Anth.340 Ppt. lecture-4: Chalcolithic Syria-Palestine: Background; Settlement patterns, regions &...

ANT 340 / 640:

The Archaeology and History of the “Bible Lands”:

Ancient (Syria)-Palestine.Notes & images compiled by Gregory Mumford © 2020

Lecture 4:

The Chalcolithic Period.

Table of contents:

1. Introduction to Ghassulian Culture 4

2. Settlements of Ghassulian Culture 10

3. Settlement layout of Ghassulian Culture 22

4. Cultic and other sites of Ghassulian Culture 32

5. Pottery of Ghassulian Culture 47

6. Stone industry of Ghassulian Culture 55

7. Copper industry of Ghassulian Culture 62

8. Other art and artefacts of Ghassulian Culture 73

9. Burial customs of Ghassulian Culture 90

10. Subsistence economy of Ghassulian Culture 105

11. Origins of Ghassulian Culture 112

12. Collapse of Ghassulian Culture 124

13. Summary of Ghassulian Culture 128

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Chalcolithic Period:

INTRODUCTION

TO

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE

Chalcolithic period: 4300-3300 BCE

Introduction:

• “Chalcolithic”

= Copper-stone Age

Greek Chalcos = “copper”

• Greek lithos = “stone”

• This period, as its name implies

indicates the appearance

of copper, alongside the

prime use of flints (stone tools).

• This period spans the

late 5th to much of the

4th millennium BCE.


Introduction:

• The Chalcolithic is also

characterized by the

emergence of related cultures

with specific settlement types,

economy, social structure,

& religion.

• Mazar (1990) follows the

system of labelling only

“Ghassulian culture” as being

“Chalcolithic” versus other

terminology (see Ben-Tor 1992)

that defines some earlier PNB

& contemporary cultures as

“Early” & “Middle-Late

Chalcolithic.”


• Mazar applies “Ghassulian”

culture to a broad area

with regional variants:

- E.g., Galilee & northern Valleys

Golan Heights

Beer-Sheba brook culture

• The main Ghassulian site in the

Chalcolithic = Teleilat Ghassul

• This site lies on a slope to the

NE of and overlooking the

Dead Sea.

Map of Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) sites


Teleilat Ghassul,

• It measures 50 acres.

• Excavations occurred in the

1930s and more recently,

locating 10 occupation levels.

• C14 dating → 100 year time

span.

• The initial level approximates

PNB, while the following

pre-Ghassulian transitional

levels remain >unpublished.

• Many sites lack pre-/early

Chalcolithic-levels

Tuleilat el-Ghassul, mound I,

stratum IV Chalcolithic occ. phase


SETTLEMENTS

OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Settlement patterns:

• Chalcolithic sites display a largely

divergent settlement pattern to both

preceding and successive periods:

- Site clusters occur along wadi banks

in marginal regions of Palestine:

E.g., A survey of the Northern Negev

yielded 70 Chalc. sites along a

110 km stretch of the Beer-

Sheba and Besor Brooks.

E.g., The Gerar Brook contains

another cluster to the north.

• The region & wadis are composed of

loess (wind-blown) soils that have

been deeply scoured by winter floods.

• The flash flooding provided year-round

water (via pits) in an area that was

otherwise uninhabited in the Neolithic. Bir Safadi Chalcolithic dwellings


Settlement patterns:

• Chalcolithic sites display a largely

divergent settlement pattern to both

preceding and successive periods:

- Site clusters occur along wadi banks

in marginal regions of Palestine:

E.g., A survey of the Northern Negev

yielded 70 Chalc. sites along a

110 km stretch of the Beer-

Sheba and Besor Brooks.

E.g., The Gerar Brook contains

another cluster to the north.

• The region & wadis are composed of

loess (wind-blown) soils that have

been deeply scoured by winter floods.

• The flash flooding provided year-round

water (via pits) in an area that was

otherwise uninhabited in the Neolithic.


• Chalcolithic settlements in this

otherwise marginal region

were thereby able to flourish by

extracting sufficient water …

- to cultivate crops and

- to herd animals.

• Sites vary in size from primarily

small settlements to several

large sites comprising 10 to

20 acres:

E.g., Gilat

Shiqmim

Bir Safadi



• Analyses of the regional

settlement patterns suggests

that Chalcolithic society

and political infrastructure

best resembles a series of

‘chiefdoms’.

- i.e., Clusters of several

central sites are surrounded

by many small sites.

• Judean Desert yielded traces

of semi-nomadic pastoral

Chalcolithic-groups using

caves with a central shrine

at En Gedi


• The Jordan Valley forms

the focus for another

cluster of Chalcolithic sites:

- The large size & long-term

occupation of Teleilat Ghassul

(at the SE boundary of the

valley) suggests it formed a

socio-economic & political

centre (at a time when

Jericho has a gap in

occupation).

- i.e., Teleilat Ghassul may

assume one/more of the roles

served by Jericho. Map of Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) sites

En Gedi

Teleilat

Ghassul


• Other major Chalc. sites

lie north in the Jordan Valley:

(near alluvial fans):

- Nahal Fasael

- Wadi Far‘ah

In the adjacent Beth-Shean

Valley:

- A major Chalcolithic site lies

beside Kibbutz Neve-Ur.

Teleilat Ghassul


• Chalc. settlement patterns

remain less clear for Palestine’s

hill country (i.e., Mediterranean

temperate zone):

- Some Chalcolithic sites lie

along wadis (i.e., = valleys).

- Of interest, preliminary

analyses reveals that Chalc.

sites are oddly under-

represented in an otherwise

more comfortable habitation

zone.

- A satisfactory answer is

pending! Map of Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) sites


- These areas may yet yield

a few more Chalcolithic sites,

but surveys suggest

it was sparsely occupied.

- IDEA: This region might

logically contain an otherwise

‘invisible’ pop. --(materially /

archaeologically speaking)--

a. alternate factor(s),

b. other occupant(s),

c. other enemy(?), or

d. Otherwise continuous

threat

→ keeping this region “free” from

Chalcolithic occupation.

i.e., Was it heavily forested? Map of Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) sites


• Central Golan Heights:

- This region is defined by a small

area containing basalt deposits.

- Epstein located 20 Chalc. sites here

in a region previously little settled

in preceding periods.

- It yielded a sufficiently distinct

culture from Ghassulian culture,

suggesting that it was autonomous

(“free”) yet broadly related (connected)

to neighbouring Ghassulian sites.



Chalc. settlement pattern overview:

• Hence, Chalc.-settlement

patterns diverge from most

other periods in Palestine.

• Chalcolithic (mainly Ghassulian)

populations appear to have

favoured marginal, semi-arid

regions and the coastal plain

versus the more temperate

hill country in central-northern

Palestine.


Chalc. settlement pattern overview:

• The Chalc. sites lay in zones

mostly suited to a pastoral

economy.

• This is mostly confirmed by

the nature of their artifacts

and motifs on their artifacts:

E.g., Horned animals

• These peripheral regions also

appear to have cultivated crops,

including the first domestication

of olive trees → olive oil

(Particularly in Golan Heights).

→ Olive oil rapidly became one

of the chief products in

EB Age+ Palestine.


SETTLEMENT

LAYOUT OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Settlement planning & architecture:

• A few Chalc. villages yield

sufficient exposure to

comprehend their layout and

internal architecture:

• Some pre-planning is evident

at Teleilat Ghassul & Shiqmim:

- Large unfortified villages,

- Rel. densely packed housing,

- Clusters of dwellings placed

along rough streets and side

alleys.

- Only Teleilat Ghassul has

apparent communal structures:

i.e., temples (= changing with

more excavation).


• The Golan Heights have yielded a

local variant, placing a few rectilinear

houses in a continuous row with some

gaps between these row-clusters.

- The largest settlement in this region

had 20-50 houses.

- Epstein has suggested that each

rectilinear room served a nuclear

family, while an overall row-cluster

may have held an extended family.

Golan Heights: Rar Harbush


Domestic architecture:

• Chalcolithic dwellings (“broad houses”)

usually consisted of single rooms,

sometimes with a side-chamber.

E.g., 3.5 x 12 m room at Teleilat

Ghassul.

• One entry lay in a broad/long wall

(replicating a rectilinear tent?).

• A large adjacent courtyard held:

- Silos for grain storage

- space to quarter sheep (i.e., a pen)

Variants:

• A well-preserved Chalc. farming unit

at Fasael had:

- a broad-room,

- two square side-chambers,

- A walled courtyard

Golan Heights: Ram Harbush


• “Broad houses” are particularly

typical in the Golan Heights:

- Rectilinear buildings 6 x 15 m

- Placed in small rows (ext. family?)

- Built of (local) basalt stones

- Stone slab paving

- Entry in long wall

- Most had a bench (opposite door)

- A niche with a stone statuette (cultic)

- A side room (at narrow side of room)

Golan Heights: Ain el-Hariri


Other housing types:

Beer-Sheba region ...

• subterranean dwelling

complexes placed in soft loess:

- burrows & residential

chambers;

- storage & work spaces;

- Well-adapted to the local

environment (climate, etc.),

- Design features reveal the

ingenuity of the Chalcolithic

peoples (adapting to arid area)

Ventilation?


Other housing types:

Bir Safadi + Bir Abu Matar

• had similar subterranean

complexes, but they evolved

in an unusual sequence:

a. = initial phase of occupation,

b. This later began collapsing,

c. Next → sunken rectilinear

dwellings = placed in the

resulting pits / hollows.

d. Finally, built rectilinear stone

dwellings on the surface.

• BUT, some free-standing

dwellings may be contemporary

with the pit-houses.

Bir es-Safadi

Yasur-Landau et. al., 2019: 127.

Planning the subterranean galleries at Shiqmim

Shiqmim (N. Negev) had surface housing like at Teleilat Ghassul.

Shiqmim: Chalcolithic housing in northern Negev


CULTIC & OTHER SITES

OF GHASSULIAN

CULTURE



En-Gedi Temple:

• Isolated shrine on a

high rock spur overlooking

the En Gedi Oasis

(western side of the

Dead Sea).

Map of Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) sitesEn Gedi shrine: overlooking Dead Sea



En-Gedi Temple/cultic complex:

- Entry gatehouse with two doors

& side benches → courtyard.

- Large courtyard with rough

stone wall,

- A circular structure in court,

perhaps a ritual purification(?)

basin.

- Rectilinear side chamber on

one side with an adjacent

secondary entry.

(i.e., like some/typical Chalc.

houses)



En-Gedi Temple/cultic complex:

- The main rectilinear “broad-

room” (5 x 20 m) at the back

with one entry

- Like elsewhere, temples

represent the “dwellings” of

deities (see later info.).

