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One of the most interesting aspects of the Late Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant (c. 4500–3900 cal BC), a period marking notable societal transformations and developments in economy, craft and cult, was the appearance of ivory objects. Ivory, originating from the tusks of elephants and hippopotamuses, suddenly appeared in this period in low quantities and only at a few sites, restricted mainly to the northern Negev, Judean Desert and the central Mediterranean coastal plain. The current paper discusses the Late Chalcolithic ivory objects found in the southern Levant and suggests that we should not merely view these finds as artistic objects charged with symbolic value, but rather, we should acknowledge the role of the specific raw material from which they were made, for its social and economic values based on the likely non-local origin of the ivory and the inherent difficulty in its acquisition. These factors bestowed the ivory items with special significance and prestige value that differentiated them from other more common bone tools. Moreover, we suggest that although these findings reflect contacts, albeit limited between the southern Levant and Predynastic Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed at introducing a new method for predicting the original metrics of fragmented standardized artifacts, specifically of flint blades from the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (10,200/100–9,500/400 cal B.P.) in the Southern Levant. The excessive re-use of these artifacts or poor preservation conditions often prevent a complete set of metric data from being obtained. Our suggested approach is based on readily accessible machine learning (artificial intelligence) and neural network analysis. These are performed in a multi-paradigm programming language and numeric computing environment, with parameters represented by a rapid measurement system based on the technological features shared by all lithic artifacts of the studied assemblages. This method can be applied to various chronologies and/or contexts. A full set of metric data, including potential typological and functional elements of the assemblages studied, may provide a better understanding of the lithic technology involved; highlight cultural aspects related to the chaîne opératoire of the studied lithic production; and address issues related to cultural sub-divisions in larger-scale applications. Herein, neural network analysis was performed on blade samples from Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B sites from the Southern Levant specifically Nahal Yarmuth 38, Motza, Yiftahel, and Nahal Reuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faunal remains recovered during excavations beneath Wilson’s Arch in Jerusalem reveal the dietary and ritual uses of animals in the Late Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina. This colony was erected on the ruins of Jerusalem following the First Jewish War and occupied by the Legio X Fretensis. We show that over the course of the third and fourth centuries CE, pigs turn into a dominant source of food at the site, an assessment supported by excavations elsewhere in Late Roman Jerusalem. Significant variations of the domestic pigs from Jerusalem indicate that the animals may have been provisioned from multiple rural sites of primary production, and possibly represent different local breeds. More surprisingly, the pig remains from Wilson’s Arch are dominated by prime-aged (12–24 months) male jaws from two stratified deposits. The focus on mature males, particularly in Stratum V, is atypical of pig husbandry systems in general, and in Roman-period contexts in particular. Due to the rapidity with which the bones were deposited and the unusual demographic, alongside the disproportionate representation of mandibles, we interpret the remains as the end-product of rituals involving pigs. We suggest that the significance of pigs as an anti-Jewish cultural element provided soldiers and colonists a means of asserting their identity within an imperial context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrotechnological activities leave many traces in the archaeological record, most notably ash, which is the powdery residue of the combustion of organics such as wood. These traces have provided important insights into the biological and cultural evolution of humans. Given the common occurrence of ash layers at archaeological sites, the charred remains embedded within these features have been regularly targeted for radiocarbon dating. However, often charcoal does not preserve in sediments, and only the mineral fraction of ash is left. The latter is composed of calcium carbonate derived from the thermal decomposition of calcium oxalates produced by the plants used as fuel, and in principle can be dated using radiocarbon. Past attempts have shown that pyrogenic calcium carbonate in the form of calcite does not always preserve the radiocarbon content of the original plant, and that it is prone to recrystallization. Recently, pyrogenic aragonite (a metastable polymorph of calcium carbonate) in archaeological ash has produced accurate radiocarbon age determinations because its crystals did not recrystallize over time. In this paper, we report on the radiocarbon dating of an ash layer rich in aragonite identified at Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel). Using a combination of infrared spectroscopy and micro-spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, phytolith analysis, micromorphology, and radiocarbon dating, we reconstructed the formation processes of the combustion feature and showed that most of the pyrogenic aragonite crystals in the ash layer exchanged carbon with the environment, and thus cannot be considered a closed system suitable for dating. Therefore, we proposed an improved extraction method to isolate the smallest crystals of pyrogenic aragonite and calcite, which are more likely to keep their original