Back to the Source—Geochemical Data from Israel for the Provenance Analyses of Basaltic Rock Artefacts and Their Implications on Previous and Future Studies

The success of provenance analyses of basaltic rock artefacts relies on the availability of comprehensive geochemical–mineralogical data from samples of geological occurrences in order to facilitate a detailed comparison of artefacts and potential raw material sources. We present new results of a geochemical study of Neogene basaltic rocks in Lower and Upper Galilee, the Jordan Valley, the Hula Basin and the western Golan Heights. The results are intended to serve as a geological reference database for provenance analyses. We discuss the implications of these new geochemical data for the different approaches of previous provenance studies.