Recent archaeological excavations at the early urban settlement of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel present the opportunity to reconstruct the life-history of basalt ground stone artefacts of an early urban domestic neighbourhood. Tell es-Safi/Gath is a multi-period site located on the border between the Judean foothills and the southern coastal plain of central Israel. Survey and excavations over the last two decades demonstrated that it was a major urban centre for the region during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) III. At the eastern end of the site, a neighbourhood of commoner residences (some perhaps associated with mercantile activities) have been exposed. This paper describes and analyses the basalt ground stone tools found in association with this domestic neighbourhood. It seeks to establish the nature of production, distribution, consumption, and discard associated with ground stone tools within a domestic context. The study involved several forms of analysis including typology, macroscopic observations, and excavation data. It is suggested that basalt sources from the northeastern regions of the southern Levant were exploited for the small-scale production of basalt artefacts by non-specialised craftsmen. These commodities were then transported in more or less finished form to Tell es-Safi/Gath where they were further redistributed or sold to the settlement residents. The residents of the Tell es-Safi/Gath neighbourhood utilised the basalt artefacts for traditionally domestic tasks, and ultimately intentionally discarded or recycled them in a few depositional contexts. In summary, this paper presents a unique investigation into the life-history of basalt ground stone artefacts discovered in the EB III occupation levels of Tell es-Safi/Gath. It further demonstrates the potential of ground stone tools for understanding the behaviour and daily life of non-elite people.

Recent zooarchaeological research suggests that the transition from stone to metal butchering tools in the southern Levant occurred during or after the Middle Bronze Age and was accompanied by changes in butchering practices. However, few large and well-dated zooarchaeological assemblages that span the Bronze Ages have been systematically analyzed, limiting our understanding of when and how this technological transition occurred. This study investigates the evolution of butchering technology using newly analyzed zooarchaeological data from Bronze Age Tell Aphek (Antipatris), Israel. Tell Aphek, a prominent urban settlement continuously inhabited since the Early Bronze Age, is an ideal site for examining long-term technological change. Microscopic analysis of butchery marks on faunal remains, including scanning electron microscopy, was utilized to distinguish marks produced by stone tools from those produced by metal tools. The results show that stone tools dominate in the earliest periods (e.g., the Early Bronze Age) and a dramatic and sudden shift toward metal butchering tools occurs with the onset of the Middle Bronze Age occupation. By the end of the Late Bronze Age, metal tools had almost completely replaced stone tools as the main butchering implements. This transition is also associated with observable changes in butchering efficiency. These findings demonstrate that the microscopic analysis of butchering marks provides a valuable perspective on technoeconomic transformations occurring between the Early Bronze Age and later periods in the southern Levant.