The Production and Use of Chipped Stone Tools during the Metal Ages in the Southern Levant – Evidence from Abu Snesleh

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Middle Bronze Age (MBA, c. 2000–1500 BCE) in the southern Levant (modern day Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and southern Syria) is characterized by a re-urbanization, and extended use and specialized production of metal objects which obviated the use of chipped stone tools, of which production has long been considered to have significantly declined after the Chalcolithic period (c. 4800–3600 BCE). Challenging this assumption, this analysis of the chipped stone tool industry paints a fascinating picture of technological knowledge used by the inhabitants of Abu Snesleh in Jordan. The site represents a vibrant local industry of chipped stone tool technology during the MBA, with elements long considered extinct such as burins and tabular scrapers. Based on this evidence we argue that MBA people at the site actively made and used stone tools, and possibly re-used and maybe copied earlier Chalcolithic pieces they found on site. While chipped stone industries after the Chalcolithic period typically receive little attention, the results from Abu Snesleh join a small but important group of post Chalcolithic sites with undisputed evidence for chipped stone technology, teaching, and use.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25180