ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic it is often difficult to determine where one period ends and the other begins. Furthermore much of the Neolithic population remained in the region as is now evident in the coastal region Besor/Qatif the northern Negev Gilat and the lower Jordan Valley Teleilat Ghassul and there is clear continuity in many aspects of material culture particularly the pottery assemblages see below. The origins of the Chalcolithic cultures received a fair amount of attention during the 1950-70s; de Vaux 1971; and more recently in the 1990s; Gopher and Gophna 1993. One ceramic type in particular the cornet is especially useful as a chronological indicator because it first appears in the late Neolithic Wadi Rabah complex increases in popularity during the early-mid Chalcolithic. The material culture from Nizzanim generally falls within the range of the Pottery Neolithic PN phase which immediately preceded the wadi Rabah Commenge-Pellerin 1990.
