Introduction. Leave no stone unturned: Perspectives on ground stone artefact research

Ground stone tools served in many physical and social contexts through millennia, reflecting a wide variety of functions. Although ground stone tool studies were neglected for much of early archaeology, the last few decades witnessed a notable international uptick in the way archaeologists confront this multifaceted topic. Today, with the advance of archaeology as a discipline, research into ground stone artefacts is moving into a new phase that integrates high resolution documentation with new methodological, analytical techniques, and technological approaches. These open new vistas for an array of studies and wide-ranging interpretive endeavours related to understanding ground stone tool production and use. Inspired by these diverse analytical approaches and interpretive challenges, we founded the international Association for Ground Stone Tools Research (AGSTR) in order to promote dialogue and create an optimal, inclusive arena for scholars studying various aspects of ground stone artefacts. Scholars from around the globe met for a five day conference at the University of Haifa, for the first meeting of the newly founded AGSTR. This included the presentation of 47 papers and 17 posters. The current paper serves as an introduction to this special issue of JLS, devoted to the proceedings of the founding conference of the Association for Ground Stone Tool Research, held at the University of Haifa during July 2015

Conventions in fresh water fishing in the prehistoric southern Levant: The evidence from the study of Neolithic Beisamoun notched pebbles

[Research Article]Fishing gear is not frequently found in archaeological sites in the southern Levant. Bone hooks were found as early as the later Epipalaeolithic period (mainly in Natufian culture sites) and continue to appear in small numbers until the Chalcolithic period, when the first copper hooks are found. But for most sites, we have scant information about fishing gear or techniques. The paucity of fishing gear in archaeological assemblages is notable and holds true for sites near the former Mediterranean Sea shore and for inland sites situated near fresh water sources. This may be attributed to preservation issues, in part, but also seems to reflect preferences in the selection of raw material for making various fishing implements. The present paper discusses a specific type of fishing gear, the notched pebbles. These implements are small pebbles with various degrees of modification - sometime including notable modification of the original pebble by flaking and sometimes only slightly modifying it by creating the two opposed notches. We will use the assemblage found at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun, in the Hula Valley, northern Israel as a test-case for discussing raw material and other preferences and long-term aspects of conventions in fresh water fishing gear

Ein Qedem 2. A Kebaran site in Nahal Galim, Mount Carmel, Israel

Ein Qedem 2 (EQ2) is an open-air Kebaran site (Early Epipalaeolithic period, ca. 22 000 –17 500 calBP) located on the slope of Mount Carmel, Israel. The site is a part of a complex of prehistoric sites situated around the perennial spring of Ein Qedem and near the outskirts of the city of Haifa. EQ2, located near affluent sources of flint, presents ample evidence for Kebaran flint knapping. The rich flint assemblage provides valuable information concerning the microlithic industry, one of the hallmarks of the Epipalaeolithic period in this region.Ein Qedem 2 (EQ2) je najdišče na prostem, ki datira v obdobje Kebaran (zgodnji epipaleolitik, ok. 22000–17500 calBP), in se nahaja na pobočjih gore Carmel v Izraelu. Najdišče predstavlja del kompleksa prazgodovinskih najdišč, ki se nahajajo v okolici trajnega izvira Ein Qedem in na obrobju mesta Haifa. EQ2, ki se nahaja v bližini bogatih virov kremena, nudi veliko dokazov o kebaranski tehniki obdelave kamnitih orodij. Bogat inventar kremenovih orodij nudi dragocene podatke o mikrolitski industriji, ki predstavlja enega izmed razpoznavnih znakov obdobja epipaleolitika v tej regiji

Introduction. Leave no stone unturned: Perspectives on ground stone artefact research

Ground stone tools served in many physical and social contexts through millennia, reflecting a wide variety of functions. Although ground stone tool studies were neglected for much of early archaeology, the last few decades witnessed a notable international uptick in the way archaeologists confront this multifaceted topic. Today, with the advance of archaeology as a discipline, research into ground stone artefacts is moving into a new phase that integrates high resolution documentation with new methodological, analytical techniques, and technological approaches. These open new vistas for an array of studies and wide-ranging interpretive endeavours related to understanding ground stone tool production and use. Inspired by these diverse analytical approaches and interpretive challenges, we founded the international Association for Ground Stone Tools Research (AGSTR) in order to promote dialogue and create an optimal, inclusive arena for scholars studying various aspects of ground stone artefacts. Scholars from around the globe met for a five day conference at the University of Haifa, for the first meeting of the newly founded AGSTR. This included the presentation of 47 papers and 17 posters. The current paper serves as an introduction to this special issue of JLS, devoted to the proceedings of the founding conference of the Association for Ground Stone Tool Research, held at the University of Haifa during July 2015

A Large Copper Artefacts Assemblage of Fazael, Jordan Valley: New Evidence of Late Chalcolithic Copper Metallurgy in the Southern Levant

