Yellin, Joseph and Gunneweg, Jan 1989, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and the Origin of Iron Age I Collared-Rim Storage Jars from Tel Dan, AASOR, 49, 133-141 This study was undertaken, because collared-rim jars, found at Laish/Dan (a site at the foot of the Golan Heights) have been considered an Israelite hallmark, and this being so, it was hoped to obtain some insight into the movement of the Israelite tribe of the Danites as they moved from the central west, where they had dwelled before, to the north of Canaan by tracing the collared-rim jars of Laish/Dan to the west of Canaan. The samples were submitted to instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) for provenience. Both, the Hebrew University and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory performed the analyses. The results showed that of the 22 jars which have been analyzed from Laish/Dan, none was imported from the Danites' previous location in the west of Canaan. On the contrary, the jars were locally made at Laish/Dan, while some others seem to point to manufacturing centers to the east or north of Canaan. Three other jars had their origin in coastal sites of North Canaan. From the chemical compositions it was concluded that the collared-rim jar was a product of tribal manufacture, as corroborated by the distribution patterns of the jars, as well as their typological differences within their family. Comments? Please write: Jan Gunneweg To return, click Archaeometry abstracts of our work or click "BACK" or click the Homepage . Jan Gunneweg Ph.D., The Hebrew University, revised November 2005