Nizzanim culture
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 | |
| Geographical range | Southern Levant |
|---|---|
| Period | Late Neolithic |
| Preceded by | Khiamian |
| Followed by | Wadi Rabah |
The Nizzanim culture is a suggested archaeological culture from the Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant. It was identified in three sites spread over a small area on the southern coastal plain of modern Israel, including the type site of Nizzanim, Giv'at Haparsa, and Ziqim. The sites were studied by Ya'aqov Olami (1906–1990), Felix Burian (1924–2017) together with Erich Friedman, Shmuel Yeivin (1896–1982), and Yosef Garfinkel (b. 1956). At those sites, there were no architectural remains but pits and floor levels with hearths. These findings seem to represent a pastoral-nomadic population, similar to the precedeeing population of Pre-Pottery Neolithic Ashkelon and the Qatifian culture.[1] Garfinkel suggests that these settlement served as seasonal hunting or fishing campsites.[2]
The type-site is named after the nearby Kibbutz Nitzanim, built in an area of coastal dunes. Kibbutz Zikim is further down the coast from Nitzanim. Giv'at Haparsa is a site right next to the beach, between Yavne-Yam and Ashdod. The different spelling between the names of modern towns and the corresponding archaeological sites is a common occurrence in Israeli archaeology.