Abstract

AbstractThis article focuses on the reconstruction of a particular opposed-platform knapping sequence from a Late/Final PPNB (7th–8th millennia CAL B.C.) flint workshop, at the site of Mamarrul Nasr 2 in the Douara Basin (central Syria), which is a variation on the usual reduction strategy associated with the bi-directional blade method. This strategy is characterized by a very specific and strict reduction sequence. The working surface is very narrow, and the direction of the debitage is slightly off-set, allowing the highest ratio of productivity of standardized targeted central blades. The analysis also points to the presence of competent knappers. The temporal and spatial distribution of the off-set bi-directional strategy in the central Syrian Desert indicates the existence of two technocomplexes in that region, indicating an important variability within bi-directional technologies and the presence of different lithic traditions. This suggests the existence of a diverse sociocultural background, probably the result of a cluster of minor cultural units. Furthermore, comparison with the lithic assemblages from middle Euphrates Valley, where the off-set bi-directional strategy has been identified during the Middle/Late PPNB, establishes a connection between the large, permanent settlements along the Euphrates Valley and the many campsites and workshops from the Douara and Palmyra basins. The existence of two lithic traditions in the central Syrian Desert re-opens the debate about the complexity, chronology, and origin of the Neolithic “conquest” of the semiarid steppes of central Syria.