uzi avner - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by uzi avner

OSL dating of a Neolithic cult site in the Eilat Mountain, Israel.

The Early Bronze I is not missing in the negev as most archaeologist think.

Remarkably, the largest archaeological game traps ever recorded in the Near East are found in ari... more Remarkably, the largest archaeological game traps ever recorded in the Near East are found in arid landscapes, both on plains and in hilly terrains. This paper describes the construction methods used on steep slopes in the Negev Highland. Apparently, in some cases a massive rampart (rather than a freestanding wall) was built around the trap's head. The details reflect careful planning and heavy-duty work, including leveling and then using more than 100 t of stone for the rampart construction. New 14 C data date the Sayarim site to the Early Bronze Age (minimum age), and the Pitam site to pre-Late Bronze Age.

ones addressed here are large triangularshaped constructions, each built of two long converging s... more ones addressed here are large triangularshaped constructions, each built of two long converging stone walls (arms) with a more-or-less circular enclosure at the apex (commonly termed the "head"). The arms may extend for hundreds of meters; they are constructed of local stones and vary in thickness and height.

The construction age of a pavement in a "Rodedian" prehistoric cult site in Negev desert, Israel,... more The construction age of a pavement in a "Rodedian" prehistoric cult site in Negev desert, Israel, is established by determining the burial age of (i) a cobble used in the pavement, and (ii) the underlying sediment. The quartz OSL age and the K-feldspar corrected IR 50 age from the sediment and the corrected IR 50 and pIRIR 225 ages from the cobble surface are all consistent, and give an average age of 4.22 ± 0.06 ka. Although the very similar ages indicate the reliability of the methods, these ages are~3e4 ka younger than that expected for the Rodedian sites. The IR 50 and pIRIR 225 luminescence-depth profiles from the cobble indicate multiple exposure and burial events in the depositional history. The apparently young ages may thus represent a later intervention in the site during the late 3rd millennium B.C. More sites need to be dated by the use of both rocks and sediments to confirm this suggestion. Important information on the bleaching history of the rock surfaces directly obtained from these luminescencedepth profiles is not available in the underlying unconsolidated sediments. This is a significant advantage of rock surface dating over more conventional sediment dating.

Israel 0 'Uvda Valley Egypt Jordan 50 km N Stone-built installations known as 'leopard traps' are... more Israel 0 'Uvda Valley Egypt Jordan 50 km N Stone-built installations known as 'leopard traps' are found throughout the deserts of the Middle East. They have generally been considered to be recent in date, and to have been built by Bedouin or other local communities to trap carnivores that threatened their flocks. But how much older might they be? Survey in the hyper-arid 'Uvda Valley of the southern Negev Desert in Israel discovered 23 'leopard traps', 19 of them clustered in a relatively small area. This study describes the architecture and function of these structures and presents the first optically stimulated luminescence ages for two of them. These results demonstrate that the traps are ancient and were already in use before the late fourth millennium BC, not long after the adoption of herding by the desert dwellers.

We present results from an archaeointensity investigation based on a relatively unexploited recor... more We present results from an archaeointensity investigation based on a relatively unexploited recording medium, copper slag deposits. Together with a recently improved experimental design for the archaeointensity experiment, we demonstrate the applicability of this medium, as well as other archaeometallurgical artifacts, for the study of the ancient geomagnetic field intensity. In addition to archaeointensity data from well-dated archaeological contexts, we obtained reliable archaeointensity results from poorly dated or contentious archaeometallurgical sites in the Southern Levant. These results shed new light on the dating of these sites, among them the copper smelting installation of Timna 39ba site that has important implications for the beginning of metallurgy during the fifth millennium BCE. The paper also aims to introduce archaeointensity research to the archaeologist scholar, and to encourage further collaboration between the disciplines in future research.

The desert environment is usually considered inhospitable, and archaeological remains are often m... more The desert environment is usually considered inhospitable, and archaeological remains are often modest and less impressive than in other regions. Accordingly, scholars have often marginalised desert cultures and their role in the history of the ancient Near East. The purpose of this article is to show that desert remains are often misconstrued, that they actually represent richer cultural complexes than have been commonly accepted, and the current view of desert history requires re-evaluation. The discussion focuses on the periods from Late Neolithic to the end of Early Bronze Age, i.e. the sixth-third millennia BC. 1

The Negev and Sinai are arid to hyper arid areas, characterized by summer temperatures above 105 ... more The Negev and Sinai are arid to hyper arid areas, characterized by summer temperatures above 105 0 F, low precipitation, up to 100 mm annual average in the more favorable areas, and up to a 4000 mm annual rate of potential evaporation. Obviously, the water balance is very negative, and therefore, expectations of finding archaeological remains are low.