isotopic composition based on independent age controls from the same depositional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apart from mould and core remnants attached to metal objects from the Chalcolithic Southern Levant (ca. 4500–3800 BCE), production remains of early lost wax casting are seemingly invisible in the archaeological record. An experiment using reproduced casting moulds was performed to simulate the Chalcolithic processes to investigate whether the moulds might have deteriorated to an unrecognisable state after the casting process. Results from previous studies on mould remains attached to metal objects were complemented with ethnographical accounts for the experimental set-up. The moulds were prepared from local clays already in use during the Chalcolithic. Petrography, simple alteration tests, and general technological considerations reveal that preservation may be poor but is still visible to the naked eye. The preservation of multi-layered fragments is crucial, despite their friable or brittle state after casting. A further, previously unmentioned, clear indication of lost wax casting moulds may be the combination of vegetal temper with mineral/rock temper in their clay paste. This composition derives purely from technological considerations and is independent of depositional and post-depositional processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a micro-geoarchaeological study carried out on the sedimentary sequence exposed at the entrance of Sefunim Cave, Israel, a sequence that spans from the Middle Paleolithic to the early Epipaleolithic periods. Using FTIR and micromorphological techniques, we investigated the stratigraphic sequence to reconstruct patterns of site use and archaeological formation processes. We identified formation processes that are common among Paleolithic caves sites in the Southern Levant, mainly the deposition of local terra rossa through colluvial sedimentation. Taphonomic disturbances of the deposits range from minimal to moderate, exhibited mainly by root and burrowing activity, but with no evidence for significant transport of archaeological materials. While the upper layers (II–III) are decalcified, the precipitation of secondary calcite results in increasing cementation of the sediments with depth in the lower layers (V–VII). We observed variation at the microscopic scale and identified an inverse correlation between human and carnivore activity throughout the layers. We observed human activity by the presence of micro-archaeological materials such as chert, bone, charcoal, rubified clay, burnt bone and shell, and wood ash. We observed carnivore activity by the presence of phosphatic grains and coprolite fragments as well as chewed and digested bones. We conclude that human activity at the site was characterized by episodes of varying intensity, based on the frequency of archaeological finds within the different layers. The alternating episodes of human and carnivore activity at Sefunim Cave may demonstrate the close-knit interactions and reciprocal relations that humans and carnivore shared at Paleolithic caves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of lithic morphological variability during the Acheulean is a much-debated topic, especially in the late Acheulean of the Levant. To explore this issue, we present a 3D analysis of 260 handaxes from Jaljulia, a recently discovered late Acheulean site dated to ca. 500–300/200 ka. We employ a comprehensive suite of 3D methods aimed at reconstructing the technological and morphological choices enacted by the Jaljulia knappers. These methods include the precise calculation of orthogonal measurements, center of mass, surface area, edge length, and geometric morphometrics, as well as new metrics for quantifying handaxe outlines and distribution of mass. Scar density was used to reconstruct the handaxe reduction strategies employed at the site. Our analyses reveal that the Jaljulia handaxes are diverse in shape suggesting that they were made following a flexible reduction sequence involving an expedient selection of initial nodules of varying sizes. This reduction strategy was geared toward improving the refinement and outline quality of the handaxes, but not imposing any shape constraints. The expediency and relative crudeness of the handaxes from such a late Acheulean site belie the commonly held perception that handaxes improve through time during the Acheulean. This is true on an intra-site scale also, with the oldest excavation area containing the most refined and smooth-edged handaxes. Finally, we consider how this newfound morphological flexibility and expediency of nodule selection fit within the complex lithic variability occurring in the terminal phase of the Acheulean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slag analyses from archaeological iron smelting sites are common. Rigorous analyses of iron and slag from successful experimental smelting, however, are still rare. Furthermore, thorough analyses from a series of smelts, and of the slag produced in different phases of the smelt, are exceedingly rare. The present study investigates the effect of an iron smelter's decision-making and skills on the products of the smelting process: iron and slag. Four smelting experiments were carried out in a shaft furnace with slag tapping using iron ores from the Southern Levant. Using various analytical techniques, including portable X-ray fluorescence, optical and electron microscopy, metallography, and hardness tests enabled us to correlate the properties of the final products with adjustment of various parameters during the smelting process. The latter include airflow and charging rate, temperature, residence time in the reducing zone, ore-charcoal ratio, and control of the slag characteristics. Results obtained allowed us to empirically demonstrate the direct impact of decisions made by the smelter during the complex technological practice of bloomery smelting. Analysis also highlights the benefits of moderately reducing conditions controlled by the smelter to produce good-quality, low-carbon iron, which is particularly relevant within the geological setting of the Southern Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foodways in the late prehistoric southern Levant evolved alongside changes in the social and economic organization of the communities occupying the region. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of culinary practices from the Pottery Neolithic to the Late Chalcolithic period (ca. 6,400–3,800 cal. BC). The research examines changes and continuity in food-related organic residues preserved within ceramic and stone vessels along diachronic and interregional climatic lines in Israel. The results of lipid biomarker and compound-specific isotope analyses, together with the faunal and botanic records, indicate that while this timespan witnessed significant social and economic developments (including most notably the introduction of pottery and later copper metallurgy), there was a fairly uniform diet. Dietary preferences included meat, originating mainly from domestic ruminants, and cultivated vegetal resources, usually regardless of chronological, cultural, or environmental differences. Some chronological and potentially environmental variation was noted in the use of dairy products, which chemical residue analysis detected from samples dating to the Middle Chalcolithic period onwards in semi-arid regions. The overarching general uniformity in diet during the Pottery Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods suggests that the timespan was one long economic continuum separated by distinct cultural entities sharing a core dietary tradition. The socio-economic processes of the timespan had no significant effect on what people ate and how they used vessels to prepare and consume food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located in the steep hilly terrain of the Upper Galilee, the Iron Age I mountain fort of Mt. Adir dominates its surroundings. The region's topography has limited population growth throughout history, which in turn has limited archaeological research. This situation is improving however, with renewed surveys, excavations and re-examination of unpublished finds. Concordantly, this study is part of a renewed publication of the finds from the excavation of Mt. Adir. A time of geopolitical shift, the Levantine Iron Age I saw the appearance of new local polities. While some vanished as soon as they appeared, others became regional powers. Sitting in the border area between such groups, the cultural and political affinity of Mt. Adir, and in accordance its environs, has been an ongoing source of debate. For these reasons, a petrographic study of the pottery assemblage was initiated, examining a range of ceramic types. By reconstructing the movement of goods, we aim to help shed light on the geopolitical status of the region. Four of the petrographic groups were made locally or at a nearby region, the other two reflect geological environments of the Mediterranean coast, areas which at the period were part of Phoenicia. In addition, we discuss new and legacy data concerning the production local of the wavy-band pithoi, suggested in the past to have been produced in Tyre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research examines the extent of animal husbandry between the Early and the Late Pottery Neolithic period in the southern Levant. Based on the faunal analysis of several assemblages from sites dated to the Jericho IX/Lodian (7800–7500 Bp) and Wadi Raba cultures (7500–6500 Bp), located in diverse geographic zones, it expands upon the current knowledge regarding the status of livestock exploitation and the extent of hunting. We expected some measure of exploitation of secondary products, as previous studies show that intense use of livestock for milk had already emerged in several places in Europe and the Near East by the 8th millennium BC. Our examination of the species abundance, herd demography, and changes in body size of the main livestock animals and wild species in multiple sites showed that livestock were utilized mainly for meat, and not for their secondary products. Additionally, while the animal economy in all sites relied on a combination of livestock and wild species, the extent of reliance on each source varied greatly between sites, especially in the Late Pottery Neolithic. Finally, our findings demonstrate that the economy of the Late Pottery Neolithic (Wadi Raba) of the southern Levant is more similar to the Early Pottery Neolithic (Jericho IX/Lodian) than to the later Chalcolithic Ghassulian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the analysis of archaeobotanical material retrieved by means of flotation from well-secured features during recent excavation work carried out in 2019 and 2020 by the German-Israeli Tell Iẓṭabba Excavation Project in the Seleucid-founded town of Nysa-Scythopolis. Founded under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 bce) and destroyed by the Hasmonaeans in the later years of John Hyrcanus (in 108/07 bce), the site offers a unique opportunity for observing the dietary habits of its settlers. The large sample size, namely the largest well-secured Seleucid assemblage ever analyzed in the southern Levant, together with its versatile provenance exhibit previously unknown information for the Hellenistic southern Levant vis-à-vis a unique case-study of high resolution systematic archaeobotanical analysis. The botanical assemblage from Tell Iẓṭabba gives a clearer picture of botanical dietary practices in Hellenistic Palestine. By presenting the archaeobotanical data of the published Hellenistic assemblages from the southern Levant, we offer a comprehensive overview of the agrarian resources cultivated and consumed as food at the time and period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver exchanged by weight for its intrinsic value was the most important measure of value and means of payment in the southern Levant, starting from the Middle Bronze