Pre-farming environment and OSL chronology in the Negev Highlands, Israel

Avni, Yoav; Porat, Naomi; Avni, Gideon

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.01.002

Cited by 54 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Wadi Sabra is a high energy fluvial environment, and luminescence dating of the ephemeral deposits is challenging due to variable bleaching conditions as reported from other studies in the region (Avni et al, 2012;Guralnik et al, 2011;Jacoby et al, 2008). Therefore we expected partial bleaching to be present in the samples from the study site.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Optical dating of sediments in Wadi Sabra (SW Jordan)

Klasen

Hilgers

Schmidt

et al. 2013

Quaternary Geochronology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Roskin et al, 2011aRoskin et al, , 2011bRoskin et al, , 2012Amit et al, 2011), or on the Negev highlands (Avni et al, 2012) where fluvio-loess with bright but partially bleached luminescence signals was dated. Few studies examine luminescence characteristics and provide OSL ages of wadi sediments in the study area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical dating of sediments in Wadi Sabra (SW Jordan)

Klasen

Hilgers

Schmidt

et al. 2013

Quaternary Geochronology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The fact that the study area receives only ~100 mm of rainfall per year (in unpredictable patterns), while barley and wheat require at least 200 and 300 mm of water per growth season, respectively, in order to obtain economically successful yields (Arnon 1986), indicates that the only way to ensure successful yields would require growing these crops using irrigation systems such as wadi terraces. However, recent independent evidence based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of wadi terraces demonstrates that irrigation systems were not present in the area prior to the late Roman period (Avni et al 2012). …”

Section: R Shahack-gross and I Finkelsteinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most research thus far has focused on macroscopic descriptions of these installations, and their chronological assignment was determined based on assumptions drawn from proximity to settlements datable through pottery finds. Systematic study so far has focused on terraced fields only (Avni et al 2006(Avni et al , 2009(Avni et al , 2012. In the future, we intend to explore evidence for chronology and construction methods of water cisterns, as well as evidence for construction, tillage, manuring, and crops in field terraces.…”

Section: Studying Agricultural and Water Management Installationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Haiman 1989;Finkelstein 1995;Cohen 1999;Cohen and Cohen-Amin 2004). With the exception of wadi terraces (Goldberg 1984;Bruins 1986;Bruins and van der Plicht 2005;Avni et al 2006Avni et al , 2012, none of these features has been studied in detail. Also, all sites and features representing a given settlement peak were described as belonging to a single wave of activity, although in most cases these remains could not be accurately dated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Settlement Oscillations in the Negev Highlands Revisited: The Impact of Microarchaeological Methods

Shahack‐Gross

Finkelstein

2015

Radiocarbon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microarchaeological methods, especially those focused on geoarchaeology and radiocarbon dating, have revolutionized the manner in which the Iron Age settlement peak in the Negev Highlands is interpreted. We review here results from field and laboratory studies conducted at two Iron Age sites (Atar Haroa and Nahal Boqer) compared to one Byzantine/ Early Islamic site (Wadi el-Mustayer)-all located near Sede Boqer. We present our methodology, which is based on smallscale but detailed excavations, study of sediments, and identification of livestock dung remains and their utility as indicators of past subsistence practices. To this we add meticulous 14 C dating, ceramic petrography, and identification of botanic and zoological remains. We conclude that subsistence during the Iron Age included tending livestock but did not include agriculture. We further propose that the long-distance trade of copper from the Arabah Valley under Egyptian auspices and possibly the trading of cinnamon, dates, and other Arabian/Indian commodities were the driving force in the initiation (and later decline) of the Iron Age settlement system. We hypothesize that the agricultural settlement peak during the Byzantine/Early Islamic period was also influenced by an imperial power from outside of the Negev and that large-scale agriculture was enabled due to the adoption of new agricultural techniques, including terracing of ephemeral streams along with water diversion systems and possibly water storage facilities such as advanced cisterns. Future studies are expected to shed additional light on the complexity of settlement oscillations in the Negev Highlands region in key periods such as the Early and Intermediate Bronze Ages.

show abstract

OSL Age Determination of Archaeological Stone Structures Using Trapped Aeolian Sediments: A Case Study from the Negev Highlands, Israel

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating is widely applied to sediments in paleoenvironmental sciences. However, there are only limited examples determining the age of archaeological stone structures by OSL using dust deposits. The age of dust deposits associated with ancient buildings may be used to date the onset of settlement (sediment below structures), settlement activity (occupation layer), or the time after a settlement had been abandoned or destroyed (sediment between collapsed roofs and walls). In this study, OSL dating is applied to establish numerical dates for settlement structures situated in the Negev Highlands, Israel. Two archaeological sites are investigated to identify their occupation history, by dating nine samples of aeolian dust trapped within the remains of ancient buildings. The OSL dating technique is applied using coarse grain quartz and a standard single‐aliquot regenerative‐dose (SAR) protocol. It was possible to date the onset of sedimentation in a later phase of the human occupation or shortly after the sites were abandoned, to 3.7 ± 0.3 ka (Intermediate Bronze Age) at the central site and to 2.7 ± 0.2 ka (Iron Age) at the ephemeral site. These results are supported by archaeological evidence gained from pottery finds and the architecture of the ancient buildings.

show abstract

Pre-farming environment and OSL chronology in the Negev Highlands, Israel

Cited by 54 publications

References 37 publications

Optical dating of sediments in Wadi Sabra (SW Jordan)

Optical dating of sediments in Wadi Sabra (SW Jordan)

Settlement Oscillations in the Negev Highlands Revisited: The Impact of Microarchaeological Methods

OSL Age Determination of Archaeological Stone Structures Using Trapped Aeolian Sediments: A Case Study from the Negev Highlands, Israel

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About