Wadi Alhasa

THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN THE
WÅD∏ AL-ÓASÅ REGION: 2006 TEST EXCAVATIONS AT KHIRBAT

AL-ÓAMMÅM (WHS149), TBAS 102, AND TBAS 212
Jane Peterson, Michael Neeley, Brett Hill, Jennifer Jones, Patricia Crawford, Aldona Kurzawska,
Norman Sullivan, Alexander Wasse and Chantel White
Introduction ment, the smaller wadis to the south (e.g., Wådπ

This is a report of the results of the first field al-Jurf and Wådπ Burma) contain numerous
season of the Origins and Development of Agri- small drainages (e.g., the Wadis Juhayra and al-
culture in Jordan (ODAJ) project. The project’s Qußayr), all of which flow into the upper end of
primary goal is to examine the periods on either the Wådπ al-Óaså. Thus, the regions investigated
side of the of the transition to agriculture in the by the ODAJ project are linked by virtue of the
Wadi al-Hasa catchment in order to shed light continuity of the larger catchment region.
on the biocultural changes associated with the A cluster of ten Natufian sites was identified
shift from hunting and gathering to domestica- along the Wådπ al-Qußayr, a small, shallow wadi
tion economies. Test excavations at two Late approximately 25km southeast of the Wådπ al-
Epipaleolithic sites and one Pre-Pottery Neo- Óaså during MacDonald’s Tafila-Busayra sur-
lithic site were carried out during May and June vey (TBAS) in 1999-2000 (MacDonald et al.
2006. ODAJ is one of the many excavation proj- 2004; Neeley 2004, 2006). Two of these sites,
ects that was spawned by the archaeological sur- TBAS 102 and TBAS 212 (Fig. 1), were se-
veys carried out in and around the Wadi al-Hasa lected for test excavations based on the density
catchment (Clark et al. 1994; MacDonald 1988, (greater than 200 pieces within a 1m diameter)
MacDonald et al. 2004) ODAJ project findings, and techno-typological characteristics (bladelet
to date, indicate that Natufian and Neolithic cores and small, abruptly backed lunates) of the
groups in the Wadi al-Hasa catchment devised surface remains. Following the 2000 survey, one
local strategies and local identities, while simul- of these sites (TBAS 212) was tested in 2004
taneously retaining meaningful cultural connec- by Fujii (2005) and identified as a Late Natufian
tions with other groups in the southern Levant. camp. Previous publications (e.g., MacDonald
This work demonstrates that west-central Jordan et al. 2000, 2001, 2004; Neeley 2004, 2006;
is a productive setting for further investigations Neeley and Peterson 2007) have referred to the
into both sides of the transition to agriculture. sites being located in the Wådπ Juhayra. Howev-
er, they are more appropriately considered to be
Sites part of the Wådπ al-Qußayr, a small wadi located
The Wådπ al-Óaså is the southernmost major north of the Wådπ Juhayra.
drainage into the Dead Sea depression. Begin- Khirbat al-Óammåm’s location on the south
ning in the desert/steppe environment of west- side of the Wådπ al-Óaså was noted in surveys
central Jordan, the wadi traverses a number of by Glueck (1939) and MacDonald (1988) (Fig.
different environmental zones before it empties 1). The Pre-Pottery Neolithic occupation was
into the Dead Sea plain near aß-Íåfπ. Archaeo- later confirmed by surface inspection (Rollefson
logical surveys of the wadi have recorded near- and Kafafi 1985) and a test excavation trench
ly 1600 archaeological sites (Clark et al. 1992, along the roadcut (Peterson 2004). Khirbat al-
1994; MacDonald 1988) attesting to the impor- Óammåm covers approximately 7 hectares and
tance of the Wådπ al-Óaså, in terms of resources rests on a sloped terrace 290 masl (Fig. 2). It
and geography, to prehistoric and historic popu- has been spared the substantial erosion that has
lations. Within the larger Wådπ al-Óaså catch- drastically truncated other Neolithic sites in the
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
1. Location of ODAJ Project

Sites and Other Pertinent Sites
in West-Central Jordan.
2. Topographic Map of Khirbat

