Ruth Shahack-Gross

Radiocarbon Results from the Iron IIa Site of Atar Haroa in the Negev Highlands and Their Archaeological and Historical Implications

In this article, we present a set of radiocarbon measurements from Atar Haroa, a site that belongs to the early Iron IIA Negev Highlands settlement system in southern Israel. The results place activity at the site in the 9th century BCE, with a possibility that it was founded in the 10th century BCE, probably in the second half. The Atar Haroa measurements seem to indicate that the early Iron IIA phase in the ceramic typology of Israel lasted until the mid-9th century BCE—some- what later than previously suggested. These new data shed light on several issues related to the history of southern Israel in the late 10th and 9th centuries BCE.

Understanding Fossil Phytolith Preservation: The Role of Partial Dissolution in Paleoecology and Archaeology

Opaline phytoliths are important microfossils used for paleoecological and archaeological reconstructions that are primarily based on relative ratios of specific morphotypes. Recent studies have shown that phytolith assemblages are prone to post-depositional alteration involving partial dissolution, however, the manner in which partial dissolution affects morphotype composition is poorly understood. Here we show that morphotype assemblages from four different plant species subjected to controlled partial dissolution are significantly different from the original assemblages, indicating that the stability of various morphotypes differs, mainly depending on their surface area to bulk ratios. This underlying mechanism produces distorted morphotype compositions in partially dissolved phytolith assemblages, bearing vast implications for morphotype-based paleoecological and archaeological interpretation. Together with analyses of phytolith assemblages from a variety of archaeological sites, our results establish criteria by which well-preserved phytolith assemblages can be selected for accurate paleoecological and archaeological reconstructions.

Archaeological horizons and fluvial processes at the Lower Paleolithic open-air site of Revadim (Israel)

In this paper we present new data pertaining to the paleo-landscape characteristics at the Acheulian site of Revadim, on the southern coastal plain of Israel. Sedimentological, isotopic, granulometric and micromorphological studies showed that the archaeological remains accumulated in an active fluvial environment where channel action, overbank flooding and episodic inundation occurred. Measurements of total organic matter and its carbon isotopic composition indicate that the hominin activity at the site started at a period of relatively drier conditions, which coincided with erosion of the preceding soil sequence. This process led to the formation of a gently-undulating topography, as reconstructed by a GIS model. Later deposition documents relatively wetter conditions, as indicated by carbon isotopic composition. Formation processes identified at the site include fluvial processes, inundation episodes that resulted in anaerobic conditions and formation of oxide nodules, as well as small-scale bioturbation and later infiltration of carbonate-rich solutions that resulted in the formation of calcite nodules and crusts. The combination of micro-habitats created favorable conditions that repeatedly drew hominins to the area, as seen by a series of super-imposed archaeological horizons. This study shows that site-specific paleo-landscape reconstructions should play an important role in understanding regional variation among hominin occupations and in extrapolating long-term behavioral patterns during the Middle Pleistocene.

Subsistence economy in the Negev Highlands: the Iron Age and the Byzantine/Early Islamic period

Abstract The article reports results of a long-term geoarchaeological project in the Negev Highlands. Based on previous phytolith analysis from degraded livestock dung, we suggested that the inhabitants of an Iron IIA site in the region subsisted on animal husbandry, without practicing cereal cultivation (Shahack-Gross and Finkelstein 2008). Here we report on further investigations — on another Iron Age site, a Byzantine/Early Islamic site, and on a pre-modern Bedouin winter encampment. We seek to test the nature of the phytolith record in this arid environment. We establish that phytolith assemblages in the study area are generally well preserved; that phytolith concentrations in dung of pre-modern free-grazing livestock were originally low; and that in a Byzantine/Early Islamic site for which cereal cultivation is documented textually, livestock dung includes cereal phytoliths. These patterns enable a secure interpretation of the phytolith assemblages from the Iron IIA sites, fortifying our previous suggestion that the Iron Age inhabitants of the Negev Highlands subsisted mainly on herding and did not undertake dry farming.

Oxygen isotopic composition of opaline phytoliths: Potential for terrestrial climatic reconstruction

Opaline mineralized bodies are produced by many terrestrial plants and accumulate in certain soils and archaeological sites. Analyses of the oxygen isotopic compositions of these so-called phytoliths from stems and leaves of wheat plants grown in a greenhouse showed a linear relationship with stem and leaf water isotopic compositions and hence, indirectly, rain water isotopic composition. Analyses of wheat plants grown in fields showed that stem phytoliths isotopic composition directly reflects the seasonal air temperature change, whereas leaf phytoliths isotopic composition reflects both temperature and relative humidity. Temperature and the oxygen isotopic composition of stem phytoliths were related by an equation similar to that proposed for marine opal. Oxygen isotopic compositions of fossil phytoliths, and in particular those from stems, could be valuable for reconstructing past terrestrial climate change.

The earliest modern humans outside Africa

Earliest modern humans out of Africa Recent paleoanthropological studies have suggested that modern humans migrated from Africa as early as the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, 120,000 years ago. Hershkovitz et al. now suggest that early modern humans were already present outside of Africa more than 55,000 years earlier (see the Perspective by Stringer and Galway-Witham). During excavations of sediments at Mount Carmel, Israel, they found a fossil of a mouth part, a left hemimaxilla, with almost complete dentition. The sediments contain a series of well-defined hearths and a rich stone-based industry, as well as abundant animal remains. Analysis of the human remains, and dating of the site and the fossil itself, indicate a likely age of at least 177,000 years for the fossil—making it the oldest member of the Homo sapiens clade found outside Africa. Science, this issue p. 456; see also p. 389 Fossilized mouthparts indicate the presence of Homo sapiens in the Levant 160,000 years ago. To date, the earliest modern human fossils found outside of Africa are dated to around 90,000 to 120,000 years ago at the Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh. A maxilla and associated dentition recently discovered at Misliya Cave, Israel, was dated to 177,000 to 194,000 years ago, suggesting that members of the Homo sapiens clade left Africa earlier than previously thought. This finding changes our view on modern human dispersal and is consistent with recent genetic studies, which have posited the possibility of an earlier dispersal of Homo sapiens around 220,000 years ago. The Misliya maxilla is associated with full-fledged Levallois technology in the Levant, suggesting that the emergence of this technology is linked to the appearance of Homo sapiens in the region, as has been documented in Africa.

Formation processes in Philistine hearths from Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel): An experimental approach

Abstract Ancient cooking installations yield important evidence for cooking technology and human diet. A cooking installation termed the Philistine pebble hearth is associated with the arrival of the Philistines at the beginning of the Iron Age in the southern Levant (ca. early/mid-12th century b.c.). These installations have been studied using traditional methods, focusing on a description of form and style in relation to the pottery of the period. Here we present a study using an experimental approach. We prepared three sets of experimental pebble hearths to study the pebbles’ thermal behavior in relation to their volume. The comparison of these results with observations of Iron Age I archaeological hearths reveals different patterns in pebble shattering and soot patterns, indicating that the archaeological hearths were used in a different manner than the experimental ones. The experiments highlight the utility of shattered pebbles as an indicator of the use of fire directly on Philistine hearths, even in the absence of ash and/or charcoal. They also demonstrate that these installations may have been used with open fire or live embers. The results are applicable to the study of hearths worldwide, with implications for appropriate excavation methods and basic identification of ancient pyrotechnologies.

Geoarchaeological Investigation in a Domestic Iron Age Quarter, Tel Megiddo, Israel

During the ongoing excavations of Area Q at Tel Megiddo, a variety of on-site geoarchaeological analytical methods have been used in the study of Iron Age occupations dating to the Iron Age IIA. The aim of this approach is to optimally combine macroarchaeology with microarchaeology in order to reconstruct activities that were carried out within an Iron Age urban neighborhood. The macroscopic finds indicate that this area belonged to a quarter that features both domestic and public structures. Of particular interest are (a) evidence for abandonment and spatial differentiation of activities in Level Q-5 associated with a large, well-built structure with 18 pillars; and (b) localized small-scale destruction associated with ephemeral metalworking activity related to occupation during Level Q-4. Similar approaches have been carried out at other sites in Israel (e.g., Tel Dor and Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath), yet only at Megiddo have we been able to use these methods to study a large excavation area (ca. 200 m2). The results shed new light on the variability of human activities in public and domestic contexts in an urban environment, and contribute to understanding the uses of space and the phenomenon of destruction by fire.

Approaches to understanding formation of archaeological sites in Israel: Materials and processes

AbStRAct Shahack-Gross, R. 2007. Approaches to understanding formation of archaeologi-cal sites in Israel: Materials and processes. Isr. J. Earth Sci. 56: 73–86. The study of the mechanisms involved in the formation of archaeological sites is now recognized as a sub-discipline of archaeological research. It involves processes of anthropogenic and natural accumulation, abandonment, and degradation. In order for archaeologists to be able to reconstruct past human lifeways and activities, it is important to identify the processes that affected the formation of any excavated site. The study of site formation processes in Israel started in the late 1960s with a strong sedimentary geology and geomorphology approach, pioneered by Paul Goldberg, and followed by Arlene Rosen in the late 1980s. These early studies focused on decipher-ing the sediment sources in cave and open-air archaeological sites, and in identify-ing the relationship between sediments in archaeological sites and climatic factors. Goldberg introduced the technique of micromorphology during the 1970s, which had a local as well as international influence on the field. A greater emphasis on the microscopic record, combined with a materials science approach, was the focus of the many studies conducted in Israel by Steve Weiner, who introduced on-site techniques and developed quantitative methods to study the archaeological record. Systematic studies of a large variety of materials were conducted, with an emphasis on material degradation through experimentation with modern equivalents. A major contribution is the detailed understanding now available regarding dissolution and re-precipita-tion processes in cave sites. Insights from all the studies of site formation processes conducted to date in Israel bear many implications for archaeology in Israel as well as worldwide. Further research should focus on systematic studies of more materials (such as ceramics and mud bricks), widen the use of ethnoarchaeology, and focus on formation processes in urban tell sites.

Geoarchaeological Investigation at the Intermediate Bronze Age Negev Highlands Site of Mashabe Sade

Massive settlement activity characterizes the arid Negev Highlands during the Intermediate Bronze Age (ca. 2500–1950 BCE). However, the underlying subsistence basis of this population is poorly understood. Recent microarchaeological work at Iron Age sites in the Negev Highlands has shown the potential for recovering direct evidence for subsistence practices through analysis of the microscopic plant remains in degraded animal dung. Following these methods, this paper reports new macro- and micro-archaeological results of two sites near Mashabe Sade: a central Intermediate Bronze Age site, and for comparison, an ephemeral site in the immediate vicinity. At the central site, dated to the Intermediate Bronze Age by pottery and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL), evidence is absent for any sort of food production. In contrast, identification of ancient livestock dung at the ephemeral site suggests that it was sustained by animal husbandry— yet the OSL results suggest these degraded dung deposits date to the Iron Age. Taken together, the Intermediate Bronze Age results from Mashabe Sade bolster arguments suggesting that central sites were supported mainly by trade and other alternative subsistence practices.