- Sanctuary has U-shaped “altar”

feature (with a polished standing

stone) placed opposite doorway

= linear axis

View of En Gedi shrine & Dead Sea


En-Gedi Temple (cont. …):

- Remnants of earlier burnt

offerings were placed in

circular pits (favissae):

e.g., animal bones & ash.

- Low benches in the temple

originally contained “offerings”

(i.e., later parallels).

- This “broad-room”-style temple

initiated a form that became

popular in Palestine in

3rd mill. BC (EB Age).

En Gedi shrine: view of sanctuary



- The isolated nature and

location of the shrine in

a peripheral region suggests

it served as a cult centre for

semi-nomadic pastoralists.

- It may also represent a

sanctuary for “pilgrimages”?

from more distant Chalcolithic

settlements:

e.g., Teleilat Ghassul.

- It was abandoned at the end

of the Chalcolithic and left

virtually empty of items.



- Many of the original votive

offerings from this shrine

may have been transferred

to the Nahal Mishmar cave

to the south:

“Cave of the Treasure”

(from En Gedi?):

- “The Cave of the Treasure”

contained a diverse collection

of Chalcolithic cultic wealth,

possibly relocated here for

protection? by the nearby

En Gedi shrine’s “priesthood.”

Map of Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) sitesFull time priests/shaman/other ???



(from En Gedi?):

- A cave in a cliff face in the

Judean Desert (found by

Bar-Adon in 1961).

- Held 436 copper items in

a mat (discussed in more detail

below).

- Local aridity enabled excellent

preservation.

- The cache also had Chalcolithic

pottery, stone containers, flints,

ivory items, shell pendants,

& perishable items.

1961 discovery of Nahal Mishmar Cave

Hidden deposit of Chalcolithic materials

in niche in second chamber of cave.



(from En Gedi?):

- A cave in a cliff face in the

Judean Desert (found by

Bar-Adon in 1961).

- Held 436 copper items in

a mat (discussed in more detail

below).

- Local aridity enabled excellent

preservation.

- The cache also had Chalcolithic

pottery, stone containers, flints,

ivory items, shell pendants,

& perishable items.


Treasure Cave (cont. …):

- Linen & woollen textiles,

- Fragmentary wood & bone

loom,

- Loom weights (weaving

industry),

- Tools for spinning thread,

- Fragments of worked leather

E.g., a sandal & piece of a

garment.

- Basketry (mats; baskets;

sieve; rope),

- Remnants of food (→ info. on

agricultural diet).

Example from “cave of the warrior”





loom,


industry),




garment.


sieve; rope),


agricultural diet).





loom,


industry),




garment.


sieve; rope),


agricultural diet).


Chalcolithic shrines in general:

• The En Gedi shrine apparently

reflects a Ghassulian-, or

Chalcolithic-style of temple,

with two similar structures

occurring at Teleilat Ghassul.

• Such structures are as yet

fairly rare in the Chalcolithic,

suggesting the extant examples

played a more pivotal role(?)

in the society & economy.

• i.e., it may represent a focal

point producing much greater

wealth than might be the norm

for Chalcolithic sites/populations.

Gilat shrine:

Votive jars with regionally imported olive oil

Residue analysis

68 cm

high


POTTERY

OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Pottery:

• Chalcolithic pottery improves

in its production and quantity

(versus Neolithic pottery)

• Most pottery containers =

handmade, but some are

manufactured using a simple

wheel (i.e., a slow wheel).

• Larger jars are made on mats,

turning the mat to create

a slow-wheel effect whilst

the raw clay was being shaped.

i.e., mat-impressed pottery bases

the impressions, and a mat,

→ reveal a Chalcolithic

proficiency in weaving.


Pottery:

• Chalcolithic pottery expands

in its variety:

- Massive storage jars (pithoi)

for holding dry agricultural

produce & liquids.

- Many types of smaller (close-

mouthed) store jars.

- Large kraters


• Many flat-based, vertical-sided

bowls:

= open vessels for short-term

use, e.g., consumption.

• Special forms:

E.g., High pedestal-footed

bowls may reflect cultic

(ritual) use, or an elite

goblet.

- Residue analysis often aids in

determining past content(s)

- Assessing primary contexts of

find spots may also aid in

determining the function (i.e.,

loc. in structure & other items).


• Some forms characterize gen.

to specific areas: regional-local.

- V-shaped cup/cornet

(i.e., has a long pointed base)

= Typical at Teleilat Ghassul,

= Rare in Beer-Sheba sites,

= Absent from Golan Heights

sites.

- A churn (for producing butter)

= Typical in a herding economy

= Common in Beer-Sheba sites

= Rare at Teleilat Ghassul,

= Absent at Golan Height sites.

• Cornet & churn = depicted on

pottery cult figures at Gilat →

they = very significant forms!

Chalcolithic (butter) churn Churning milk several

hours → butter, cheese,

or yoghurt.

Sun-dried cheese can last 5 years

ca. 4500+ BC = “secondary products revolution” → less meat → more byproducts


Chalcolithic pottery:

• Chalc. pottery throughout

Palestine is characterized by

lug-handles: i.e., narrow

cylinders with longitudinal hole.

• Rope-style ornamentation,

formed by placing finger-

impressed coils on jars, is

especially popular in the region

of the Golan Heights.

