Defining the Final PPNB/PPNC in the Southern Levant: insights from the chipped stone industries of Beisamoun

The Pre-Pottery to Pottery Neolithic transition (PPN to PN) in the Levant represents a key moment in the cultural evolution of the early farming societies in the Near East, witnessing the evolution from emerging to consolidated farming systems. The renewed excavations at Beisamoun reveal the importance of the site for reconstructing this transition in the Southern Levant. The study of the lithic assemblage from Beisamoun contributes to a clearer definition of the chipped lithic industries at the end of the PPN period (ca 7000–6500/6400 cal. BC) and plays a role in the Final PPNB versus PPNC debate. Our study has revealed the coexistence of five chaînes opératoires at the site targeted towards the production of flakes, flakelets, blades (bidirectional technology), bladelets and bifacial tools. In this sense, the lithic industries at Beisamoun constitute an evolution, not a break or disruption in PPNB industries, combining ‘old’ and ‘new’ technologies and transmitting the idea of a dynamic period of both continuity and innovation. Indeed, the complexity of lithic production and the co-existence of new and old traditions can no longer be considered expedient or produced ad hoc. The specificities of stone tool production at Beisamoun during the Final PPNB/PPNC provide supporting evidence for a clear differentiation between the Middle/Late PPNB and PN lithic assemblages, and, consequently, for understanding the nature of the technological changes and their rhythm of evolution during the transition. Finally, the complexity and, to some extent, variability of lithic production at Beisamoun is fully consistent with what can be expected from a large Neolithic sedentary village, reflecting a range in levels of ability (of knapping) and a multitude of tasks and activities.This work has been made possible thanks tot the support of the french Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEDI), the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Israel Antiquities Autority (IAA), the Irene Levi-Sala Care Archaeological Foundation, the Centre de Recherche Français à Jérusalem (CRFJ) and the Generalitat de Catalunya ('Archaeology of Dinamics' group, ref. 2017-SGR-995). The chapter was written while Ferran Borrell held a Ramon y Cajal contract (RYC-2016-21108) at the Institució Milà i Fontanals (IMF-CSIC)