The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan

This edited volume provides a full report on the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site of WF16, southern Jordan. Very few sites of PPNA date have been excavated using modern methods, so this report makes a very significant contribution to our understanding of this period. Excavations have shown that the site contains a highly dynamic use of architecture, and the faunal assemblage reveals new information on the processes that lead to the domestication of the goat.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Table of Figures
• List of Tables
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• 1. The Dana-Faynan-Ghuwayr Early Prehistory Project
  • 1.1 Origin of the project
  • 1.2 The study area of the DFGEP and previous archaeological studies
  • 1.3 Research issues in early prehistoric Levantine archaeology
    • 1.3.1 The Palaeolithic: artefact variability and chronological succession
    • 1.3.2 The Middle/Upper Palaeolithic transition
    • 1.3.3 Epipalaeolithic: industrial variability and settlement pattern
    • 1.3.4 The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A: origins and diversity
  • 1.4 The project programme
• PART ONE - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY
  • 2. Long-term landscape evolution of the Wadis Dana, Faynan and Ghuwayr
    • 2.1 Purpose and objectives of the study
    • 2.2 The Dana-Ghuwayr catchment at the head of Wadi Faynan
    • 2.3 Rock types contributing to fluvial and slope sediments
    • 2.4 The surveyed area
    • 2.5 Methods employed
    • 2.6 Terrace surfaces and nomenclature
    • 2.7 Interpretation of the sequence of events
    • 2.8 Discussion
  • 3. Archaeological survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr, Dana and al-Bustan
    • 3.1 Introduction
    • 3.2 Wadi Faynan survey
    • 3.3 Wadi Ghuwayr survey
    • 3.4 Wadi Dana
    • 3.5 Wadi al-Bustan survey
    • 3.6 Summary and conclusions
  • 4. The rock art of WF400, Wadi Ghuwayr
    • 4.1 Introduction
    • 4.2 Rock art of WF400
    • 4.3 Comparisons with other rock art in Jordan and beyond
    • 4.4 Summary
  • 5. A comparative study of bifaces from Wadis Faynan and al-Bustan
    • 5.1 Introduction
    • 5.2 Artefact collections from Faynan and al-Bustan
    • 5.3 Typological comparisons
    • 5.4 Metric analysis
    • 5.5 Abrasion, patination and fractures
    • 5.6 Discussion: chronology, culture and raw materials
    • 5.7 Summary
• PART TWO - EVALUATION OF SITE WF16
  • 6. Excavations at WF16
    • 6.1 Site discovery and excavation history
    • 6.2 Test-trench survey of WF16
    • 6.3 Excavation of Trench 1
    • 6.4 Excavation of Trench 2
    • 6.6 Summary
  • 7. The sediment micromorphology
    • 7.1 Introduction
    • 7.2 Sampling, preparation and method
    • 7.3 Results and discussion
  • 8. The chipped stone
    • 8.1 Summary of the assemblage
    • 8.2 Technology
    • 8.3 Typology
    • 8.4 Context analysis
    • 8.5 Comparison with PPNA assemblages of the Jordan valley
    • 8.6 Summary
  • 9. The use wear analysis of chipped stone points
    • 9.1 Introduction
    • 9.2 The sample
    • 9.3 Methodology
    • 9.4 Recognising, classifying and interpreting wear traces
    • 9.5 Results
    • 9.6 Discussion
    • 9.7 Conclusion
  • 10. The worked bone
    • 10.1 Introduction
    • 10.2 The bone artefacts
    • 10.3 Discussion
  • 11. The ground stone
    • 11.1 Introduction
    • 11.2 Artefact descriptions
    • 11.3 Discussion
    • 11.4 Conclusion
  • 12. The stone beads
    • 12.1 Introduction
    • 12.2 Context
    • 12.3 Description
    • 12.4 Discussion
    • 12.5 Comparison with other PPNA sites
  • 13. The marine molluscs, with a note on an echinoid fossil and the terrestrial snails
    • 13.1 Methodology
    • 13.2 Malacological information
    • 13.3 Distribution by trench and context types
    • 13.4 General discussion and conclusion
    • 13.5 A note on the echinoid fossil recovered at WF16
    • 13.6 The terrestrial snails
  • 14. A bitumen deposit
    • 14.1 Introduction
    • 14.2 Methods
    • 14.3 Results
    • 14.4 Conclusion
  • 15. The mammalian faunal remains
    • 15.1 Introduction
    • 15.2 Assemblage composition
    • 15.3 Trench and context analysis
    • 15.4 Seasonality indicators and environment
    • 15.5 Comparison with other sites
    • 15.6 Summary
  • 16. The microfaunal remains
    • 16.1 Introduction
    • 16.2 Species identified in the assemblage
    • 16.3 Taphonomy
    • 16.4 Environmental considerations
  • 17. The bird bones
    • 17.1 Introduction
    • 17.2 Identification of species
    • 17.3 Description of bones by trench
    • 17.4 Discussion
  • 18. The human bones
    • 18.1 Introduction
    • 18.2 Condition of the material
    • 18.3 Minimum number of individuals
    • 18.4 Sex estimation
    • 18.5 Age at death
    • 18.6 Skeletal variation
    • 18.7 Discussion and conclusions
  • 19. The wood charcoal macroremains
    • 19.1 Introduction
    • 19.2 Methodology
    • 19.3 Results
    • 19.4 Discussion
    • 19.5 Economic and cultural interpretation
    • 19.6 Occupation and non-occupation contexts
    • 19.7 Summary
  • 20. The plant macrofossils
    • 20.1 Introduction
    • 20.2 Site and laboratory methods
    • 20.3 Taphonomy of charred remains
    • 20.4 Results
    • 20.5 Interpretation and discussion
    • 20.6 Conclusions
  • 21. The phytoliths
    • 21.1 Introduction
    • 21.2 Materials and method
    • 21.3 Results
    • 21.4 Discussion
    • 21.5 Conclusion
  • 22. The modern vegetation of Hammam Adethni and its palaeo-economic implications
    • 22.1 Introduction
    • 22.2 Vegetation survey
    • 22.3 Palaeo-economic implications
    • 22.4 Summary
  • 23. Geophysical investigation
    • 23.1 Introduction
    • 23.2 Methods
    • 23.3 Results
    • 23.4 Summary
  • 24. The radiocarbon dates
    • 24.1 Introduction
    • 24.2 Assessment
    • 24.3 The chronology of human activity and site formation
    • 24.4 Conclusion: the chronology of WF16
  • 25. WF16 and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A of the southern Levant
    • 25.1 Introduction
    • 25.2 Chronological issues
    • 25.3 The settlement of WF16
    • 25.4 Sedentism and PPNA settlement patterns in the southern Levant
    • 25.5 Conclusion
• WF16 and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A of the southern Levant (Arabic version)
• Appendices
• Bibliography