al-Óammåm.
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J. Peterson et al.: The Origins and Development of Agriculture in the Wådπ al-Óaså Region
region. This enhances the research potential of nology at TBAS 102 and 212 were colored by
the site, especially in combination with numer- the survey results in 1999-2000 (MacDonald et
ous architectural remnants, well-preserved or- al. 2000, 2001) and previous work in the Wådπ
ganics, and over 2m of cultural deposits. Recog- al-Óaså (Olszewski 2000). In the former, the lo-
nizing this potential, the Jordanian government cal setting was identified as a lacustrine envi-
purchased the site and now employs security ronment (Moumani et al. 2003) with the pres-
personnel to protect it. Their presence has sub- ence of some Helwan retouched lunates. Similar
stantially diminished disturbances at Khirbat combinations found in the Wådπ al-Óaså indi-
al-Óammåm from cultivation, bulldozing, and cated an Early Natufian occupation. Thus, it
vandalism. was expected that an Early Natufian occupation
Our rationale for expanding investigations would characterize the Wådπ al-Qußayr mate-
of the agricultural transition outside the Wådπ rials as well. However, two radiocarbon dates
al-Óaså proper – and into the wider catchment from TBAS 102, both around 11,000 bp (uncali-
zone – was grounded in previous research. Sur- brated) (Table 1), indicate an early Late Natu-
vey and excavation projects within the Wådπ al- fian occupation (Neeley in press). These dates
Óaså have identified several Early Natufian sites fit well with the calibrated dates for the Natu-
such as ˇabaqa, Yutil al-Óaså, and WHS 1021, fian found in Bar-Yosef (2000) and Aurenche et
but no Late Natufian sites (Byrd and Colledge al. (2001). Furthermore, the typotechnological
1991; Olszewski et al. 1994; Olszewski and Hill characteristics of both assemblages are consis-
1997). Typo-technological analyses of the mate- tent with the expectations for a Late Natufian
rials from the Wådπ al-Qußayr region suggested occupation. In the larger picture of west-central
the possibility for Late Natufian occupation. Jordan, these two sites appear to be the first Late
Therefore we chose to expand the research area Natufian occupations identified within the Wadi
in hope of catching the terminal Epipaleolithic Hasa catchment and their presence indicates
habitation which segued into the earliest mani- that hunter-gatherers continued to occupy this
festations of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. region, at least initially, in the face of the envi-
ronmental changes associated with the onset of
Chronology the Younger Dryas about 11,000 bp.
The chronological sequence of the combined
three sites spans much of the transitional Late Neolithic Sequence
Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic sequence. Analysis of the 2006 materials suggests that
AMS dates provide the anchors for the sequence, Khirbat al-Óammåm has a more complex, mul-
but are supplemented by typotechnological as- tiphase occupational history than previously
sessments of the lithic assemblage. The AMS thought. Originally, two AMS dates from the
dates are presented here, while the relative dat- 1999 excavations documented a Late Pre-Pot-
ing from stone tools will be discussed in the sec- tery Neolithic B occupation (Peterson 2004).
tion devoted to artifact descriptions. However, two additional AMS dates from the
2006 season suggest the need to re-evaluate that
Late Epipaleolithic Sequence chronological interpretation (Table 1). Both
The initial expectations regarding the chro- conventional and calibrated dates fit within the
Table 1: Radiocarbon Dates from TBAS 102 and Khirbat al-Óammåm (WHS 149).
Two Sigma
Site Sample No. Unit/Level Conventional Age
Calibrated Results
13410-12980 BP and
TBAS 102 Beta 221179 3/3 11170+70 BP
12940-12910 BP
TBAS 102 Beta 229411 4/2 11040+60 BP 13100-12860 BP
WHS 149 Beta 221347 2/3 8310+40 BP 9450-9240 BP
WHS 149 Beta 221348 2/4 8440+40 BP 9520-9420 BP
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
Middle PPN sequence using the chronology curs in the wadi bed which is broad and flat and
proposed by Kuijt and Goring-Morris (2002: shows little evidence of downcutting. Modern
366). The calibrated dates straddle the MPPNB/ use of the area for agricultural or pastoral activi-
LPPNB boundary using the Aurenche et al. ties is rare due to the scarcity of water and foli-
(2001) chronology. Furthermore, projectile age. These present conditions can be contrasted
point styles hint at a PPNA/EPPNB component with the prehistoric environment of the Wådπ al-
at the site. Overall, current data from Khirbat Qußayr which appears to have been much more
al-Óammåm suggest that the cultural remains conducive to human habitation.
may stretch back further towards the inception During the Paleolithic, the dominant feature
of agricultural origins, and span a significant of the Wådπ al-Qußayr was the presence of wa-
portion of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Finally, ex- ter in the form of springs, ponds, and marshes.
cavations did not reach the bottom of cultural Support for this wetter environment is derived
deposits in either field season. from the presence of marl deposits (Moumani et
The 2006 field season resulted in a re-eval- al. 2003). This landscape was probably part of a
uation of the time periods represented at these series or chain of marsh habitats extending north
sites. Most importantly, the new dates indicate to Jurf ad-Daråwπsh and ultimately toward the
a shift toward the time of the transition to ag- Wådπ al-Óaså. Indirect support for this greater
riculture with the identification of a Late Natu- resource base is the large number of archaeolog-
fian component and the expansion of the PPN ical sites clustered along these pond/marsh envi-
from Late into the Middle PPN and possibly ronments stretching from the Lower Paleolithic
including a PPNA/EPPNB component. Given through the Late Epipaleolithic (Neeley 2006).
the small scale of excavation to date, the presen- For the Wådπ al-Qußayr, it is suggested that
tation of these dates suggests that west-central these marsh/pond environments were fed by a
Jordan merits more work in these crucial time series of spring deposits that were active during
periods. wetter phases of the Late Pleistocene. A likely
change in the environment occurs with the onset
Geomorphology of the Younger Dryas (11,000 bp uncalibrated,
Today, the Wadi al-Hasa catchment is a region 12,900 cal BP) in which climatic conditions
of rugged topography and distinctive geology became warmer and drier, effectively signaling
and landforms. Ongoing work in this area high- the end of the pond/marsh environments. The
lights the need for finer-grained environmental archaeological record in the Wådπ al-Qußayr
reconstructions supported by geological data. supports this climatically induced hiatus as the
Not only were the prehistoric environments dur- prehistoric occupation terminates with the Late
ing the transitional periods vastly different from Epipaleolithic (the first part of the Late Natu-
present, but changes in local landforms due to fian about 11,200 bp) and is only sporadically
climactic and anthropogenic factors have af- represented during the Chalcolithic and Bronze
fected our ability to find sites and generate com- Age with an absence of early Neolithic sites
prehensive models of the agricultural transition. (though see Fujii 2002 for the identification of
Our environmental reconstructions rely heavily a PPNB site on the slopes of Tall Juhayra). This
on the work of Hill, who relocated sites in the gap in the archaeological record is consistent
Óaså area and analyzed landscape change using with the occupational history from both Jurf ad-
settlement data and paleoenvironmental indica- Daråwπsh and the eastern end of the Wådπ al-
tors in the region (Hill 2006). Continued geo- Óaså as Late Natufian materials are absent as the
archaeological survey in and around the Wådπ marsh environments recede. Furthermore, those
al-Qußayr region and the Wådπ al-Óaså were in- areas outside of these Late Pleistocene marsh/
tegrated into the 2006 ODAJ field season. pond settings appear to contain little evidence
of a Late Paleolithic (Upper and Epipaleolithic)
Natufian Landscapes settlement (e.g., the TBAS region), suggesting
The present day landscape of the Wådπ al- that these marsh/ponds were primary settlement
Qußayr consists of a sparsely vegetated, rocky, locations in an otherwise marginal environmen-
arid environment. Nearly all the vegetation oc- tal setting (Neeley 2006).
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Neolithic Landscapes communities. The available chronological data
A database of sites in the Wådπ al-Óaså indicate long, multi-phase, occupational histo-
compiled from the MacDonald (1988) south ries at these sites which suggest a chronological
bank surveys and the Clark (Clark et al. 1992, convergence between the areas. Artifacts and eco-
1994) north bank surveys documents that Neo- nomic data sets from these sites further add to our
lithic and Chalcolithic sites are often perched on knowledge of Natufian and Neolithic environ-
steep, sometimes unstable slopes with awkward ments and lifeways in the Wådπ al-Óaså region.
access to agricultural lands either in the flood-
plain below or plateau above (Hill 2006: 77-78). Field Methods
Did people choose to settle in these awkward Our first season of fieldwork involved map-
settings because they were the only options in ping, surface collection, and test excavation.
an environment with few attractive options for Both of the Late Epipaleolithic sites (TBAS 102
farming? A more likely explanation, is that the and 212) were subject to limited surface collec-
Óaså of today looks drastically different than tions. The rationale behind this was the uncer-
the Óaså of 8-10,000 years ago. tainty that there would be substantial subsurface
Specifically, substantial channel incision, due deposits. However, subsequent test units revealed
to both climactic and anthropogenic changes, can that both sites had sufficiently intact subsurface
be inferred from settlement distribution, Dead deposits and were not solely surface manifesta-
Sea sedimentation records, and isotopic studies tions. At TBAS 102, twenty 1 x 1m units were
of speleotherms. Preliminary geoarchaeologi- surface collected. Each of these was subdivided
cal survey during 2006 reinforces a hypothesis into four 50 x 50cm quadrants. In addition to the
that the Neolithic Wådπ al-Óaså was dominated surface collections, four 1 x 1m units were exca-
by a wide, slow moving waterway – one that vated. Two of these, Units 1 and 2, bisected the
built up rich, alluvial soil rather than scouring 17m long stone alignment on the north side of
it away. In this scenario, the wadi valley would the site (Fig. 3). The remaining two units, Units 3
have provided large expanses of arable land in and 4, were placed in the center of the site where
a broad, flat floodplain. A landform in the Wådπ the depth of deposits was expected to be greatest.
al-La‘bån, a tributary of the Wådπ al-Óaså, may All of the test units were excavated in 10cm lev-
represent a preserved remnant of the ancient els and screened through .33cm mesh.
wadi channel that remains intact at an elevation TBAS 212 was significantly larger than
of 30m above the current wadi bed. Coring this TBAS 102, as surface materials were scattered
landform should provide materials that can be along the north side of the wadi. Only ten 1 x 1m
dated to support to this hypothesis. High agri- surface units were collected, all of them in the
cultural productivity at Khirbat al-Óammåm is immediate vicinity of the two test excavation
supported by indirect, artifactual evidence. The units (Fig. 4). Again, the excavation proceeded
site’s surface is littered with hundreds of hand- in 10cm levels and all materials were sieved
stones and large querns. This view of the Óaså, through a .33cm mesh.
as providing a landscape of sustained agricul- At Khirbat al-Óammåm, team members
tural productivity, if further supported by recent surveyed the site surface in 10m transect inter-
discoveries at al-Óimmah, a Neolithic site that vals, mapping exposed architectural elements
lies less than 10km from Khirbat al-Óammåm and artifact distributions. Based on survey re-
on the north bank of the wadi (Fig. 1). Recent sults, the site size was estimated at 7 hectares.
excavations document the presence of PPNA, Limited surface collections were conducted at
LPPNB, PPNC, and possible PPN occupations twelve 5 x 5m units (300m2) that contained high
at el-Hemmeh (Makarewicz and Austin 2006; surface densities and/or exposed walls of pre-
Makarewicz et al. 2006). sumed Neolithic origin. Based on survey and
Reconstructions of local environmental con- surface collection, three test units (8m2 in total)
ditions are beginning to portray both the Wådπ were excavated in the East Field. A top layer of
al-Óaså and its catchment zone on the plateau to disturbed soil containing modern rubbish was
the south as well-watered and economically pro- removed from all units before systematic ex-
ductive locales capable of supporting thriving cavation began. Below this, units were exca-
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
3. Topographic Map of TBAS 102

