Fig 1.
Examples of basalt vessels from the current study with a circumferential depression (marked by arrows).
(a) V-shaped bowl from Giv’at HaOranim; (b) V-shaped bowl from Shiqmim; (c) Fragment of a fenestrated pedestal bowl from Namir Road; (d) Fragment of a four-handled bowl from Tel Bet Yerah; (e) Upright bowl from Modi’in.
Fig 2.
Schematic cross-section of a vessel with a circumferential depression.
(a) Circumferential depression; (b) Exterior margin of the circumferential depression; (c) Central elevated base; (d) Exterior wall; (e) Exterior base.
Fig 3.
Location of the archaeological sites from which the examined vessels with circumferential depressions were studied.
Late Chalcolithic settlements are marked with a circle and Early Bronze Age I settlements are marked with a square.
Table 1.
Attributes used to characterize the wear observed on the archaeological vessels and the experimental pieces [based on 88, 103, 104, 108].
Table 2.
The experimental program showing the sequence of operations and the materials used for abrasion, grinding, and lubrication.
Fig 4.
(a) Abrading basalt against aeolianite; (b) Grinding oat flakes on the surface prepared by abrading the aeolianite; (c) Abrading basalt against beachrock; (d) Grinding rosemary leaves and stems on the surface prepared by abrading against beachrock; (e) Abrading basalt against aeolianite with sand; (f) Grinding flax seeds on the surface prepared by abrading against aeolianite with sand (see also Table 2).
Fig 5.
Macro- and micro-scale use-wear observed on the experimental basalts.
(a, b) Traces by abrading with aeolianite: (a) Flat leveled surface, isolated amorphous pits with sharp edges marked by an arrow, and striations marked by red arrows (10x); (b) A polished surface with a patch of connected intermittent striations (100x); (c, d) Traces by grinding oat on the surface abraded with aeolianite: (c) Sinuous regular surface and pits with rounded edges marked by arrows (10x); (d) A polished surface associated with flat bright striated patches of polish produced by the contact with the upper stone, marked by arrows (100x); (e, f) Traces by abrading with aeolianite and sand: (e) Sinuous regular surface and diffuse pits with rounded edges and bottoms marked by arrows (20x); (f) A polished surface with patches of connected intermittent striations (100x); (g, h) Traces by grinding rosemary on the surface abraded with aeolianite and sand: (g) Flat regular surface and pits with relatively sharp edges marked by arrows (20x); (h) Translucent irregular covering polish, developing a reticular pattern on protruding surfaces, marked by arrows (100x); (i, j) Traces by abrading with beachrock: (i) Flat rough irregular surface and amorphous pits with irregular bottoms (20x); (j) A patch of flat striated polish on top of the olivine, marked by an arrow (100x); (k, l) Traces by grinding flax seeds on the surface prepared with beachrock: (k) Flat irregular surface, protruding topography moderately rounded, and diffuse recesses with rough edges and bottoms marked by arrows (20x); (l) Thin, rough, dull, transparent polish covering the surface and patches of developing reticular pattern marked by arrows (100x) (see also Tables 3 and 4).
Table 3.
Description of traces produced in the first abrasion experiment (detailed in Table 2).
Table 4.
Description of traces produced in the second grinding and lubricant experiment.
Fig 6.
Micropolish produced in the lubricant experiment.
(a) Traces from sand and water, showing a patch of bright polish in reticulation marked by an arrow (500x); (b) Sand and oil traces, showing a patch of moderately reflective polish marked by an arrow (500x); (c) Limestone and water traces, showing a combination of bright, rounded, and reticular polish formed from contact with the lubricant, marked by a white arrow, and flat striated opaque polish caused by contact with the hard limestone, marked by a red arrow (200x) (see Table 4).
Fig 7.
Scatterplot displaying the width and depth of the circumferential depressions.