• Red-panted bands are popular

on Chalcolithic pottery at

Teleilat Ghassul +Beer-Sheba.


• Geometric designs, such as

stripes, netting, and triangles,

appear on some small containers

from Teleilat Ghassul

• Predominance of particular

traits in Chalcolithic pottery

across all Palestine (Canaan),

versus regional variants,

enable the gen. application of

“Ghassulian” culture to the

overall region (albeit admitting

local variants).

• Ghassulian pottery = long-lived

with minimum changes:

e.g., at 8 strata at T. Ghassul.


STONE INDUSTRY

OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Stone implements:

Flints / lithics:

• The Chalc. period yields a

new range of flint tools,

especially:

- Stone axes/hoes?

→ for tilling soil (agriculture)

- Axes & adzes

→ for chopping & working

wood (tree clearance for

fields; carpentry; etc.).


Stone implements:

Flints / lithics:

- Flat tabular scrapers:

→ leather working versus

removing wool (textiles).

- Borers & awls:

→ leather, etc., -working

- Sickle blades set in wood

or bone handles

(for harvesting grain).

- Spatial and quantitative

studies on flint suggest the

existence of several production

centres & an active trade and

re-dispersal of flint tools in

Palestine, etc.

(a) Butchering knives?

(b) Wool shears?


Stone containers:

Regional trade:

• The Golan Heights, E. Galilee,

& N. Transjordan contained

basalt sources, encouraging

emergence of a major industry

for basalt vessels & other items.

• Labour-intensive nature of such

basalt products, & exports to

other regions, means = costly:

- Basalt containers+items form

popular trade items in southern

Chalc. sites (esp. Beer-Sheba)

- E.g., High pedestal-based bowls

of var. sizes, imitating pottery

i.e., = a more durable elite form.

Regional trade:

S. Rosen has studied

Bedu, finding that they

traded grinding stones

from peripheral regions

for grain and other

products: e.g.,

elite basalt vessels


Stone containers (cont. …):

International / long-distance

trade:

• Non-indigenous hard stones

from other regions also formed

popular imports (trade) into

Chalcolithic Palestine.

E.g., Sinaitic hematite =

popular for mace-head

weapons.

E.g., Obsidian from Anatolia

continues to be a quite

popular import.


Other stone implements:

• Roughly worked & perforated

stones have been labelled

“hoeing stones,” perhaps

being applied as weights

on digging sticks

(poss. pre-dating the plough?)

NOTE: But cattle might be used

for ploughing in this period ???

(minimal good evidence for this).

Bone and shell items:

• Chalcolithic sites frequently

yield bone and shell items,

especially trapezoidal pendants

(i.e., = jewellery).


COPPER INDUSTRY

OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Copper industry & ‘Treasure Cave’:

• The introduction of copper-

working = key characteristic

of the Chalcolithic.

• Occupation contexts have

yielded a range of copper

artifacts:

- Axe-heads (e.g., T. Ghassul)

- Mace-heads (e.g., Beer-Sheba

sites)

- Other items (above)


Copper industry & ‘Treasure Cave’:

- Nahal Mishmar metal hoard

(“treasure”): forms the largest

corpus of copper items

for the Chalcolithic period:

- Aside from the cave’s other

materials, the 436 copper items

include:

- An advanced knowledge in

copper-working, including

casting metal and the “lost wax”

(cire perdue) technique

- The metal hoard contained

copper alloys with some

arsenic & other elements.

“Lost wax”

(cire perdue)

technique

in India

Chalcolithic mace-head replicated in India using “lost wax” technique


Nahal Mishmar copper (cont.):

• Trace-element analysis negated

the Arabah & Cyprus as Copper

sources for this hoard.

• Armenia = initially believed

to be the closest possible

copper source.

• The arsenic content:

- Enabled the copper to be

poured more easily during

casting,

- It permitted the casting of

ornate items during the

“lost wax” process.

Wadi Feynan



• The cache contained:

- Odd ritual items, often

hollow-cast, such as

decorative rods (probably

placed on wooden poles

for cultic processions),

- “Crowns” adorned with diverse

forms and geometric shapes,

- Copper containers,

- Decorated ceremonial

weapons,



• The sophistication in the

metalworking from 4th mill. BC

Palestine has caused

speculation regarding

the items’ origin:

- J. Perrot suggested the

ritual items originated from

Anatolia (→ NO!)

- Another view suggests

the arsenical copper came

from the north, whilst the

items were manufactured

locally (→ in part = NO!).



- The Beer-Sheba region

has yielded some copper-

processing installations,

revealing that the Ghassulian

culture did manufacture

copper implements:

E.g., Copper mace-heads and

staffs similar to those at

N. Mishmar.

- Another suggestion is that

these copper smiths may have

imported arsenical copper

to produce the particularly fine

artifacts at N. Mishmar

NOW Wadi Faynan is known to be the source for Chalcolithic copper

i.e., relatively close: traded to Beer-Sheba region → copper processing

Faynan


Nahal Mishmar copper (cont. …):

• The possible links between the Negev

copper-working region & N. Palestine

may explain the apparent prosperity at

the Negev Chalcolithic sites.

• The reasons behind the placement of

the “treasure” at Nahal Mishmar, and

the original destination of this material,

remain speculative.

