New Light on Long‐Distance Ties in the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic Near East

Rosenberg, Danny; Getzov, Nimrod; Assaf, Ammnon

doi:10.1086/650562

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…If one accepts the Aruchlo I bead as non-intrusive, it demonstrates the possibility of the extraction and use of natural tin-copper alloys as early as the 6 th millennium CalBC. This, in turn, also opens the possibility that the item from Tel Tsaf was made from a natural tin-copper source and transported to the Jordan Valley via long-distance exchange networks, which also brought obsidian, groundstone items and other goods from Armenia, Anatolia and Syria through the Levantine Corridor [44] . If this is the case, then the copper awl from Tel Tsaf could have reached the site through exchange.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Beginning of Metallurgy in the Southern Levant: A Late 6th Millennium CalBC Copper Awl from Tel Tsaf, Israel

et al. 2014

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The beginning of metallurgy in the ancient Near East attracts much attention. The southern Levant, with the rich assemblage of copper artifacts from the Nahal Mishmar cave and the unique gold rings of the Nahal Qanah cave, is regarded as a main center of early metallurgy during the second half of the 5th millennium CalBC. However, a recently discovered copper awl from a Middle Chalcolithic burial at Tel Tsaf, Jordan Valley, Israel, suggests that cast metal technology was introduced to the region as early as the late 6th millennium CalBC. This paper examines the chemical composition of this item and reviews its context. The results indicate that it was exported from a distant source, probably in the Caucasus, and that the location where it was found is indicative of the social status of the buried individual. This rare finding indicates that metallurgy was first defused to the southern Levant through exchange networks and only centuries later involved local production. This copper awl, the earliest metal artifact found in the southern Levant, indicates that the elaborate Late Chalcolithic metallurgy developed from a more ancient tradition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Beginning of Metallurgy in the Southern Levant: A Late 6th Millennium CalBC Copper Awl from Tel Tsaf, Israel

et al. 2014

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“…The Eastern Upper Galilee and the northern Jordan Valley host many important prehistoric sites, including the Lower Palaeolithic site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (Goren‐Inbar et al, ), and the Middle Palaeolithic site of Nahal Amud Cave (Hovers, Rak, Lavi, & Kimbel, ; Suzuki & Takai, ; see Figure ), and the archaeologically rich Neolithic/Chalcolithic sites of Beisamoun (Barkai, ; Bocquentin, Barzilai, Khalaily, & Kolska Horwitz, ; Lechevallier, ; Rosenberg, Assaf, Getzov, & Gopher, ) and Hagoshrim (Barkai, , p. 76; Getzov, ; Rosenberg, Getzov, & Assaf, ; Rosenberg et al, ). All of these sites and many more (mentioned below) contain extensive flint assemblages; however, research efforts aimed at locating flint sources are inconclusive and only point to geological outcrops in the area (Delage, , , ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Dishon area 10 km to the west of the Naftali Hills is the closest Eocene formation. In this study, we sampled broken axes. Hagoshrim (“G” in Figure located 17 km northeast of the Dishon complex): This is a Neolithic (Prepottery Neolithic C and Pottery Neolithic) and Chalcolithic site that yielded 6,854 bifacial tools through a survey (Barkai, , p. 76) and more were recovered during excavations (Getzov, ; Rosenberg et al, , ). In this study, we sampled adzes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Flint Depot” of prehistoric northern Israel: Comprehensive geochemical analyses of flint extraction and reduction complexes and implications for provenance studies

et al. 2019

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Recent research has demonstrated that the Eocene Timrat formation in northeasternIsrael, which appears as an extensive land "strip" west of and parallel to the Rift Valley, was a major source of prehistoric flint. This supposition is supported by three large-scale extraction and reduction (E&R) complexes identified within this region, which offer direct evidence of intense Lower and Middle Palaeolithic exploitation and limited Neolithic/ Chalcolithic activities. Here, we present a first comprehensive overview of this "industrial strip" and of its E&R complexes (Nahal Dishon, Mt. Achbara, and Sede Ilan), demonstrating that these production areas were used mainly for the manufacture of large-volume items such as Lower Palaeolithic hand axes, Middle Palaeolithic Levallois cores, and Neolithic/Chalcolithic axes/adzes. Furthermore, we integrate information from recently published field studies and lithic analyses with new intercomplex and intracomplex inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-MS) analyses of flint debitage. The relatively large number of analysed samples (n = 69) constitutes the first robust reference database for provenance studies of this E&R "strip." The potential contribution for provenance studies is demonstrated by a detailed ICP-MS comparison drawn between specific extraction and reduction localities within the Dishon complex and flint tools found in six occupation sites located up to 20 km from the sources. The detailed geochemical study also yielded methodological insights regarding challenges associated with flint heterogeneity and patination effects. K E Y W O R D S flint extraction and reduction, Galilee, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Palaeolithic, provenance studies

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“…2005; Dillian & White 2010; Rosenberg et al . 2010). Here, understanding the distribution of raw material sources is essential.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The long-distance exchange of amazonite and increasing social complexity in the Sudanese Neolithic

et al. 2018

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New Light on Long‐Distance Ties in the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic Near East

Cited by 20 publications

References 15 publications

The Beginning of Metallurgy in the Southern Levant: A Late 6th Millennium CalBC Copper Awl from Tel Tsaf, Israel

The Beginning of Metallurgy in the Southern Levant: A Late 6th Millennium CalBC Copper Awl from Tel Tsaf, Israel

The “Flint Depot” of prehistoric northern Israel: Comprehensive geochemical analyses of flint extraction and reduction complexes and implications for provenance studies

The long-distance exchange of amazonite and increasing social complexity in the Sudanese Neolithic

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