title: Flint mining in prehistory recorded by in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be.
abstract: The development of mining to acquire the best raw materials for producing stone tools represents a breakthrough in human technological and intellectual development. We present a new approach to studying the history of flint mining, using in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be concentrations. We show that the raw material used to manufacture flint artifacts approximately 300,000 years old from Qesem Cave (Israel) was most likely surface-collected or obtained from shallow quarries, whereas artifacts of the same period from Tabun Cave (Israel) were made of flint originating from layers 2 or more meters deep, possibly mined or quarried by humans.
authors.affiliation: Racah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Verri
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barkai
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bordeanu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gopher
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hass
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kubik
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montanari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ronen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weiner
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boaretto