Quarries as Places of Significance in the Lower Paleolithic Holy Triad of Elephants, Water, and Stone

Abstract

Human dependency on stone has its origins in Lower Paleolithic times, and some of the most primordial elements in human-stone relationships are rooted in those early days. In this paper, we focus our attention on extensive Paleolithic stone quarries discovered and studied in the Galilee, Israel. We propose a triadic model that connects stone outcrops, elephants, and water bodies to shed light on what made stone quarries places of significance, beginning in the Lower Paleolithic, and continuing throughout the ages.