Settlement Dynamics and Regional Diversity in Ancient Upper Galilee

Frankel, Rafael; Getzov, Nimrod; Aviam, Mordechai; Degani, Avi

doi:10.2307/j.ctt1fzhd5w

Cited by 79 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The second site, Peqi'in, is a karstic burial cave located in the high hills of the Upper Galilee, characterized by a Mediterranean climate (Gal et al, 1997(Gal et al, , 1999Segal et al, 1998;Nagar and Eshed, 2001;Bar-Yosef Mayer et al, 2004). The area has abundant water sources, and annual rainfall does not fall below the minimum needed for dry farming, even in drier years (Frankel et al, 2001).…”

Section: Materials and Methods The Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in occlusal dental wear of two Chalcolithic populations in the southern Levant

Chattah

Smith

2006

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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Occlusal wear rate and wear plane in two Chalcolithic ( approximately 6500-5500 BP) samples from the southern Levant were compared, using paired first and second mandibular molars. Though food staples in both societies were derived from agro-pastoralism, they were located in distinct environmental regions: Wadi (W.) Makkukh in the Judean desert, and Peqi'in in the Upper Galilee. Accordingly, it was predicted that variation in wear should occur due to their location in distinct environments. Jaw size and tooth size were measured to estimate the possible impact of these variables on wear scores. Molar occlusal surfaces were divided into four quadrants, and wear scores were recorded for each quadrant. Principal axis analysis was then performed between total wear scores of paired, adjacent first and second molars to assess wear rates. Principal axis analysis was also used to analyze the change in occlusal wear plane in each sample by comparing between-buccal-cusps wear scores of the first molar with lingual wear scores of the second molar. The results indicate that the occlusal wear plane was similar in both samples but that wear tended to be more rapid in W. Makkukh. Since both samples were similar in jaw/tooth size, it is argued that the results reflect less refined food-processing methods as well as the unintentional ingestion of sand by individuals interred in the Judean desert.

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Section: Materials and Methods The Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in occlusal dental wear of two Chalcolithic populations in the southern Levant

Chattah

Smith

2006

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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“…Settlements in the Chalcolithic period included permanent villages practicing a mixed farming economy (Gonen, 1992). Caves such as Peqiin were used as local or regional burial grounds (Goldberg and Rosen, 1987;Gal et al, 1997Gal et al, , 1999Frankel et al, 2001;Nadar and Eshed, 2001). Domesticated produce included cereals, sheep, goat, pig, and fruit trees (Zohary and Spiegel-Roy, 1975;Horwitz and Tchernov, 1989;Zohary and Hopf, 1993;Grigson, 1995;Smith and Sabari, 1995;Agelarakis et al, 1998;Kahila and Smith, 2001;Zagerson and Smith, 2002;Lev-Tov et al, 2003).…”

Section: The Comparative Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Human dental microwear from Ohalo II (22,500–23,500 cal BP), southern Levant

Mahoney

2007

American J Phys Anthropol

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Dietary hardness and abrasiveness are inferred from human dental microwear at Ohalo II, a late Upper Palaeolithic site (22,500-23,500 cal BP) in the southern Levant. Casts of molar grinding facets from two human skeletons were examined with a scanning electron microscope. The size and frequency of microwear was measured, counted, and compared to four prehistoric human groups from successive chronological periods in the same region: pre-pottery Neolithic A, Chalcolithic (this study); Natufian, pre-pottery Neolithic B (Mahoney: Am J Phys Anthropol 130 (2006) 308-319). The Ohalo molars had a high frequency of long narrow scratches, and a few small pits, suggesting a tough abrasive diet that required more shearing rather than compressive force while chewing. These results imply that the diet of the two late Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers did not focus on very hard foods. Aquatic foods with adherent contaminants, as well as grit from plant grinding tools seemed likely causal agents. The size of the pits and scratches on the Ohalo molars were most similar to microwear from the pre-pottery Neolithic A period, though they also compared well to the Chalcolithic period. These results contrasted with the larger pits and scratches from the Natufian hunter-gatherers and pre-pottery Neolithic B farmers, implying that there is no simple increase or decrease in dietary hardness and abrasiveness across the late Upper Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic development in the Southern Levant. Am J Phys Anthropol 132:489-500, 2007.

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“…The improved conditions during the Iron I enabled the recovery of settlement activity. This is evident in the revival of the urban system in the northern valleys (Finkelstein 2003), which had peaked around 1000 BCE, and in the settlement wave in the highlands of both the Galilee and Samaria, which are amenable to olive orchards (Gal 1992;Frankel et al 2001;Zertal 2004; Table 1). …”

Section: The Iron Imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most comprehensive among the surveys were carried out in the Galilee (Frankel et al 2001;Gal 1992), the Golan (Hartal forthcoming), the Beth-Shean Valley (Zori 1962;Maeir 1997), the western Jezreel Valley (Finkelstein et al 2006) and northern Samaria (e.g., Zertal 2004;. Detailed analysis of human impact on the environment requires estimates on the size (and hence population) of each surveyed site in the different periods of its habitation, which opens the way for the study of regional demographic history.…”

Section: Settlement Historymentioning

confidence: 99%