Bedrock features and cupmarks-bearing boulders: An overview of a Natufian and PPNA phenomenon

Summary

The Natufian–Pre-Pottery Neolithic A transition (ca. 11,500 Cal BP years ago) in the southern Levant is evident in many aspects of the material remains, and reflects pronounced socio-economic changes. One of the most fundamental changes is documented for bedrock features such as mortars, basins and cupmarks. While during the Natufian we find bedrock features mainly in 'public' contexts near or within sites, it seems that during the following PPNA period these were also introduced into the domestic arena. The documented transition includes a notable shift from natural outcrops/cave floors to large boulders, slabs and querns, on which cupmarks were now made; the latter were found for the first time on many floors of dwelling structures. Also, it appears that while Natufian bedrock features reflect a typologically rich and divers assemblage (from tiny holes to deep narrow shafts) the PPNA remains reflect a dramatic reduction in the variety of types (shapes, depths, diameters and morphologies). In our talk we offer an overview of this intriguing change and suggest possible explanations, linked to other contemporaneous shifts documented in the archaeological record.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Bedrock features (mortars, slicks and grooves): Documentation, analysis and interpretation

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