Radiocarbon dating of early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) deposits at the site of Motza, Israel, was achieved by first prescreening many charcoal and bone samples in order to identify those that are in the most suitable state of preservation for dating. For assessing bone preservation, we determined the collagen contents, and by infrared spectroscopy the collagen purity. The collagen samples of the best preserved bones were then further characterized by their C/N ratios and amino acid compositions. Prescreening of the charcoal samples involved monitoring the changes in infrared and Raman spectra during the acid-alkali-acid treatments. In some samples, we noted that the clay content increased with additional alkali treatments. These samples were rejected, as this could result in erroneous dates. No differences were observed in the 14C dates between charcoal and bone collagen samples. The dates range from 10,600–10,100 cal BP, which is consistent with dates for the early PPNB from other sites. This is of much interest in terms of better understanding where and when domestication of animals began in this period, and how agriculture spread throughout the Levant.
ABSTRACT. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic Β (PPNB) site of Yiftahel, Israel, contains abundant plaster floors. We surveyed the states of preservation of the plasters using an infrared spectroscopic assay that characterizes the extent of disorder of the atoms in the calcite crystal lattice. We identified the 3 best-preserved plaster samples that had disorder signatures most similar to modern plaster. We then studied the surface layers, fine-grained matrices, and large aggregates of these samples using micromorphology, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy, stable carbon and radiocarbon concentrations. Even though some of the plaster components have a geogenic appearance in micromorphology slides and in FTIR spectra, the 14 C analyses show that all components were exposed to high temperatures and as a result were equilibrated with the 14 C content of the atmosphere ~ 10,000 yr ago. This implies that the plasters at Yiftahel were produced entirely from heat-altered calcite. We also show that these plasters have undergone significant diagenesis. The plaster component with the most disordered atomic signature, and hence the most similar in this respect to modern plaster, did indeed produce a 14 C date close to the expected age.
Even though the faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is among the most ubiquitously cultivated crops, very little is known about its origins. Here, we report discoveries of charred faba beans from three adjacent Neolithic sites in the lower Galilee region, in the southern Levant, that offer new insights into the early history of this species. Biometric measurements, radiocarbon dating and stable carbon isotope analyses of the archaeological remains, supported by experiments on modern material, date the earliest farming of this crop to ~10,200 cal BP. The large quantity of faba beans found in these adjacent sites indicates intensive production of faba beans in the region that can only have been achieved by planting non-dormant seeds. Selection of mutant-non-dormant stock suggests that the domestication of the crop occurred as early as the 11th millennium cal BP. Plant domestication| Vicia faba L.| Pre-Pottery Neolithic B| radiocarbon dating| Δ13C analysis.
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For many, climate change is no longer recognized as the primary cause of cultural changes in the Near East. Instead, human landscape degradation, population growth, socioeconomic adjustments, and conflict have been proposed as the mechanisms that shaped the Neolithic Revolution. However, as Bar-Yosef noted, even if there is chronological correlation between climate changes and cultural developments, what is important is to understand how Neolithic societies dealt with these improving or deteriorating environments. Changes in bifacial stone tools provide a framework for examining some of these interactions by focusing on changing land use practices during the Neolithization process. The results of microwear analysis of 40 bifacial artifacts from early Pre-Pottery Neolithic (EPPNB) levels at Motza in the Judean hills document changes during the PPNA–PPNB transition at the onset of the Levantine Moist Period (ca. 8000 cal B.C.) when conditions for agriculture improved. EPPNB villagers added heavy-duty axes to a toolkit they had used for carpentry and began to clear forests for fields and grazing lands. Sustainable forest management continued for the duration of the PPN until the cumulative effects of tree-felling and overgrazing seem to have led to landscape degradation at end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC), when a cold, dry climatic anomaly (6600–6000 cal B.C.) may have accelerated the reduction of woodlands. Early PPNB components at sites like Motza, with data from nearly five millennia of Neolithic occupations, show how complex hunter–gatherers and early food producers were able to establish sustainable resource management systems even as climate changed, population increased, and social relations were redefined.
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