Phantom Hearths and the Use of Fire at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov, Israel.

Abstract

The basic assumption of this study is that hearths are the center of debris accumulation and that the identification of clusters of burned debris testifies to the location of ancient hearths that are no longer visible. We present the results of thermoluminescence (TL) and spatial analyses of flint microartifacts from two Acheulian archaeological horizons at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov. The results obtained by TL measurements confirm the previously reported evidence of fire. The spatial analysis demonstrates clustering of burned microartifacts, which is interpreted as an indicator of ancient hearths. The circumstances that introduced the burned material to the archaeological horizons are examined, suggesting that anthropogenic rather than natural fires are responsible for the observed patterns. Finally, we discuss the issue of hearth-related activities and their resulting spatial patterns, suggesting that the evidence from Gesher Benot Ya'aqov is an ancient example of such patterns.