Stone pedestalled vessels from Tel Tsaf, a Middle Chalcolithic site in the Central Jordan Valley, Israel
Keywords:
Middle Chalcolithic, ground stone tools, fenestrated, pedestalled bowls, Tel Tsaf
Abstract
The pedestalled bowls described here are part of the ground stone tool assemblage discovered during the Hebrew University of Jerusalem excavations at Tel Tsaf (2004-2007). This site, located in the Central Jordan Valley, is the first well-documented and large-scale excavation of the Middle Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant. The inhabitants used two types of raw materials for their stone items: basalt and limestone. While the first is commonly used in the stone-vessel industry of the Chalcolithic period, the second is rarer. We present here the preliminary results of our analysis of the typology and function of the pedestalled bowls, a small but important component of the local ground stone tool assemblage.
References
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Tzori, N. 1958, Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in the Valley of Beth Shean. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 90: 44-51. doi:10.1179/peq.1958.90.1.44
Van den Brink, E. C. M., & Gophna, R. 2005, Shoham (North). Late Chalcolitihc Burial Caves in the Lod Valley, Israel. IAA Reports 27. Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, 207 p.
Van den Brink, E. C. M., Rowan, Y. M., & Braun, E. 1999, Basalt bowls of the Chalcolithic: New variations. Israel Exploration Journal, 49(3-4(:161-183. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27926891
Valla, F. R. 1975, Le Natoufien: une Culture Prehistorique en Palestine. J. Gabalda et Cie, Paris, 135 p.
Wright, K. I. 1992, Classification system for ground stone tools from the prehistoric Levant. Paléorient, 18(2): 53-81. doi:10.3406/paleo.1992.4573
Zertal, A. 2005, סקר הר מנשה כרך רביעי - מנחל בזק עד הסרטבה. Ministry of Defence Publishing, Tel Aviv, 803 p. (in Hebrew) (“The Manasseh Hill Country Survey, Vol. 4: From Nahal Bezeq to Sartaba”)
Amiran, R. & Porat, N. 1984, The basalt vessels of the Chalcolithic Period and Early Bronze Age I. Tel Aviv, 11: 11-19. doi:10.1179/tav.1984.1984.1.11
Cohen-Tavor, A. 2010, Survey of Tel Rehov Area. Master thesis, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 108 p. (in Hebrew).
Commenge, C. 2006, Gilat’s ceramics: cognitive dimensions of pottery production. In: Archaeology, Anthropology and Cult: the Sanctuary at Gilat, (Levy, T.E., Ed.), Equinox, London: p. 394-506.
Commenge-Pellerin, C. 1990, La Poterie de Safadi (Beershéva) au IVe Millénaire avant l'Ere Chrétienne. Les cahiers du Centre de Recherche Français de Jérusalem 5. Association Paléorient, Paris, 261 p.
Garfinkel, Y. 1992, התרבות החומרית של עמק הירדן התיכון בתקופות הניאוליתית הקראמית והכלקוליתית הקדומה.. Ph.D. dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 346 p. (in Hebrew) (“The Material Culture in the Central Jordan Valley in the Pottery Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic Periods”)
Garfinkel, Y. 1999, Neolithic and Chalcolithic Pottery of the Southern Levant. Qedem 39. The Institute of Archaeology, Jerusalem, 321 p.
Garfinkel, Y., Freikman, M., Ben-Shlomo, D., & Vered, A. 2007, Tel Tsaf: The 2004-2006 excavation seasons. Israel Exploration Journal, 57(1): 1-33. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27927153
Garfinkel, Y., Klimscha, F., Shalev, S., & Rosenberg, D. 2014, The beginning of metallurgy in the Southern Levant: A late 6th millennium Cal BC copper awl from Tel Tsaf, Israel. PlosOne, 9(3). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092591
Gilead, I. 1995, Grar: a Chalcolithic Site in the Northern Negev, Be’er Sheva Vol. 7. Ben Gurion University Press, Beer Sheva, 529 p.
Gopher, A. 2012, Village Communities of the Pottery Neolithic Period in the Menashe Hills, Israel: Archaeological Investigations at the Sites of Nahal Zehora. Vol. 3. Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 1611 p.
Gopher, A., & Greenberg, R. 1987, Pottery Neolithic levels at Tel Dan. Mitekufat Haeven: Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society, 20: 91-113. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23373186
Gopher, A, & Orrelle, E. 1995, The Ground Stone Assemblages of Munhata: a Neolithic Site in the Jordan Valley, Israel: a Report. Association Paléorient, Paris, 168 p.
Gophna, R., & Sadeh, S. 1988, Excavations at Tel Tsaf: An Early Chalcolithic site in the Jordan Valley. Tel Aviv, 15-16(1): 3-36. doi:10.1179/tav.1988.1988.1.3
Koeppel, R. 1940, Teleilat Ghassul II; Compte Rendu des Fouilles de l’Institut Biblique Pontifical 1932-1936. Piazza della Pilotta, Rome, 140 p.
Lee, J. R. 1973, Chalcolithic Ghassul: New Aspects and Master Typology. Ph.D. Dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 470 p.
