The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that ... more The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that witnessed the evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa and the Neanderthals in Eurasia, and the transition from the Early Stone Age/Lower Palaeolithic to the Middle Stone Age/Middle Palaeolithic. This latter change can be broadly characterized by the gradual replacement of large cutting tools and bifaces by points, flakes and blades produced through a variety of hierarchical core strategies, among which the Levallois method is most prominent. Within the Southern Caucasus, a pivotal geographic region between Africa and Eurasia, virtually nothing is known about the archaeological record of this period. Nor Geghi 1 (NG1) is a LMP open-air site located within the Hrazdan valley north of Yerevan, Armenia. During 2008 and 2009, over 3,000 obsidian artifacts were recovered from a paleosol (Unit 2) that developed on the floodplain of the paleo-Hrazdan. These artifacts document the variable behaviors ...
Egypt and the Levant: Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium B.C.E. Edited by E.C.M. van den Brink and T.E. Levy. Continuum, London., 2002
Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant: Papers in honour of Walter E. Rast and R.Thomas Schaub, 2011
The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of ... more The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The direct evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be nec es sary for the var i ous ac tiv i ties involved in fish ing. Fish ing (and pos si bly shellfishing) was prob a bly part of the strat egy of a broad spec trum econ omy that is vis i ble also in other fau nal re mains, while the large num bers of ma rine shell or na ments and es pe cially the new in no va tion of cre at ing shell disk beads, tes ti fies to the im por tance of per sonal or na ments in this cul ture.
Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploi... more Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploitaiton of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The di ect evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be necessary for the various activities involved in fishing. Fishing (and possibly shellfishing) was probably part of the strategy of a broad spectrum economy that is visible also in other faunal remains, while the large numbers of marine shell ornaments and esepcially the new innovation of creating shell disk beads, testifies to the importance of personal ornaments in this culture.
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2020
The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria ... more The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria (Tel Bet Yeraḥ/Khirbet el-Kerak) offer a unique opportunity to study the components of what appears to have been a single festive meal. Extant remains include numerous mammal bones, mollusc shells, and ceramic tableware; they suggest a rustic Mediterranean cuisine, compatible with the presence of Greek settlers in pre-Hasmonean Galilee.
... In : BYRD BF (éd.), The Natufian Encampment at Beidha : 102-104. Moesgaard, Aarhus : The Carl... more ... In : BYRD BF (éd.), The Natufian Encampment at Beidha : 102-104. Moesgaard, Aarhus : The Carlsberg Foundation's Gulf Project (Jutland Archaeological Society Publications XXIII, 1). Marine Shells in the Levant : Upper Palaeolithic, Epipalaeo-lithic and Neolithic. ...
... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur c... more ... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur contexte stratigraphique pas très clair. Mollusca from Yiftah'el, Lower Galilee, Israel. ... (23)BAR-YOSEF, in preparation. ... LAM DAN M. and D AVI ES M. 1983 Le site de Yiftah'el (Israel). ...
... at Meged Rocksheiter, Upper Galilee, Israel STEVE L. KUHN1 ANNA BELFER-COHEN2 OMRY BARZILAI2 ... more ... at Meged Rocksheiter, Upper Galilee, Israel STEVE L. KUHN1 ANNA BELFER-COHEN2 OMRY BARZILAI2 MARY С STINER1 KRISTOPHER W. KERRY1 NATALIE MUNRO3 DANIELLA В ... and rich in clay {terra rosa), with variable quantities of sub-angular limestone fragments. ...
