Complex Behavior at the Acheulian Site of Gesher Benot-Ya‘aqov, Israel

Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents a review of recent reconstructions of hominin technological behavior based on the analyses of the bifacial tools assemblages excavated at the 800,000 year-old Middle Acheulian site of Gesher Benot-Ya‘aqov, Israel. Through its exceptional preservation and meticulous excavation methods, this regionally unique site provided rich assemblages of handaxes and cleavers, as well as the perfect context for their analysis, showcasing many cognitive capacities identified in various Acheulian sites throughout the Old World. The application of a novel morpho-technological analytical approach reached several original conclusions regarding the site occupants’ behavior. These include both technical aspects in the production procedures of bifaces and socio-cultural aspects relating to the social group size, structure, complexity, and social signaling. These behaviors, considered in light of cognitive, social, and cultural models and theoretical frameworks, support the notion that some components of modern human cognition were already well established in the minds of the ancient knappers who occupied the site in the early Middle Pleistocene.