Neither diffusion of ideas nor simple trade of objects: the moving of specialized Canaanean blade knappers during the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant

Canaanean blades are large standardized flint blades mainly used as sickle inserts, and are one of the lithic hallmarks of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant. Recent studies combining a detailed technological analysis and spatial distribution of the entire range of Canaanean production waste, debitage and tools offer new insights into the appearance of this sophisticated technology in the region, and into the organization of its production/consumption system. In the Southern Levant, Canaanean blades were produced using the leverpressure systems. The absence of the evolutionary stages required for the invention of this technique indicates that it must have spread to the Southern Levant from another core area. Considering the difficulties in learning and mastering the lever-pressure technique, and the lack of a “sophisticated” technological background able to reproduce it, the emergence of the Canaanean blade technology reflects the movement of some knappers. Given the time required to master the lever-pressure technique, and the necessity to maintain the knapping skills with regular practice and elevated productivity, only a few expert knappers were contemporaneously active, supplying the mass consumption of Canaanean blades in the region. As indicated by the spatial segmentation of the chaîne opératoire, itinerant knappers moved from their workshops to other places, villages and cities, exchanging and producing blades along their routes.