Abstract
Studying the distribution of lithic raw materials around prehistoric sites, their procurement, transport, and use, are important for understanding organizational decisions of hunter-gatherers. Here we examine lithic technological organization in two stratigraphic subunits B4 and B1 (dated ∼ 68 and ∼ 55 ka, respectively) at the Neanderthal site of Amud Cave. The lithic assemblages are made exclusively of flint. An ArcGIS model is used to create a predictive model for daily exploitation territories (DETs) around the site. Using a battery of statistical methods (ANOVA, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis), we link flint visual types with geochemical characteristics (obtained through inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry and ICP atomic emission spectrometry) of both geological and archaeological flints. Results indicate that local materials are abundant in both subunits. Nonlocal raw materials (from areas beyond the modeled DET) amount to 30–40% across all technological categories, suggesting long-distance transport. The technological patterns of the nonlocal raw material differ between the two subunits. Pending results of additional work, we suggest that nonlocal flint types were likely obtained from distances >60 km. Mobility patterns inferred from this study suggest that Amud Cave was a focal location within its settlement system during both occupation periods, but the manner of site use and mobility patterns changed through time.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 189-214 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Geoarchaeology - An International Journal |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Mar 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank the two reviewers and Steve Kuhn for their thoughtful comments on an earlier version of this paper as well as to Reid Ferring for reviewing early version of this paper. This research was supported by research grants to RE from the Ruth Amiran Fund for Archaeological Research in the Land of Israel at the Institute of Archeology, Hebrew University, and The Geological Survey of Israel, and a grant from the Irene Levi-Sala CARE foundation to EH. The study of lithic technology in Amud Cave was supported by grants to EH from The Israel Science Foundation (grants 514/ 04 and 63 / 08). We thank the GIS Department of the Geological Survey of Israel for providing geological and geographical data. Yehudit Harlavan, Natalya Tepelyakov, and Olga Yoffe from the Geochemical Department of the Israel Geological Survey provided help in preparing and analyzing the geochemical samples. Adi Ben-Nun from the Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem provided the DEM and helped building the GIS formulae. We thank the students and friends who helped in the survey for geological outcrops: Omry Barzilai, Dodi Ben-Ami, Michal Birkenfeld, Christophe Delage, Dotan Druck, Yonaton Goldsmith, Masha Krakovsky, György Lengyel, Rafi Lewis, Ariel Malinsky-Buller, Ofer Marder, Ianir Millevsky, Dani Nadel, Adi Rabinovich, Haran Raichman, Keren Rave, Uri, Moti, Yoni, Aya and Ruthie Schattner, Amit Segev, Shlomit Shihore, Alex Sumner, Yotam Tepper, and Micka Ullman. We thank Roee Arad and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for granting us the license for sampling in the Amud Nature Reserve. Ariel Malinsky-Buller and Mae Goder-Goldberger provided discussions, critiques, and comments on versions of this paper.
Funding Information:
We thank the two reviewers and Steve Kuhn for their thoughtful comments on an earlier version of this paper as well as to Reid Ferring for reviewing early version of this paper. This research was supported by research grants to RE from the Ruth Amiran Fund for Archaeological Research in the Land of Israel at the Institute of Archeology, Hebrew University, and The Geological Survey of Israel, and a grant from the Irene Levi-Sala CARE foundation to EH. The study of lithic technology in Amud Cave was supported by grants to EH from The Israel Science Foundation (grants 514/ 04 and 63 / 08). We thank the GIS Department of the Geological Survey of Israel for providing geological and geographical data. Yehudit Harlavan, Natalya Tepelyakov, and Olga Yoffe from the Geochemical Department of the Israel Geological Survey provided help in preparing and analyzing the geochemical samples. Adi Ben-Nun from the Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem provided the DEM and helped building the GIS formulae. We thank the students and friends who helped in the survey for geological outcrops: Omry Barzilai, Dodi Ben-Ami, Michal Birkenfeld, Christophe Delage, Dotan Druck, Yonaton Goldsmith, Masha Krakovsky, Gy?rgy Lengyel, Rafi Lewis, Ariel Malinsky-Buller, Ofer Marder, Ianir Millevsky, Dani Nadel, Adi Rabinovich, Haran Raichman, Keren Rave, Uri, Moti, Yoni, Aya and Ruthie Schattner, Amit Segev, Shlomit Shihore, Alex Sumner, Yotam Tepper, and Micka Ullman. We thank Roee Arad and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for granting us the license for sampling in the Amud Nature Reserve. Ariel Malinsky-Buller and Mae Goder-Goldberger provided discussions, critiques, and comments on versions of this paper.
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