The Chalcolithic period (4,500-3,600 BC) is one of the most significant and mysterious periods of change in the history of humanity. In the southern Levant, it is characterized by new human behaviours indicating growing social complexity, yet it shows inconsistencies and a large variety of phenomena between different regions. Many different cultures have been defined, exhibiting different behaviours and different material cultures. This abundant variation has caused much disagreement among scholars, and both the period’s chronology and which culture belong to it are disputed.
The Chalcolithic period follows the Neolithic period without a break and is differentiated from it by the appearance of significant new developments and additions:
The forming of the “Mediterranean Agricultural Package” – the collection of plants and animals which will continue to form the dietary and economic basis in the area for the rest of history. It contains cereals, legumes, olives, vine, goats, sheep, cattle, and swine. Additional plants that have been domesticated in this period were figs, pomegranates, dates and more. One of the innovative and important dietary and economical additions of the period is agricultural secondary use: manufacturing of milk and its products, wool, oil and wine, and the use of animals for carrying loads.
The beginning of copper utilization – as well as other metals like gold and silver. This new craft demonstrates the development of complex metallurgical knowledge and suggests a shift to specialized craftsmanship, and from domestic to more industrial production.
Changes in settlements’ size and dispersion – while settlements’ size varies, large settlements reach an unprecedented magnitude, while new settlements appear in arid areas that were never inhabited before.
Changes in material culture – there is a surge in art production in this period, while new artistic styles develop. Similar motifs appear in different areas of the southern Levant and on artefacts of different mediums, though there is still regional variation. In addition, the use of rare materials originating from distant regions increases – like obsidian, turquoise, and precious metals as gold and silver. These indicate the development of complicated and wide-spreading trading networks. The appearance of these unique materials and arts raises disagreements among scholars regarding social structure in the period: some scholars contend these suggest the beginning of social inequality, while others point to other social behaviours, like settlement structure and burial customs, which do not indicate class differentiation.
Sources;
Rowan, Y.M. (2014). The Southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Chalcolithic period. In A.E. Killebrew, & M.L. Steiner (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE (pp. 223–236). Oxford University Press.