Age II–III through the Iron Age (~1700/1650‒600 BC). Since silver is not available locally in the Levant, its ongoing use as currency in the region triggered long-distance trade initiatives, and its availability or lack thereof had a direct impact on the economy. The continued use is evidenced in 40 silver hoards found in various sites across the region. A comprehensive study of lead isotopes and chemical analyses of samples obtained from 19 hoards enabled us to trace the origin of silver in the millennium during which it was extensively used as currency in the southern Levant and to identify constantly changing silver sources and concomitant trade routes. The results indicate that silver originated initially in Anatolia and Greece (~1700/1650–1600 BC) and shortly after from an unknown location in the Aegean/Carpathian/Anatolian sphere (~1600–1200 BC). After the collapse of Late Bronze Age Mediterranean trade routes, during Iron Age I (~1200–950 BC), there was a period of shortage. Silver trade was revived by the Phoenicians, who brought silver to the Levant from Sardinia and Anatolia (~950–900 BC), and later from Iberia (~900–630 BC). Further change occurred after the Assyrian retreat from the Levant, when silver was shipped from the Aegean (~630–600 BC). Following the devastation caused by the expanding Babylonian empire, silver consumption in the Levant practically ended for a century. Considering the isotopic results, combined with a detailed study of the context, chronology, and chemical composition, we demonstrate that all these factors are essential for the reconstruction of developments in the supply of silver in the southern Levant, and more generally. The changes in trade routes closely follow political and social transformations for over a millennium; exchange in this case was not only, not even mainly preconditioned by the environmental/geographic circumstances, as has often been argued for the Mediterranean. From an analytical point of view, we offer a protocol for the provenance of silver in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This pilot study examines the provisioning of domestic sheep and goats as it pertains to pilgrimage at the archeological site of Tel Dan (Tell el-Qadi), Israel, an Iron Age IIA–B (ca. 10th/9th–7th c. BCE) religious center in the southern Levant traditionally associated with Israelite Yahwistic worship. The question of how far animals were transported for sacrifice is addressed through isotopic analyses (carbon, oxygen, and strontium) on tooth enamel of domestic sheep and goats (predominately sheep) from Iron Age IIA–B contexts at Tel Dan through sequential intra-tooth sampling. While the results show some diversity of origins among the animals, none was brought from a distance greater than 10–20 km from Tel Dan. As such, the data suggest that however far pilgrims traveled to the site, the animals sold for sacrifice and consumption were raised locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of the silver trade across the Mediterranean, and the role of the Phoenicians in this phenomenon, remain contentious. This is partly because of difficulties encountered when trying to assign archaeological silver to its geological sources. Here we present a reanalysis of Iron Age silver hoards in the southern Levant, which demonstrates not only that recycling of silver was widespread in the Early and Late Iron Age, but that the components of this mixed silver originated from the Aegean, Anatolia and the western Mediterranean. An assessment of lead isotope analyses combined with compositional data allows the identification of mixing lines based on gold levels in the silver and the Pb crustal age (or, more loosely, geological age) of the ore from which the silver originated. It is shown that, from as early as the 11th century BC, these mixed silver signatures derive from the Taurus mountains in Anatolia, from Iberia and an unknown source—with Sardinia as an additional possibility—and Laurion in Greece in the Late Iron Age. In contrast to copper, which was deliberately alloyed with silver, gold appears to have been mixed unintentionally, through the melting down of silver objects with gold parts. It is suggested that vertical mixing lines (with constant Pb crustal age but variable Au), may indicate the melting down and mixing of silver in times of unrest, both here and in other contexts. Gold and lead concentrations in the silver indicate that native silver from Iberia was most likely used in the Early Iron Age, suggesting that the first people to convey silver to the southern Levant were not miners but traders who had acquired silver directly from the indigenous Bronze Age inhabitants of Iberia. However, evidence of the exploitation of jarosite also supports that silver ore mining and cupellation was ongoing in Iberia at a similar time, and continued in the Late Iron Age—potentially a result of technological transfer from the East. In essence, the western Mediterranean origin of the silver in these Early Iron Age southern Levantine hoards supports an emerging picture of Mediterranean interactions and trade relations in the increasingly bright Dark Ages (c. 1200-800 BC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee and Lake Tiberias, is located in the northeast of Israel. At a lake level of 211 m b.s.l. (below mean sea level), the central basin is 43 m deep. The maximum length of the lake is 21 km (N-S) and its maximum width is 12 km (W-E). Lake Kinneret’s surface area is 166 km2. A new 17.8 m long sedimentary core was drilled in 2010. Here, we present the entire palynological record from it, which covers the last ~ 9,000 years. Special emphasis is given to the natural and human-influenced vegetation history of Galilee in comparison to that of the more southerly Dead Sea region. Significant signs of human impact are the first Olea (olive) increase during the beginning of the Chalcolithic period between 7,000 and 6,500 years ago, as well as the prominent Olea phase during the Hellenistic/Roman/Byzantine period between 