Late Chalcolithic metallurgy developed in the southern Levant simultaneously with other crafts and new social institutions, reflecting advances in social organization, cults and technology. Until recently, copper items were mostly found in the Negev and Judean Desert, while other areas, specifically the Jordan Valley, were considered poor, with limited copper finds. Recent excavations at Late Chalcolithic Fazael in the Jordan Valley yielded dozens of copper items that allow for the first time a comprehensive study of copper items from this area. The assemblage is one of the largest of any site in the Late Chalcolithic period and includes most of the known components of the Late Chalcolithic copper industry. The current paper presents the new metallurgical discoveries from the Fazael Basin and discusses their significance to our understanding of the Late Chalcolithic copper industry.Pozno halkolitska metalurgija se je razvila v južni Levanti sočasno z drugimi obrtmi in novimi družbenimi inštitucijami, kar odraža napredek v družbeni organizaciji, kultu in tehnologiji. Do nedavnega so bakrene predmete večinoma našli v Negevski in Judejski puščavi, medtem ko so druga območja, med njimi zlasti dolina reke Jordan, veljala za prostor z omejenimi najdbami iz bakra. Nedavno so izkopavanja na pozno halkolitskem najdišču Fazael v dolini reke Jordan prinesla na desetine bakrenih predmetov, ki nam prvič omogočajo celovito študijo bakrenih izdelkov s tega območja. Ta zbir je eden največjih iz kateregakoli najdišča iz časa poznega halkolitika in vključuje večino znanih sestavnih delov industrije bakra iz tega obdobja. V članku predstavljamo nove izsledke o metalurgiji bakra iz bazena Fazael in razpravljamo o pomenu teh najdb pri razumevanju te industrije v poznem halkolitiku

The organization of basanite bifacial production at Giv’at Kipod Quarry, Israel: Towards an ‘Alyawara Day’ model of extraction

Hunter gatherers as well as farmers used a variety of lithic raw materials to shape their world, in which some were perceived as having symbolic or mythical content. While the anthropological literature demonstrates that the extraction of raw materials of special significance was often performed differently from that of other more 'ordinary' raw materials, identifying this in the archaeological record is difficult. In this paper we wish to shed new light on this topic using the Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic basanite bifacial tool production site of Giv‛at Kipod, Israel. In the southern Levant basalt axes and adzes have long been understood to embody greater symbolic content than the flint axes and adzes that dominate the Neolithic and Chalcolithic bifacial assemblages. By comparing the results from our excavations at the site of Giv‛at Kipod to other production and extraction sites we exhibit how the organization of production was different than that related to the more common flint extraction in the region. While at most production and extractions sites the manufacture of various types of items is documented and the presence of tools, especially ad hoc tools, indicates that a variety of activities were performed at the locale of extraction, in the case of Giv‛at Kipod the production was focused solely on the manufacture of bifacials with a marked lack of evidence of other significant activities. We attempt to provide guidelines to characterize different exploitation patterns between raw materials of varied social significance using these differences

A grid-like incised pattern inside a Natufian bedrock mortar, Raqefet Cave, Israel

[Report]Bedrock features are a hallmark of the Natufian (ca. 15,000-11,500 cal BP) in the southern Levant and beyond and they include a large variety of types, from deep variants to shallow ones and from narrow mortars to wide basins. They are usually interpreted as food preparation facilities, associated with Natufian intensification of cereal and acorn consumption. However, inside the shaft of one deep narrow Natufian mortar at the entrance to Raqefet Cave (Mt. Carmel, Israel), we found a set of grid-like incisions accompanied by irregular lines. This pattern is similar in the general impression and the details of execution to incised stone slabs and objects found in other Natufian sites. As in several other Natufian objects, the incised patterns were hardly visible at the time, due to their light appearance and concealed location. The engraving act and symbolic meaning of the contents were likely more important than the display of the results. Furthermore, the Raqefet mortar was incorporated in a structured complex that also included a slab pavement and a boulder mortar. Thus, the complex motif, the specific feature it was carved on (inside a deep mortar), the associated features, and the location at the entrance to a burial cave all suggest an elaborate ceremonial and symbolic system

Malignant Granular Cell Tumor of the Back: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Malignant granular cell tumors are rare, intensely aggressive entities. This paper presents a case of a large rapidly recurrent malignant granular cell tumor with regional and distal metastases on the back of a 54-year-old Cuban man. The primary tumor recurred within six months of the original wide local excision and with satellite lesions apparent at twelve months, and the mass was diagnosed using the histological criteria established by Fanburg-Smith et al. for malignant granular cell tumors. By fifteen months, right axillary lymphadenopathy, multiple satellite lesions, pulmonary nodules, and distant metastasis in the right thigh were present. At sixteen months, wide local excision of recurrent mass and local satellite masses along with right axillary dissection and placement of Integra with subsequent split-thickness skin graft were performed by surgical oncology and plastic surgery teams. The surgical specimen measured 32.0 × 13.5 × 5.5 cm, containing multiple homogeneous masses with the largest mass 22.0 × 9.0 × 4.6 cm. Following surgery, patient was started on Pazopanib 800 mg/day based on phase III randomized trial data in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas showing this as a potential novel therapy for malignant granular cell tumors

Raw material variability as archaeological tools: Preliminary results from a geochemical study of the basalt vessel workshop at Iron Age Tel Hazor, Israel

The discovery of a basalt vessel workshop at Tel Hazor, one of the most important Iron Age sites in the Near East, marks a turning point in our understanding of stone artifact production and distribution during the1st millennium BCE. It offers a rare opportunity to characterize ancient raw material sources, production sites, and study production, trade and distribution systems. The basalt vessel workshop, the only one of its kind in the Levant, produced large quantities of bowl preforms and production waste. To better understand the production and distribution systems behind this specialized production center, in 2011 we initiated a focused geochemical project that concentrated on the products of this unique workshop.  We measured the major and trace element composition of 44 unfinished basalt vessels from the workshop and other contexts at Hazor, and can demonstrate that the majority of these objects were derived from one specific, geochemically well-constrained, basaltic rock source. Only a few bowls clearly deviate from this geochemical composition and were produced using raw material from other sources. Thus, we believe that one major quarry existed that supplied the Hazor workshop with the majority of the basaltic raw material. The products from this specific extraction site provide us with a “Hazor reference group” that can be used to test whether or not finished vessels from Hazor and contemporary sites were produced in the Hazor workshop