Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Period of Levantine history}} {{For|an overview of the history of the general region|History of the ancient Levant}} {{Refimprove|date=January 2012}} {{History of the Levant}} The '''prehistory of the Levant''' includes the various cultural changes that occurred, as revealed by archaeological evidence, prior to recorded traditions in the area of the [[Levant]]. Archaeological evidence suggests that ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' and other hominid species originated in [[Africa]] (see [[Recent African origin of modern humans|hominid dispersal]]) and that one of the routes taken to colonize [[Eurasia]] was through the [[Sinai Peninsula]] desert and the Levant, which means that this is one of the most occupied locations in the history of the [[Earth]]. Not only have many cultures and traditions of humans lived here, but also many species of the genus ''[[Homo]]''. In addition, this region is one of the centers for the development of agriculture.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bar-Yosef|first1=Yosef|title=The Natufian culture in the Levant, threshold to the origins of agriculture.|journal=Evolutionary Anthropology |date=1998|issue=5|pages=159–177|doi=10.1002/(sici)1520-6505(1998)6:5<159::aid-evan4>3.0.co;2-7|volume=6|s2cid=35814375}}</ref> ==Impact of location, climate, routes== Geographically the area is divided between a coastal plain, hill country to the east and the [[Jordan Valley]] joining the [[Sea of Galilee]] to the [[Dead Sea]]. Rainfall decreases from the north to the south, with the result that the northern region of Israel has generally been more economically developed than the southern one of Judah.{{cn|date=May 2020}} At the latest from the Neolithic period onwards, the area's location at the center of three [[trade route]]s linking three continents made it the meeting place for religious and cultural influences from [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Mesopotamia]], and [[Asia Minor]]: # A Coastal Route (the "''[[Via Maris]]''"): connecting [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and the [[Philistine]] coast north to [[Jaffa|Joppa]] and [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]], travelling north through [[Byblos]] to [[Phoenicians|Phoenicia]] and [[Anatolia]]. # A Hill Route: travelling through the [[Negev]], [[Kadesh Barnea]], to [[Hebron]] and [[Jerusalem]], and thence north to [[Samaria]], [[Shechem]], [[Shiloh (Biblical city)|Shiloh]], [[Beth Shean]] and [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]], and thence to [[Kadesh (Syria)|Kadesh]] and [[Damascus]]. # The [[King's Highway (ancient)|"Kings Highway"]]: travelling north from [[Eilat]], east of the Jordan through [[Amman]] to [[Damascus]], and connected to the "[[frankincense]] road" north from [[Yemen]] and South Arabia. The area seems to have suffered from acute periods of [[desiccation]], and reduced rainfall which has influenced the relative importance of settled versus nomadic ways of living. The cycle seems to have been repeated a number of times during which a reduced rainfall increases periods of fallow, with farmers spending increasing amounts of time with their flocks and away from cultivation. Eventually they revert to fully [[Nomad|nomadic cultures]], which, when rainfall increases settle around important sources of water and begin to spend increasing amounts of time on cultivation. The increased prosperity leads to a revival of inter-regional and eventually international trade. The growth of villages rapidly proceeds to increased prosperity of market towns and city states, which attract the attention of neighbouring great powers, who may invade to capture control of regional trade networks and possibilities for tribute and taxation. Warfare leads to opening the region to [[pandemic]]s, with resultant depopulation, overuse of fragile soils and a reversion to [[nomadic pastoralism]].{{cn|date=May 2020}} ==Palaeolithic period (1,850,000 - 20,000 years ago)== === Lower Paleolithic period (1.85 million – 200,000 years ago) === [[File:Nahal-mearot-jamal-cave.JPG|320px|thumb|The display inside the camel cave at the [[Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve]] depicts the life of prehistoric people in the Levant. (the [[Acheulo-Yabrudian complex|Acheulo-Yabrudian culture]])]] The earliest traces of the human occupation in the Levant are documented in [[Ubeidiya prehistoric site|Ubeidiya]] in the [[Jordan Rift Valley|Jordan Valley]] of the [[Southern Levant]] (modern-day [[Israel]]). The site was dated to {{circa|1.4&nbsp;million years ago|lk=on}},<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bar-Yosef|date=1994|title=The