In this paper, we propose a model which predicts the timing, location and form of early eastern Mediterranean fishing villages. A submerged late 9th-7th millennium BP settlement off the Carmel coast of Israel is described and presented as a case study to consider the initial development of Mediterranean fishing villages which would have been based upon a combined agro-pastoral-marine economy. The unique development of water-well technology enabled late 9th millennium BP populations to occupy previously unsettled territories near the coastline and to exploit marine and terrestrial resources simultaneously. This complex economy enabled year-round occupation of settlements and a relatively secure subsistence, based on agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing, supplemented by hunting and foraging. During the subsequent Pottery Neolithic (PN) period, olive oil was added to the Mediterranean subsistence base, and on the verge of historical times the production of wine completed the formation of the traditional Mediterranean economy as it is known today.
A classification scheme for the large number of fishing-gear sinkers recovered along the Israeli coast is devised. Sinkers, or weights, of lead and stone are classified by material, shape and method of manufacture.
We report the results of underwater archaeological investigations at the submerged Neolithic settlement of Tel Hreiz (7500 – 7000 BP), off the Carmel coast of Israel. The underwater archaeological site has yielded well-preserved architectural, artefactual, faunal and human remains. We examine and discuss the notable recent discovery of a linear, boulder-built feature >100m long, located seaward of the settlement. Based on archaeological context, mode of construction and radiometric dating, we demonstrate the feature was contemporary with the inundated Neolithic settlement and conclude that it served as a seawall, built to protect the village against Mediterranean Sea-level rise. The seawall is unique for the period and is the oldest known coastal defence worldwide. Its length, use of large non-local boulders and specific arrangement in the landscape reflect the extensive effort invested by the Neolithic villagers in its conception, organisation and construction. However, this distinct social action and display of resilience proved a temporary solution and ultimately the village was inundated and abandoned.
We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7th millennium BP inundated site of Hishuley Carmel on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Olive pit size and fragmentation patterns, pollen as well as the architecture of installations associated with pits from this site, were compared to finds from the nearby and slightly earlier submerged Kfar Samir site. Results indicate that at Kfar Samir olive oil was extracted, while at Hishuley Carmel the data showed that large quantities of table olives, the oldest reported to date, were prepared. This process was most probably facilitated by the site’s proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, which served as a source of both sea water and salt required for debittering/pickling/salting the fruit, as experimentally demonstrated in this study. Comparison of pit morphometry from modern cultivars, wild-growing trees and the archaeological sites, intimates that in pit morphology the ancient pits resemble wild olives, but we cannot totally exclude the possibility that they derive from early cultivated trees. Our findings demonstrate that in this region, olive oil production may have predated table olive preparation, with each development serving as a milestone in the early exploitation of the olive.
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