Gadi HerzlingerHebrew University of Jerusalem | HUJI · Institute of Archaeology
Gadi Herzlinger
Phd
About
33
Publications
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290
Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
June 2018 - June 2020
Position
- Researcher
Description
- Research and methodology design, programming and software development, Data acquisition and analysis, publication
October 2015 - October 2020
Position
- Research Assistant
Description
- Teaching a weekly instruction hour of the introduction to preistoric archaeology course
May 2010 - September 2017
Position
- Research Assistant
Description
- Data acquisition and analysis Results publication
Education
March 2015 - June 2020
October 2011 - October 2014
Publications
Publications (33)
This manuscript is the 4th Volume of the Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY) monograph sub-series. The goal of the book is to publish the lithic assemblages originating in the excavations of the Acheulian site at Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY), Israel. The authors provide the readers with detailed descriptions of the lithic assemblages, illustrations (maps, pho...
We present here a newly developed software package named Artifact GeoMorph Toolbox 3-D (AGMT3-D). It is intended to provide archaeologists with a simple and easy-to-use tool for performing 3-D landmarks-based geometric morphometric shape analysis on 3-D digital models of archaeological artifacts. It requires no prior knowledge of programming or pro...
Stone cleavers are one of the most distinctive components of the Acheulian toolkit. These tools were produced as part of a long and complex reduction sequence and they provide indications for planning and remarkable knapping skill. These aspects hold implications regarding the cognitive complexity and abilities of their makers and users. In this st...
The chrono-cultural scheme of the Acheulian Technocomplex in the Levant, developed in the 1970's on the basis of handaxe typological variability, still serves as the main framework for the description of this cultural entity and as a benchmark for the classification of new Acheulian assemblages. It consists of a tripartite division into Early, Midd...
Handaxes and cleavers are among the most iconic stone tool types of the Acheulian Technocomplex. As they share several morphological and technological traits, they are considered to belong to the wider category of “bifaces” or “large cutting tools.” Concurrently, each of these types presents substantial morphological and technological variability a...
The study of artifacts is fundamental to archaeological research. The features of individual artifacts are recorded, analyzed, and compared within and between contextual assemblages. Here we present and make available for academic-use Artifact3-D, a new software package comprised of a suite of analysis and documentation procedures for archaeologica...
The research of the Kaizer Hill site (the Hilltop and its Terraces), recognized as a Pre Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) quarry site, involved studies of the rock damage associated with the quarrying activities as well as of the recovered material remains, mostly chipped stone artifacts. We present here the results of our on-site explorations (excavatio...
The site of ‘Ubeidiya is one of the earliest and best-known manifestations of the Acheulian Technocomplex outside Africa. Through the archaeological remains excavated in its numerous layers, it provides a wealth of information about the technological tradition and behavior of its occupants. This study applies a morpho-technological methodological a...
Fossils of a Middle Pleistocene (MP) Homo within a well-defined archaeological context at the open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel, shed light on MP Homo culture and behavior. Radiometric ages, along with cultural and stratigraphic considerations, suggest that the fossils are 140,000 to 120,000 years old, chronologically overlapping with H. sapien...
Current models of early hominin biological and cultural evolution are shaped almost entirely by the data accumulated from the East African Rift System (EARS) over the last decades. In contrast, little is known about the archaeological record from the high-elevation regions on either side of the Rift. Melka Wakena is a newly discovered site-complex...
In this study, the shape of socketed bronze arrowheads is analysed and expressed as a series of mathematical trends which are then compared to chemical and lead isotope composition, as well as to the categorization of traditional non-computerized typology. It is shown that while traditional typology has statistical validation, additional important...
Kaizer Hill is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A flint and limestone quarry site situated in central Israel. During systematic collection and excavation at the site, a large quantity of limestone wedges was recovered. This study reports the results of a detailed morphological, technological and functional attribute analysis conducted on these artifacts. Th...
https://osf.io/yz7k3/
Link to project page on the Open Science Framework repository. The page contains a technolgical attribute list and 3D models in *.3dl format of the artifacts used in the analysis of several articles published in the framework of the project.
The 3dl models can be opened and converted to other formats using the AGMT3-D software...
The range of evidence at the archaeological site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (GBY) provides a window into the minds of 800,000-year-old Acheulian ho-minins. Detailed action sequences used in stone tool manufacture, and in the exploitation of animals (over 70 taxa) and plants (over 130 taxa) are recon-structed, suggesting hierarchically organized decisi...
Early sites along the Dead Sea Transform (southern Levant), among them the Erq el Ahmar Elephant Site, are key points in understanding hominin and mammal migration out of Africa and into Eurasia. The late Prof. Tchernov had begun an intensive campaign to expose the faunal remains at the site, but unfortunately was unable to conclude his study. Base...
The question of Paleolithic group size has been addressed by scholars in many disciplines applying different methods. In our study we apply a novel analytical approach in an attempt to assess the group size of hominins that occupied the Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel (GBY). Within this framework, we subjected the handaxe assemblages...
Competing hypotheses have been forwarded in the last few decades about behavioural factors governing the technological choices of Acheulian LCTs makers and how they may have affected the morphology of bifacial tools. Hypotheses range from those asserting that Acheulian knappers used expert cognition and fore-planning to impose form on a wide spectru...
Chapter 6 aims to provide a comprehensive description of the flint assemblages, a major component of the archaeological horizons of Gesher Benot Yaʻaqov. Analyses consist of taphonomic, morphological, technological, and typological observations, which enable characterization and reconstruction of the operational sequences of flint. Both cores and c...
