Provenance and exchange of basalt grinding stones of EB III Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Beller, Jeremy A.; Greenfield, Haskel J.; Fayek, Mostafa; Shai, Itzhaq; Maeir, Aren M.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.07.025

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Geologically as well as statistically, the calculation of average geochemical compositions for magmatic rocks from the regions of the Levant and Egypt, as done in the study of Beller et al (), is critical, apart from the fact that averaging geochemical compositions blurs geochemical characteristics that are decisive for provenance analyses. This approach implies that in one region one lava has the ‘correct’ geochemical composition (represented by the average values) and that other lavas deviate from this assumed ‘correct’ composition within a certain standard deviation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The validity of an average composition of rocks ranging from basanites to alkali basalts, which are different rocks generated under different conditions, is questionable. The calculation of average compositions of rocks from certain regions and periods, as done in Beller et al (), assumes that the respective rocks are of similar type with a (ideally) normal distribution of the geochemical compositions. This would require, for example, homogeneous conditions of the magma sources in the mantle, of magma formation or of the processes influencing a magma ascending through the lithosphere, which in such a case would also have to be homogeneous.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, the compilation of geochemical data demonstrates that the overlaps are too large to allow any regional discrimination based on the SiO 2 content versus the TiO 2 content (Fig. 5 (c)), as suggested by Beller et al (2016), or based on the element combinations as recommended by Williams-Thorpe and Thorpe (1993) and Philip and Williams-Thorpe (2001), demonstrated in Figures 5 (d) (Zr versus TiO 2 ), 5 (e) (Fe 2 O 3 versus TiO 2 ) and 5 (f) (Nb versus Sr). Only if artefact samples display 'extreme' values could they be carefully affiliated to 'extreme' samples, from Syria by high Zr (see Fig.…”

Section: Comparison With Basaltic Rocks From Adjacent Regionsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Published geological data from these regions are comparatively few, and none of them were collected in order to create a reference data for provenance analyses. However, currently these data are the only ones available for these purposes, so several researchers have used some of them for provenance analyses (e.g., Beller et al, 2016;Rutter, 2003;Williams-Thorpe & Thorpe, 1993).…”

Section: Comparison With Basaltic Rocks From Adjacent Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the major element composition of the artefacts as analysed by XRF, a recent study aimed to determine the provenance of Early Bronze Age III basalt grinding stones from Tell es‐Safi/Gath (Beller, Greenfield, Fayek, Shai, & Maeir, ). Using literature data on geological samples, the authors calculated the average values of the different Miocene, Plio‐ to Pleistocene basalt regions in the Levant and Egypt.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Back to the Source—Geochemical Data from Israel for the Provenance Analyses of Basaltic Rock Artefacts and Their Implications on Previous and Future Studies

Gluhak

Rosenberg

2018

Archaeometry

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The success of provenance analyses of basaltic rock artefacts relies on the availability of comprehensive geochemical–mineralogical data from samples of geological occurrences in order to facilitate a detailed comparison of artefacts and potential raw material sources. We present new results of a geochemical study of Neogene basaltic rocks in Lower and Upper Galilee, the Jordan Valley, the Hula Basin and the western Golan Heights. The results are intended to serve as a geological reference database for provenance analyses. We discuss the implications of these new geochemical data for the different approaches of previous provenance studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison With Basaltic Rocks From Adjacent Regionsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Comparison With Basaltic Rocks From Adjacent Regionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Back to the Source—Geochemical Data from Israel for the Provenance Analyses of Basaltic Rock Artefacts and Their Implications on Previous and Future Studies

Gluhak

Rosenberg

2018

Archaeometry

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Early Bronze Age pebble installations from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: evidence for their function and utilization

Eliyahu-Behar

Shai

Gur-Arieh

et al. 2017

Levant

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Pebble stone installations are commonly found at various Early Bronze Age sites in the southern Levant. However, their function is often assumed or unknown. Thirteen circular pebble installations were found scattered throughout a residential neighbourhood dating to the Early Bronze Age III at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Five such installations were recently studied by implementing an integrated micro-archaeological approach by which all micro- and macro-artefacts were analysed using various analytical techniques. Based on the analysis of ash-micro remains identified in the sediments, associated plant remains, flint and pottery, we suggest that these installations were used for food-processing, cooking and/or other domestic low-heat tasks. The installations first appear at Tell es-Safi/Gath during the Early Bronze Age III, and seem to disappear during later periods. The functional roles of these installations are discussed in comparison to finds from other Early Bronze Age sites, and of other food preparation traditions known from other periods and cultures

