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

Abstract

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

Butchering knives and hafting at the Late Middle Paleolithic open-air site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO), Israel

“…In addition, a large reference collection was specifically designed with the aim of interpreting the archaeological wear of NMO. This reference collection is made up of 81 experimental tools knapped on flint collected in the south-west ridge overlooking the Hula Valley 88 . Tools were knapped by an experienced knapper (M. Guardiola) at IPHES in an attempt to replicate the NMO artifacts.…”

Prehistoric Perspectives on “Others” and “Strangers”

“…This pattern characterizes many Eurasian Paleolithic groups (e.g., Geneste, 1985;Féblot-Augustins, 1993. It has even been suggested that the same raw material sources/quarries had been recognized and utilized over tens of thousands of years (Gopher and Barkai, 2014;Finkel et al, 2019). If that scenario holds, it would suggest that (for each period) such locations may have served as places of meeting between "others, " i.e., individuals that belonged in a single mating system.…”

Moving to the land: First archaeometric study of chert procurement at Cueva de la Cocina (Eastern Iberia)

“…The goal of this approach is to identify elemental features that discriminate geologic samples from one deposit from others to source the geological origin of the raw materials used to manufacture artifacts, often using multivariate statistics techniques of classification like discriminant analysis (DA; Moreau et al, 2019;O'Leary et al, 2017). For example, among the possible markers, rare-earth elements (REE: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Sc and Y) have been shown to be particularly effective in discriminating different types of cherts and solving provenance issues (Elefanti et al, 2021;Finkel et al, 2019;Olofsson & Rodushkin, 2011;Ramacciotti et al, 2019a). Indeed, robust geochemical studies proved that different sedimentary environments distinguish chert through characteristic REE levels and fractionation (Murray, 1994) and they were used as provenance markers in studies carried out on a wide range of geoarchaeological materials (Aura Tortosa et al, 2020;Gallello et al, 2016;Lecuit et al, 2018;Ramacciotti et al, 2019bRamacciotti et al, , 2020.…”