Chapter 3 is concerned with the geography, geology, stratigraphy, and chronology of the site of Gesher Benot Yaʻaqov. The geographical landmarks of the study area are presented in detail and the structural, morphotectonical, and geomorphological processes of the area are discussed. The different exposures of the Benot Yaʻakov Formation, in which th...
Chapter 4 presents a detailed account of the field and laboratory methodologies used at Gesher Benot Yaʻaqov. It provides a comprehensive description of the excavation methods and techniques pertaining to the grid, elevations, coordinates, sieving, sediment sampling, drafting of maps and cross-sections, and conservation. Laboratory methods include...
In-depth study of Acheulian limestone artifacts from Gesher Benot Yaʻaqov (0.79 Ma) has revealed that limestone nodules procured from fluvial deposits were transported to the lake margin and exploited throughout the occupational sequence (ca. 50 ka). Analyses of the limestone assemblages show that individual artifacts went through several use-stage...
Chapter 2 presents the history of the archaeological discoveries and excavations at Gesher Benot Yaʻaqov, from as early as the 1930s to very recently. Throughout these years, the area of the site was subjected to recurrent activities of construction, destruction, and drainage. The chapter provides a detailed account of the history of research on Ge...
Chapter 7 aims to provide a comprehensive description of the basalt assemblages, a major component of the archaeological horizons of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov. Analyses consist of taphonomic, morphological, technological, and typological observations, which enable characterization and reconstruction of the operational sequences of basalt. These involve...
This chapter summarizes the results of the analyses of the lithic assemblages of Gesher Benot Yaʻaqov and their behavioral, social, and cognitive implications. We discuss the place of these lithic assemblages within the Acheulian record and present a summary of the reduction sequences of each of the raw materials. We provide a comparative view of t...
Chapter 5 presents a detailed account of the excavated archaeological layers at Gesher Benot Yaʻaqov. It provides data on the location and stratigraphic position of each excavated unit in the study area, as well as details of the surface exposed, thickness and volume of the layers, and their sedimentological characteristics. When available, the res...
Blank and dorsal-distal modification type for each of the artifacts included in the analysis.
(DOCX)
The following study presents a novel method for computerized 3D geometric morphometric shape analysis of archaeological artifacts. It consists of a newly developed tool for automated positioning of 3D digital models and the following placement of 3D homologous landmarks for geometric morphometric analysis. It provides a quick and easy method for ac...
The open-air site of Nahal Hesi, located on northwestern Negev desert fringe of Israel, is one of the few primary-context late Acheulian localities in the Levant. Late Acheulian sites in the Levant rarely provide faunal assemblages and radiometric ages, leaving large gaps in our knowledge of the Lower Paleolithic palaeoenvironment, ecology, subsist...
We report here on the identification and characterization of thin basalt anvils, a newly discovered component of the Acheulian lithic inventory of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov (GBY). These tools are an addition to the array of percussive tools (percussors, pitted stones and anvils) made of basalt, flint and limestone. The thin anvils were selected from par...
The notion that broken artifacts provide a good indication of the taphonomic history of lithic assemblages is commonly accepted in prehistoric archaeology. High frequencies of broken artifacts are frequently viewed as an indication of the possible role of post-depositional processes such as high-energy fluvial transportation, trampling or plowing....
This paper presents the results of a field experiment which was aimed at recording and analyzing the movement of flint flakes on the surface at different slope gradients. Assemblages of 30 to 40 flakes were knapped at three different locations, representing various different slope gradients. The weights and sizes of the flakes were measured and the...
Questions
Question (1)
I have some 500 mesh files in VRML1.0 format which I need to convert to VRML2.0. I have found a useful conversion tool online, however it can only convert a single file at a time and requires manual text-line input. I was wondering if anyone knows an automated tool which could handle an entire library without me having to do each file manually.
Thanks,
Projects
Projects (3)
This project funded by Fyssen foundation aims to explore the morpho-techno-functional variability of several handaxes assemblages in Northern France during Late Middle Paleolithic (MIS 5-3). We are analyzing digital 3D models using 3D geometric morphometrics combined with technological and functional studies. The results, tested by a multiscalar approach, will provide new information concerning variability in handaxes assemblages, both from a diachronic and synchronic perspectives, and will consider their causes. Additionally, the results may allow to test several hypotheses regarding Neanderthal settlement dynamics and their chronologies, as well as mechanisms of cultural transmission. Comparisons with results from a previous project performed by some members of the team concerning southwest France handaxes assemblages (https://www.researchgate.net/project/Exploring-Hominin-Behavioral-Patterns-Through-Time-and-Space-A-Morpho-Techno-Functional-Analysis-of-3d-Digital-Models-of-Stone-Handaxes), will help to extend the impact of our interpretations at the scale of Western part of Europe.
Our research project applies an innovative methodology analyzing digital 3D models using 3D geometric morphometrics combined with technological and functional studies. We aim at analyzing and comparing Acheulian and Mousterian handaxe assemblages from the Levant and Western Europe. The results will provide novel information concerning the variability in handaxes assemblages, both from a diachronic and synchronic perspectives, and will consider their environmental, functional and cultural causes. The geographically extensive database will allow us to test various population dispersal hypotheses between the Levant and Western Europe as well as the mechanisms of cultural transmission. This project is supported by "Hubert Curien-Maïmonide".
My research is aimed at elucidating aspects of cultural, social and cognitive development of Middle-Pleistocene hominins. Specifically, it will describe morphological and technological patterns and trends in the lithic tools produced by these hominins at the site of Gesher Benot-Ya’aqov, Israel and apply a cultural-transmission model to interpret them in cultural, social and cognitive terms.
