Perforated stars: Networks of prestige item exchange and the role of perforated flint objects in the late chalcolithic of the southern levant

Within the Late Chalcolithic of the Levant, the issues of specialization, regionality, and new dimensions of social complexity are long debated. In this article, we focus on the appearance of perforated flint objects that reflect specific patterns of production and distribution, clustering in northern Israel and southern Syria. We discuss this phenomenon in the contexts of Chalcolithic craft production and intraregional exchange networks. We demonstrate that the production and circulation of these unique objects differ from those associated with any other types of prestige objects that either characterize other parts of the southern Levant or do not have clear distribution boundaries.