A study that was carried out in collaboration with researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Geological Survey of Israel, and was recently published in the journal Geoarchaeology, presents a novel approach that was developed to address that question. The researchers sampled flint from lithologies surrounding the sites. They compared them against the artifacts from the sites using a unique algorithm developed as part of this study in the Geological Survey of Israel, utilizing nearly 40 trace elements measured using a plasma-based mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). 

The analyses demonstrated that nearly all of the analyzed handaxes were derived from the Dishon Plateau, located about 12 miles (20 km) west of-, and some 500 m higher with respect to the studied sites. This testifies to the high level of expertise and knowledge of the early humans in the Hula Valley of their environment, and their ability to pass knowledge on preferred raw material procurement strategies over generations during early periods.