The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that ... more The Late Middle Pleistocene (LMP) was a period of profound biological and behavioral change that witnessed the evolution of Homo sapiens in Africa and the Neanderthals in Eurasia, and the transition from the Early Stone Age/Lower Palaeolithic to the Middle Stone Age/Middle Palaeolithic. This latter change can be broadly characterized by the gradual replacement of large cutting tools and bifaces by points, flakes and blades produced through a variety of hierarchical core strategies, among which the Levallois method is most prominent. Within the Southern Caucasus, a pivotal geographic region between Africa and Eurasia, virtually nothing is known about the archaeological record of this period. Nor Geghi 1 (NG1) is a LMP open-air site located within the Hrazdan valley north of Yerevan, Armenia. During 2008 and 2009, over 3,000 obsidian artifacts were recovered from a paleosol (Unit 2) that developed on the floodplain of the paleo-Hrazdan. These artifacts document the variable behaviors ...
Egypt and the Levant: Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium B.C.E. Edited by E.C.M. van den Brink and T.E. Levy. Continuum, London., 2002
Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant: Papers in honour of Walter E. Rast and R.Thomas Schaub, 2011
The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of ... more The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evןdence for the exploitation of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The direct evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be nec es sary for the var i ous ac tiv i ties involved in fish ing. Fish ing (and pos si bly shellfishing) was prob a bly part of the strat egy of a broad spec trum econ omy that is vis i ble also in other fau nal re mains, while the large num bers of ma rine shell or na ments and es pe cially the new in no va tion of cre at ing shell disk beads, tes ti fies to the im por tance of per sonal or na ments in this cul ture.
Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploi... more Ab stract The bearers of the Natufian culture in the Levant provide ample evidence for the exploitaiton of aquatic resources. Sites close to the Mediterranean coastal plain, as well as others in the Jordan Valley yielded both direct and indirect evidence. The di ect evidence is composed of marine and fresh water fish bones that were probably consumed, as well as mollusk shells that served as ornaments. In one case it is possible that marine mollusks were also consumed, but this has not yet been confirmed. Indirect evidence is based on bone tools such as harpoons, hooks and bipoints (gorgets) apparently used as fishing gear. Additional stone artifacts may have served as net sinkers. The use of such items suggests to us that plant fibers were used for producing cordage, ropes, nets, baskets, etc. that would be necessary for the various activities involved in fishing. Fishing (and possibly shellfishing) was probably part of the strategy of a broad spectrum economy that is visible also in other faunal remains, while the large numbers of marine shell ornaments and esepcially the new innovation of creating shell disk beads, testifies to the importance of personal ornaments in this culture.
Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2020
The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria ... more The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria (Tel Bet Yeraḥ/Khirbet el-Kerak) offer a unique opportunity to study the components of what appears to have been a single festive meal. Extant remains include numerous mammal bones, mollusc shells, and ceramic tableware; they suggest a rustic Mediterranean cuisine, compatible with the presence of Greek settlers in pre-Hasmonean Galilee.
... In : BYRD BF (éd.), The Natufian Encampment at Beidha : 102-104. Moesgaard, Aarhus : The Carl... more ... In : BYRD BF (éd.), The Natufian Encampment at Beidha : 102-104. Moesgaard, Aarhus : The Carlsberg Foundation's Gulf Project (Jutland Archaeological Society Publications XXIII, 1). Marine Shells in the Levant : Upper Palaeolithic, Epipalaeo-lithic and Neolithic. ...
... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur c... more ... Les coquilles marines du Néolithique récent et du Bronze I sont très peu nombreuses et leur contexte stratigraphique pas très clair. Mollusca from Yiftah'el, Lower Galilee, Israel. ... (23)BAR-YOSEF, in preparation. ... LAM DAN M. and D AVI ES M. 1983 Le site de Yiftah'el (Israel). ...
... at Meged Rocksheiter, Upper Galilee, Israel STEVE L. KUHN1 ANNA BELFER-COHEN2 OMRY BARZILAI2 ... more ... at Meged Rocksheiter, Upper Galilee, Israel STEVE L. KUHN1 ANNA BELFER-COHEN2 OMRY BARZILAI2 MARY С STINER1 KRISTOPHER W. KERRY1 NATALIE MUNRO3 DANIELLA В ... and rich in clay {terra rosa), with variable quantities of sub-angular limestone fragments. ...