indicating Site Boundaries
and Areas of Investigation.
vated in 10cm. arbitrary levels and all soil was casional inclusions of silts and sands. The lower
sieved through .33cm mesh. A limited program levels of the four units contained small inclusions
of soil sampling was undertaken to test for the of calcium carbonate. Formal hearth features
preservation of macrobotanical, phytolith, and were absent but an area of darker soil (10YR
spherulite remains. Test Unit 1 (1 x 2m) was 5/3 brown) containing fragmented burned bone,
abandoned after 10cm of vertical excavation freshwater shell, and charred organics for dating
showed that the deposits were largely devoid of occurred in the northwest quadrant of Unit 4 in
artifacts and the wall alignment was only one levels 2 and 3 (20-30cm below the surface) (Fig.
course deep. Test Units 2 (2 x 2m) and 3 (1 x 5). Although the organic content was higher in
2m) proved more productive and are discussed this area, the edges were poorly defined and it
in further detail below. is undetermined whether this constitutes a fea-
ture in the formal sense or whether it reflects ac-
Stratigraphy/Architecture tivities related to disposal and post-occupational
Wådπ al-Qußayr—TBAS 102 and 212 disturbance.
The test units at TBAS 102 contained a light More enigmatic at TBAS 102 was the 17m
yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) clay loam with oc- long alignment of stones on the northern edge
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4. Topographic Map of TBAS 212

indicating Site Boundaries
and Areas of Investigation.
5. West and North Profiles of

TBAS 102 Unit 4.
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
of the site. The alignment is situated downslope barrier. This assumes that the prevailing winds
from the site center and consists of a roughly were coming from a northerly or northwest
linear alignment of unevenly spaced stones. direction. A potential problem with this expla-
Test Units 1 and 2 bisected this feature in order nation is the location of the alignment on the
to determine its depth and possible cultural af- down-slope of the site. Unless individuals were
filiation (Fig. 6). The larger stones, visible on directly against the windbreak, it would offer
the site surface, were supported by a series of little wind protection on the upslope side of the
smaller stones. Gaps were present between the site. Finally, it is worth noting that the lithic ma-
stones suggesting that it did not function as a terials from Units 1 and 2 were least similar to
terrace or retaining wall. Furthermore, the depth materials in Units 3, 4, and the site surface. The
of the sediment on the uphill side is not signifi- materials from Units 1 and 2 were comprised of
cantly different from that on the downhill side. more coarse-grained, heterogeneous cherts that
A possible function for the alignment could be were larger and less well-made than the other
as a windbreak, especially since the gaps be- Natufian materials. This suggests differences in
tween the stones could be filled in with organic activity locations or the presence of another cul-
construction materials to create an ephemeral tural component, likely post-dating the Natufian
6. Planview (A) and West Profile view (B) of TBAS 102 Units 1 & 2.
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materials that dominate the site. In this case, we Khirbat al-Óammåm

might be able to assign the stone alignment to The ground surface of Units 2 and 3 was un-
this later site component and segregate it from even due to the natural contour of the terrace
the Natufian occupation. It should be noted that as well as modern surface disturbances. The av-
ceramics, which are associated with Holocene erage depth of excavation across the units was
sites along the wadi, were not recovered from 70cm. The fill from Units 2 and 3 consisted of
any of the excavated or surface collected units. homogeneous, loose, silt loam of grayish brown
The two test units at TBAS 212 were char- (10YR 5/2) or light grayish brown (10YR 6/2)
acterized by loamy sediment, with variations in color. The consistency and color suggested high
clay and silt inclusions that were light yellowish ash content. Cobbles were frequent inclusions,
brown in color (10YR 6/4). Sterile sediments and probably represent wall fall. The first four
were reached in Unit 2 at a depth of 40cm be- levels of excavated fill did not contain changes
low the surface while in Unit 1 the lower strata in color or texture indicative of natural strata.
contain numerous inclusions of calcium carbon- The homogenous fill may represent 1) trash de-
ate and cultural materials increased in frequency posits, with the abandoned structure serving as
(Fig. 7). Sterile deposits were not reached in the a midden for neighboring households, 2) slope
latter unit and there is potential for additional wash, 3) or some combination.
buried materials. Formal features were not ob- Natural stratigraphic changes were first en-
served, however, given the size of the site and countered in Level 5, as we came down on an
the presence of subsurface materials, there is a irregular floor surface at between 60-65cm be-
high probability for features. low ground surface (Figure 8, Feature 3). The
7. West Profile of TBAS 212 Unit 1.
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
measuring 75cm, compared to the over 2m walls