(a) Yehud 9, license B-327/2008 (YH9), loc. 31, reg. no. 31; (b) Qiryat Ata 32, loc 3019, reg. no. 4071; (c) Shiqmim, reg no. 1159.07; (d) Tel Bet Yerah 36, loc. UN 670, reg. no. 176; (e) Tel Bet Yerah 41, loc. UN 029, reg no. 358–50; (f) Giv’at HaOranim, loc 1178, reg. no. 2341; (g) Modi’in 130, loc. 3040, reg. no. 2154; (h) Giv’at HaOranim 1 (GHO1), loc. 4136, reg. no. 3600; (i) Kabri (KB), context unknown; (j) Giv’at HaOranim, loc. 1288, reg. no. 3211; (k) Tel Bet Yerah 42, loc. GB reg. no. 50–7473; (l) Namir Road 46, loc. 121/422 reg. no. 2116; (m) Tel Bet Yerah 37 (TBY37), loc. GB, reg. no. 50–3229; (n) Giv’at HaOranim 2, loc. 1521, reg. no. 4402; (o) Yehud 42, license A-8111/2017 (YH42), loc. 305, reg. no. 2162.
Fig 8.
Wear typical to the vessels’ exterior.
(a) Exterior wall of the Early Bronze Age I vessel fragment from Tel Bet Yerah showing pecking marked with arrows (10x); (b) Exterior wall of the Late Chalcolithic vessel fragment from Yehud showing abraded pecking marks marked with arrows (10x); (c) Exterior base of the same bowl from Yehud exhibiting extremely abraded pecking marks marked with arrows (10x).
Table 5.
Description of the traces observed within the circumferential depression of each of the five archaeological vessels analyzed for use-wear.
Fig 9.
Archaeological vessel YH9 from the Late Chalcolithic site of Yehud.
(a) Traces on central elevated base, displaying small plateaus and rounded pits (10x); (b) The bottom of the circumferential depression, exhibiting abraded and rounded plateaus (red arrows) and rounded pits (white arrows) (10x); (c) A polished surface within the circumferential depression with a connected pattern of continuous striations, their orientation marked by a double-headed arrow (200x).
Fig 10.
Archaeological vessel YH42 from the Late Chalcolithic site of Yehud.
(1) Sinuous surface of the elevated center with small flattened peaks and rounded pits (10x); (2) Surface of the circumferential depression with large plateaus, diffuse rounded recesses marked by arrows, and continuous parallel covering striations, with their orientation marked by a double-headed arrow (10x); (3) Concentrations of developing reticular polish on the protruding surfaces within the circumferential depression, marked by arrows (the orientation of the macro-scale striations marked by a double-headed arrow) (100x).
Fig 11.
Archaeological vessel GHO1 from the Late Chalcolithic site of Giv’at HaOranim, with surface darkening marked by an arrow.
(a) Sinuous surface of the elevated center with small flattened peaks and rounded pits (10x); (b) Flat striated surface within the circumferential depression with comet-shaped pits marked by white arrows. The direction of traces is marked by the red arrow (20x); (c) Thick opaque polish distributed in isolated patches on protruding surfaces. The patches show an orientation consistent with the striations, and their direction is marked by the red arrow (50x).
Fig 12.
Archaeological vessel TBY37 from the Early Bronze Age I of Tel Bet Yerah, with surface darkening marked by an arrow.
(a) Clear pecking marks on the elevated center shown by arrows (10x); (b) Flat leveled striated surface of the circumferential depression with a pit with sharp edges marked by an arrow. The orientation of the striations is marked by a double-headed arrow (10x); (c) A surface showing polished surfaces marked by arrows, exhibiting a reticular pattern (200x).
Fig 13.
Archaeological vessel KB from Kabri, dated to the Early Bronze Age I, with surface darkening along the circumferential depression marked by a small arrow.
(a) Clear pecking marks on the elevated center shown by arrows (10x); (b) Flat, leveled, striated surface of the circumferential depression with the orientation of the striations marked by a double-headed arrow (10x); (c) A heavy polish showing a reticular pattern, associated with striations in an orientation marked by a double-headed arrow along the circumferential depression (100x).
Fig 14.
Schematic representations of the hypothetical mechanisms related to the circumferential depression.
(a) Using the vessel wall as a retaining barrier for a tool while processing a material inside the vessel; (b) Restricting the tool use within the base perimeter, which facilitates the rotation and confines the distribution of the wear; (c) Forming the circumferential depression due to the vessel use as a turntable.