Holocene climate variability and cultural evolution in the Near East from the Dead Sea sedimentary record

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.

The Chalcolithic Period of the Southern Levant: A Synthetic Review

This paper examines some of the processes which may have led to the initial adoption of metallurgy during the Chalcolithic (ca. 4500–3200 BCE) period in ancient Palestine. An archaeometallurgical study of metal‐related finds from the Negev desert demonstrates the presence of two distinct metal industries during the Chalcolithic; one for the production of tools and the other for the manufacture of prestige/cultic metal objects. A social perspective is taken to examine the role of early metal technology in culture change during this formative period.

Prehistoric metalworking in the southern Levant: Archaeometallurgical and social perspectives

This article deals with the ritual burial of cultic objects in the Near East during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. These items are not grave goods associated with human burials but objects buried on their own because of their ritual significance. A systematic survey of the depositional context of anthropomorphic statues, plastered skulls and other cultic objects from a large number of sites indicates clearly that the earliest evidence for this concept can be traced to the early agricultural communities of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period of the seventh millennium bc. The custom was a ritual institution for the disposal of worn-out and unwanted cultic items. A further analysis of twelve other symbols and artistic components emphasizes the importance of the seventh millennium bc as a formative era for the cult and mythology of the ancient Near East.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0959774300001062

Ritual Burial of Cultic Objects: The Earliest Evidence

(2002). The Fortress Mound at Tel Arad an Interim Report. Tel Aviv: Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 3-109.

The Fortress Mound at Tel Arad an Interim Report

(1984). The Basalt Vessels of the Chalcolithic Period and Early Bronze Age I. Tel Aviv: Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 11-19.

The Basalt Vessels of the Chalcolithic Period and Early Bronze Age I

Located about 30 kilometers east of Beersheba, Tel Arad has preserved its name since biblical times. Joshua 12: 14 mentioned the site among the conquered Canaanite cities, although there is no account of its conquest. It was known to the Egyptians also, being listed as \"the citadels of Greater Arad\" by Pharaoh Shishak after his campaigns in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign. Much later, Eusebius mentioned a village of Arad situated about 20 miles from Hebron, a distance that agrees with the location of Tel Arad. In modern times, Edward Robinson identified the tell in his Biblical Researches in Palestine (1841), and the site was explored and identified by David Alon (1953) and Nelson Glueck (1957) as having Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Iron Age remains. Excavations in 1962, the first season, were directed jointly by Amiran and Aharoni, and work was concentrated mainly upon the high mound on the northeast side of the site. It became apparent, however, that the high mound was a citadel belonging to the biblical period, while the lower city was much earlier, dating to the Early Bronze Age. For the remainder of the excavation, therefore, a division of responsibility was agreed upon, and Aharoni devoted his efforts to the citadel while Amiran excavated the lower city. This report covers Amiran's work in the lower city through the fifth season, in 1966, although it should be noted that a second phase of excavations began in 1971 and has continued to the present. In the remarks that follow, the reader should bear in mind that the present volume was in the hands of the publishers by 1971; for unexplained reasons, they required seven years before it appeared in print. The pottery plates were kindly made available to the reviewer in 1970 for use in preparation of the first cAi (et-Tell) report, but countless others interested in the Early Bronze Age were denied access to this important work because of the excruciating pace of the publishers. Five major strata have been identified in the relatively shallow remains of the ancient site. They are numbered from the top down, or from latest to earliest, in the order in which they were excavated. Thus, Stratum V represents the Chalcolithic, or earliest, remains; Stratum IV is assigned to the second half of EB I, contemporary with the first two kings of the Egyptian First Dynasty (p. 115), and is pre-urban in that it precedes the construction of the walled city; Strata III-II are assigned to EB II and represent the great urban occupation phases at Arad. A well-planned city with strategically located fortifications and a water supply was constructed, in some cases with city walls on top of the preceding Stratum IV village houses. This city flourished during the major period of the Egyptian First Dynasty, from Djer to Semrekhet. The city was apparently destroyed at the end of this period, terminating Stratum II, and Stratum I is assigned to the scrappy remains of what Amiran calls a brief \"after the destruction\" occupation (p. 116), which, by Amiran's interpretation of the brief

A Review of "Arad" I@@@Early Arad: The Chalcolithic Settlement and Early Bronze City. I, First-Fifth Seasons of Excavations, 1962-1966

Early Arad II: The Chalcolithic and Early Bronze IB Settlements and the Early Bronze II City: Architecture and Town Planning: Sixth to Eighteenth Seasons of Excavations, 1971-1978, 1980-1984

An unusual vessel dated typologically to the Chalcolithic period has the same type of bird figurines as those found on the copper "crowns" from Naḥal Mishmar. This vessel is thus another instance i...

A New Type of Chalcolithic Ritual Vessel and Some Implications for the Nahal Mishmar Hoard

Il s'agit dans la classification des poteries predynastiques de Petrie, des jarres a anse "onduleuse" (= Wavy handle), d'origine cananeenne. Table de ces 15echantillons: n de l'Ashmolean Museum, provenance (Nagada, Mahesna, Abadya, Hierakonpolis), reference des publications eventuelles. Resultats de l'analyse petrographique.

Ruth Amiran

Papers

The Basalt Vessels of the Chalcolithic Period and Early Bronze Age I

A Review of "Arad" I@@@Early Arad: The Chalcolithic Settlement and Early Bronze City. I, First-Fifth Seasons of Excavations, 1962-1966

Early Arad II: The Chalcolithic and Early Bronze IB Settlements and the Early Bronze II City: Architecture and Town Planning: Sixth to Eighteenth Seasons of Excavations, 1971-1978, 1980-1984

A New Type of Chalcolithic Ritual Vessel and Some Implications for the Nahal Mishmar Hoard

An Archaeological-Petrographical Study of 15 W-Ware Pots in the Ashmolean Museum