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 micro-geoarchaeological view on stratigraphy and site formation processes in the Middle, Upper and Epi-Paleolithic layers of Sefunim Cave, Mt. Carmel, Israel

This paper presents a micro-geoarchaeological study carried out on the sedimentary sequence exposed at the entrance of Sefunim Cave, Israel, a sequence that spans from the Middle Paleolithic to the early Epipaleolithic periods. Using FTIR and micromorphological techniques, we investigated the stratigraphic sequence to reconstruct patterns of site use and archaeological formation processes. We identified formation processes that are common among Paleolithic caves sites in the Southern Levant, mainly the deposition of local terra rossa through colluvial sedimentation. Taphonomic disturbances of the deposits range from minimal to moderate, exhibited mainly by root and burrowing activity, but with no evidence for significant transport of archaeological materials. While the upper layers (II–III) are decalcified, the precipitation of secondary calcite results in increasing cementation of the sediments with depth in the lower layers (V–VII). We observed variation at the microscopic scale and identified an inverse correlation between human and carnivore activity throughout the layers. We observed human activity by the presence of micro-archaeological materials such as chert, bone, charcoal, rubified clay, burnt bone and shell, and wood ash. We observed carnivore activity by the presence of phosphatic grains and coprolite fragments as well as chewed and digested bones. We conclude that human activity at the site was characterized by episodes of varying intensity, based on the frequency of archaeological finds within the different layers. The alternating episodes of human and carnivore activity at Sefunim Cave may demonstrate the close-knit interactions and reciprocal relations that humans and carnivore shared at Paleolithic caves.publishedVersio

Manual restrictions on Palaeolithic technological behaviours

The causes of technological innovation in the Palaeolithic archaeological record are central to understanding Plio-Pleistocene hominin behaviour and temporal trends in artefact variation. Palaeolithic archaeologists frequently investigate the Oldowan-Acheulean transition and technological developments during the subsequent million years of the Acheulean technocomplex. Here, we approach the question of why innovative stone tool production techniques occur in the Lower Palaeolithic archaeological record from an experimental biomechanical and evolutionary perspective. Nine experienced flintknappers reproduced Oldowan flake tools, ‘early Acheulean’ handaxes, and ‘late Acheulean’ handaxes while pressure data were collected from their non-dominant (core-holding) hands. For each flake removal or platform preparation event performed, the percussor used, the stage of reduction, the core securing technique utilised, and the relative success of flake removals were recorded. Results indicate that more heavily reduced, intensively shaped handaxes with greater volumetric controls do not necessarily require significantly greater manual pressure than Oldowan flake tools or earlier ‘rougher’ handaxe forms. Platform preparation events do, however, require significantly greater pressure relative to either soft or hard hammer flake detachments. No significant relationships were identified between flaking success and pressure variation. Our results suggest that the preparation of flake platforms, a technological behaviour associated with the production of late Acheulean handaxes, could plausibly have been restricted prior to the emergence of more forceful precision-manipulative capabilities than those required for earlier lithic technologies

New evidence for the Anatolian origins of ‘Khirbet Kerak Ware people’ at Tel Bet Yerah (Israel), ca 2800 BC

High-resolution excavation at Tel Bet Yerah of contexts associated with large quantities of Khirbet Kerak Ware (KKW), as well as contexts associated with local-tradition pottery both preceding and contemporary with the KKW contexts, have allowed us to extend the definition of the KKW cultural complex. Wattle and daub, polished and fired clay furnishings, a distinct lithic technology, clay andirons, symbolic objects and ground-stone artefacts can all be attributed to the KKW contexts. They differ markedly from the local tradition and find ample precedents in the ETC/ Kura-Araxes world of Eastern Anatolia and the Upper Euphrates region. These fi nds lend greater credence to the approach that sees the introduction of KKW in the Levant ca 2800 BCE as evidence of kin-based group migration.A Tel Bet Yerah, la fouille intensive de contextes associés à de grandes quantités de céramique Khirbet-Kerak (KKW), ainsi que de contextes associés à la poterie de tradition locale, qu’ils soient antérieurs aux contextes KKW ou contemporains, nous a permis d’élargir la définition du complexe culturel KKW. L’usage du torchis, le mobilier en terre cuite polie, une technologie lithique particulière, les supports de foyers en argile, des objets symboliques et des éléments de mobilier lourd en pierre, peuvent tous être attribués aux contextes KKW. Ils diffèrent nettement de la tradition locale et trouvent de nombreux précédents dans le monde ETC / Kura-Araxe en Anatolie orientale et dans le Haut Euphrate. Ces découvertes donnent plus de crédibilité à l’approche qui voit l’introduction vers 2800 av. J.-C. de la KKW au Levant comme un témoignage de la migration d’un groupe familial.Greenberg Raphael, Shimelmitz Ron, Iserlis Mark. New evidence for the Anatolian origins of ‘Khirbet Kerak Ware people’ at Tel Bet Yerah (Israel), ca 2800 BC. In: Paléorient, 2014, vol. 40, n°2. The Kura-Araxes culture from the Caucasus to Iran, Anatolia and the Levant: Between unity and diversity. pp. 183-201