OSL dating of a Neolithic cult site in the Eilat Mountain, Israel.

The Early Bronze I is not missing in the negev as most archaeologist think.

Remarkably, the largest archaeological game traps ever recorded in the Near East are found in ari... more Remarkably, the largest archaeological game traps ever recorded in the Near East are found in arid landscapes, both on plains and in hilly terrains. This paper describes the construction methods used on steep slopes in the Negev Highland. Apparently, in some cases a massive rampart (rather than a freestanding wall) was built around the trap's head. The details reflect careful planning and heavy-duty work, including leveling and then using more than 100 t of stone for the rampart construction. New 14 C data date the Sayarim site to the Early Bronze Age (minimum age), and the Pitam site to pre-Late Bronze Age.

ones addressed here are large triangularshaped constructions, each built of two long converging s... more ones addressed here are large triangularshaped constructions, each built of two long converging stone walls (arms) with a more-or-less circular enclosure at the apex (commonly termed the "head"). The arms may extend for hundreds of meters; they are constructed of local stones and vary in thickness and height.

The construction age of a pavement in a "Rodedian" prehistoric cult site in Negev desert, Israel,... more The construction age of a pavement in a "Rodedian" prehistoric cult site in Negev desert, Israel, is established by determining the burial age of (i) a cobble used in the pavement, and (ii) the underlying sediment. The quartz OSL age and the K-feldspar corrected IR 50 age from the sediment and the corrected IR 50 and pIRIR 225 ages from the cobble surface are all consistent, and give an average age of 4.22 ± 0.06 ka. Although the very similar ages indicate the reliability of the methods, these ages are~3e4 ka younger than that expected for the Rodedian sites. The IR 50 and pIRIR 225 luminescence-depth profiles from the cobble indicate multiple exposure and burial events in the depositional history. The apparently young ages may thus represent a later intervention in the site during the late 3rd millennium B.C. More sites need to be dated by the use of both rocks and sediments to confirm this suggestion. Important information on the bleaching history of the rock surfaces directly obtained from these luminescencedepth profiles is not available in the underlying unconsolidated sediments. This is a significant advantage of rock surface dating over more conventional sediment dating.

Israel 0 'Uvda Valley Egypt Jordan 50 km N Stone-built installations known as 'leopard traps' are... more Israel 0 'Uvda Valley Egypt Jordan 50 km N Stone-built installations known as 'leopard traps' are found throughout the deserts of the Middle East. They have generally been considered to be recent in date, and to have been built by Bedouin or other local communities to trap carnivores that threatened their flocks. But how much older might they be? Survey in the hyper-arid 'Uvda Valley of the southern Negev Desert in Israel discovered 23 'leopard traps', 19 of them clustered in a relatively small area. This study describes the architecture and function of these structures and presents the first optically stimulated luminescence ages for two of them. These results demonstrate that the traps are ancient and were already in use before the late fourth millennium BC, not long after the adoption of herding by the desert dwellers.

We present results from an archaeointensity investigation based on a relatively unexploited recor... more We present results from an archaeointensity investigation based on a relatively unexploited recording medium, copper slag deposits. Together with a recently improved experimental design for the archaeointensity experiment, we demonstrate the applicability of this medium, as well as other archaeometallurgical artifacts, for the study of the ancient geomagnetic field intensity. In addition to archaeointensity data from well-dated archaeological contexts, we obtained reliable archaeointensity results from poorly dated or contentious archaeometallurgical sites in the Southern Levant. These results shed new light on the dating of these sites, among them the copper smelting installation of Timna 39ba site that has important implications for the beginning of metallurgy during the fifth millennium BCE. The paper also aims to introduce archaeointensity research to the archaeologist scholar, and to encourage further collaboration between the disciplines in future research.

The desert environment is usually considered inhospitable, and archaeological remains are often m... more The desert environment is usually considered inhospitable, and archaeological remains are often modest and less impressive than in other regions. Accordingly, scholars have often marginalised desert cultures and their role in the history of the ancient Near East. The purpose of this article is to show that desert remains are often misconstrued, that they actually represent richer cultural complexes than have been commonly accepted, and the current view of desert history requires re-evaluation. The discussion focuses on the periods from Late Neolithic to the end of Early Bronze Age, i.e. the sixth-third millennia BC. 1

The Negev and Sinai are arid to hyper arid areas, characterized by summer temperatures above 105 ... more The Negev and Sinai are arid to hyper arid areas, characterized by summer temperatures above 105 0 F, low precipitation, up to 100 mm annual average in the more favorable areas, and up to a 4000 mm annual rate of potential evaporation. Obviously, the water balance is very negative, and therefore, expectations of finding archaeological remains are low.