Leonard, A. 1992, The Jordan Valley Survey, 1953: Some Unpublished Soundings Conducted by James Mellaart. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 50. Eisenbrauns, Indiana, Winona Lake, 199 p. doi:10.2307/3768556
Mallon, A., Koeppel, R., & Neuville, R. 1934, Teleilat Ghassul I; Compte Rendu des Fouilles de l’Institut Biblique Pontifical 1929-1932. Piazza della Pilotta, Rome, 193 p.
Milevski, I., Marder, O., Mienis, H. K., & Kolska Horwits, L. 2015, Abu Ghosh, Jasmine Street: a Pre-Ghassulian site in the Judean hills. ‘Atiqot, 82: 85-130. URL: http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1506
Perrot, J. 1960, Excavations at 'Eynan ('Ein Mallaha): Preliminary report on the 1959 season. Israel Exploration Journal, 10(1): 14-22. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27924807
Perrot, J., & Ladiray D. 1980, Tombes à Ossuaires de la Région Cotière Palestinienne au IVe Millénaire avant l'Ere Chrétienne. Association Paléorient, Paris, 140 p.
Prausnitz, M. W. 1969, חפירות בכברי. Eretz-Israel, 9: 122-129. (in Hebrew) (“Excavations at Kabri“)
Prausnitz, M. W. 1970, From Hunter to Farmer to Trader: Studies in the Litihc Industries of Israel and Adjacent Countries (from the Mesolithic to the Chalcolithic Age). R. Habelt Verlag GMBH, Jerusalem, 184 p.
Rosenberg, D. 2011, Development, Continuity and Change: the Stone Industries of the Early Ceramic Bearing Cultures of the Southern Levant. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Haifa, Haifa, 327 p. (In Hebrew).
Rosenberg, D., & Garfinkel, Y. 2014, The Ground-stone Industry: Stone Working at the Dawn of Pottery Production in the Southern Levant. Sha'ar Hagolan Vol. 4. Israel Exploration Society, Jerusalem, 306 p.
Rosenberg, D., Klimscha, F., Graham, P. J., Hill, A., Weissbrod, L., & Ktalav, I. 2014, Back to Tel Tsaf: a preliminary report of the 2013 season of the renewed project. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society, 44: 148-179.
Rowan, M. Y. 1998, Ancient Distribution and Deposition of Prestige Objects: Basalt Vessels during Late Prehistory in the Southern Levant. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas, Austin, 474 p.
Rowan, M. Y., Levy, T. E., Alon, D., & Goren, Y. 2006, Gilat’s ground stone assemblage: Stone fenestrated stands, palettes and related artifacts. In: Archaeology, Anthropology and Cult: the Sanctuary at Gilat, (Levy, T.E, Ed.), Equinox, London: p. 575-684.
Seaton, P. 2008, Chalcolithic Cult and Risk Management at Teleilat Ghassul; the Area E Sanctuary. BAR s-1864. Archaeopress, Oxford, 471 p.
Shalem, D., Gal, Z. & Smithline, H. 2013, Peqi'in: a Late Chalcolithic Burial Site, Upper Galilee, Israel. Kinneret Academic College, Tzemach, 502 p.
Streit, K., & Garfinkel, Y. 2015a, Tel Tsaf and the impact of the Ubaid culture on the Southern Levant: Interpreting the radiocarbon evidence. Radiocarbon, 57(5): 865-880. doi:10.2458/azu_rc.57.18200
Streit, K., & Garfinkel, Y. 2015b, A specialized ceramic assemblage for water pulling: The Middle Chalcolithic well of Tel Tsaf, Israel. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 374: 61-73. doi:10.5615/bullamerschoorie.374.0061
Tzori, N. 1958, Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in the Valley of Beth Shean. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 90: 44-51. doi:10.1179/peq.1958.90.1.44
Van den Brink, E. C. M., & Gophna, R. 2005, Shoham (North). Late Chalcolitihc Burial Caves in the Lod Valley, Israel. IAA Reports 27. Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, 207 p.
Van den Brink, E. C. M., Rowan, Y. M., & Braun, E. 1999, Basalt bowls of the Chalcolithic: New variations. Israel Exploration Journal, 49(3-4(:161-183. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27926891
Valla, F. R. 1975, Le Natoufien: une Culture Prehistorique en Palestine. J. Gabalda et Cie, Paris, 135 p.
Wright, K. I. 1992, Classification system for ground stone tools from the prehistoric Levant. Paléorient, 18(2): 53-81. doi:10.3406/paleo.1992.4573
Zertal, A. 2005, סקר הר מנשה כרך רביעי - מנחל בזק עד הסרטבה. Ministry of Defence Publishing, Tel Aviv, 803 p. (in Hebrew) (“The Manasseh Hill Country Survey, Vol. 4: From Nahal Bezeq to Sartaba”)
Published
31-Oct-2016
How to Cite
Bekker, M., & Garfinkel, Y. (2016). Stone pedestalled vessels from Tel Tsaf, a Middle Chalcolithic site in the Central Jordan Valley, Israel. Journal of Lithic Studies, 3(3), 17-29. https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.v3i3.1654
Issue
Section
Presented at the 1st Meeting of the Association for Ground Stone Tools Research
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