladelets and tools to the site as well. Pressure was dominantly used, probably alongside percussion, and signs of non-specialized production may be apparent. Tool design and retouch characteristics point to a highly standardized transverse arrowhead production (or import), several different bead-making traditions, and a distinction between the shaping (retouch) of blade and bladelet tools, perhaps indicating a distinction in use.Au cours de quatre campagnes de fouille sur le site préhistorique d’Ein Zippori (Israël), 266 objets en obsidienne ont été trouvés. La plus grande partie de l’assemblage a été datée de la culture de Wadi Rabah. Les outils en obsidienne proviennent de trois sources en Anatolie – Göllü Dağ en Cappadoce et Bingöl A et B en Anatolie orientale. Plusieurs nuances dans la couleur et la texture ont été observées sur certains objets provenant de ces trois sources. La présence d’objets, tels qu’éclats, lames et CTE, nucléus et outils, reflète une production sur place. La fréquence élevée d’outils et de fragments de lamelles par rapport aux autres pièces débitées pourrait également être l’indication d’une importation de lamelles préparées et d’outils. L’utilisation de la pression prédominait parallèlement à la percussion, probablement, et des indices de production non spécialisée apparaissent. Le type d’outil et les caractères de la retouche indiquent une production hautement standardisée (ou une importation) de pointes de flèche transverses ; l’existence de plusieurs traditions dans la confection de perles et la retouche différente des lames et lamelles suggèrent peut-être un usage distinct.Schechter Heeli C., Gopher Avi, Getzov Nimrod, Rice Erin, Yaroshevich Alla, Milevski Ianir. The obsidian assemblages from the Wadi Rabah occupations at Ein Zippori, Israel. In: Paléorient, 2016, vol. 42, n°1. pp. 27-48

Iconographic motifs from the 6th–5th millennia BC in the Levant and Mesopotamia: Clues for cultural connections and existence of an interaction sphere

Several objects bearing unusual motifs have recently been recovered during salvage excavations and surveys of sites in Israel dated to the 6th– 5th millennia BC. In the southern Levantine examples (Hagoshrim, Neve Yam and Ein Zippori), these motifs appear on bone objects and stone palettes in strata identified with the Early Chalcolithic of the Wadi Rabah and post-Wadi Rabah cultures. In Mesopotamia (Ashur, Mari) these motifs appear on stone stelae. In the case of Ashur the context of the items bearing the motifs is unclear, while in the case of Mari, the stele probably represents an heirloom found in a later context. Other shared iconographic motifs between the Southern Levant and these regions dating to the 6th and 5th millennia are schematic representations in stone of ram’s heads, possibly representing personal amulets. These are associated in the north with the Halafian culture (Domüztepe), and in the south (Kabri, Hagoshrim) with Early Chalcolithic cultural entities. Here we analyze these motifs and other objects in common from these geographically distant regions, and suggest that together they constitute an ‘ interaction sphere’. This reiterates the proposal advanced years ago by J. Kaplan, but which was overlooked for several decades, concerning the relations between the southern Wadi Rabah culture and the northern Halafian cultures.Plusieurs objets gravés de motifs peu habituels ont été récemment découverts lors de prospections et de fouilles de sauvetage en Israël sur des sites datés des 6e et 5e millénaires av. J.-C. Au Levant Sud (Hagoshrim, Neve Yam et Ein Zippori), ces motifs s’observent sur des objets en os et des palettes en pierre attribués au Chalcolithique ancien du Wadi Rabah et aux cultures post-Wadi Rabah. En Mésopotamie (Assur, Mari), ils sont gravés sur des stèles en pierre. Dans le cas d’Assur le contexte de découverte de cet objet n’est pas connu alors qu’en ce qui concerne Mari, la stèle a été trouvée dans un contexte tardif et pourrait constituer une réappropriation. D’autres motifs iconographiques partagés entre le Levant Sud et ces régions datent des 6e et 5e millénaires et sont des représentations schématiques sur pierre de têtes de bélier, qui pourraient être des amulettes personnelles. Celles-ci sont associées dans le Nord à la culture Halaf (Domüztepe), et dans le Sud (Kabri, Hagoshrim) au Chalcolithique ancien. Nous analysons ici ces motifs et d’autres objets communs à des régions géographiquement éloignées et nous suggérons que celles-ci constituent ensemble une «sphère d’interaction » . Cette proposition réitère celle avancée par J. Kaplan il y a des années, mais qui a été négligée pendant plusieurs décennies, et qui défend des relations entretenues entre la culture Wadi Rabah au Sud et la culture Halaf au Nord.Milevski Ianir, Getzov Nimrod, Galili Ehud, Yaroshevich Alla, Kolska Horwitz Liora R. Iconographic motifs from the 6th–5th millennia BC in the Levant and Mesopotamia: Clues for cultural connections and existence of an interaction sphere. In: Paléorient, 2016, vol. 42, n°2. Connections and Disconnections between the Northern and Southern Levant in the Late Prehistory and Protohistory (12th – mid-2nd mill, BC) pp. 135-149

A Unique Assemblage of Engraved Plaquettes from Ein Qashish South, Jezreel Valley, Israel: Figurative and Non-Figurative Symbols of Late Pleistocene Hunters-Gatherers in the Levant

Three engraved limestone plaquettes from the recently excavated Epipaleolithic open-air site Ein Qashish South in the Jezreel Valley, Israel comprise unique evidence for symbolic behavior of Late Pleistocene foragers in the Levant. The engravings, uncovered in Kebaran and Geometric Kebaran deposits (ca. 23ka and ca. 16.5ka BP), include the image of a bird—the first figurative representation known so far from a pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic—along with geometric motifs such as chevrons, crosshatchings and ladders. Some of the engravings closely resemble roughly contemporary European finds interpreted as "systems of notations" or "artificial memory systems"–records related to timing of seasonal resources and associated aggregation events of nomadic groups. Moreover, similarly looking signs and patterns are well known from the context of the local Natufian—a final Epipaleolithic culture of sedentary or semi-sedentary foragers who started practicing agriculture. The investigation of the engravings found in Ein Qashish South involves conceptualizations developed in studies of European and local parallels, a selection of ethnographic examples and preliminary microscopic observations of the plaquettes. This shows that the figurative and non-figurative images comprise a coherent assemblage of symbols that might have been applied in order to store, share and transmit information related to social and subsistence realms of mobile bands. It further suggests that the site functioned as a locality of groups' aggregation and indicates social complexity of pre-Natufian foragers in the Levant. While alterations in social and subsistence strategies can explain the varying frequency of image use characterizing different areas of the Late Pleistocene world—the apparent similarity in graphics and the mode of their application support the possibility that symbol-mediated behavior has a common and much earlier origin

The ladder plaquette.

<p>Above: photograph, reprinted from [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0160687#pone.0160687.ref028" target="_blank">28</a>] under a CC BY license, with permission from Antiquity journal, original copyright [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0160687#pone.0160687.ref028" target="_blank">28</a>].” Below: 3D scanning.</p

Bald Ibis.

<p>By courtesy of Daniel Berkowic, Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Natural History Collections.</p