The Value of Color: Material and Economic Aspects in the Ancient World, 2019
Humans’ transition from a foraging economy to agriculture in the Neolithic of the Levant brought ... more Humans’ transition from a foraging economy to agriculture in the Neolithic of the Levant brought with it the first use of stone beads. These came in many colours and shapes, with a variety of green minerals dominating. Beads in white, red, yellow, brown, and black colours had been used previously, thus the occurrence of green beads was related to the onset of agriculture. Subsequently they were used as amulets to ward off the evil eye and as fertility charms. A synthesis of personal ornaments of the Chalcolithic period provides insight into the possible ways in which the society of agro-pastoralists used to decorate itself. The study of ornaments, their raw materials, and colours informs us on possible belief systems, at the time of religion formation. Their spatial distribution testified for economic ties of the period.
Beads, beadwork, and personal ornaments are made of diverse materials such as shell, bone, stones... more Beads, beadwork, and personal ornaments are made of diverse materials such as shell, bone, stones, minerals, and composite materials. Their exploration from geographical and chronological settings around the world offers a glimpse at some of the cutting edge research within the fast growing field of personal ornaments in humanities’ past. Recent studies are based on a variety of analytical procedures that highlight humankind’s technological advances, exchange networks, mortuary practices, and symbol-laden beliefs. Papers discuss the social narratives behind bead and beadwork manufacture, use and disposal; the way beads work visually, audibly and even tactilely to cue wearers and audience to their social message(s). Understanding the entangled social and technical aspects of beads require a broad spectrum of technical and methodological approaches including the identification of the sources for the raw material of beads. These scientific approaches are also combined in some instances with experimentation to clarify the manner in which beads were produced and used in past societies.
Table of Contents
1: The archaeology of beads, beadwork and personal ornaments. Alice M. Choyke and Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer
PART 1: SOCIO-CULTURAL REFLECTIONS
2. Traditions and change in scaphopod shell beads in northern Australia from the Pleistocene to the recent past. Jane Balme and Sue O'Connor
3. Magdalenian “beadwork time” in the Paris Basin (France): correlation between personal ornaments and the function of archaeological sites. Caroline Peschaux, Grégory Debout, Olivier Bignon-Lau And Pierre Bodu
4. Personal adornment and personhood among the Last Mesolithic foragers of the Danube Gorges in the Central Balkans and beyond. Emanuela Cristiani and Dušan Borić
5. Ornamental Shell Beads as Markers of Exchange in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B of the Southern Levant. Ashton Spatz
6. Games, Exchange, and Stone: hunter-gatherer beads at home. Emily Mueller Epstein
PART 2: AUDIO AND VISUAL SOCIAL CUES
7. The Natufian audio-visual bone pendants from Hayonim Cave. Dana Shaham and Anna Belfer-Cohen
8. Bead Biographies from Neolithic Burial Contexts: Contributions from the Microscope. Annelou van Gijn
9. The Tutankhamun Beadwork, an Introduction to Archaeological Beadwork Analysis. Jolanda E. M. F. Bos
PART 3: METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES
10. A Mother-of-Pearl Shell Pendant from Nexpa, Morelos. Adrián Velázquez-Castro, Patricia Ochoa-Castillo, Norma Valentín-Maldonado, Belem Zúñiga-Arellano
11. Detailing the bead maker: Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) of steatite disk beads from prehistoric Napa Valley, California. Tsim D. Schneider and Lori D. Hager
12. Exploring Manufacturing Traces and Social Organization using Prehistoric Mortuary Beads in the Salish Sea Region of the Northwest Coast of North America. David Bilton and Danielle A. Macdonald