preserved in the earlier, roadcut test excavations.
Time permitted us to excavate a partial subfloor
level in Unit 2 and 3 (Level 6). Excavations be-
low the floor contained artifacts as well.
Resting slightly above this ˙uwwar floor in
Unit 2 were 2 large pierced ground stone items.
Directly under these pierced stones, resting on
the floor, were numerous intact faunal elements
and a tight cluster of human bones and teeth. The
human remains represent a child’s skull, which
appears to have been placed on the floor surface,
perhaps in an organic container. There was no
evidence that it was buried in a subfloor pit fea-
ture. We hypothesize that the ground stone arti-
facts served to mark to the location of the buried
human remains. Additional bioarchaeological
details of the human remains are provided later
8. Plan View of Khirbat al-Óammåm Units 2 & 3, Level 5. in this report.
Architecturally, throughout the excavation of
surface was identified by a slight color change Unit 2, Feature 1 was assumed to be a single
(10YR 5/4-yellowish brown), increased com- wall formed double row of rectangular lime-
paction, numerous flecks and small chunks of stone blocks (Fig. 8). However, when we moved
charcoal, and irregular patches of plaster. The southwards and opened Unit 3, the two rows
course of stones sitting on this surface was no- diverged suggesting that they defined walls of
ticeably larger than those in other courses, and separate structures that ran alongside each other.
presumably served as the wall’s foundation (Fig. There is also evidence that individual structures
9). This ˙uwwar floor contrasts with the well- went through cycles of internal modification.
prepared, decorated plaster floor uncovered dur- For example, an internal dividing wall (Figure
ing the 1999 testing (Peterson 2004). Temporal 8, Feature 2) within the structure does not ex-
or functional differences between architectural tend to the floor, suggesting that it was a later
features uncovered in 1999 and 2006 may be addition. The 2006 excavations provide addi-
significant. Furthermore, the East Field stone tional support for the agglutinated, shared wall
walls were preserved to a maximum of 4 courses architectural tradition that is becoming well-
9. South and West Profiles of Kh-

irbat al-Óammåm Units 2 & 3.
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represented across southern and central Levan- washed and catalogued in the field. Detailed
tine PPN sites. analyses of the Natufian materials were carried
Lastly, three probable subfloor, stone chan- out under the direction of Dr. Neeley at his labo-
nel constructions were identified during a visual ratory at Montana State University. Analyses of
survey of the exposed roadcut (Fig. 10). These the Khirbat al-Óammåm finds were carried out
are evocative of similar features at Bas†a (Nis- by Dr. Peterson and her students at Marquette
sen et al. 1987, 1991). University’s Archaeology Laboratory.
Artifacts TBAS 102 and TBAS 212. The 2006 field season
All three of the 2006 ODAJ sites contained yielded 32,507 pieces of chipped stone from the
numerous artifacts. The following presents pre- testing of these two sites. As presented in Table
liminary analysis results of the lithic, shell, hu- 2, the debitage percentages between the two sites
man, faunal, and botanical materials at the sites. are very similar. The main difference between
the two sites is in the proportion of fragmentary
Lithics and complete flakes. Another area of difference
Chipped and ground stone specimens were can be found in the density of materials (Table
3). When standardized by units of excavation
(m2), the lithic materials at TBAS 212 are over
four times more dense that TBAS 102. A pos-
sible explanation for this difference in artifact
density might be due to variations in the length
of occupation or the frequency of reoccupation.
In light of the small-scale of the present excava-
tion, we feel that the frequency of occupation
is a more plausible case. Our reasoning for this
is based on (1) the nearly identical proportions
of the different debitage classes, suggesting that
the same sorts of reduction activities were in
10. Subfloor Channel in Roadcut at Khirbat al-Óammåm. place at both locations, and (2) the more widely
Table 2: Debitage Counts and Percentages from TBAS 102 and TBAS 212.
TBAS 102 %1 %2 TBAS 212 %1 %2

Cores 113 1.1 1.8 211 0.9 1.5
Core Trimming Elements 66 0.7 1.0 170 0.8 1.2
Blades (complete) 324 3.3 5.1 594 2.6 4.3
Blade fragments 1421 14.4 22.6 3149 13.9 22.8
Flakes (complete) 1001 10.2 15.9 1404 6.2 10.2
Flake fragments 2706 27.4 43.0 7127 31.5 51.6
Tools 446 4.5 7.1 870 3.8 6.3
Microburins 223 2.3 3.5 274 1.2 2.0
Chips (< 10 mm) 1854 18.8 - 5417 23.9 -
Chunks 1704 17.3 - 3433 15.2 -
Total 9858 6300 22649 13799
1
percentages for all debitage categories.
2
percentages excluding chips and chunks.
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
Table 3: Lithic density per m3 at TBAS 102 and TBAS 212.
TBAS 102 TBAS 212

Units 1 & 2 Units 3 & 4 Unit 1 Unit 2
Volume of dirt (m3) .60 .90 .50 .40
Artifact density 2013 7855 15,048 7482
Standardized density per 1m3 3355 (.11) 8727 (.28) 30096 (1.0) 18705 (.62)
scattered lithic materials at TBAS 212 relative locally abundant and available, as evident by
to TBAS 102. At the latter site, occupation is the use of these materials at nearby Paleolithic
constrained and localized, while in the former, sites, the fine-grained flint appears to be selected
site materials extend 60-70m along the north for by the Natufian occupants. These raw mate-
side of the wadi in varying densities. Such a pat- rials are smaller than their chert counterparts as
tern might emerge if populations returned to this evident by the small-size of the discarded cores
location repeatedly. (many still retaining up to 50% of the surface
Raw materials are predominantly fine- covered with cortex), and the presence of a few
grained flints. These range in color from light tested cores that are roughly egg-size and shape.
brown to gray, however, some of the color dif- This suggests a pattern of raw material procure-
ferences might be due to chemical weathering ment that is unique to the Natufian as these raw
as most of the surface material was gray yet the materials do not appear in other local assem-
subsurface material was more variable in color. blages and the locally abundant cherts used dur-
There are also some heterogeneous cherts in the ing much of the Paleolithic are a minor compo-
assemblage. These are characterized by differ- nent of the Natufian assemblages.
ences in color, grain-size, cortex, and size from Retouched pieces consist largely of partially
the other materials. The latter is of particular retouched edges of flakes and blades. Diagnos-
note, as the heterogeneous chert cores are signif- tic elements are comprised of microlithic tools,
icantly longer and heavier than the fine-grained primarily lunates (Fig. 11). Samples of com-
materials (Table 4). While chert materials are plete lunates from both sites were examined
Table 4: Comparison of Core size (length and weight) between cherts and flints at TBAS 102 and TBAS 212.
TBAS 102 TBAS 212

All Cores (Complete + Fragments) All Cores (Complete + Fragments)
Chert1 Flint2 Chert1 Flint2
Length 47.29 mm 34.27 mm 49.33 mm 29.35 mm
Weight 92.1 g 23.49 g 77.8 g 14.7 g
N 19 69 12 195
Complete Cores Complete Cores
Chert1 Flint2 Chert1 Flint2
Length 49.98 mm 35.98 mm 61.10 mm 30.69 mm
Weight 105.6 g 28.9 g 135.55 g 17.1 g
N 15 39 6 118
1Course-grained, heterogeneous material.
2Fine-grained, homogeneous material.
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assigned to the Late Natufian. These typological
patterns fit with the radiocarbon dates as well.
Khirbat al-Óammåm. The chipped stone assem-

blage from 2006 contained 3982 artifacts. Khir-
bat al-Óammåm demonstrates broad technologi-
cal similarities with widespread, PPNB lithic
patterns. The ranges of tool and debitage classes
are consistent with Early Neolithic sites else-
where (Tables 6 and 7). Most of the projectile
points bear a typological resemblance to Byb-
los points, exhibiting unifacial retouch, rounded
Table 6: Tool Classes from the 2006 Excavations at Kh-