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Sourcing Oldowan and Acheulean Stone Tools in Eastern Africa

Favreau¹

2022

Preprint

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Eastern Africa’s Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary record has shaped our understanding of human evolution and the development of stone tool technologies. Over the years, raw material sourcing has emerged as a key research topic in lithic analysis as it can allow for the identification of resource extraction points together with anthropogenic transport distances across palaeolandscapes as a means to infer other aspects of hominin behaviour. The goal of this article is to review and synthesise the aims, methods, challenges, and current knowledge on the sourcing of Oldowan and Acheulean stone tools from Plio-Pleistocene archaeological contexts in Eastern Africa, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Beginning with the theoretical framework of lithic sourcing, a systematic, comprehensive, and multifactorial methodology is presented, which is applicable across archaeology’s sub-disciplinary boundaries. From thereon, the geology of Eastern Africa is reviewed to establish the range of available rock types during the Plio-Pleistocene along with the processes that led to the formation of primary and secondary raw material sources. Several drivers are identified to have affected the distribution, availability, and prehistoric utilisation of raw materials across Eastern Africa, including Precambrian tectono-thermal events, planation, and subsequent uplift, followed by Cenozoic volcanism, extensional faulting, subsidence, sedimentation, and geomorphological forcing. The following section comprises of a comprehensive review of Oldowan and Acheulean raw material provisioning in Eastern Africa to identify the state of knowledge and methodological trends. Four important patterns are identified: (1) Oldowan and Acheulean toolmakers regularly exerted selective criteria when choosing raw materials; (2) the spatio-temporal fragmentation of technological activities across the palaeolandscape emerged before the first appearance datum of the Acheulean; (3) hominin toolmakers preferentially utilised igneous rock types followed by metamorphic and sedimentary lithologies mirroring Eastern Africa’s lithostratigraphic sequence; and (4) Acheulean toolmakers largely mimicked their Oldowan counterparts in terms of raw material provisioning until the late Early Pleistocene, when they began to engage in qualitatively different behaviour best evidenced by anthropogenic stone transport over increasingly longer distances. Another informative pattern that emerges from the foregoing section is the limited efforts that have been historically devoted in sourcing lithic raw materials of Plio-Pleistocene age. This can be attributed to several factors, not least of which are a suite of interpretive challenges such as time-averaging, recycling, sourcing, and identifying selection criteria, which are featured in the ensuing section. The foregoing discussion also serves to preface a devoted section on the array of analytical methods that can be successfully employed by archaeologists to source lithic raw materials. Proven and innovative analytical methods are identified by bringing into dialogue key factors such as accuracy, precision, reproducibility, discriminatory power, sensitivity, destructiveness, throughput, cost, ease, and the question of spatial scale. It is also found that characterising non-obsidian lithologies is best accomplished using more than one analytical method with the understanding that once positive baseline results are obtained, subsequent archaeological testing can be narrowed down methodologically. Regardless of the analytical method of choice, it is imperative to implement effective means to analyse the resulting data, which constitutes the main topic addressed in the following section supplemented by two case studies. It is found that variably sophisticated forms of multivariate statistics are usually required to discriminate non-obsidian sources to probabilistically source stone tools, and it is argued that reporting is best done following the principles of open science. The final section reviews ethnographic and archaeological literature on sourcing, mobility, and geospatial modelling to outline their potential to enhance the interpretive remit of traditional raw material studies. Ultimately, this article reviews the state of knowledge about raw material sourcing in the Earlier Stone Age across Eastern Africa and highlights means through which archaeologists can garner the full potential of a non-renewable record.

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Provenance and exchange of basalt grinding stones of EB III Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Cited by 8 publications

References 38 publications

Back to the Source—Geochemical Data from Israel for the Provenance Analyses of Basaltic Rock Artefacts and Their Implications on Previous and Future Studies

Back to the Source—Geochemical Data from Israel for the Provenance Analyses of Basaltic Rock Artefacts and Their Implications on Previous and Future Studies

Early Bronze Age pebble installations from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: evidence for their function and utilization

Sourcing Oldowan and Acheulean Stone Tools in Eastern Africa

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