Perforated and Unperforated Flint Discs from Late Chalcolithic Fazael: A Note on Their Characteristics and Possible Implications

The Late Chalcolithic period of the southern Levant is frequently regarded as a tipping point, with a notable increase in social and technological complexity. This time span also features many examples of ‘special’ classes of artefacts that first appeared during this period and changed or disappeared during the transition to the Early Bronze Age. One of the oddest Late Chalcolithic tool types, which has no parallels in earlier or later periods, is the perforated flint disc. This paper presents a group of perforated objects and related items found at the Late Chalcolithic site of Fazael in the Jordan Valley. This assemblage attributes the site, recently acknowledged as a significant metallurgical center, additional importance. In the current paper we discuss the significance of the new finds in the context of the site and of the Chalcolithic period of the southern Levant.