irbat al-Óammåm.
Class n % %1
11. Lunates from TBAS 102.
Projectile points 17 13 30
(Table 5). Lunates from TBAS 102 tend to be
larger in terms of length, width, and thickness Perforators 10 8 17
than TBAS 212. However, a size comparison Glossed blades 14 11 25
with Early Natufian assemblages at ˇabaqa and
Bay∂a (Byrd 1991; Byrd and Colledge 1991) Scrapers 4 3 7
indicates that the TBAS assemblages are signif-
Burins 6 4 10
icantly smaller, conforming to the general no-
tion that Early Natufian lunates are larger than Notches 5 4 9
those from the Late Natufian. An exception to
Adzes 1 1 2
this trend is observed with the Wådπ Judayid lu-
nates which are very small for an Early Natufian Retouched blades 18 14 -
occupation (Sellars 1991). Perhaps more impor-
tantly for diagnostic purposes is the type of re- Retouched flakes 11 8 -
touch on the lunates. It is generally recognized Utilized blades 39 30 -
that Helwan (bifacial) retouch is a hallmark of
Early Natufian industries (e.g., Bar-Yosef 1998; Utilized flakes 6 4 -
Belfer-Cohen 1991; Edwards 1991). This type Total 131 100 100
of retouch is absent from the TBAS lunates 1
where the dominant retouch type is abrupt re- Includes only formal tool classes (n=57)
touch. This suggests that the assemblage is not leaving out unclassified, retouched, and uti-
typologically Early Natufian in age and is best lized pieces.
Table 5: Lunate dimensions of Complete Pieces from TBAS 102, 212, and other selected Jordanian sites.
TBAS 102 TBAS 212 Tabaqa1 Bay∂å2 Wådπ Judayid3
N 13 25 31 - 286
Length 19.39 mm 15.10 mm 21.19 mm 26.95 mm 15.20 mm
Width 5.72 mm 4.35 mm 6.84 mm - 4.87 mm
Thickness 2.42 mm 2.00 mm 2.35 mm - -
Weight 0.25 g 0.12 g - - -
1 Byrd and Colledge 1991.
2 Byrd 1991.
3 Sellars 1991.
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
Table 7: Chipped Stone Counts and Percentages disturbances may be responsible for the strati-
from the 2006 Excavations at Khirbat graphic inversion of earlier points on top of lat-
al-Óammåm. er, in situ deposits.
Category n % %1 Strategic exploitation of high quality raw
materials in conjunction with naviform core-
Cores 69 2 5 and-blade technology are hallmarks of MPPNB
Core trimming element 6 >1 >1 lithic production. The shift away from blade
production has been correlated with LPPNB/
Blades 254 6 20 PPNC manifestations at a number of sites, in-
Flakes 813 20 64 cluding ‘Ayn Ghazål (Gebel and Beinert 1997:
Tools 131 3 10 242; Nissen et al. 1987: 98-100; Quintero 1998;
Rollefson 2003). However, local variation in the
Chips, chunks 2709 68 - timing of the shift away from naviform blade and
TOTAL 3982 100 100 tool production is beginning to be documented
as well (Barzilai and Garfinkel 2006; Galili et al.
1 Excludes chip, chunks (n=1273). 1993). Two patterns from Khirbat al-Óammåm
are worth mentioning in this context, albeit with
shoulders and retouched tangs (Fig. 12). Infor- the caveat that our sample size is quite small.
mal tools, such as retouched and utilized flakes/ First, the flake:blade ratios in Units 2 and 3
blades, are also well-represented. show a marked decrease at/near the floor contact
Several observations are of chronological level (Table 8). Second, corresponding with the
interest because they suggest pre-LPPNB occu- increase in blade production in the lower levels
pation. Several projectile points match descrip- is an increase in the use of high quality flint raw
tions of earlier, EPPNB or PPNA, point styles. materials. Cortical surfaces were examined to
Specimen #25 (far right in Fig. 12) was found differentiate between high quality flint and wadi
on the surface of Test Trench 2 before excava- cobble material. Cortical pieces of high quality
tions began. The small point, produced on a material – fine grained, few internal inconsisten-
blade, has bilateral notching. Morphologically cies – typically had weathered cortex, indicative
the point shows similarities to el Khiam points. of having been quarried from bedded deposits.
Specimen #60 (not illustrated) is the base of a Cortical pieces with mechanically weathered
similar point, with the lateral notches preserved. cortex were assumed to be derived from local
The artifact was found in the first 10cm of fill wadi cobbles. This material is more coarse-
in Test Trench 2, a layer which had been greatly grained and has many more internal flaws vis-
disturbed from both natural and cultural causes. ible that hamper standardized blade production.
These point types are widely regarded as types In Level 5, 89% of the pieces with identifiable
fossiles of the PPNA and EPPNB (Banning cortex, appear to have originated from bedded
1998; Gopher 1994). Erosion of the sloped site deposits (Koska 2008).
terrace, as well as a range of modern subsurface Glossed blades make up 25% of the formal
Table 8: Blade and Flake Counts and Ratios by Level at
Khirbat al-Óammåm – Units 2 & 3
Level Blade Flake Flake/Blade
1 44 89 2.02
2 23 77 3.35
3 19 64 3.37
4 17 59 3.47
51 49 52 1.06
1 The bottom of Level 5 corresponds to floor
contact.
12. Projectile Points from Khirbat al-Óammåm.
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tool assemblage. A preliminary functional anal- scribed from the surface assemblage analyzed in
ysis of the fourteen tools was conducted. The 1999. In the relatively unstandardized terminol-
majority of specimens show no retouch and uni- ogy applied to ground stone, these are variously
lateral usewear. Exceptions are one denticulated described as mace heads, digging stick weights,
specimen (far right in Fig. 13) and one steeply loom weights, etc. without much in the way of
backed, more massive specimen (far left in Fig. formal description. These specimens are rela-
13). Tool metrics combined with location and tively large compared to other Neolithic speci-
invasiveness of gloss suggest that most of these mens described by Wright (1992). They weigh,
tools were hafted and suitable for harvesting on average, 4 kilograms and measure 17cm in
cereals. The Khirbat al-Óammåm assemblage diameter. A child’s skull lay directly under two
shows strong similarities with the ‘Ayn Ghazål of these large pierced stones, which were resting
glossed blades with respect to a number of met- on a rough ˙uwwar floor.
ric attributes and breakage patterns (Olszewski
1994; Vande Walle 2008). Vande Walle asked Shell/Ornaments
whether some of the retouched and utilized Preliminary work on the shell from the sites
blades might have been harvesting implements has been completed by Aldona Kurzawska of
on which gloss had not yet formed. However, the Polish Academy of Sciences (Table 9). The
the unglossed specimens tend to exhibit distinc- two Epipaleolithic sites yielded a total of 460
tive patterns of retouch and/or wear suggesting pieces of shell from both freshwater and marine
different functions. For example, wear and re- contexts. The marine shell is indicative of Medi-
touch are often discontinuous, bilateral, or both. terranean and Red Sea origins, suggesting the
A sample of the ground stone was analyzed trade of materials from these sources to the oc-
and reported from the 1999 fieldwork (Peterson cupants in the Wådπ al-Qußayr. All of these have
2004). A noteworthy addition from 2006, are the been modified and probably functioned as per-
three large ‘pierced stones’ found on the floor sonal adornments. The bulk of the shell material
of the main room we excavated (Fig. 14). Sev- (n=445) is freshwater in origin. These are not
eral broken specimens had previously been de- culturally modified like the marine shell, but are
important to reconstructing the prehistoric en-
vironment as they suggest the nearby presence
of spring deposits, an environment significantly
different from the present desert conditions.
Khirbat Óammån’s 2006 shell inventory in-
cludes both freshwater and marine shell speci-
mens (n=46), and both types are culturally mod-
ified. Marine shell from both the Mediterranean
and Red Seas are present. The shell assemblage
mirrors general patterns found at Yiftahel, Abu
Gosh, and Jericho. The shell data are relevant
because they document that the site’s residents
13. Glossed Blades from Khirbat al-Óammåm. were actively involved in fairly widespread eco-
nomic and social networks on par with other
large, well-documented PPNB sites. The fill di-
rectly associated with the child skull contained
a glycymeris shell bead. So it seems likely that
shell artifacts were incorporated into ritual prac-
tice at Khirbat al-Óammåm, as well.
Biological Specimens
Human Skeletal Material at Khirbat al-Óam-
måm
14. Pierced Stone Objects from Khirbat al-Óammåm. The skull found on the floor of Unit 2 was
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
Table 9: Shell Species and Frequencies from TBAS 102, 212 (Natufian), and Khirbat al-Óammåm (PPNB).
Khirbat al-
Species Origin TBAS 102 TBAS 212
Óammåm
Melanoides tuberculata Freshwater 424 1 3
Melanopsis buccinoidea Freshwater 13 6 18
Bulinus truncatus Freshwater 1 - -
Theodoxus jordani Freshwater - - 1
Xerocrassa sp. Land 2 - -
Sphincterohila zonata Land - - 8
Nassarius gibbosulus Mediterranean Sea 2 - 1
Acanthocardia tuberculata Mediterranean Sea - - 2
Cerastoderma glaucum Mediterranean Sea - - 1
Nerita polita Red Sea - - 1
Euplica turturina Red Sea - 1 -
Cypraea isabella Red Sea - - 1
Mediterranean and Red
Cypraea sp. - - 2
Sea
Dentalium shells 9 1 -
Sea
Gastropod - - 1
Sea
Glycymeris sp. - - 4
Sea
Donax sp. - - 1
Sea
Fossil bivalve Fossil deposit - - 1
Total 451 9 45
highly fragmented, due in part from the weight other culturally significant event. However, the
of the ground stone artifacts lying directly above lack of a well-defined pit feature as well as the
it. The skull appeared to be resting on the floor of numerous faunal remains found throughout the
the structure, as there was no indication of a pit excavation levels makes this association less
feature. The fragile pieces had remained tightly than certain. The method of skull removal is not
clustered, as if they had been placed in a con- clear from the remains. The cranium and man-
tainer that subsequently disintegrated (Fig 15). dible are complete, but no cut marks are present.
Excavators noted numerous well preserved cap- Neither are there vertebral fragments present.
rine limb elements resting on the floor in prox- Based on root development of the first pre-
imity to the skull fragments. One might interpret molar, the individual died at age 3 or 4 (Moor-
these as offerings associated with the human rees et al. 1963). Infants and juveniles are rep-
materials, perhaps as part of a ritual associated resented at other PPN sites. The assemblage of
with the abandonment of the structure, or some plastered skulls, for example, includes some
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age 2. Hypoplasias were common among ado-
lescents and adults from MPPNB burials at ‘Ayn
Ghazål, Bas†a, and Wådπ Shu‘ayb (al-Abassi
and Sarie 1997; Rollefson et al. 1992; Schultz
1987; Schultz and Scherer 1991).
The tradition of skull caching and intramural
burial is a hallmark of the PPN. And the residents
at Khirbat al-Óammåm appear to be participat-
ing in this ritual practice. But placing a child’s
skull in a container on the floor of a structure is
less well-documented. The variation may reflect
the interplay between local and regional forces
in forging mortuary practices. Other cases of
local variation in PPNB mortuary practices re-
inforce this interpretation and include the col-
lective burials at Ba‘ja (Gebel et al. 2006), the
unusually rich grave good assemblage associ-
ated with the burial at al-Óimmah (Makarewicz
15. Plan View of Burial at Khirbat al-Óammåm, Level 5.
and Austin 2006), and the cultic, mortuary site
of Kfar HaHoresh (Goring-Morris (2000).
juveniles (Bonogofsky 2003). And at MPPNB
‘Ayn Ghazål infants were found in subfloor pits Fauna
and foundation deposits (Rollefson et al. 1992). A total of 2,480g of animal bone was record-
The number of infant and child remains has been ed from the three sites. Of this 610 g or 24.6%
increasing with new examples from several sites by weight was identified (Tables 10-13), repre-
in southern Jordan: e.g., Ghwair I (Simmons and sented by 173 fragments. The greater part of this
Najjar 2006) and Ba‘ja (Gebel et al. 2006). material, 51.9% of the total weight and 67.6%
The central and lateral permanent incisors, of the identified fragments, unsurprisingly came
that were still been developing beneath the gum- from the larger and more intensively occupied
lines, show evidence of multiple hypoplastic Khirbat al-Óammåm. The difference in state of
bands. These bands are hallmarks of events that preservation between the Natufian and Pre-Pot-
disrupt normal growth patterns (laying down tery Neolithic B assemblages was striking. The
the enamel) in teeth. The presence of multiple Natufian material from TBAS 102 and 212 was
enamel hypoplasias on multiple teeth is indica- significantly more fragmented, pitted and abrad-
tive of systemic stress that affected the child ed than that from Khirbat al-Óammåm, and the
over a significant period of his/her short life, as proportion that could be identified was conse-
opposed to localized trauma to a specific tooth or quently very much lower: respectively 14.2 and
teeth. The placement of the bands can be used as 12.4% by weight, as opposed to 35%.
a rough estimation of the timing of stress events It should be noted that small samples sizes
and suggests critical problems beginning around place profound limitations on the interpretation
Table 10: TBAS 102 and 212: Identified and Unidentified Animal Bone by Number of Fragments and Weight.
TBAS 102 TBAS 212

Category N % Wt(g) % Wt N % Wt(g) % Wt
Unidentified 844 97.3 566.1 85.8 612 94.9 467.0 87.6
Identified 23 2.7 93.5 14.2 33 5.1 66.0 12.4
Total 867 100.0 659.6 100.0 645 100.0 533.0 100.0
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
of these data. Identification was attempted for recovered from within this feature may, though
almost all fragments, excluding vertebrae other fragmented, be more or less in situ.
than the atlas and axis, as well as ribs. Teeth A total of 533 g of animal bone was record-
which comprised less than half of a complete ed from TBAS 212. Of this 66 g. or 12.4% by
tooth crown were also excluded. Measurements weight was identifiable (Tables 10-11), repre-
were taken following the guidelines of Driesch sented by 33 fragments. The remains of gazelle
(1976) and Davis (1992); burned specimens accounted for 30 fragments, or 90.9%. Three
were excluded. These measurements have not cattle bones were also identified.
been examined in detail owing to the small sam- The faunal remains from Unit 1 Level 2
ple sizes and preliminary nature of this report. were unusual in that they contributed no less
than 21 identifiable fragments, or 63.6% of the
TBAS 102 and 212 total from the site. All but one of these could
A total of 659.6 g of animal bone was record- be attributed to gazelle, with the other being of
ed from TBAS 102. Of this 93.5g or 14.2% by cattle. The 20 gazelle bones were dominated by
weight was identifiable (Tables 10-11), repre- non meat-bearing lower limb elements, with 15
sented by 23 fragments. The remains of gazelle fragments coming from this part of the skeleton;
accounted for 16 fragments, or 69.6%. Three these included 8 distal metapodial fragments.
cattle bones and two bones each of equid and Split lengthways, gazelle distal metapodials
caprine were also identified. Of the latter, one were frequently used as bone tool blanks in
specimen — a substantial astragalus — could the southern Levantine late Epipalaeolithic and
be attributed to goat as opposed to sheep, but Neolithic, most commonly for awls.
whether this specimen represents Persian wild Although small, the faunal assemblages from
goat or Nubian ibex is impossible to say on mor- TBAS 102 and 212 appear typical of open-air
phological grounds. As it was recovered from Natufian sites in the southern Levant, both in the
Unit 4 Level 1, the possibility that it may be a range of taxa represented and the generally poor
modern intrusion should also be considered. state of preservation of the remains. Minority
A potential pit was identified within Unit 4 of bones was burned, with a handful displaying
Levels 3 and 4, yielding six identifiable frag- cutmarks consistent with skinning, disarticula-
ments, three of which could be attributed to tion and defleshing (Rixon 1988). The faunal
gazelle. In addition, this feature also contained remains from TBAS 102 appeared to be in a
both of the equid and one of the caprine speci- slightly worse state of preservation than those
mens identified in the assemblage. The unidenti- from TBAS 212.
fied material from this potential pit also yielded There is little reason, at this stage of the late
numerous equid-sized but otherwise unidenti- Pleistocene, to assume that the faunal remains
fiable scapula fragments, in all probability de- from either site represent anything other than
rived from the same bone as the identified equid free-living animals subjected to greater or lesser
scapula fragment. This suggests that the material degrees of controlled predation. A high degree
of dependence on gazelle characterized most
Table 11: TBAS 102 and 212: Total Number of Identified Natufian sites, though perhaps to a lesser extent
Animal Bone Fragments.
to the east of the Jordan Valley than in the Pales-
TBAS 102 TBAS 212 tinian woodland zone to the west (Martin 1994;
Wasse 2000: 90-95). The sample of gazelle re-
Taxon N % N % mains from TBAS 102 and 212 is unfortunately
too small and badly preserved to permit specific
Gazelle 16 69.6 30 90.1
identification with any degree of confidence.
Cattle 3 13.0 3 9.9 The relatively large size of some of the gazelle
remains is however more reminiscent of moun-
Equus 2 8.7 - - tain or goitered gazelle than of dorcas gazelle,
Caprine 2 8.7 - - a conclusion supported by the limited biogeo-
graphical evidence available (Uerpmann 1987:
Total 23 100.0 33 100.0 90-110; Harrison and Bates 1991: 193-204; Tch-
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ernov et al. 1987). Table 13: Khirbat al-Óammåm: Total Numbers of Identi-
The presence at TBAS 102 of equid — most fied Animal Bone Fragments.
probably onager, but perhaps also wild ass
(Uerpmann 1987: 19-32; Driesch and Wodtke Taxon N %
1997: 530-533) — and apparent absence at both Caprine 109 93.1
TBAS 102 and 212 of woodland and/or mesic
taxa such as deer and wild boar suggests that (Goat) (31) (26.5)
the Late Natufian environment may have been Cattle 3 2.6
open, lacking in high vegetation and probably
quite steppic. In this regard, the presence at both Fox 2 1.7
sites of cattle — almost certainly aurochs — is Bird 2 1.7
significant in view of the requirement of this
taxon for drinking water at least every second Gazelle 1 0.9
day (Uerpmann 1987: 72). Though likely step- Total 117 100.0
pic, the local environment is therefore unlikely
to have been so arid as to preclude the presence NOTE: Brackets indicate caprine specimens
of at least small seasonal springs and, perhaps, identified as goat.
a larger body of water in the general vicinity of
the sites at the time they were occupied. the bird bones was a complete proximal poste-
rior phalanx.
Khirbat al-Óammåm Khirbat al-Óammåm is thought to date to the
A total of 1,287.3g of animal bone was re- later phases of the PPNB period, by which time
corded from Khirbat al-Óammåm. Of this 450.4 village-based herding economies based on do-
g or 35.0% by weight was identifiable (Table mestic caprines had become firmly established
12), represented by 117 fragments. A minority in the southern Levant (Horwitz et al. 2000).
of bones were burned, with a handful display- Data from ‘Ayn Ghazål (Wasse 2002) suggest
ing cutmarks consistent with skinning, disar- that caprine-herding, based initially on goats
ticulation and defleshing (Rixon 1988). Of the rather than sheep, was making the major con-
117 identifiable fragments, the remains of cap- tribution to village-based faunal economies on
rines account for 109 fragments (Table 13), or the Jordanian plateau by the beginning of the
90.9%. A total of 31 caprine post-cranial and Middle PPNB, if not earlier. It is however im-
horncore fragments could be attributed to goat portant to note that the first appearance in the
with varying degrees of confidence. The identi- region of domestic goats (whether by introduc-
fied horncore fragments were of goat rather than tion or autochthonous domestication continues
Nubian ibex, but the possibility remains that a to be a matter for debate, e.g. Horwitz et al.
few specimens of the latter are included in the 2000; Wasse 2001, 2007 and references there-
post-cranial material. Sheep were not identified in) did not lead to the overnight replacement
in the assemblage. In addition, there were three of earlier economic strategies based on hunt-
cattle bones, one of gazelle, and two bones each ing. At ‘Ayn Ghazål, for example, although al-
of fox and a medium (duck-sized) bird; one of most 2,000 caprine bones were identified from
Middle PPNB contexts, more than 800 gazelle
Table 12: Khirbat al-Óammåm: Identified and Unidenti- bones were found alongside them. (Wasse 2002:
fied Animal Bone by Number of Fragments and
Weight. table 1). There is general agreement that domes-
tic sheep were first introduced to the southern
Category N % Wt(g) % Wt Levant from the north in small numbers some
hundreds of years later, perhaps around the Mid-
Identified 117 10.0 450.4 35.0 dle to Late PPNB transition, but that they did
not become economically significant until well
Unidentified 1,050 90.0 836.9 65.0 into the Late PPNB and Pre-Pottery Neolithic C
(PPNC) (Driesch and Wodtke 1997; Horwitz et
Total Sample 1,167 100.0 1,287.3 100.0
al. 2000; Wasse 2002, 2007).
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
