Broadening Horizons 3. Conference of Young Researchers - Khalili ...

Broadening Horizons 3
F. Borrell, M. Bouso, A. Gómez, C. Tornero & O. Vicente (eds.)
Figure 5: Arak Flint horizon outcrops (F2 in figure 2) in the Douara Basin.
of .open .marine .carbonate .shelf . .Both .provided .good .to .excellent .material .for .stonetool
.making, .and .they .occurred .in .surface .exposures .as .bedded .and .nodular .forms . .
Palaeolithic .and .Neolithic .populations .in .central .and .eastern .Syria .made .use .of .both, .
depending .on .local .availability .and .other .factors .(Krasheninnikov .et .al . .1996; .Diethelm
.2004; .Julig .et .al . .2007) . .The .Eocene .flint .deposits .were .most .extensive . .
Reconnaissance .surveys .in .Douara .Basin .have .enabled .three .major .extensive .flint .
outcrops .near .the .Neolithic .sites .(fig . .2) .to .be .identified . .The .flint .was .light/dark .
brown .to .black .in .colour .(though .some .nodules .are .slightly .lighter .toward .the .centre),
.fine-grained .and .homogeneous; .which .made .it .an .excellent .material .for .knapping
. .It .had .a .chalky .cortex .5-10 .mm .thick . .Both .nodules .and .discontinuous .layers .
of .flint .lay .in .exposed .sections .(seams .of .flint .nodules .in .wadi .exposure) .within .the .
Middle/Early .Holocene .formations .(fig . .5 .and .6) . .These .nodules .were .large, .typically
.30-40 .cm .long, .sometimes .larger, .and .they .were .generally .flat .and .easy .to .obtain
.(figs . .7 .and .8) . .No .direct .evidence .of .flint .exploitation .was .observed .at .the .outcrops
. This .raw .material .was .extremely .abundant .in .the .Douara .Basin .itself .and .its .
macroscopic .features .suggested .that .these .sources .belonged .to .the .regionally .extensive
.Arak .Flint .horizon .
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