The first builders of the Northern Levant. Notes on early Neolithic construction materials

Permanent architecture in the Near East first developed in the Northern Levant and it was a multi-faceted process as the archaeological data indicate. Preferences for construction materials is an aspect that is seldom discussed with regard to early Neolithic architecture of the Northern Levant, while it is extremely interesting in the light of local geomorphological and environmental conditions. The article explores this aspect, reviewing the sources and the context, that is, the environmental changes that played a role in the development of early permanent architecture, going on to present the relations between local preferences for building materials and the nature of the environmental zones in various regions of the Northern Levant.