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

Type, Shape and Composition: The Middle Bronze Age II Daggers in Rishon le-Zion, Israel

A rich assemblage of Middle Bronze Age II daggers from the Rishon le-Zion excavations in Israel was studied. These daggers were  found to be made of tin-bronze, arsenical copper or copper with tin and arsenic. Relations between type, shape and composition are established, showing that greater control of composition and shape are directly related to the production of more stylish decorated objects

Continuity and Discontinuity in the Shephela (Israel) between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze I: The Modi’in “Deep Deposits” Ceramic assemblages as a case study

Modi’in, located in the centre of Israel, is one of the rare sites presenting a sequence of occupations covering the end of the 5th millenium and the first half of the 4th millennium BC. The technological study of the ceramic assemblages enables us to re-examine the difficult question of continuity and/ or discontinuity between the Late Chalcolithic and the earliest Early Bronze Age I cultures in this region. Results show that between the end of the Late Chalcolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age I, there is continuity in the ways of making utilitarian vessels, but discontinuity in the ways of fashioning ceremonial vessels. Moreover, a new functional category of ceramics appears characteristic for the region and whose properties bring them closer to those of ceremonial vessels. Those features argue in favour of both a phylogenetic link between Northern Negev Ghassulian populations and people living in the Shephela (the western piedmont of the Judea-Samaria incline), and a reorganisation of those societies during a transitional period, including the post-Ghassulian (Late Chalcolithic 2) and the very beginning of the Early Bronze Age I.Modi’in, localisé dans le centre d’Israël, est l’un des rares sites qui offre une séquence d’occupations couvrant la première moitié du IVe millénaire avant notre ère. L’étude technologique des assemblages céramiques permet de ré-examiner la question délicate de la continuité et/ ou discontinuité entre le Chalcolithique fi nal et le Bronze ancien I de cette région. Les résultats montrent qu’entre la fi n du Chalcolithique final et le début du Bronze ancien I, il existe une continuité dans les manières de faire les vaisselles utilitaires, mais une rupture dans la fabrication de bols à valeur cérémonielle. À cela, s’ajoute l’apparition d’une catégorie fonctionnelle propre à cette région et dont les propriétés les rapprochent des bols à valeur cérémonielle. Ces résultats argumentent en faveur à la fois d’un lien phylogénétique entre les populations Ghassouliennes du Nord Néguev et de la Shéphéla (région située entre les monts de Judée et la plaine côtière), et d’une réorganisation de ces sociétés au cours d’une période transitionnelle comprenant le post-Ghassoulien et le début du Bronze ancien I.Roux Valentine, Van den Brink Edwin C. M., Shalev Sariel. Continuity and Discontinuity in the Shephela (Israel) between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze I: The Modi’in “Deep Deposits” Ceramic assemblages as a case study. In: Paléorient, 2013, vol. 39, n°1. The Transition Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant. pp. 63-81

Continuity and Discontinuity in the Shephela (Israel) between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze I: The Modi'in "Deep Deposits" Ceramic Assemblages as a Case Study

International audienceModi’in, located in the centre of Israel, is one of the rare sites presenting a sequence ofoccupations covering the end of the 5th millenium and the first half of the 4th millennium BC. Thetechnological study of the ceramic assemblages enables us to re-examine the difficult question of continuity and/ or discontinuity between the Late Chalcolithic and the earliest Early Bronze Age I cultures in this region. Results show that between the end of the Late Chalcolithic and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age I, there is continuity in the ways of making utilitarian vessels, but discontinuity in the ways of fashioning ceremonial vessels. Moreover, a new functional category of ceramics appears characteristic for the region and whose properties bring them closer to those of ceremonial vessels. Those features argue in favour of both a phylogenetic link between Northern Negev Ghassulian populations and people living in the Shephela (the western piedmont of the Judea-Samaria incline), and a reorganisation of those societies during a transitional period, including the post-Ghassulian (Late Chalcolithic 2) and the very beginning of the Early Bronze Age I."Modi’in, localisé dans le centre d’Israël, est l’un des rares sites qui offre une séquence d’occupations couvrant la première moitié du IVe millénaire avant notre ère. L’étude technologique des assemblages céramiques permet de ré-examiner la question délicate de la continuité et/ ou discontinuité entre le Chalcolithique fi nal et le Bronze ancien I de cette région. Les résultats montrent qu’entre la fi n du Chalcolithique final et le début du Bronze ancien I, il existe une continuité dans les manières de faire les vaisselles utilitaires, mais une rupture dans la fabrication de bols à valeur cérémonielle. À cela, s’ajoute l’apparition d’une catégorie fonctionnelle propre à cette région et dont les propriétés les rapprochent des bols à valeur cérémonielle. Ces résultats argumentent en faveur à la fois d’un lien phylogénétique entre les populations Ghassouliennes du Nord Néguev et de la Shéphéla (région située entre les monts de Judée et la plaine côtière), et d’une réorganisation de ces sociétés au cours d’une période transitionnelle comprenant le post-Ghassoulien et le début du Bronze ancien I." (source éditeur

Compositional Analyses of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age Ceramics from the Indo-Iranian Borderlands and southern Central Asia: Preliminary Results and Interpretations

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