The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of ... more The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of caves and open landscape sites. The fossil record shows that two types of hominins occupied the region during this period—Neandertals and Homo sapiens. Until recently, diagnostic fossil remains were found only at cave sites. Because the two populations in this region left similar material cultural remains, it was impossible to attribute any open-air site to either species. In this study, we present newly discovered fossil remains from intact archaeological layers of the open-air site 'Ein Qashish, in northern Israel. The hominin remains represent three individuals: EQH1, a nondiagnostic skull fragment; EQH2, an upper right third molar (RM 3); and EQH3, lower limb bones of a young Neandertal male. EQH2 and EQH3 constitute the first diagnostic anatomical remains of Neandertals at an open-air site in the Levant. The optically stimulated luminescence ages suggest that Neandertals repeatedly visited 'Ein Qashish between 70 and 60 ka. The discovery of Neandertals at open-air sites during the late MP reinforces the view that Neandertals were a resilient population in the Levant shortly before Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens populated the region. The Middle Palaeolithic (MP) of the southern Levant is a significant period for the study of human evolution because two types of hominins, Neandertals and Homo sapiens, occupied the region at that time (see, for example, refs 1 and 2). Diagnostic fossil remains of the two species have been found in the Mediterranean woodland region, but until recently, they were discovered only at cave sites (Fig. 1). The absolute chronology of the Levantine MP fossils indicates that H. sapiens existed there between 120 and 90 ka and again from 55 ka on; Neandertals existed in that region between ca. 80 and ca. 55 ka 3–16. The genomic evidence suggests gene flow from early H. sapiens to
The only evidence of Neolithic presence (EPPNB) at the Nesher-Ramle site-complex were found in an... more The only evidence of Neolithic presence (EPPNB) at the Nesher-Ramle site-complex were found in an ancient sink-hole, which was filled with sediment and artefacts during the neolithic period. Among other finds from this site shells are surprisingly common. A rich assemblage of land, freshwater and marine shells were found, some artificially perforated to be used as beads for adornment. The types of shells found in the assemblage, the ways in which they were appropriated for use as beads and the use-ware marks found on them, may shed light on different cultural aspects in the lives of the Neolithic people using this underground cavity.
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Papers by Daniella Bar-Yosef
Table of Contents
1: The archaeology of beads, beadwork and personal ornaments.
Alice M. Choyke and Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer
PART 1: SOCIO-CULTURAL REFLECTIONS
2. Traditions and change in scaphopod shell beads in northern Australia from the Pleistocene to the recent past.
Jane Balme and Sue O'Connor
3. Magdalenian “beadwork time” in the Paris Basin (France): correlation between personal ornaments and the function of archaeological sites.
Caroline Peschaux, Grégory Debout, Olivier Bignon-Lau And Pierre Bodu
4. Personal adornment and personhood among the Last Mesolithic foragers of the Danube Gorges in the Central Balkans and beyond.
Emanuela Cristiani and Dušan Borić
5. Ornamental Shell Beads as Markers of Exchange in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B of the Southern Levant.
Ashton Spatz
6. Games, Exchange, and Stone: hunter-gatherer beads at home.
Emily Mueller Epstein
PART 2: AUDIO AND VISUAL SOCIAL CUES
7. The Natufian audio-visual bone pendants from Hayonim Cave.
Dana Shaham and Anna Belfer-Cohen
8. Bead Biographies from Neolithic Burial Contexts: Contributions from the Microscope.
Annelou van Gijn
9. The Tutankhamun Beadwork, an Introduction to Archaeological Beadwork Analysis.
Jolanda E. M. F. Bos
PART 3: METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES
10. A Mother-of-Pearl Shell Pendant from Nexpa, Morelos.
Adrián Velázquez-Castro, Patricia Ochoa-Castillo, Norma Valentín-Maldonado, Belem Zúñiga-Arellano
11. Detailing the bead maker: Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) of steatite disk beads from prehistoric Napa Valley, California.
Tsim D. Schneider and Lori D. Hager
12. Exploring Manufacturing Traces and Social Organization using Prehistoric Mortuary Beads in the Salish Sea Region of the Northwest Coast of North America.
David Bilton and Danielle A. Macdonald