Abstract:

An engraved stone plaque found at the Late Natufian site Nahal Ein Gev II (ca 12,000 years ago) provides an inductive case study to investigate stylistic change in the context of the Levantine Epipaleolithic-Neolithic cultural transformations. The engraved stone is compared to other artworks from close to farther contexts, following the comparative approach of art-research, and the ‘style sequences’ model proposed by George Kubler in 1962. By revealing the formal qualities of the engraved stone, these comparisons illuminate a local stylistic ‘finger-print’ at Nahal Ein Gev II and allow the stone to be positioned within several ‘style sequences’ over time. Examination of other elements of the art assemblage from Nahal Ein Gev II using a similar framework, supports and strengthens these observations. The results shed light on ‘forms’ linking earlier and later traditions; forms which possibly formed broader cultural links within the Levant.