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Abstract: A red-stained flint crescent found in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (ca. 9000 BC) site of Gesher, Israel, provides us with a unique opportunity to study the hafting technology of a particular tool type in the Levant. We present here a reconstruction, based on chemical and mineralogical analyses, of the hafting technologies and materials employed in the process. Use will also be made of relevant studies of the archaeological record. Local material was used for the production of an elastic adhesive paste, mud plaster, which was then hardened to hold the crescent securely in the haft. The study contributes insight into the hafting technology that was most probably implemented in the production and maintenance of composite tools during the Early Neolithic period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article comments on the research paper "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Human in Qafzeh Cave," by Erella Hovers. Important archaeological and geological proof about the use of ochre during the late Middle Paleolithic age at Qafzeh Cave in Israel have been discussed in the paper. However, there is no proof that ochre was produced anywhere in Middle Europe during the late Middle Paleolithic age.

The article presents the authors' reply to comments on their research paper "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Human in Qafzeh Cave." The authors congratulate the commentators for their responses. They clarify point by point objections to their study. In response to the objections raised on the robusticity of the selection criterion based on red color, they clarified that color of ochre in the area of Qafzeh Cave in Israel was more often yellow than red.

The article presents the author's views regarding the article "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Humans in Qafzeh Cave," by Erella Hovers, which has been published within the issue of the periodical. Hovers' article focused on color symbolism and Paleolithic archaeology. Middle stone-age people inherited the act of using pigments from their ancestors. Inhabitants of Qafzeh Cave, Israel, collected natural pigments.

The article comments on the research paper "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Human in Qafzeh Cave," by Erella Hovers. The author views that the paper by Hovers and colleagues provides observational evidences for manipulation of ochre in middle Paleolithic period. According to the author, the various evidences prove that the ochre was used for its color properties.