A recently excavated early Pottery Neolithic (PN) site, Tel Izhaki (Jezreel Valley, Israel) revealed clear evidence for the collecting and recycling of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B blades. This technological behavior, common during the period, occurred along with some on-site production of bidirectional blades, the latter a technological feature characteristic for an early phase of some Yarmukian sites in the central Jordan Valley, e.g. Shaar Hagolan and Hamadiya. Other aspects indicating affinity between Tel Izhaki and key Yarmukian sites in central Jordan Valley constitute a rare incised decoration on a stone vessel, the plano-convex shape of mudbricks as well as some flint raw material. The variability of the material culture at Tel Izhaki, including the presence of both Yarmukian and Jericho IX traits in pottery decoration and flint technology is compared to that of other early PN sites in the area. This variability in combination with the particular location of the sites, reveal a pattern supporting the Yarmukian PN expansion from the Jordan Valley into the Jezreel Valley and subsequently into the Lower Galilee. While radiocarbon dates available from a few sites at the area, including Tel Izhaki, correlate with that scenario of PN distribution, more studies are needed to investigate chronological and spatial aspects of variability defining the early PN in the Levant.
Recycling of PPNB artefacts in the Yarmukian site of Tel Izhaki, Jezreel Valley, Israel
Rivka Chasan;
2022-01-01
Abstract
A recently excavated early Pottery Neolithic (PN) site, Tel Izhaki (Jezreel Valley, Israel) revealed clear evidence for the collecting and recycling of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B blades. This technological behavior, common during the period, occurred along with some on-site production of bidirectional blades, the latter a technological feature characteristic for an early phase of some Yarmukian sites in the central Jordan Valley, e.g. Shaar Hagolan and Hamadiya. Other aspects indicating affinity between Tel Izhaki and key Yarmukian sites in central Jordan Valley constitute a rare incised decoration on a stone vessel, the plano-convex shape of mudbricks as well as some flint raw material. The variability of the material culture at Tel Izhaki, including the presence of both Yarmukian and Jericho IX traits in pottery decoration and flint technology is compared to that of other early PN sites in the area. This variability in combination with the particular location of the sites, reveal a pattern supporting the Yarmukian PN expansion from the Jordan Valley into the Jezreel Valley and subsequently into the Lower Galilee. While radiocarbon dates available from a few sites at the area, including Tel Izhaki, correlate with that scenario of PN distribution, more studies are needed to investigate chronological and spatial aspects of variability defining the early PN in the Levant.
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