The role of birds in the Chalcolithic: The avian material culture from the late fifth millennium BCE in the Southern Levant

Abstract

There is an inherent contradiction in the position of birds within the Ghassulian culture of the Late Chalcolithic Southern Levant. Whilst they are almost completely absent from the zooarchaeological record, they appear as the second most common animal representation within Ghassulian iconography, with only caprids appearing more often. This has led some scholars to posit that birds played a significant role within the spiritual life of the Chalcolithic. This paper will re-examine this avian iconography, through a collation, exploration, and re-evaluation of each object, emphasising their specific context and integrating their interpretation with both biological/ecological and/or zooarchaeological evidence where possible. Through this type of examination, we can not only shed light on the meaning of these avian images, but hopefully on the role of birds within the societies of the Late Chalcolithic.The study collates and examines each piece of avian material culture uncovered from the Late Chalcolithic: the bird fresco from Building 78 and a painted pottery sherd, both found at Teleilat Ghassul; the avian standard, ‘crown’ no. 7, and the decorated horn-like vessels from Nahal Mishmar; the ritual ostrich egg deposits from Gilat; a possible bird sculpture on an ossuary; bird-shaped ivory pins from Abu Matar and Shiqmim; the bird-shaped vessels from Palmahim; and two unstratified objects: a vessel with sculpted birds on the rim and two avian sculptures.Due to the ritual function and/or context of this avian material culture, it is clear that avian imagery had meaning within Ghassulian spiritual thought. Previous scholars have linked this to an Inanna-like fertility deity, but the objects do not provide enough evidence for this connection. Instead, through historical and ethnographic parallels, I propose a more abstract interpretation of these avian images as symbols of spiritual liminality, i.e. crossing the boundary between the mortal and the spiritual.