by Güner Coşkunsu
Neo-Lithics 1/08
From first page:
Archaeological remains of Neolithic societies show a
great deal of change in many... more
From first page:
Archaeological remains of Neolithic societies show a
great deal of change in many aspects towards the end
of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB). Many of the
characteristics of sophisticated PPNB cultures such as
large settlements, cult buildings and/or temples, highly
elaborate art and ideological representations, and
technological advances in lithic industries disappeared
relatively quickly. The end of the PPNB period around
8200 BP and the transition to the Pottery Neolithic (PN)
is commonly referred to the “PPNC” or “Final PPNB.”
It is characterized by the abandonment of many previously
flourishing large PPNB settlements across the
Near East as well as a reduction in the size of settlements,
shifts in settlement organization, and a decrease
in population. This phenomenon may reflect important
socio-economic and ecological changes during the 8th
millennium BP. It has been observed and particularly
well documented across the Near East, but comparable
phenomena are also attested in Anatolia (Özdoğan
2002).
The phenomenon has remained an enigma due to a lack
of continuously occupied sites from PPNB to PN,
although recent discoveries of a few sites in northern
and southern Levant have broadened our knowledge.
Mezraa Teleilat (Fig. 1) is one of those rare sites that
shows a stratigraphic continuation and provides invaluable
information about LPPNB and early PN societies.
In contrast to the broad socioeconomic and material
changes noted above, flint and obsidian chipped stone
technology, raw material usage, and tool typology demonstrate
great similarities from earliest to latest Neolithic
occupations. Several significant changes also occurred
in knapping technology and tool repertoire (cf. Coşkunsu
2007, 2008). As a consequence, products made by such
tools changed too, for example, hole-making tools and
beads/pendants at the site. This paper focuses on two
particular minor flint tool types, which are grouped under
the category of “hole-making tools.” They are associated
with bead production, craft specialization, and
trade/exchange at Mezraa Teleilat by technological, typo-logical, and use-wear analysis, and experimentation. The
tools discussed here are micro-borers (MB; Fig. 3: 4, 6)
and cylindrical polished drills (CPD; Fig. 3: 7-11; Fig.
4: 1).
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