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1 Jun 2022 • Journal Article • Archaeological Research in Asia
The Levantine Early Middle Palaeolithic in retrospect – Reassessing the contribution of Abou-Sif to the understanding of Palaeolithic record
AbstractThe Early Middle Palaeolithic (EMP) in the Levant presents a unique phenomenon, diverse forms of blade production dominate the technological organization. Contrary to the discontinuous presence of blade production across Eurasia, both before and after the EMP, blades and their by-products were, between 250 and 160,000 years ago, the main "behavioral package" in the
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Jun 2022 • Journal Article • Near Eastern Archaeology
Metalworking at Tel Reḥov
AbstractThe excavations at Tel Reḥov yielded hundreds of metal objects and numerous metallurgical remains that attest to on-site metalworking. The study of such remains and their distribution sheds light on metalworking practices at the site, indicating a considerable change between the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, which comprised both the choice of raw materials (bronze
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Jun 2022 • Journal Article • Near Eastern Archaeology
Tel Reḥov in the Tenth and Ninth Centuries BCE
AbstractTel Reḥov was the location of one of the largest Iron Age cities in northern Israel during the Iron Age IIA, the main period investigated at the site. This article summarizes the stratigraphy, main architectural features, aspects of daily life and material culture, industries, trade relations, writing, religion and iconography, as well as chronology and historical
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Jun 2022 • Journal Article • Near Eastern Archaeology
Tel Reḥov: The Site and Its Excavation
AbstractThe author offers a brief introduction to the excavations at Tel Reḥov, beginning with a description of the mound. This is followed by a summary of the appearance of the toponym Reḥob in written sources; the identification of the site; and a brief survey of the excavation project, including its goals, the core staff, the excavation areas and the methods used. Finally
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13 May 2022 • Journal Article • Religion Compass
Commentaries from ancient mesopotamia: Texts, genres, and hermeneutics
AbstractAkkadian commentaries from ancient Mesopotamia, written on cuneiform tablets dating to the first millennium BCE, deal with various texts and exhibit a variety of hermeneutical techniques and concerns. These commentaries are connected to the process of canonization, and also provide a glimpse into the scholarly environment in which they were produced.
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6 May 2022 • Journal Article • Scientific Reports
7000-year-old evidence of fruit tree cultivation in the Jordan Valley, Israel
AbstractThis study provides one of the earliest examples of fruit tree cultivation worldwide, demonstrating that olive (Olea europaea) and fig (Ficus carica) horticulture was practiced as early as 7000 years ago in the Central Jordan Valley, Israel. It is based on the anatomical identification of a charcoal assemblage recovered from the Chalcolithic (7200–6700 cal
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7 Apr 2022 • Journal Article • Scientific Reports
Stone toolmaking difficulty and the evolution of hominin technological skills
AbstractStone tools are a manifestation of the complex cognitive and dexterous skills of our hominin ancestors. As such, much research has been devoted to understanding the skill requirements of individual lithic technologies. Yet, comparing skill across different technologies, and thus across the vast timespan of the Palaeolithic, is an elusive goal. We seek to quantify a
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6 Apr 2022 • Journal Article • Antiquity
Caravanserai middens on desert roads: a new perspective on the Nabataean–Roman trade network across the Negev
AbstractLong-distance trade routes criss-crossed ancient Africa and Eurasia. Archaeological research has focused on the commodities in transit and the excavation of major centres located along these routes, with less attention paid to smaller caravanserai and evidence such as rubbish middens. The ‘Incense Route’ linked the Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea
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24 Mar 2022 • Journal Article • Plos One
Kaizer Hill (Modi 'in), a pre-pottery neolithic a quarry site–the terraced slopes
AbstractThe research of the Kaizer Hill site (the Hilltop and its Terraces), recognized as a Pre Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) quarry site, involved studies of the rock damage associated with the quarrying activities as well as of the recovered material remains, mostly chipped stone artifacts. We present here the results of our on-site explorations (excavations, surveys and
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16 Mar 2022 • Journal Article • Scientific Reports
Expansion of eastern Mediterranean Middle Paleolithic into the desert region in early marine isotopic stage 5
AbstractMarine Isotopic Stage 5 is associated with wetter climatic conditions in the Saharo-Arabian deserts. This stage also corresponds to the establishment of Middle Paleolithic hominins and their associated material culture in two geographical provinces in southwest Asia—the Eastern Mediterranean woodland and the Arabian Peninsula desert. The lithic industry of the Eastern
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