A Geoarchaeological Investigation of Storage and Surplus at Tel Tsaf, Israel

The Chalcolithic period of the southern Levant spans from c. 5800 - 3600 cal BC. Traditional hallmarks of this period include caches of copper items, non-domestic shrine sites and large off site cemeteries or burial caves. However, these features date to the later portion of the period (Late Chalcolithic) and date to c. 4400 cal BC onwards. The focus of this dissertation is on the Middle Chalcolithic period (c. 5040 – 4440 cal BC), specifically in relation to storage and access to resources at the village of Tel Tsaf, Israel. Excavations at Tel Tsaf uncovered evidence of at least four walled courtyard complexes spanning two Chalcolithic phases. Each courtyard contained either rectangular broadroom houses or circular buildings, with no evidence of both structural forms in the same courtyard. Each courtyard also contained multiple large, mudbrick-lined circular silos. The research goals of this work address the implications of these varied architectural forms and the possible identification of surplus of both floral and faunal goods. Microscopic sediment analysis was used to investigate these questions, and the results are discussed in relation to the big picture debates of the Chalcolithic period. Micromorphology and bulk sediment samples were taken from Building Complexes I, II and IV during the 2006 and 2007 field seasons. Results demonstrate that domestic activities centred in the broadroom house and courtyard of Building Complex I, and animal penning activity was restricted to the circular buildings in Building Complex II. This distribution, combined with the numerous large silos, indicate there may have been some economic specialization at Tel Tsaf. The relationship among storage, surplus and wealth is explored and put in context of public and private access to resources and potential feasting at the site. It is established that the evidence is not significant enough to classify Tel Tsaf or the Middle Chalcolithic societies as chiefdoms. The evidence of likely surplus and potential private ownership of animals without evidence of a central distribution system or regional hierarchy further differentiates Tel Tsaf from large Late Chalcolithic villages. However, the evidence from Tel Tsaf demonstrates that it is distinct from the Early and Late Chalcolithic sites, demonstrating some similarity to both periods, as well as some evidence unique to the Middle Chalcolithic.Ph.D