Abstract
The beginning of metallurgy in the ancient Near East attracts much attention. The southern Levant, with the rich assemblage of copper artifacts from the Nahal Mishmar cave and the unique gold rings of the Nahal Qanah cave, is regarded as a main center of early metallurgy during the second half of the 5th millennium CalBC. However, a recently discovered copper awl from a Middle Chalcolithic burial at Tel Tsaf, Jordan Valley, Israel, suggests that cast metal technology was introduced to the region as early as the late 6th millennium CalBC. This paper examines the chemical composition of this item and reviews its context. The results indicate that it was exported from a distant source, probably in the Caucasus, and that the location where it was found is indicative of the social status of the buried individual. This rare finding indicates that metallurgy was first defused to the southern Levant through exchange networks and only centuries later involved local production. This copper awl, the earliest metal artifact found in the southern Levant, indicates that the elaborate Late Chalcolithic metallurgy developed from a more ancient tradition.
Highlights
According to the current state of research the initial appearance of copper in the southern Levant is dated to the Late Chalcolithic period (Ghassulian culture, ca. 4500–3800 CalBC, all dates are calibrated)
A recently discovered cast metal awl, found in a grave associated with a primary burial inside a built mud-brick silo at Tel Tsaf in the central Jordan Valley, Israel (Figure 1), reveals new evidence for these significant early stages
We present here the copper awl found in one of the silo-graves at Tel Tsaf and discuss the characteristics of this unique artifact, its chemical composition and its significance for early metallurgy in the Near East
Summary
According to the current state of research the initial appearance of copper in the southern Levant is dated to the Late Chalcolithic period (Ghassulian culture, ca. 4500–3800 CalBC, all dates are calibrated). According to the current state of research the initial appearance of copper in the southern Levant is dated to the Late Chalcolithic period A recently discovered cast metal awl, found in a grave associated with a primary burial inside a built mud-brick silo at Tel Tsaf in the central Jordan Valley, Israel (Figure 1), reveals new evidence for these significant early stages. We present here the copper awl found in one of the silo-graves at Tel Tsaf and discuss the characteristics of this unique artifact, its chemical composition and its significance for early metallurgy in the Near East. The available dating from Tel Tsaf and the item context suggest that this awl is the earliest known copper artifact in the southern Levant, suggesting that cast metal technology was introduced to the southern Levant centuries before the onset of the full-blown Ghassulian Chalcolithic
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