The Ghassulian Ceramic Tradition: A Single Chaîne Opératoire Prevalent throughout the Southern Levant

This study examines Ghassulian ceramic assemblages from sites located in various parts of the southern Levant using the chaine operatoire approach. The goal is to assess whether the Ghassulian communities were loosely integrated or, on the contrary, closely connected to each other. Results show that a single chaine operatoire was shared at the level of the whole of the southern Levant testifying to its transmission within the same social group. They also suggest interactions between the different communities, arguing in favor of a dense social network from which new shared norms may have emerged. In conclusion, we suggest that this highly connected society could be linked phylogenetically to the previous local groups—which would explain both the embeddedness at the population level and the regional differences developed over time.