Raw-material procurement patterns of prehistoric hominins provide valuable insight into landscape knowledge, and persistent raw material procurement over millennia, suggesting continuous cultural transmission during early human evolution. This study examines flint acquisition strategies at the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY, ∼780 ka) in the Levant through detailed multi-proxy geochemical analyses of handaxes, cores, and éclat de taille de biface (Edtb) from multiple stratigraphically superimposed archaeological horizons. A comprehensive geological survey documented 24 potential regional flint sources, followed by visual classification and detailed geochemical profiling using XRF and ICP spectrometry in order to associate archaeological artifacts with potential geological sources. The results demonstrate that GBY hominins consistently preferred Eocene flint sources located 5–20 km west of the site, despite the presence of Cenomanian alternatives immediately north of the site. This selectivity is most pronounced in handaxes, which form tight geochemical clusters, while cores and Edtb exhibit broader Eocene signatures, likely reflecting on-site final manufacturing from multiple Eocene sources. Procurement preferences remained stable across all three studied occupational horizons demonstrating long-term cultural continuity. These findings provide the first detailed indication that selective procurement was embedded and stable cultural practices transmitted across generations in the Lower Paleolithic Levant, demonstrating both specific raw material preference, detailed and sophisticated landscape knowledge, forward planning, and social learning mechanisms fundamental to later human behavioral systems.
Ekshtain et al. (Mon,) studied this question.