2,300 and 1,500 years ago. Mediterranean macchia and bathas scrub vegetation, as known in the area today, has developed in the southern Levant under human impact since the last ca. 1,500 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing demand within the humanities and social sciences to use computers to analyze material culture and discover patterns of historical and anthropological significance. Using southern Levantine Iron Age (ca. 1200-500 BCE) ceramics as a test case, the Pottery Informatics Query Database (PIQD) provides a novel solution for constructing regional ceramic typologies. Beyond digitally archiving 2D/3D-scanned ceramics, the PIQD encodes ceramic profiles as mathematical representations. This method of digital preservation enables rapid queries to be conducted in a mathematically grounded approach. In this sense, the queries are similar to online Basic Local Alignment Search Tool searches developed in the field of genetics by rapidly associating large quantities of digital vessel profiles to each other based on similar morphological traits. The PIQD is an open-source online tool that enables scholars and students to test humanities-related hypotheses against ceramic data in ways that conventional publications or other databases cannot provide. Regional spatial patterning of the ceramic data is delivered over a Google Earth-based user interface. In this paper, we present the PIQD as an objective method for developing a comprehensive ceramic typology of an entire region of archaeological study and provide an arena to conduct novel scientific research. We then demonstrate through a case study its analytical capabilities to handle large datasets of 3D scans and digitized 2D ceramic profiles and generate cultural inferences with the ceramic assemblages of the Iron Age II 'Edomite' region located in modern southern Jordan. PIQD adds an important methodological tool to the post-excavation cyber-archaeology tool box. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the archaeobotanical record of the transition from foraging to farming in the southern Levant. The concise presentation of the published botanical evidence follows a critical assessment of: (a) the nature of Epipalaeolithic plant management strategies, (b) the place of the southern Levant in the polycentric development of Near Eastern plant cultivation and domestication, and (c) region-specific pathways for the emergence of domesticated crop 'packages'. Some inferences are drawn and suggestions are made concerning the potential contribution of archaeobotanical research to questions of broader archaeological significance about socio-economic change in the southern Levant during the Pre-pottery Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the southern Levant, the late fifth millennium to mid-fourth millennium BC--traditionally known as the Chalcolithic period--witnessed major cultural transformations in virtually all areas of society, most notably craft production, mortuary and ritual practices, settlement patterns, and iconographic and symbolic expression. A degree of regionalism is evident in material culture, but continuity in ceramic styles, iconographic motifs, and mortuary practices suggests a similar cultural outlook linking these sub-regions. Luxury items found in group mortuary caves provide good evidence for at least some inequality in access to exotic materials. The level of complexity in social organization, however, is still debated. Divergent interpretations of Chalcolithic socio-economic organization suggest that, with the large amount of new information now available, a reevaluation of the debate is due. In this article we synthesize the more recent evidence and weigh interpretations of processes that led to the widespread fundamental changes witnessed during the late fifth to early fourth millennium BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from foraging to farming of the Neolithic periods is one of, if not, the most important cultural processes in recent human prehistory. Integrating previously published archaeological materials with archaeological research conducted since 1980, the first half of this essay synthesizes our current understanding of archaeological data for the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (ca. 11,700–ca. 8400 B.P.) of the southern Levant, generally defined as including southern Syria and Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian Autonomous Authority, Jordan, and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt. The second half of the essay explores how these data inform archaeologists about the processes by which social differentiation emerged, the nature of regional and interregional connections, and the mechanisms and processes by which the transition from foraging to food production first occurred in the Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charcoal assemblages from five Terminal Pleistocene sites in the Central Negev Highlands, Israel, have been analyzed. Eleven taxa have been identified, two of which, juniper and Paliurus, no longer grow in this district, and one, Pinus (of which only a single occurrence was encountered), is considered intrusive, and the rest are taxa which still characterize the region today. Among these latter, Pistacia atlantica (which is the dominant tree in this area today) was the most common. Association of juniper and Paliurus is found today only in the northern Near East. It can not be ascertained that such an association characterized the Central Negev Highlands throughout the entire period spanned by the charcoal assemblages, since it is possible that Pistacia atlantica may have become temporarily extinct. In any case the former occurrence of juniper and particularly Paliurus in the Central Negev Highlands clearly point to higher humidity in this region during the final stages of the Pleistocene. This conclusion is corroborated by a variety of proxy climatic indicators throughout the southern Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]