The function of the south-Levantine Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age basalt vessels bearing circumferential depressions: Insights from use-wear analyses

One of the most characteristic aspects of the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age periods in the southern Levant is the appearance of large assemblages of basalt vessels. These vessels, frequently meticulously made, appear sometimes a considerable distance from the raw material sources and are found mainly at habitation sites. While these and their prestigious value have been widely discussed in the past, their function is still obscure. In the current paper, we address their functionality through microscopic use-wear analysis. Emphasis was placed on basalt vessels with a distinct wear pattern–circumferential depressions, which appear along the perimeter of their interior bases. The documented traces were compared to results of an experimental study we conducted to characterize the effects of abrasion, grinding, and lubrication on basalt surfaces. The results of the comparative experimental study suggest that the circumferential depression was formed from a repetitive rotational activity using a narrow-ended tool. Further, it seems that two material types acted in combination as the circling device and processed material. One was hard and abrasive, such as stone, and the other was semi-resilient, such as wood or mineral powder. Water was likely used as a lubricant in the rotational process. While the actual function of the bowls bearing the circumferential depressions is not entirely clear, the use-wear analyses suggest that they may have been devices involved in craft industries, used for processing materials unrelated to food (minerals in particular). Whatever the exact function was, it clear that this use continued from the Chalcolithic through the Early Bronze Age, providing evidence for functional continuity between these two periods.

Whole-rock trace-element analyses applied to the regional sourcing of ancient basalt vessels from Egypt and Jordan

"Fingerprinting" lithic artefacts using whole-sample geochemistry is a simple, inexpensive, technique that can supply archaeologists with important provenance and trade information. To demonstrate its utility, it is applied here to basalt vessels produced by Near East societies encompassing the millennia and geographic areas where civilization arose and writing developed. Using published whole-sample geochemical data for bedrock samples, exploratory statistical techniques show that Jordanian and Egyptian basalts are fundamentally distinct. Petrogenetically significant plots (V–Ti) and element ratios (Rb/Sr, Nb/Y, Sr/Zr) efficiently "fingerprint" and separate Jordanian and Egyptian bedrock basalt samples and Levantine and Egyptian basaltic artefacts. The results show that most basalt artefacts were manufactured and used within the geographic regions and culture areas where they were produced. However, a representative sample of some typologically distinct basaltic artefacts from Maadi, Egypt, geochemically resembles Palestinian basalts and quantitatively confirms archaeological evidence that trade interactions between Egyptian and Jordanian Neolithic societies were established early. Thus, knowledge of the bedrock source of raw materials used in the manufacture of basaltic artefacts is useful for inferring trade and social interaction between and within these cultures.

The Geographical, Spatial, and Temporal Distribution of Predynastic and First Dynasty Basalt Vessels

A change in the basalt vessel assemblage suggests that a dramatic shift in social and political organization occurred at the end of the Predynastic Period. The movement of southern populations into the area of the north, where the basalt vessels were manufactured, is one possible explanation. This hypothesis is supported by the change in geographical distribution patterns for basalt vessels from widely dispersed during the Predynastic Period to concentrated in the tombs of the ruling class centred in Naqada, Abydos, and Saqqara. During the Predynastic Period, the distribution of basalt vessels forms a distinct cluster around Maadi, implying an origin near, if not at, the site. By the beginning of the First Dynasty, Maadi has lost its prominence in terms of basalt vessels, and fewer sites are represented by greater numbers of these artefacts. A comparison of the basalt vessel forms to the Buto-Maadi pottery assemblage also supports a northern origin. A survey of Predynastic graves yields no firm conclusions on whose burials were supplied with these artefacts.