Procurement of Senonian Flint for Bladelets Production at the Early PPNB Site of Nahal Zahal in the Northern Negev Established for the First Time Using Chemical Composition Analysis

The hypotheses of Senonian flint to be a prime source of prehistoric “chalcedony” flint artefacts from the Negev Desert (Israel) was not investigated in detail thus far. By combining trace-element profiling with statistical interpretation, ten flint items from Nahal Zahal, an Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site in the northern Negev, were compared with two nearby Eocene and Senonian outcrops, as well as nine extraction and reduction sites and outcrops. Five bladelets were produced from Senonian flint, attesting to its suitability for producing small items, underscoring the applicability of compiling a detailed geochemical database for interpreting regional flint exploitation strategies. While preliminary in nature, the implications of the results regarding regional EPPNB subsistence and settlemential strategies are discussed as well.