lower paleolithic of the Near East|issue=8|pages=211–265}}</ref> but further research has fixed its chronological context to 1.5–1.2 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro, Miriam Belmaker, Ofer Bar-Yosef|date=2009|title=The large carnivores from 'Ubeidiya (early Pleistocene, Israel): biochronological and biogeographical implications|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248409000256|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=56|issue=5|pages=514–524|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.02.004|pmid=19427671|quote=The biochronological analysis narrows the age range for the fossil bearing strata at ‘Ubeidiya and the Early Acheulian industry in the Jordan Valley to 1.5–1.2 Ma and is 100–200,000 years earlier than previously estimated.|via=ScienceDirect}}</ref> The site yielded [[Stone tool|stone tools]] typical of the [[Acheulean]] industry which appears in [[East Africa]] as early as {{Circa|1.76 million years ago}}.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ignacio de la Torre|date=2016|title=The origins of the Acheulean: past and present perspectives on a major transition in human evolution|url=|journal=Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences|volume=371|issue=1698|pages=6|jstor=24768985}}</ref> An earlier site is found in [[Dmanisi]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], dated to 1.85–1.78 million years ago<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Reid Ferring, Oriol Oms, Jordi Agusti, Francesco Berna, Medea Nioradze, Teona Shelia, Martha Tappen, Abesalom Vekua, David Zhvania and David Lordkipanidze|date=June 28, 2011|title=Earliest human occupations at Dmanisi (Georgian Caucasus) dated to 1.85–1.78 Ma|url=|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |volume=108|issue=26|pages=10432–10436|doi=10.1073/pnas.1106638108|jstor=27978631|pmid=21646521|pmc=3127884 |doi-access=free}}</ref> suggest the existence of other sites in the Levant which are yet to be found. Stone tools of the [[Oldowan]] industry, preceding the Acheulian, were found in the [[Negev]] and [[Syrian Desert|Syrian]] deserts and support the presence of pre-Acheulian cultures in the Levantine corridor, but their chronological context cannot be determined.<ref>Sharon (2014), pp. 1359–1360</ref> ==== Ubeidiya - Early Acheulian (c. 1.5 – 1.2 million years ago) ==== Ubeidiya is an open site that existed alongside the extinct [[Lake Ubeidiya]] whose shores were inhabited by over a hundred Asian and African animal species including mammals (such as [[Giraffe]], [[Elephant]], [[Deer]], [[Antelope]], and [[Pelorovis]]), birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Some of these animals have been hunted by hominins who inhabited the site as evident in cut marks observed on the fossilized bones. The stone tools found in Ubeidiya include [[Hand axe|handaxes]], picks, chopping tools and spheroids. These tools have been attested to the Early Acheulian industry. The tools show preference for specific rock types such as [[basalt]], [[limestone]] and [[flint]] for specific tool types. This implies a sophisticated understanding of raw materials by the hominins who located and selected them for production. Other stone tool assemblages in the Levant have been attested to the Early Acheulian, but they lack sufficient dating evidence to allow comparison with Ubeidiya's finds. These sites include [[Abbassia|Abbassieh]] near the [[Nile]], [[Evron Quary|Evron Quarry]] and [[Zihor]] in Israel and [[Al-Lataminah]] in [[Syria]].<ref>Sharon (2014), pp. 1360–1363</ref> ==== Gesher Benot Ya'akov - Large Flake Acheulian (c. 790,000 – 650,000 years ago) ==== North of Ubeidiya is the important site of [[Daughters of Jacob Bridge|Gesher Benot Ya'akov]] ("Daughters of Jacob Bridge" – GBY) dated to slightly after {{Circa|790,000 years ago}}. The stone tool assemblage belongs to the "Large Flake" stage of the Acheulian, testifying to an advance [[knapping]] technique. GBY provides information on many aspects of the life of its inhabitants: Many large mammal bones were found at the site, primarily elephants that were hunted and butchered by the early humans. Nuts and tools used to crack them, as well as fish bones, were collected. The earliest wooden artifact - a plank with evidence of polishing - was found at the site, as well as one of the earliest traces of fire use. In some of the layers, the organization of living space was observed, with certain activities limited to specific areas at the site.<ref>Sharon (2014), pp. 1363–1364</ref> ==== Late Acheulian (c. 500,000 – 400,000 years ago) ==== [[File:Venus of Berekhat Ram.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the [[Venus of Berekhat Ram]]]] The late stage of the Acheulian industry is observed in thousands of sites and find spots in the Middle East, though only a few were excavated. Most of the sites did not yield enough datable evidence. The site at [[Lake Ram]] in the [[Golan Heights]] was dated based on the basalt flows below and above to an unknown timespan between {{Circa|800,000–233,000 years ago}}. More accurate dates from [[Ma'ayan Baruch]] and the [[Revadim Quarry]] in Israel provide the timeframe of {{Circa|500,000–400,000 years ago}}. Late Acheulian sites and finds are found spread all across the regions of the Levant, including desert regions in modern-day [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Jordan]] and [[Saudi Arabia]], primarily associated with [[Oasis|oases]], as well as the coastal plains and rift valleys of Israel, [[Lebanon]] and Syria. This distribution of sites in various regions of different conditions indicates either a more suitable climate in this period (the [[Chibanian]] stage of the [[Pleistocene]]) or alternatively better human adapting skills. The earliest cave sites also appear in this stage. Unlike the earlier Acheulian industries in the Levant, flint is the primary material used for tool making, with the handaxe being the primary tool. The toolmakers developed different variants of handaxes different in shape and function, which replaced other tools such as cleavers. Some of the most significant assemblages of stone tools are found in [[El Kowm (archaeological site)|Nadaouiyeh]] (in central Syria), [[Tabun Cave|Tabun]], [[Um Qatafa Cave|Um Qatafa]] and Ma'ayan Baruch (in Israel). These sites yield an enormous amount of stone tools, reaching several thousands. An important discovery from Lake Ram is a [[Venus of Berekhat Ram|stone pebble]] with evidence of artificial shaping and polishing, which resembles the body of a woman and thus serves as one of the earliest figurines known.<ref>Sharon (2014), pp. 1365–1366</ref> ==={{anchor|Middle Paleolithic period}} Middle Paleolithic period === The [[Middle Palaeolithic]] period ({{circa|250,000|48,000&nbsp;BCE}}) is represented in the Levant by the [[Mousterian]] culture, known from numerous sites (both caves and open-air sites) through the region. The chronological subdivision of the [[Mousterian]] is based on the stratigraphic sequence of the Tabun Cave. Middle Paleolithic human remains include both the [[Neanderthal]]s (in [[Kebara Cave]], [[Amud Cave]] and Tabun), and [[Homo sapiens|anatomically modern humans]] (AMH) from [[Jebel Qafzeh remains|Jebel Qafzeh]] and [[Es Skhul|Skhul Cave]]. === Upper Paleolithic === The [[Upper Palaeolithic]] period is dated in the Levant to {{circa|48,000|20,000&nbsp;BCE}}. ==Epi-Palaeolithic period (20,000 - 9,500 BCE)== {{Main|Epipalaeolithic Near East}} The [[Epipalaeolithic]] period ({{circa|20,000|9,500&nbsp;[[Calibrated years|cal.]]&nbsp;BCE}}; also known as [[Mesolithic]] period) is characterized by significant cultural variability and wide spread of the [[microlithic technologies]]. Beginning with the appearance of the [[Kebaran culture]] (18,000–12,500&nbsp;BCE) a microlithic toolkit was associated with the appearance of the bow and arrow into the area. Kebaran shows affinities with the earlier [[Helwan culture|Helwan phase]] in the Egyptian Fayyum, and may be associated with a movement of people across the Sinai associated with the climatic warming after the Late Glacial Maxima of 20,000 BCE. Kebaran affiliated cultures spread as far as Southern Turkey. The latest part of the period ({{circa|12,500|9,500&nbsp;{{abbr|cal.|calibrated years before present}}&nbsp;BCE}}) is the time of flourishing of the [[Natufian]] culture and development of [[sedentism]] among the [[hunter-gatherers]]. ===Natufian=== {{Main|Natufian culture}} This culture existed from about 13,000 to 9,800 [[BCE]] in the Levant. Numerous archaeological excavations have led to a relatively well defined understanding of these people. Two of the most significant aspects of this culture were their large community sizes and their sedentary lifestyles.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bar-Yosef|first1=Ofer|title=The origins of sedentism and farming communities in the Levant.|journal=Journal of World Prehistory|date=1989|pages=447–498|doi=10.1007/bf00975111|volume=3|issue=4|s2cid=162966796}}</ref> Although the Late [[Natufian]] experienced a slight reversal in this trend (possibly a result of the cold period known as the [[Younger Dryas]]) as their community size shrank and they became more nomadic, it is believed that this culture continued through and was the foundation for the [[Neolithic Revolution]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bar-Yosef|first1=Ofer|title=On the nature of transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution|journal=Cambridge Archaeological Journal|date=1998|volume=8|issue=2|pages=141–163|doi=10.1017/s0959774300001815|s2cid=246637735 |url=https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/12211496/S0959774300001815a%202.pdf?sequence=2}}</ref> ==Neolithic period== ===Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic=== [[File:Yarmukian Culture -Sha'ar HaGolan, flint arrowhead.jpg|160px|thumb|A flint arrowhead from the Neolithic period that was created by the [[Yarmukian culture]] that was discovered in the [[Sha'ar HaGolan]] area]] The [[Neolithic]] is traditionally divided to the Pre-Pottery ([[Pre-Pottery Neolithic A|A]] and [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B|B]]) and Pottery [[Late Neolithic]] phases. Pre-Pottery Neolithic A developed from the earlier Natufian cultures of the area. This is the time of the [[Neolithic Revolution]] and development of [[agriculture|agricultural economies]] in the [[Near East]], and the region's first known [[Megalith#Middle Eastern megaliths|megaliths]] (and Earth's oldest known megalith, other than [[Göbekli Tepe]], which is in the [[Northern Levant]] and from an unknown culture) with a burial chamber and [[archaeoastronomy|tracking of the sun or other stars]].{{cn|date=May 2020}} In addition, the Levant in the Neolithic (and later, in the [[Chalcolithic]]) was involved in large scale, far reaching trade.<ref name=Yellin1996>{{cite journal|last1=Yellin|first1=Joseph|last2=Levy|first2=Thomas E.|last3=Rowan|first3=Yorke M.|title=New Evidence on Prehistoric Trade Routes: The Obsidian Evidence from Gilat, Israel|journal=Journal of Field Archaeology|date=1996|volume=23|issue=3|pages=361–368|doi=10.1179/009346996791973873}}</ref> ===Chalcolithic period=== Trade on an impressive scale and covering large distances continued during the [[Chalcolithic]] (c. 4500–3300 BCE). Obsidian found in the Chalcolithic levels at [[Gilat]], Israel have had their origins traced via elemental analysis to three sources in Southern Anatolia: Hotamis Dağ, [[Göllü Dağ]], and as far east as [[Nemrut Dağ]], {{cvt|500|km}} east of the other two sources. This is indicative of a very large trade circle reaching as far as the Northern Fertile Crescent at these three Anatolian sites.<ref name=Yellin1996/> The [[Ghassulian]] period created the basis of the Mediterranean economy which has characterized the area ever since. A [[Chalcolithic]] culture, the [[Ghassulian]] economy was a mixed agricultural system consisting of extensive cultivation of grains (wheat and barley), intensive [[horticulture]] of vegetable crops, commercial production of vines and olives, and a combination of [[transhumance]] and nomadic pastoralism. The Ghassulian culture, according to [[Juris Zarins]], developed out of the earlier [[Munhata]] phase of what he calls the ''"circum Arabian nomadic pastoral complex"'', probably associated with the first appearance of [[Semitic languages|Semites]] in this area.<ref>Zarins, Juris (1992) "Pastoral Nomadism in Arabia: Ethnoarchaeology and the Archaeological Record," in O. Bar-Yosef and A. Khazanov (eds.), "Pastoralism in the Levant: Archaeological Materials in Anthropological Perspectives"</ref> ==Early and Middle Bronze Age== [[File:Sarcophagus from the Israel Museum - Jerusalem.JPG|thumb|250px|Anthropoid coffins that were discovered in [[Deir el-Balah]] from the Late Bronze Age. The items are part of the permanent display at the Israel Museum]] The urban development of [[Canaan]] lagged considerably behind that of [[Egypt]] and [[Mesopotamia]] and even that of [[Syria]], where from 3,500 BCE a sizable city developed at [[Hamoukar]]. This city, which was conquered, probably by people coming from the Southern Iraqi city of [[Uruk]], saw the first connections between Syria and Southern [[Iraq]] that some<ref>Bright, John (2000)"A History of Israel" (John Knox Press Westminster)</ref><ref>Albright, William F. "From Abraham to Ezra"</ref> have suggested lie behind the patriarchal traditions. Urban development again began culminating in [[Early Bronze Age]] sites like [[Ebla]], which by 2,300 BCE, was incorporated once again into the Empire of [[Sargon of Akkad|Sargon]], and then [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]] of [[Akkadian Empire|Akkad]] (Biblical Accad). The archives of Ebla show reference to a number of Biblical sites, including [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]], [[Jerusalem]], and a number of people have claimed, also to [[Sodom and Gomorrah]], mentioned in the patriarchal records. The collapse of the Akkadian Empire, saw the arrival of peoples using [[Khirbet Kerak]] Ware pottery,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ancientneareast.net/wares_kerak.html |title=See |access-date=2007-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224063432/http://www.ancientneareast.net/wares_kerak.html |archive-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> coming originally from the [[Zagros Mountains]], east of the [[Tigris]]. It is suspected by some [https://web.archive.org/web/20070615144724/http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/html/urseals.htm Ur seals] that this event marks the arrival in Syria and Palestine of the [[Hurrians]], people later known in the Biblical tradition possibly as [[Horites]]. The following [[Middle Bronze Age]] period was initiated by the arrival of "[[Amorites]]" from Syria in Southern Iraq, an event which people like Albright (above) associated with the arrival of Abraham's family in [[Ur]]. This period saw the pinnacle of urban development in the area of Syria and Palestine. Archaeologists show that the chief state at this time was the city of [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]], which may have been the capital of the region of Israel. This is also the period in which [[Semites]] began to appear in larger numbers in the [[Nile delta]] region of Egypt. ==Timeline== {{Main|Timeline of the history of the region of Palestine}} {{Unsourced section|date=February 2022}} <timeline> ImageSize = width:1400 height:150 PlotArea = left:12 right:15 bottom:20 top:5 AlignBars = early #justify Colors = id:nechushet value:rgb(1,0.7019,0) id:bronza value:rgb(0.001, 0.538, 0.503) id:bronza1 value:rgb(0.201, 0.838, 0.703) id:bronza2 value:rgb(0.201, 0.638, 0.503) id:bronza3 value:rgb(0.201, 0.838, 0.803) id:bronza4 value:rgb(0.301, 0.738, 0.703) id:bronza5 value:rgb(0.201, 0.458, 0.553) id:barzel value:rgb(0.918,0.776,0.647) id:barzel1 value:rgb(0.918,0.656,0.617) id:barzel2 value:rgb(0.918,0.656,0.517) id:darkgreen value:rgb(0,0.35,0) id:stone1 value:rgb(0.9,1,0.9) id:stone2 value:rgb(0.82,1,0.94) id:stone3 value:rgb(0.94,1,0.82) Define $StartScall =-6300 Period = from:$StartScall till:-586 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:250 start:$StartScall ScaleMinor =unit:year increment:50 start:$StartScall PlotData= bar:T align:center shift:(0,-5) from:start till:-4500 text:"[[Neolithic|New Stone Age period]]" color:stone1 from:-4500 till:-3300 text:"[[Chalcolithic|Copper Age period]]" color:nechushet from:-3300 till:-1150 text:"[[Bronze Age|Bronze Age period]]" color:bronza from:-1150 till:-586 text:"[[Iron Age|Iron Age period]]" color:barzel bar:T1 align:center shift:(0,-5) from:start till:-5500 text:"[[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]]" color:stone3 from:-5500 till:-4500 text:"[[Pottery Neolithic]]" color:stone2 from:-4500 till:-3300 color:nechushet from:-3300 till:-2200 text:"[[Early Bronze Age]]" color:bronza1 from:-2200 till:-2000 text:"[[Intermediate Bronze Age|Intermediate]]" color:bronza2 fontsize:7 from:-2000 till:-1800 text:"[[Middle Bronze Age I|Middle I]]" color:bronza3 from:-1800 till:-1550 text:"[[Middle Bronze Age II|Middle II]]" color:bronza4 from:-1550 till:-1150 text:"[[Late Bronze Age]]" color:bronza5 from:-1150 till:-1000 text:"[[Iron Age I|Iron I]]" color:barzel1 from:-1000 till:-586 text:"[[Iron Age II|Iron II]]" color:barzel2 </timeline> ==See also== ;History and archaeology articles * [[Genetic history of the Middle East]] * [[History of the Levant]] ** [[History of ancient Israel and Judah]] ** [[History of Palestine]] * [[Levantine archaeology]] ** [[Archaeology of Israel]] * [[Names of the Levant]] * [[Near Eastern bioarchaeology]] * [[Prehistoric Asia]] ;Chronologies and timelines * [[List of archaeological periods (Levant)]] * [[Time periods in the Palestine region]] ;Sites * [[Gilgal I]] ==References== {{Reflist}} == Bibliography == *{{Cite book|last=Gonen Sharon|title=The Cambridge World Prehistory: West and Central Asia and Europe|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1-107-02379-6|volume=3|location=[[United States]]|pages=1357–1378|chapter=The Early Prehistory of Western and Central Asia}} ==External links== * Joel Ng, [http://www.edwardtbabinski.us/biblical_archaeology/stone_to_bronze.html Introduction to Biblical Archaeology 2: From Stone to Bronze] * Paul James Cowie, Archaeowiki: [https://web.archive.org/web/20181125030807/http://www.archaeowiki.org/Archaeology_of_the_Southern_Levant Archaeology of the Southern Levant] [[Category:Canaan]] [[Category:Prehistory of the Middle East]] [[Category:History of the Levant]]'