Naama Goren-Inbar - Böcker

"Axe Age" is dedicated to the Acheulian, a unique cultural phenomenon with the longest duration and the widest distribution in the history of humanity. The Acheulian lasted over 1 million years and is well known over three continents (Africa, Europe and Asia). This stone tool tradition is characterized by its hallmark bifacial tools, which include handaxes and cleavers. Though this prehistoric culture has been investigated extensively for over a century, countless questions have remained unanswered. Many of them are addressed in this volume. The volume, of interest to both scholars and students, presents original contributions that expand the scope of our understanding of this intriguing cultural entity. The contributions cover a vast geographic terrain and a large array of issues expressing hominin cognitive abilities and behavioral modes, such as landscape exploitation, production of bifacial tools and their classification, regional diversity, transmission of knowledge, transportation and discard patterns. Of the many authors, some are eminent scholars of worldwide reputation in Acheulian research, while others are young scholars reporting on their original research data. All of them contribute to gaining an improved understanding of the Acheulians and their culture.

From a methodological perspective the authors apply a detailed attribute analysis to all lithic items, a method that integrates morpho-technoogical and stylistic observations culminating in better understanding of the Acheulian realm as documented by the analysis.

This manuscript is the 4th Volume of the Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY) monograph sub-series. The goal of the book is to publish the lithic assemblages originating in the excavations of the Acheulian site at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY), Israel. The authors provide the readers with detailed descriptions of the lithic assemblages, illustrations (maps, photographs, drawings) and complete inventory of the artifacts that were excavated during the seven field seasons of 1989-1997 (two in 1997) under the directorship of Prof. Naama Goren-Inbar. This manuscript includes the classification of Large Cutting Tools (bifaces: handaxes and cleavers), Cores and Core Tools, and Flake Tools made of three different raw materials (flint, basalt and limestone). This major classification system enables, in addition to the characterization of the assemblages, intra and inter assemblage analyses and comparisons. It forms the foundation and means with which the GBY cultural sequence can be investigated and compared with other Levantine, African and Asian Acheulian entities. From a methodological perspective the authors apply a detailed attribute analysis to all lithic items, a method that integrates morpho-technoogical and stylistic observations culminating in better understanding of the Acheulian realm as documented by the analysis. This analysis is aimed to refine and improve the understanding beyond that of types and their technology and to allow describing the reduction sequence (chaîne opératoire) of some of the major components of the lithic asemblages. The unique record of diverse data from GBY provides insight into hominin behavior (through time) along the margins of the paleo-Lake Hula, and sheds light on processes that led to the colonization of other parts of Eurasia. The book will be of interest to academics and students in all disciplines of Quaternary studies, and to archaeologists using GIS for intra-site spatial analysis.

A View from Western Europe Most archaeologists would agree that the emergence of stone tool manufacture and the m- agement of fre are the two most signifcant events in the cultural evolution of early humans. The oldest known stone artifacts are securely dated to 2. 6–2. 5 Ma at several localities in Ethiopia; their association with ungulate remains and observations of cut marks prove that one of their main functions was for butchery (Domínguez-Rodrigo et al. 2005). The record of early stone tools from a number of sites in the time span 2. 5–2. 0 Ma is unequivocal; tool use and manufacture were a regular activity with evidence of planning, foresight and considerable technical skills (Delagnes and Roche 2005). In contrast, the timing of the human control of fre is not fully resolved and the antiquity of its habitual use has been debated until now. This book provides very strong evidence of the habitual use of fre by early humans at the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (Israel). The sedimentary sequence at the site is 34 m thick, and it represents different depositional environments, mainly beaches along the margins of a paleo-lake. The Matuyama-Brunhes chron boundary, dated to 0. 78 Ma, occurs in the lower part of the sequence.

Multidisciplinary research on the Early-Middle Pleistocene site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov has yielded abundant climatic, environmental, ecological and behavioral records. The 15 archaeological horizons form a sequence of Acheulian occupational episodes on the shore of the paleo-Lake Hula. These enable us to reconstruct numerous aspects of the survival and adaptation of ancient hominins, leading to a better understanding of their evolution and behavior. This book presents the faunal analyses of medium-sized and large mammals, providing taxonomic, taphonomic and actualistic data for the largest faunal assemblages. The study of modes of animal exploitation reveals valuable information on hominin behavior.

A View from Western Europe Most archaeologists would agree that the emergence of stone tool manufacture and the m- agement of fre are the two most signifcant events in the cultural evolution of early humans. The oldest known stone artifacts are securely dated to 2. 6–2. 5 Ma at several localities in Ethiopia; their association with ungulate remains and observations of cut marks prove that one of their main functions was for butchery (Domínguez-Rodrigo et al. 2005). The record of early stone tools from a number of sites in the time span 2. 5–2. 0 Ma is unequivocal; tool use and manufacture were a regular activity with evidence of planning, foresight and considerable technical skills (Delagnes and Roche 2005). In contrast, the timing of the human control of fre is not fully resolved and the antiquity of its habitual use has been debated until now. This book provides very strong evidence of the habitual use of fre by early humans at the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (Israel). The sedimentary sequence at the site is 34 m thick, and it represents different depositional environments, mainly beaches along the margins of a paleo-lake. The Matuyama-Brunhes chron boundary, dated to 0. 78 Ma, occurs in the lower part of the sequence.