Dating archaeological sites in an arid environment: A multi-method case study in the Negev Highlands, Israel

Dunseth, Zachary C.; Junge, Andrea; Lomax, Johanna; Finkelstein, Israel; Fuchs, Markus; Shahack‐Gross, Ruth

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2017.05.006

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Despite the passage of time and many advances in research, i.e., the elongation of the period's chronological sequence and new data from new excavations [40,[56][57][58][59][60], our automatic classification by shape supports Amiran's general division and reveals itself also partly consistent with Dever's regional subdivision. Thus, Dever's regional division reinforces the results of the present study, with the two northern families he defined, N and NC, matching our Type 1 and its subtypes (1a and 1b).…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 77%

Toward the identification of social signatures in ceramic production – An archaeological case study

Harush

Grosman

2021

PLoS ONE

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Ceramic analysis has been concerned with categorizing types according to vessel shape and size for describing a given material culture at a particular time. This analysis’ long tradition has enabled archaeologists to define cultural units across time. However, going into the analysis of sub-typological variations is rarely done, although their meanings bear significant consequences on the understanding of ties between individuals and social units. This study, aiming to assess whether it is possible to identify social signatures, focuses on a single archaeological ceramic type. For this propose, we selected a corpus of 235 storage jars from two distinct periods: storage jars from the Intermediate Bronze Age (the 25th -20th century BCE); and the Oval Storage Jar type (hereafter: OSJ) from the Iron Age II (the late 9th–early 6th century BCE). The vessels selected were 3-D scanned to extract accurate geometric parameters and analyzed through an advanced shape analysis. The study results show that integrating computational and objective analysis methods, focusing on the “minute variation” within a single ceramic type, yields substantial insights regarding the relationship between variability and social units. In addition to the methodological guidelines and the suggested “work protocol” for further studies, the results shed light on the social organization of the Intermediate Bronze Age and the Iron Age II in Southern Levant.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 77%

Toward the identification of social signatures in ceramic production – An archaeological case study

Harush

Grosman

2021

PLoS ONE

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“…As already shown in OSL dating studies at other archaeological sites in the Negev Highlands (e.g., Porat et al 2006;Junge et al 2016Junge et al , 2018Dunseth et al 2017), the coarse-grained quartz is highly suitable for OSL dating. The quartz extract is characterized by a rapidly decaying OSL signal (Fig.…”

Section: Optically Stimulated Luminescencementioning

confidence: 78%

Construction and use of rock-cut cisterns: a chronological OSL approach in the arid Negev Highlands, Israel

Junge

Dunseth

Shahack‐Gross

et al. 2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The Negev Highlands (Israel) are characterized by a rich settlement history over the last millennia. To sustain life in this arid environment, measures to collect and store water were introduced. Two types of installations to collect and store runoff water were built in the region: open reservoirs, and more elaborate subterranean rock-cut cisterns. This article focuses on the latter. Based on a few inscriptions found in rock-cut cisterns, it is assumed that the majority were constructed in the Hellenistic (Nabatean) to Byzantine period. To evaluate this age assessment, this study was carried out at the Borot Hazaz cisterns system, using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating together with micromorphological analyses. Both were applied to sediments that were relocated during the cistern’s construction and usage and after the maintenance activities ended. Despite unfavourable conditions for resetting the OSL signal, including fluvial transport over short distances and sediment deposition by humans in large quantities, it was possible to reconstruct the life cycle of the cistern system. The present study places the construction of the system during the late Roman to Byzantine period, with utilization and long-term maintenance during the following centuries. Maintenance ceased at the Borot Hazaz cistern system gradually over the course of the last 500 years.

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“…Early IBA absolute radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates from around 2500 BCE or even somewhat earlier have been published lately from short-lived samples from Tell Abu el-Niaj in Transjordan (Falconer and Fall 2019;Fall et al 2020) and Khirbat el-'Alya in the Judean Shefelah region (Lev et al 2020). Absolute dates between 2500 and 2300 have also been published lately from IBA contexts in the Negev (Dunseth et al 2017). As stated above, most IBA settlements excavated to date in the southern Levant were established as new rural sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hazor Eb Iii City Abandonment and Iba People Return: Radiocarbon Chronology and Its Implications

Lev

Bechar

2021

Radiocarbon

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Tel Hazor is one of only a few sites in Israel where remains of the Intermediate Bronze Age (IBA) in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC were found on top of Early Bronze III (EB III) city remains. A probe excavation was held at Hazor in 2017 to explore the chronological relation between the EB III and the IBA occupation. The radiocarbon (14C) absolute dates generated from this probe excavation show that following the EB III city demise, the site was abandoned for up to a few hundred years before it was resettled in the IBA. 14C dates obtained from the last level of the EB III city are well before 2500 BCE, fully aligned with the recent “High Chronology” for the EBA in the southern Levant. The excavation also produced dates associated with IBA “Black Wheel-Made Ware” vessels, which were found in large numbers at Hazor.

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Dating archaeological sites in an arid environment: A multi-method case study in the Negev Highlands, Israel

Cited by 29 publications

References 51 publications

Toward the identification of social signatures in ceramic production – An archaeological case study

Toward the identification of social signatures in ceramic production – An archaeological case study

Construction and use of rock-cut cisterns: a chronological OSL approach in the arid Negev Highlands, Israel

Hazor Eb Iii City Abandonment and Iba People Return: Radiocarbon Chronology and Its Implications

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