A 6,000-year-old copper fish hook , likely used to catch sharks or other large fish, has been unearthed during excavations in the southern port city of Ashkelon , in the Southern district of Israel. This was announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority in Ashkelon on Wednesday morning. The fish hook, one of the oldest ever discovered, was discovered before a new neighborhood was built in Ashkelon in 2018, and will now be on display for the first time this April at the 48th Archaeological Congress, organized by the Israel Antiquities Authority , Israel Exploration Society and Israeli Archaeological Association :
The hook measures 6.5cm long and 4cm wide and, according to excavation co-director Dr. Yael Abadi-Reiss , this makes it suitable for hunting sharks up to two to three meters long, or a big tuna.” The oldest fish hooks previously found were made of bone and were much smaller than this. The use of copper began in the Chalcolithic period and it is fascinating to discover that this technological innovation was applied in antiquity for the production of fish hooks for anglers along the Mediterranean coast ,” he added.
The Chalcolithic period refers to the time period between 2500 BC and 2200 BC , during which the first simple copper and gold tools appeared. During this era, large villages arose around Ashkelon, whose economy was based on the grazing of sheep, goats and cattle, on the cultivation of wheat, barley and legumes and on the care of orchards, all industries that are still alive and thriving today. this day.
We learn about the dietary habits of the people who lived here 6,000 years ago from the remains of animal bones found in ancient waste pits, from burnt grains of wheat found in ovens, and from recovered hunting, cooking and food processing tools, including sickles of flint and a variety of ceramic vessels that served for the storage, cooking and preservation of food by fermentation and salting ,” explains Abadi-Reiss . “ The rare fish hook tells the story of the village fishermen who set sail to sea with their boats and threw the newly invented copper fishhook into the water, hoping to add coastal sharks to the menu” . Further research on the copper fishhook was conducted by Dr.Yotam Asscherof the Israel Antiquities Authority and Magda Batiashvilli , and scholars, notes Giovanni D’Agata , president of the “Rights Window”, hope that the range of advanced technologies available for use will open up a new world of questions that before they could not be answered.
