Tensions between communities and complex technology 15 years ago: Although there are sources of high-quality basalt for chiseling tools close to Carmel, the residents of the Al-Wad Cave Terrace 15 years ago went as far as the Sea of Galilee to collect basalt for chiseling tools for food processing, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Haifa
Immersion in the Sea of Galilee and stoning: the basalt vessels of the fallen inhabitants of the Al-Wad Cave (Cave of the River) from about 15 years ago came mostly from the Sea of Galilee, a distance of 60-120 km from their place of residence in Carmel, according to a new joint study by the University of Haifa and the University Mainz from Germany published in the prestigious journal scientific reports. "Since we found no evidence of basalt processing at the site in Carmel, we assume that the ancient hunter-gatherers of Carmel would have gone on journeys to the Sea of Galilee, among other things, to bring the processed basalt vessels from there," said Prof. Danny Rosenberg from the Zinman Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa. who heads a laboratory specializing in the study of ancient tools used for food processing and led the research together with Dr. Tatina Glohak from the University of Mainz.
The Natufian culture is characterized by the beginning of the transition of hunter-gatherer tribes to a type of permanent settlements. According to Prof. Rosenberg, the Natufs still moved on long migration routes, but they also began to establish permanent or semi-permanent sites, where they sat for long periods, to experiment with primary agriculture and produce many stone tools, especially those that were used for food preparation. One of the most famous Natufian base sites was in the El-Wad Cave (Cave of the Stream) in Carmel, which was excavated by Prof. Mina Weinstein-Evron, Prof. Danny Kaufman and Dr. Reuven Yeshron from the Zinman Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa. In excavations at the site, hundreds of stone items were found that were studied by Prof. Rosenberg and his team, most of them made of basalt. Since the basalts in Carmel are rare and mostly not suitable for the production of stone tools, the researchers wanted to check where the residents of Al-Wad brought the stone from.
Basalt - hard raw material
According to Prof. Rosenberg, basalt is a particularly hard raw material that requires deep knowledge and familiarity with the properties of the rock and the production technologies, in order to reduce the risk of breakage during the production process. And despite all the difficulties, the Natopians managed to create long and narrow leaves, some of which have almost perfect symmetry alongside other tools that required complex chiseling abilities.
In the present study, Prof. Rosenberg and Dr. Glohak examined for the first time the geochemical composition of hundreds of potential production points of basalt for the production of stone tools in Israel and at the same time analyzed the chemical composition of dozens of basalt leaves from Al-Wad Cave. In a study conducted by the researchers for about 10 years and published recently, it became clear that the origin of the majority of the Al-Wad leaves is from the Kinneret area, about 60 to 120 km from the Nahal cave.
Seasonal movement to such distances is not surprising in the world of hunter-gatherers in general and the Natufs in particular, and it is known that they maintained trade relations with even more distant regions. However, what was surprising in the results of the new study, is that the ancient inhabitants of Carmel had closer places to bring basalt from, such as for example from the Jezreel Valley area and yet they chose to focus on the Kinneret area.
So what made the Natofim focus specifically on the Kinneret region? According to Prof. Rosenberg, there are two possible models. One model holds, simply, that the experts in chiseling basalt leaves at that time lived in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee, and therefore the Natopim of the Carmel and perhaps of other sites either came there specifically or exchanged any objects for leaves at some point along the way. However, the fact that the researchers discovered that the basalt came from many relatively distant points around the Sea of Galilee - together with the fact that there is almost no known evidence of Natopian sites in the area, especially at the beginning of the period - weakens, according to them, this explanation.
The second model, which is more accepted by the researchers, suggests that the Natufs from Carmel came to the Sea of Galilee by themselves, perhaps as part of a seasonal movement of all or part of the community. This implies that the complex knowledge and experience in making these tools was kept among the members of the community. "We are not sure why the Kinneret region was chosen by the Natopians of Al-Wad, especially since sources of high-quality basalt are also much closer to the site, but it is possible that rivalries or tense relationships between different Natopian communities, or movement following food sources, dictated the movement model of The people of Al-Wad also in this context. The transition of some of the Natopian communities to permanent settlement and primary agriculture certainly also caused the development of their territorial feelings and strengthened the connection between them and the environment of the sites where they lived. It is therefore possible that the basalts in the areas closer to Carmel were within the areas of control of rival groups, which caused the Natufians of Carmel to go as far as the Kinneret region, which were practically uninhabited, but it will be very difficult to find archaeological evidence for this," said Prof. Rosenberg.
More on the subject of the science website:
