A polished axe from the PPNB period.
Posted on 08/27/2012 3:38:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The use of functional tools in relation to woodworking over the course of the Neolithic period has not been studied in detail until now. Through their work at the archaeological site of Motza, a neighbourhood in the Judean Hills, Dr. Barkai and his fellow researchers, Prof. Rick Yerkes of Ohio State University and Dr. Hamudi Khalaily of the Israel Antiquity Authority, have unearthed evidence that increasing sophistication in terms of carpentry tools corresponds with increased agriculture and permanent settlements.
The early part of the Neolithic age is divided into two distinct eras - Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB). Agriculture and domesticated plants and animals appear only in PPNB, so the transition between these two periods is a watershed moment in human history. And these changes can be tracked in the woodworking tools which belong to each period, says Dr. Barkai.
Within PPNA, humans remained gatherers but lived in more permanent settlements for the first time, he says. Axes associated with this period are small and delicate, used for light carpentry but not suited for felling trees or other massive woodworking tasks. In PPNB, the tools have evolved to much larger and heavier axes, formed by a technique called polishing. The researchers' in-depth analysis of these tools shows that they were used to cut down trees and complete various building projects...
Whether the transition to an agricultural society led to the development of major carpentry tools or vice versa remains to be determined... Not only did people begin to live in permanent villages, but the buildings in which they lived literally took a different shape. The round and oval structures of earlier domiciles were replaced by rectangular structures in PPNB, explains Dr. Barkai.
(Excerpt) Read more at terradaily.com ...
A polished axe from the PPNB period.
Outdoor BBQ: A 700,000-year-old Ritual
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2040911/posts
|
|
|
| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
|
|
Thanks Renfield. Monty Python ping. |
|
|
|
|
;’)
I wish I could Photoshop prehistoric man with a red flannel plaid shirt...
from rocks to an automatic washing machine...wow...wow...wow
Holy carp! You’re telling me I canceled the magazine subscriptions too early?!??
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
