AMMAN — Azraq Basin is an area 100 km east of Amman with a very long history of occupancy. The settlements in that date from 22, 000, 14,000-12,000 and 9,500-7, 000 before present

 

Newly acquired dates force a revision of this hypothesis. Examination of the 1ac dates, supported by further analysis of survey and excavation data, suggests more continuous use of the western and central Azraq Basin through the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene.

 

"However, a closer look at these data reveals gaps in our knowledge; for example, no settlement has been found that dates to the mid- to late 11th and early 10th millennia BP, contemporary with the Harifian, Khiamian and PPNA," said British archaeologist Andrew Gerrard.

 

The archaeologist added that in the Negev and northern Sinai, where far more extensive survey and excavation have been undertaken, settlement seems to peak in the mid-11th millennium or Harifian Period.

 

A distinctive feature of survey on the Jordanian plateau has been the finding of extensive, partially deflated sites dating to the mid-Epipaleolithic. The largest of these are Jilat 6 and Kharaneh 4, Gerrard, said, adding that these sites lie 25 km apart in parallel drainages running through the western sector of the Basin.

 

Considerable surface spread of artefacts may derive from what were formerly smaller scale overlapping occupations. However, systematic surface survey of the western half of the main concentration at Jilat 6 shows that the deflated material has much in common technologically with the assemblage in the upper excavated horizon.

 

"This suggests that the material derives from groups with a broadly similar lithic tradition. The small sounding at Jilat 6 revealed two ocher-pigmented surfaces, and what is considered an artificial silt floor, whereas the limited excavations at Kharaneh 4 exposed a semicircle of postholes and two burials.

 

Jilat 6 and Kharaneh 4 are remarkable in demonstrating the repeated use of highly specific open-air localities during extended periods of the late glacial.

 

These two sites are also unusual for this period in that they contain structural and mortuary remains, Gerrard underlined, noting that the reason for repeated occupation is unclear. One possibility is that they lie close to active springs in art otherwise arid area. If this is the case, the sites may have served as seasonal aggregation centres.

 

"We found sedimentary and fossil evidence for a marsh environment at the nearby site of Jilat 22. Other explanations for repeated occupation may be that the sites were used for caching supplies or had social or territorial significance," the scholar underscored.

 

Neolithic Settlement Pre-Pottery and early Neolithic settlements in the Azaq Basin are much smaller than many contemporary sites in the presently moist steppe and Mediterranean woodland habitats.

 

Structural remains at Neolithic sites in the Azraq Basin are also flimsier and suggest seasonal use. PPNB dwellings in Wadi Jilat are typically curvilinear (rarely rectilinear) and semi-subterranean, and had substructures built from upright slabs of stone. The internal diameter was usually ca.3-3.5m, although some were smaller.

 

"The dwellings frequently had internal hearths and partitions constructed from upright slabs or coursed stones. Superstructures are thought to have been made from organic materials that could have been removed for re-use elsewhere. The early Neolithic structures are similar, but larger.”

 

“The oval structure at Jilat 25 had internal dimensions of 7 x 4.5 m, and that at Jilat 13, 10 x 6 m," Gerrard explained.

 

This could mean larger co-resident groups (required by the integration of herd husbandry with traditional activities pursued in the steppe), or that the structures housed both humans and domestic animals, the scholar concluded.