Natufian Trade/Exchange in Basalt Implements: Evidence From Northern Israel*

Three Natufian base camps in Israel—el‐Wad, Hayonim and Eynan—have nearby basalt sources, but K/Ar ages indicate that their inhabitants obtained implements, made of Miocene‐Pliocene and Quaternary basalts, further afield. The nearest locations, in which raw material sources representing the whole range of dated basalts occur within a relatively restricted area, are to be found east of the Jordan Valley, suggesting movement of the material some 100 km to el‐Wad, 60 km to Hayonim and 20 km to Eynan. The exact nature of these longdistance contacts and the underlying social and economic systems and mechanisms are yet to be determined.