• D. Ussishkin suggested a link with the

nearest major site: the En Gedi temple.

• The presence, alone, of this Chalc.

hoard in an otherwise sparsely

inhabited and relatively ‘impoverished’

region is highly significant regarding

the collective economic means of the

Ghassulian communities in the region.

• It also implies that this area, including

En Gedi, was particularly “sacred”.


OTHER ART

& ARTIFACTS

OF GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Ritual art:

• The Chalc. is also an especially rich

time for the production of art & artistic

works (esp. in relation to later EB Age)

Teleilat Ghassul paintings:

• Several specific structures had white-

plastered walls with painted decoration

possibly serving as shrines/chapels

for the settlement.

• The decoration was often re-applied,

with one building having 20 plaster

coats and successive paintings.

• The most extensive surviving painting

may represent an eight-pointed star

(1.84 m wide) in red, black, and white,

flanked by the heads of two fantastical

creatures (mythological entities?).

• A geometric structure? lies to the left

Teleilat Ghassul wall painting


Teleilat Ghassul paintings (cont. …):

• Two other paintings portray some form

of procession:

E.g., People approaching two seated

figures (deities?) on a dais.

E.g., Three figures walking with their

hands intertwined & one figure

holding a sickle.

• Other walls contain paintings of

- large birds

- A leopard (kneeling/crouching)

- Various fantastical creatures

• The exceptional nature and location of

this artwork underscores T. Ghassul’s

importance.

• The art displays local, professional

applications.

• Similarities occur with much the earlier

painted walls in Anatolia-MesopotamiaHedgehog (?)


Ivory figurines:

• Beer-Sheba settlements have yielded

regional styles in sculpting ivory figures:

- Ivory scraps & cutting utensils reveal

a local manufacturing industry at

Bir Safadi.

• The ivory originates from local(?)

Palestinian hippopotamus tusks and

African (or Syrian?) elephants.

• The ivory figurines include:

- Naked male & female figures

(one measures 33 cm high)

- Standing facing frontward

- Hands placed on thighs/beside body

- Carved in schematic/stylized fashion

- The male figurines have a hollow,

possibly to hold offerings: grain?

(similar to basalt statuettes from Golan H)

- The male & female figures may =

deities (?), ancestors, votives, etc.


Beer-Sheba ivory figurines (cont. …):

• One female figurine is portrayed as

pregnant (swollen belly) with an

emphasized pubic triangle, prob./poss.

reflecting a fertility figure –not unlike

the popular “mother goddess” figures

from the preceding Neolithic period.

• The earlier-contemporary Badarian

through Amratian (Naqada I) period

figurines from Egypt are similarly

made and designed --contact???

• Tepe Yahya (in Iran) contains some

“similar” stone statuettes and other

materials to Chalc. Palestine, implying

a further possible widespread diffusion

of materials, artifacts, and ideas.

→ HOW similar??? → = a long shot!


Gilat pottery sculpture:

• Gilat lies in the Beer-Sheba region and

has produced a pair of similar sculpted

vessels:

(1).30 cm high ceramic figurine portrays

a stylistic seated nude female holding

a butter churn on her head.

- Hodling a cylinder under left arm.

- Emphasized genitalia

- Red-painted decoration (bands)

(2).A ram carrying three cornets/cups on

his back, possibly used to hold milk,

or used in ritual milking(?).



Golan Heights’ basalt figures:

• Located in virtually ALL the Chalc.

houses in the Golan Heights:

possibly “household idols” (Epstein).

• Cylindrical basalt sculptures that were

painstakingly shaped to resemble a

stylized anthropomorphic/human head

(some about 20 cm high).

• The upper head contained a hollow

(perhaps for offerings or incense

burning like Beer-Sheba examples).

• Each basalt statuette is slightly

different:

- Small goatees

- Some horned

- Etc.

• One suggestion is that they represent

household “fertility deities”

• Many other possibilities exist!

Household idols (?)

Fertility figures (?)

Etc.


Golan Heights’ basalt figures:

• Located in virtually all the Chalcolithic

houses in the Golan Heights:

possibly “household idols” (Epstein).

• Cylindrical basalt sculptures that were

painstakingly shaped to resemble a

stylized anthropomorphic/human head

(some about 20 cm high).

• The upper head contained a hollow

(perhaps for offerings or incense

burning like Beer-Sheba examples).

• Each basalt statuette is slightly

different:

- Small goatees

- Some = horned

- Etc.

• One suggestion = they represent

household “fertility deities”

• Many other possibilities exist!


Ghassulian “violin”-shaped figurines:

• The Ghassulian culture produced a

schematic human torso with shoulders

and a neck/head(?).

• These figures were made of stone

• They are interpreted as symbolizing

“fertility deities”

• They have widespread parallels a

few centuries later in

- Western Anatolia

- Cycladic Islands (Aegean)

- Crete

• E.g., An example comes from Gilat.

Cyclades (Aegean)

north of Crete:

Early to later Cycladic

figurines

Ca.2,900-2,200 BCE

Chalcolithic violin-shaped figurines


Motif transference between items:

• The Chalc. artistic motifs & techniques

are found across different types of

artifacts in Ghassulian culture.

- E.g., Various pottery ossuaries have:

a. Chalc. large “nose”

b. Chalc. large eyes

c. A stylized house or animal

- E.g., Nahal Mishmar hoard has:

a. Animal heads (ibexes; rams)

(protection? for flocks)

b. Staff with 4 wild ibex heads &

a domesticated ram head

(juxtaposed wild & domestic)

c. Human faces

d. Birds

e. Geometric designs: incised

herringbone & zigzags, spiral

ridges, & bumps/knobs.


Motif transference between items:

f. Mace-head with two blades

and two ibex heads attached

to one body → blending

several motifs & techniques.

• Motifs commonly found on copper

artifacts also appear on the basalt

figures and pottery ossuaries.

Other expressions of art:

• Red marks decorate pebbles used in

floor paving (e.g., Beer-Sheba sites).

• Diverse artifacts yield incised lines &

designs (e.g., flint with 5-pointed star:

possibly a solar symbol).

• Cultic symbols, such as snakes &

trees, often decorate Chalc. pottery.


Overall significance of Chalc. art:

• Hence, the Chalc-period in Palestine

yields much artistic expression,

especially in fertility motifs.

• The motifs may signify a desire for

divine intervention to ensure the

fertility of a. community / indiv.

b. livestock

c. crops

• Perhaps the depictions of possible

astronomical symbols (sun & stars?)

reflect other aspects of Chalc. beliefs.

• Other fantastical animal figures may

reflect aspects of Chalc. mythology

and stories, otherwise not preserved

and likely transmitted through an oral

tradition:

E.g., the art of the storyteller.

Rite of passage?

Pre-literate societies & the art of the storyteller & oral tradition

→ An immense loss of religion, mythology, local histories, literature, etc.


BURIAL CUSTOMS

OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Burial customs:

• During the Chalcolithic, the dead are

now mostly placed in cemeteries

outside settlements.

• Adeimeh, which lies 2 km from

Teleilat Ghassul, contains a cemetery

with three tomb types:

a.Dolmens: A flat slab placed upon

three upright stones.

b.Tumuli: Circular heap of stones

covering a grave.

c.Cist graves: Simple pit-graves in

soil with a secondary

burial of human bones.

• Despite its 2 km distance from Teleilat

Ghassul, Adeimeh =the nearest known

Chalc. cemetery and would appear to

have served this community.Map of Chalcolithic (Ghassulian) sites


Burial customs:










covering a grave.





Ghassul, Adeimeh =the nearest known


have served this community.Golan Heights: Dolmens


Burial customs:










covering a grave.





Ghassul, Adeimeh=the nearest known


have served this community.

Shiqmim: tumulus over grave

Cemetery at Shiqmim


Burial customs (cont. …):

Shiqmim cemetery (N. Negev):

• Stone foundations in a 1-3.5 m

circular structure that may have

supported a mud-brick

superstructure.

• Each tomb yielded the

disarticulated remains of

several adults and children

(i.e., secondary burials).

• The difference between the

tombs’ sizes may suggest a

social hierarchy in Chalcolithic

/ Ghassulian society.



Sinaitic nawami-tombs:

• The “nawamis” of South Sinai

occur in clusters and represent

circular stone-built

superstructures with flat roofs.

• They served as graves for

pastoralists (who may have

mined copper in Sinai in the

late 4th millennium BC).



Central coastal plain

(e.g., Hederah-Azor):

• Caves in this region have

yielded special pottery

containers to house the bones

of the deceased: ossuaries.


Chalcolithic burials:



• These ossuaries have many forms,

including:

a. Rectilinear building-shaped

containers,

b. Buildings with gabled roofs.

c. Pottery jar- or animal-shaped

containers with a side-opening.

d. Four pedestal feet (possibly

reflecting stilts from real housing in

marshier regions)

e. Many house facades are decorated

with a schematic human face, esp.

prominent noses (sometimes eyes).

f. Some ossuaries portray work tools.

→ Suggesting a belief in an afterlife.

Nahal Qanah cave burial complex



• These ossuaries have many forms,

including:

a. Rectilinear building-shaped

containers,

b. Buildings with gabled roofs.

c. Pottery jar- or animal-shaped

containers with a side-opening.

d. Four pedestal feet (possibly

reflecting stilts from real housing in

marshier regions)

e. Many house facades are decorated

with a schematic human face, esp.

prominent noses (sometimes eyes).

f. Some ossuaries portray work tools.

→ Suggesting a belief in an afterlife.

Ghassulian ossuaries:

• Sufficiently sized to

fit disarticulated bones

• E.g.,

10 cm

scale piece

Chalcolithic ossuaries:




Intramural burials:

• Despite a Chalcolithic switch

to many extramural burials,

some Chalcolithic sites retain

a few burials within settlements.

- E.g., Simple articulated

burials placed beneath

house floors.

Cave of the

warrior



Overall burial customs:

• Despite the overall similarities

in material culture in

Chalcolithic Palestine,

the diverse burial customs

within & between settlements

and regions also suggest ...

a diversity of customs:

- Socio-economic?

i.e., stratified society

- Differing religious beliefs?

• However, most burials =

secondary, reflecting some

homogeneity in otherwise

different tombs & containers.


SUBSISTENCE

ECONOMY

OF GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Subsistence economy:

• Paleo-environmental research

has revealed that

the Chalcolithic period

experienced slightly

greater rainfall than today

(= 100-150 mm/year),

thereby enabling herding &

cultivation in otherwise

semi-arid regions.


Subsistence economy:

• Teleilat Ghassul apparently

had adjacent marshland.

• Beer-Sheba settlements may

have had cultivated crops in

nearby wadi (valley) beds

relying on winter flash-flooding.

• Central & northern Palestine

had better climatic conditions

& more crops,

• Nahal Mishmar Cave’s food

remains: Wheat, barley, olives,

dates, garlic, onions, lentils,

pomegranates, nuts, and

acorns.


Subsistence economy (cont. …):

• The Chalcolithic witnessed the

advent of intensive palm and

olive cultivation.

• Nahal Mishmar Cave’s linen

suggests the local? cultivation

of flax required for this

byproduct (unless the linen was

exported from Egypt).

• Floral remains from this cave

also suggest a lively trade

between various regions in

agricultural produce that could

not be cultivated in certain areas:

E.g., Olives = grown outside

arid areas

horse


Subsistence economy (cont.):

• Pastoralism and herding

may have dominated the

Chalcolithic economy:

- Mainly sheep & goats,

- Some cattle & pigs (less arid

areas),

- Note: some horse bones!!!

- Abundance of churns &

cornets,

- Animal fertility motifs in

Chalcolithic art

→ Semi-nomadic pastoralistsProximal humerus

horse

Modern

donkey

Equids domesticated at end of Neolithic

→ donkey figurines i.e., draught animals



• The fairly common custom of

secondary burials = interpreted

as signifying a semi-nomadic

lifestyle in which deaths

occurred away from base

settlements. (*some = herding)

• This would have required

the later transference of bodies

to the home base --upon

the return of the herders.

De-fleshing bodies (while away?)

for easier transportation home,

and/or following a burial custom

De-flesh: Birds etc. de-flesh

Human de-fleshing?

Temporary burial & dig up



• This scenario is more

applicable to regions with

more varied climate requiring

seasonal movements of herds:

e.g., Judean Desert.

• During dry seasons ... herders

would move the flocks/herds

to moister regions.

• However, it seems that even

marginal regions, such as

Beer-Sheba, had a more

sedentary & agricultural lifestyle

and also had fewer secondary

burials.

i.e., Disarticulation less frequent


ORIGINS

OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Origins of the Ghassulian culture:

• The Ghassulian culture is

marked by the introduction of

new features in ...

- Settlement patterns

(data = changing!)

- Pottery types, decoration,

and range.

- Stone artifact production

- Copper-working technology,

- Artistic techniques, motifs,

& uses,

- Burial customs





new features in ...


(data changing!)

- Pottery types, i.e., decoration,

and range.




& uses,

- Burial customs





new features in ...


(data changing!)


and range.




& uses,

- Burial customs





new features in ...


(data changing!)


and range.




& uses,

- Burial customs NEXT →


Origins of Ghassulian culture (cont.):

• C14 dates from Teleilat Gassul →

mid-5th mill. BC (uncalibrated dates)

• C14 dates from Judean Desert and

Beer-Sheba artifacts → late 4th mill.

→ ca. 4,500 – 3,300 BCE

• Hence, such dates correspond with

much of the Ubaid and early Uruk

periods in Mesopotamia.

• Around this period, Tell Halaf culture

expanded in Syria & N. Mesopotamia.

• However, despite the expansion of

these cultures, there is less direct

evidence for close connections with

the Ghassulian culture.

= NO real Halaf, Ubaid, or early Uruk

links with Ghassulian culture …

i.e., = NOT initiated from the north.



• The few connections that do exist

appear to reflect trade rather than

any “migrations” of a Ghassulian

peoples into Palestine.

Trade relations/contact with:

E.g., Byblos & Ras Shamra (Syria)

‘Amuq region (Syria)

E. Mesopotamia (parts of Iran?)

Naqada culture (Egypt)

Egypt has similarities in …

- Pottery manufacture

- Flint tool production

- Art (i.e., ivory figurines)

- Trade (export of haematite, granite,

and calcite [‘alabaster’]).

• Hence, it seems that the Ghassulian

culture maintained commercial

relations with a broadening sphere.

Nahal Qanah

gold most

probably came

from Egypt



- Some early scholars have argued that

the Ghassulians had foreign origins:

1. Mellaart argued that brachycephallic

skulls from Chalc. Palestine indicated

an origin from Armenia-Caucasus.

(Invalidated by P. Smith).

2. Perrot viewed the Ghassulian culture

as developing in the Syrian Desert

3. Hennessy suggested it reflected

a greater migration of eastern

peoples (Mesopotamia)

- More recent studies focus on a more

indigenous development for Chalc. Pal

4. Moore & Levy argued for a local

origin, esp. after Hennessy’s discovery

of a transitional phase between PNB

and early Chalc. at Teleilat Ghassul.

?

Earlier notions

of foreign origins

for

Ghassulian culture



- Some early scholars have argued that

the Ghassulians had foreign origins:

1. Mellaart argued that brachycephallic

skulls from Chalc. Palestine indicated

an origin from Armenia-Caucasus.

(Invalidated by P. Smith).

2. Perrot viewed the Ghassulian culture

as developing in the Syrian Desert

3. Hennessy suggested it reflected

a greater migration of eastern

peoples (Mesopotamia)

- More recent studies focus on a more

indigenous development for Chalc. Pal

4. Moore & Levy argued for a local

origin, esp. after Hennessy’s discovery

of a transitional phase between PNB

and early Chalc. at Teleilat Ghassul.

