Canaanean Blade Production at Fazael 4 and the Tal`at `Amreh Quarry

ABSTRACT

This study explores the multi-stage specialized production of long and standard Canaanean flint blades for composite sickles in light of recent findings from the Early Bronze Age Canaanean blade workshop at Fazael 4, and the uncovering of a related flint quarry at Tal`at `Amreh Mountain. The new discovery presents a rare opportunity to explore all stages of production from raw material acquisition to the finished Canaanean blades. This study addresses methodological aspects of establishing a link between a quarry and a workshop, efforts invested in flint procurement and transportation, the scale and organization of production, and the economic benefits of the Canaanean blade industry as a specialized production trajectory.

KEYWORDS:

• Flint quarry
• flint workshop
• Canaanean blade technology
• specialization
• Early Bronze Age
• southern Levant

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Haggay Cohen-Klonymus, Noam Cohen-Klonymus, Sonia Pinsky, Nadav Biran, and Zenia Demchuk who kindly volunteered for the survey and the climbing. We express our deep appreciation to Heeli Schechter and Dr. Ron Shimelmitz, who read an early draft of this paper and made important and useful comments. We thank Sasha Flit for the studio photographs and Sapir Haad for the drawing. We express our gratitude to Sharon Assaf for editing of this text and her practical advice. This research would not have been possible without the financial support of the Israeli Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katia Zutovski

Katia Zutovski (M.A. 2015, Tel Aviv University) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, Tel Aviv University. Her research interests include lithic technology, focusing on the Neolithic through Urban revolutions of the Southern Levant.

Shay Bar

Shay Bar (Ph.D. 2008, University of Haifa) is a researcher in the Zinman Institute of Archaeology and teaches in the Department of Archaeology, University of Haifa. His current projects include directing the Manasseh Hill Country Survey and the excavations of Tel Esur, Tel Shiqmona and the sites of Fazael Valley proto-historic project.