The geometric kebaran microlithic assemblage of Ain Miri, Northern Israel

This article discusses an important assemblage of microliths from the Geometric Kebaran site of Ain Miri in the Upper Galilee, Israel. Geometric microliths dominate the assemblage and these comprise trapezes and rectangles, with some parallelograms and a small number of lunates. Strict definitions were used to describe the complete geometric microliths (which avoided the use of the general term trapeze/rectangle) and neutral descriptive terms were used for the broken geometric microliths. Significant metrical differences were observed between the trapezes, asymmetric trapezes-A and the rectangles. It was also noticed that the various types of geometric microliths show a different pattern of change through time thus supporting the decision not to use the general term trapeze/rectangle. While analyzing the Ain Miri microliths, projectile fractures were noticed and studies suggested different hafting patterns for trapezes and rectangles.Cette étude concerne une importante série d'artefacts du Kébarien géométrique du site d'Ain Miri (Haute Galilée, Israël). Les microlithes géométriques constituent l 'élément caractéristique de cet assemblage, avec principalement des trapèzes et des rectangles, ainsi que quelques parallélogrammes et un petit nombre de segments. Des définitions détaillées ont été utilisées pour décrire les microlithes entiers (en excluant le terme générique de trapèze/rectangle) tandis que des termes neutres ont été employés pour les fragments de microlithes géométriques. Des différences métriques significatives ont été observées entre les trapèzes stricto sensu, les trapèzes asymétriques -A et les rectangles. Il a aussi été constaté que les divers types de microlithes géométriques présentent des tendances évolutives variées, un aspect qui corrobore la décision de ne pas utiliser le terme de trapèze/rectangle. Au cours de l'analyse de ces microlithes, les fractures d'impact ont été observées et étudiées, suggérant des modes d'emmanchement différents pour les trapèzes et les rectangles.Shimelmitz Ron, Barkai Ran, Gopher Avi. The geometric kebaran microlithic assemblage of Ain Miri, Northern Israel. In: Paléorient, 2004, vol. 30, n°2. pp. 127-140

The Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition and the diversification of Levallois technology in the Southern Levant: Evidence from Tabun Cave, Israel

The Acheulo-Yabrudian complex which constitutes the latest part of the Lower Paleolithic in the Levant provides a perspective over the nature of the transition between the Lower and Middle Paleolithic in the region. Considering the fundamental transformation in human behavior that occurred during the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex, which includes the use of habitual fire and the intensive use of predetermined blank technology among the emergence of other traits, it is of significance whether these transformations continued in the Levant from the Lower Paleolithic to the Middle Paleolithic or whether they were completely swept away by a new wave of humans bringing with them similar as well as different sets of behaviours. This question can be best elucidated through a search of continuity in technological choices which can reflect socially-learned traditions of stone knapping. Our study is carried out on the long 16 m deep archeological sequence of Tabun Cave, by combining results from Ronen\u27s and Jelinek\u27s excavations, which comprise ca. 100 superimposed layers, ranging from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic. An overview of various reduction sequences, i.e., the Yabrudian scraper-blank production, the blade production of the Amudian, the exploitation of various types of cores on flakes, the variable exploitation of handaxes as cores and the Levallois technology at the site, indicates that although the Acheulo-Yabrudian and the Levantine Mousterian complexes exhibit marked differences in the macro level, there are also some significant features of similarity in the micro level, as reflected in particular technological choices within the reduction sequences that suggest some continuity in technological tradition. Exploring all ranges of reduction sequences can also provide new insights regarding the development of Levallois technology that burst at the Middle Paleolithic and demonstrate how particular technological choices that were already embedded in the knapping tradition of the Acheulo-Yabrudian are manifested in the particular method of Levallois that characterize the Mousterian of Tabun Cave

Predetermined Flake Production at the Lower/Middle Paleolithic Boundary: Yabrudian Scraper-Blank Technology

UA Open Access Publishing FundWhile predetermined de´bitage technologies are recognized beginning with the middle Acheulian, the Middle Paleolithic is usually associated with a sharp increase in their use. A study of scraper-blank technology from three Yabrudian assemblages retrieved from the early part of the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex of Tabun Cave (ca. 415–320 kyr) demonstrates a calculated and preplanned production, even if it does not show the same complexity and elaboration as in the Levallois technology. These scraper dominated assemblages show an organization of production based on an intensive use of predetermination blank technology already in place at the end of the Lower Paleolithic of the Levant. These results provide a novel perspective on the differences and similarities between the Lower and Middle Paleolithic industries. We suggest that there was a change in the paradigm in the way hominins exploited stone tools: in many Middle Paleolithic assemblages the potential of the stone tools for hafting was a central feature, in the Lower Paleolithic ergonometric considerations of manual prehension were central to the design of blanks and tools.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]