Abstract
The excavation at Ras el-‘Amud yielded 599 flint items, all discovered in the Intermediate Bronze Age (IBA) and Middle Bronze Age IIA (MB IIA) strata. These include debris items, debitage items, flake cores and tools, reflecting a non-standardized, flake-based industry. The assemblage shows continuity with Early Bronze Age traditions. It consists mainly of ad hoc tools used for various domestic tasks, with Canaanean sickle blades indicating cereal harvesting and testifying to crop agriculture as part of the site’s subsistence economy. No non-Canaanean sickle blades can be attributed to the MB IIA, possibly reflecting a different economic strategy during this period or suggesting that the production and use of lithic tools either did not occur during this period or were conducted offsite. Given the limited research on lithic assemblages from both periods, this report provides an important contribution to the study of lithic industries.
Keywords
flint, Intermediate Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age IIA, non-standardized flake industry, ad hoc tools, Canaanean sickle blades
Recommended Citation
Vardi, Jacob
(2025)
"Ras el-‘Amud, Jerusalem: The Flint Assemblage,"
Qadum: Journal of Excavation Reports from Israel: Vol. 1, Article 27.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/3078-8528.1026
Available at:
https://publications.iaa.org.il/qadum/vol1/iss1/27
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons
