Evolution and Economic Significance of Naviform Core-and-Blade Technology in the Southern Levant

A review of Levantine prehistory from the Epipaleolithic through the Pottery Neolithic demonstrates that naviform core-and-blade technology developed as a specialized craft in the context of the flourishing Pre-Pottery Neolithic village economy. A technological analysis reveals that the craft permitted the systematic production of standardized blade blanks to meet the specific tool needs of the Neolithic communities. The demise of the technology is linked to the socioeconomic collapse that occurred at the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic.