ABSTRACT
The Chalcolithic site of Gilat in the northern Negev yielded a total of 1,142 mollusc shells and shell fragments (NISP) which are included in the following report. Most of them are of marine origin from the Mediterranean and Red Sea. One hundred and five of those shells are of freshwater origin: 103 shell fragments belong to Aspatharia rubens, a bivalve living in the Nile River. These shells are assumed to reflect socioeconomic activities, which will be discussed below. In this report it is assumed that snails and freshwater snails were not part of the cultural activities at Gilat and, therefore, are not included in this report. Thus, the mollusc shells and shell fragments reported on here are biological (ecofact) data that played a role in exchange networks that linked Gilat beyond its local geographic setting.
