Plant Remains from Rothenberg’s Excavations in Timna: Smelters’ Food and Cultic Offerings at the Turn of the First Millennium BCE

David, Michal; Kislev, Mordechai E.; Melamed, Yoel; Ben‐Yosef, Erez; Weiss, Ehud

doi:10.1080/03344355.2022.2102110

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The content of the KAJ paleobotanical collection is compared to other sites in the region, which overall demonstrated greater dependence on prepared cereals and less frequent exploitation of fruits, nuts, and other "snack" foods. Our results are consistent with observations from other metalworking sites, such as Timna Valley Site 30 (David et al, 2022). We consider the role that spatial bias may play in the interpretation of this data and discuss the archaeological correlates to casual snacking behavior.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…We compared our results to data from other nearby or contemporary sites for which comparative data are available: the Wadi Faynan survey (Austin, 2007;Kennedy, 2007), Wadi Arabah (David et al, 2022;Engel, 1993), Tel Meggido (Benzaquen et al, 2019), Khirbat al-Mudayna al-'Aliya (Farahani et al, 2016), Tall Dhirbat (Fatkin et al, 2011), Tel Batash (Kislev et al, 2006), and Tall al-'Umayri (Ramsay & Mueller, 2016). Raw counts were only available for Tall al-'Umayri, Mudayna al-'Aliya, Meggido, and the Wadi Faynan survey, although only nine contexts that exhibited the most specimens were reported for Tall al-'Umayri.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper serves as a contribution to Iron-Age paleobotany, a literature for which the "relative dearth of paleoethnobotanical studies" has been noted (Farahani et al, 2016:28). This is the first report of a paleobotanical sample from a metal-working context recovered through systematic flotation (but see David et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Archaeological Evidence of Casual Snacking and Resource Provisioning at Khirbat al-Jariya (ca. Eleventh to Tenth Centuries BCE), an Iron-Age Copper Production Site

Stroth,

Garvin Suero,

Liss

et al. 2023

Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology

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In this chapter we present the results of a paleobotanical analysis of Khirbat al-Jariya, an Iron-Age (ca. eleventh to tenth centuries BCE) copper smelting workshop in Faynan, Jordan. The macrobotanical collection was dominated by easily procured fruits and nuts that required little preparation, such as dates (Phoenix dactylifera), grapes (Vitis sp.) and figs (Ficus sp.) which we characterize as likely "snack foods." Evidence for grain processing, in terms of cleaning and removal of chaff, is largely absent, and there is no meaningful spatial patterning to the discard of food debris. This suggests that food consumption was a casual process at Khirbat al-Jariya and that food products requiring preparation were processed elsewhere. Comparing this data to that of contemporary sites indicates that this dominance of snack foods is particular to the Faynan region. It is possible that Khirbat al-Jariya was only seasonally occupied, under which circumstances a practice of casual snacking supplemented by prepared foods from elsewhere was sustainable. This complicates the typical binary of "consumer" and "producer," and we argue that such distinctions may be as much a result of sampling strategies and spatial patterning. We also evaluate how sampling strategies played a role in interpreting the data from Khirbat al-Jariya, which may represent the casual snacking behavior associated with an itinerant industrial community rather than the full spectrum of subsis-Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Archaeological Evidence of Casual Snacking and Resource Provisioning at Khirbat al-Jariya (ca. Eleventh to Tenth Centuries BCE), an Iron-Age Copper Production Site

Stroth,

Garvin Suero,

Liss

et al. 2023

Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology

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“…Timna is composed of dozens of sites engaged in metal mining and smelting ( Fig 1 ). The material culture of these sites is predominantly industrial, indicating various metalworking procedures [ 31 ], and it has been suggested that most attendant domestic activities—such as cooking—were conducted in ephemeral tent camps outside of the designated smelting sites [ 32 , 33 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The stone-to-metal transition reflected in the Iron Age copper production sites of Timna Valley, Israel

Shimelmitz,

Ben-Yosef

2023

PLoS ONE

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Metalwork was a major technological innovation that displaced stone-tool technologies and transformed human society and the environment. However, our understanding of these processes remains partial. In this paper, we approach the stone-to-metal transition from a novel angle–the presence of flint knapping at metal production sites. Drawing on excavations at the Late Bronze and Iron Age copper smelting sites in Timna Valley, Israel, we demonstrate that systematic production of expedient stone tools was integral to these sites’ industrial operations, placing it at the heart of the very same metal circulation networks that were presumably responsible for its displacement. The observations from Timna, coupled with evidence for the use of chipped stone technology in other early Iron Age metallurgical contexts, support the hypothesis that it was probably both the high accessibility of iron and its qualities that put an end to the stone tool industry. Copper and bronze could not easily fulfill the function of the ad hoc stone tools and were not used to replace stone tools even if they were available and accessible.

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“…In particular, he found an Egyptian temple dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of mining, built at the end of the 14th century BCE for the Egyptian miners (Rothenberg 1972(Rothenberg , 1988: thousands of hieroglyphics, sculptures and jewels brought to light prove its importance (Tebes 2007). Notably, in 2013, the year after Rothenberg's death, the "Central Timna Valley Project", also directed by Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University, began, which continues the previous work and includes new excavations and surveys designed to address a number of critical issues in the Late Bronze and Iron Age archaeology of the southern Levant (Ben-Yosef et al 2012, Beyth et al 2013, Sapir-Hen and Ben-Yosef 2014, Erickson-Gini 2014, Kleiman et al 2017, Sukenik et al 2017, Ben-Yosef 2018, Cavanagh et al 2022, David et al 2022a, b, Erickson-Gini 2023.…”

Section: Figure 1 Samson Tears the Lion Apart (Cathedral Of San Loren...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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2023

AJMS

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Social Sciences. The aim of the conference is to bring together academics, researchers and professionals in private and public organizations and governments of Politics and International Affairs and other related disciplines. You may participate as stream leader, presenter of one paper, chair of a session or observer. Please submit a proposal using the form available (https://www.atiner.gr/2023/FORM-POL.doc).

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Plant Remains from Rothenberg’s Excavations in Timna: Smelters’ Food and Cultic Offerings at the Turn of the First Millennium BCE

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

Archaeological Evidence of Casual Snacking and Resource Provisioning at Khirbat al-Jariya (ca. Eleventh to Tenth Centuries BCE), an Iron-Age Copper Production Site

Archaeological Evidence of Casual Snacking and Resource Provisioning at Khirbat al-Jariya (ca. Eleventh to Tenth Centuries BCE), an Iron-Age Copper Production Site

The stone-to-metal transition reflected in the Iron Age copper production sites of Timna Valley, Israel

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