Shifting to theory of

indigenous / local

origins for

Ghassulian

culture



- Some scholars have merged both

ideas into a composite theory:

5. Elliott argues that Ghassulian culture

emerged locally in Palestine, but was

influenced heavily by Ubaid culture

transmitted from Mesopotamia via

Syria ca. 4,000 BCE.

• Ubaid culture does find expression

via some Ghassulian pottery forms

and copper-working technology.

• To-date, modifications of this

composite indigenous and foreign

origin theory find general favour.

• The linking data, missing from

southern Syria & northern Palestine,

is beginning to be excavated for

the late Pottery Neolithic to Chalc.

Other ideas about

“composite” (multiple)

origins for

Ghassulian

culture



- Some scholars have merged both

ideas into a composite theory:

5. Elliott argues that Ghassulian culture

emerged locally in Palestine, but was

influenced heavily by Ubaid culture

transmitted from Mesopotamia via

Syria ca. 4,000 BCE.

• Ubaid culture does find expression

via some Ghassulian pottery forms

and copper-working technology.

• To-date, modifications of this

composite indigenous and foreign

origin theory find general favour.

• The linking data, missing from

southern Syria & northern Palestine,

is beginning to be excavated for

the late Pottery Neolithic to Chalc.

Varying notions now

drawing upon

composite/hybrid-indigenous

and foreign origins

of

Ghassulian culture

?


COLLAPSE

OF

GHASSULIAN

CULTURE


Collapse of the Ghassulian culture:

• The Ghassulian culture terminated

‘mysteriously’ around 3,300 BC.

• The main Gh.-sites were abandoned,

& remained largely uninhabited in

subsequent periods.

- E.g., Teleilat Ghassul

Beer-Sheba sites

Judean Desert sites

Sites in Golan Heights

• The Ghassulian

a.Abandonment of their En Gedi shrine

b.Blocking-up of the shrine’s entry

c.Hiding of its(?) votives in N.Mishmar

→ suggest a significant sudden change

• However, no signs of violence emerge

in late Chalcolithic occupation levels.

• Issue remains largely unresolved

?

Abandonment: Generic ‘Ghost Town’



• The Ghassulian culture terminated

‘mysteriously’ around 3,300 BC.

• The main Gh.-sites were abandoned,

& remained largely uninhabited in

subsequent periods.

- E.g., Teleilat Ghassul

Beer-Sheba sites

Judean Desert sites

Sites in Golan Heights

• The Ghassulian culture’s / “priests’”

a.Abandonment of their En Gedi shrine

b.Blocking-up of the shrine’s entry

c.Hiding of its(?) votives in N.Mishmar

→ suggest a significant sudden change

• However, no signs of violence emerge

in late Chalcolithic occupation levels.

• Issue remains largely unresolved

http://www.simchajtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Ussishkin-Ein-Gedi-Temple-NEA2014.pdf

http://www.simchajtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Ussishkin-Ein-Gedi-Temple-NEA2014.pdf



Several theories:

1. EB Age I migrants destroyed the Gh.

settlements.

2. EB Age I culture took control of

northern Palestine, leaving Chalc.

peoples residing in southern Palestine

3. Protodynastic through early Dyn.1

Egyptian invasion of southern Pal.,

with subsequent colonization.

• However, other possibilities, such as

4. Increasing aridity, diseases and other

natural causes are equally valid factors

behind the Ghassulian culture’s end.

• In some aspects, elements from the

Ghassulian culture were retained in

the Early Bronze Age, suggesting a

change in a prior way of life versus

the virtual ‘extermination’ of a peoples.

2007

ABV = a good, recent overview on the

Chalcolithic period; see also Levy’s

1995 Arch. of Soc. of Holy Land.

SUMMARY

OF MAIN

POINTS:

D. Chalcolithic period (Ghassulian culture):

- Date: ca. 4,300 – 3,500 BC

- Culture(s): Ghassulian culture (with regional differences!)

- Lifestyle: Sedentary/semi-nomadic pastoralists with base settlements;

NOT in central hill country

Particular focus on exploiting peripheral regions:

e.g., North Negev (moister climate!)

Rectilinear housing: family “broad-room”-style housing (+ shrines)

with outer courtyard

Extended family clusters of “broad-room”-housing

Other housing types: subterranean dwellings (Negev)

Cultivation & herding continuing (perhaps some evidence of a

yoke-plough?)

Additional crop types: e.g., olives (→ oil).

Note: Secondary Products Revolution i.e., new emphasis on

dairy products, wool, etc.

D. Chalcolithic period (Ghassulian culture):

- Religion: Broad-room shrines with outer courtyard: e.g., En Gedi

“Cave of the treasures” (Nahal Mishmar): copper etc. wealth

from a shrine (En Gedi?)

- Technology: Pottery = better made, more varieties, and richly decorated

COPPER: Appearance and richness of copper working

characterizes this period

- Trade: Broadening of regional & international trade (obsidian; basalt items;

etc.)

- Artwork: Particularly rich in pottery, ivory, and stone figurines;

painted house walls; etc.

- Burials: Extramural (out-of-town) cemeteries appear with much diversity

in tomb types:

Dolmens, tumuli, cist-graves; disarticulated bones in ossuaries (etc.).

Anth.340 Ppt. lecture-4: Chalcolithic Syria-Palestine: Background; Settlement patterns, regions &...

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