Simple bone tools from Early Bronze Age Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon): a household approach

Abstract

Despite their relatively limited scale, the excavations conducted at the site of Tell Fadous Kfarabida on the Lebanese coast between 2004 and 2015 have provided a large and surprisingly varied assemblage of objects made out bone and related materials from the Early Bronze Age levels. In addition to large numbers of awls and spatulae, other objects are attested as well, such as spindle whorls, beads and pendants, decorated bone tubes, a scale beam and several cylinder seals made out of bone or hippopotamus ivory. This study will present a typological study of the material from the site, investigate the raw material used for the different types, and finally conclude with some thoughts on the use of some of the simpler types within the framework of a household archaeology approach. © 2016, © Council for British Research in the Levant 2016.