Notwithstanding the generally accepted ex- of west-central Jordan was one of the areas in
istence of considerable grey areas in the middle which gazelle was the prey animal of choice
ground between hunting on the one hand and for Natufian hunting communities. It therefore
herding on the other, it was deemed appropri- seems likely that the absolute predominance of
ate to attempt to assess the Khirbat al-Óammåm goat at Khirbat al-Óammåm post-dates the more
goats against five criteria commonly used to dis- general shift from gazelle to goat (Davis 1987,
tinguish the bones of a domestic animal from its fig. 6.15) that had occurred in many parts of the
wild progenitor, viz. (1) presence of a foreign southern Levant by the beginning of the Middle
species, (2) size reduction, (3) change in popu- PPNB, which is thought by many to reflect the
lation structure, (4) morphological change and change from hunting to herding.
(5) increase in species frequency (Davis 1987; The faunal assemblage from Khirbat al-Óam-
Meadow 1989; Legge 1996). måm appears typical of PPNB village sites on
With regard to the first criterion, biogeo- the Jordanian plateau. Caprines were the most
graphical considerations (Wasse 2001 and ref- common taxon during this period at ‘Ayn Ghazål
erences therein) and the presence of at least (Driesch and Wodtke 1997; Wasse 2002), Bas†a
one and possibly two caprine bones in the Late (Horwitz et al. 2000), Bay∂a (Hecker 1975) and
Natufian TBAS 102 assemblage suggests that it as-Sifiyah (Mahasneh 1997). It is generally ac-
is highly improbable that this part of west — cepted that the great majority of caprine remains
central Jordan lay outside the natural biogeo- from PPNB village sites on the Jordanian pla-
graphic range of Persian wild goat or, indeed, teau represent herded domesticates, and there is
of Nubian ibex. On this basis alone, the Khirbat little reason — at present — to assume that this
al-Óammåm goats could represent free-living, was not also the case at Khirbat al-Óammåm. It
hunted animals. should not, however, be assumed that all cap-
Systematic assessment of the second, third rine remains from the site necessarily represent
and fourth criteria would require much larger herded domesticates; it is possible, even likely,
samples than those at our disposal here. How- that a small minority still derived from hunted
ever, on cursory inspection, the great majority Persian wild goat or Nubian ibex.
of the Khirbat al-Óammåm goat remains appear Similarly, the presence of a minority of cat-
to derive from relatively small animals, broadly tle bones is a near ubiquitous feature of PPNB
comparable in size with those from PPNB ‘Ayn faunal assemblages from the southern Levant,
Ghazål, which the present author has interpreted although whether or not these were hunted or
as domestic (Wasse 2000, 2002). As at Middle herded during the earlier part of this period con-
PPNB ‘Ayn Ghazål, Khirbat al-Óammåm also tinues to be a matter for debate. The presence of
yielded a minority of extremely large goat cattle in the faunal assemblages from TBAS 102
specimens, which could equally well represent and 212 indicates that this taxon was hunted by
hunted Persian wild goat or Nubian ibex as large the Late Natufian inhabitants of the area, and it
domestic males. is conceivable that their PPNB descendents may
Assessment of the Khirbat al-Óammåm have done likewise.
goats against the fifth criterion provides much The two fox bones in the assemblage are
more convincing evidence for domestication. of particular interest, as both display cutmarks
As already noted, the great majority of Natufian consistent with skinning, suggesting that these
and, indeed, Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) animals may have been exploited as much for
faunal assemblages from the southern Levant their fur as for their meat; “in the early phases
are dominated by gazelle (e.g. Davis 1987, fig. of the PPN in the Levant, we can see an inten-
6.15), with exception of sites in the dry steppe sive hunt for fur-bearing animals” (Driesch and
and sub-desert zones of southern and eastern Wodtke 1997: 534). The first fox bone was a
Jordan and the Negev, where caprines were relatively large distal femur fragment, almost
more frequently exploited (Davis et al. 1982; certainly of red fox, with cutmarks on the later-
Hecker 1989; Henry and Turnbull 1985; Martin al epicondyle. The second was a much smaller
1994). Although small, the faunal assemblages proximal radius fragment, tentatively attributed
from TBAS 102 and 212 suggest that this part to sand fox, sliced all the way through some-
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what below the proximal end. In this respect it features which might provide more productive
should be noted that Driesch and Wodtke (1997: samples (Makarewicz et al. 2006).
534) have identified both red fox and sand fox To complement geoarchaeological and mac-
at ‘Ayn Ghazål. robotanical investigations, five sediment sam-
In sum, the predominance of goat, scarcity of ples were collected to examine spherulite and
gazelle and absence so far of sheep in the faunal phytolith concentrations at Khirbat al-Óammåm
assemblage from Khirbat al-Óammåm suggests, (Canti 1998; Henry et al. 2003; Piperno 2006).
to the extent that data from sites elsewhere may Studies of these microscopic formations have
be considered representative of this particular yielded significant information about local pa-
corner of west-central Jordan, that the site post- leoenvironmental conditions, agricultural prac-
dates the earliest Middle PPNB phases of vil- tices, and pastoral activities at other Neolithic
lage-based caprine herding in the region, during sites in the southern Levant (Albert and Henry
which hunting continued to play a significant 2004; Cummings 2003; Henry et al. 2003; Jen-
role, but pre-dates the widespread introduction kins and Rosen 2007).
of sheep from the Late PPNB onwards. In this Samples were processed at the Geoarchaeol-
respect, the 2006 faunal assemblage would sit ogy Laboratory of Boston University. Each sam-
comfortably within a transitional Middle to Late ple was sieved through a 250 micron geological
PPNB timeframe, as currently understood. sieve, and five milligrams was mounted on a mi-
The faunal assemblage recovered in 2006 croscope slide using Entellen New. The slides
from Khirbat al-Óammåm has demonstrated were then examined with a Nikon Labophot 2
that this site has the potential to deliver an enor- polarizing microscope utilizing crossed polar-
mous assemblage of adequately preserved, well- ized light at 200x. Identification of spherulites
dated and demonstrably in situ faunal remains was carried out using pertinent literature (Canti
dating to a key period in southern Levantine 1997, 1998, 1999) and thin-section references.
prehistory. The abundant caprine remains poten- Phytoliths were observed on these slides only at
tially represent early Neolithic goat-based ani- the presence/absence level and compared with
mal husbandry in its most fully developed form. the relevant literature (Kaplan et al. 1992) and
The recovery of larger samples of material upon the phytolith reference collection.
which to base a systematic zooarchaeological Spherulites, while present, did not occur in
analysis would therefore be highly desirable. It high enough concentrations to indicate herbi-
will be recalled that intensive herding of goats vore dung deposits (e.g., goat or sheep penning
- in the manner most likely practiced at Khirbat deposits). Low concentrations of spherulites
al-Óammåm — has been implicated in severe could represent background noise from the lo-
environmental degradation around a number of cal environment, including runoff from nearby
early Neolithic villages (e.g. Rollefson 1996), grazed fields (Albert and Henry 2004), or could
which may in turn have paved the way for the indicate faecal remains of humans, birds and
development of more mobile sheep-based forms dogs (Canti 1999). Various phytolith forms were
of pastoral economy in the PPNC (Rollefson also observed on the slides, even though the
and Köhler-Rollefson 1993; Wasse 1997). It slides were not formally processed for phytolith
should, however, be cautioned that analysis of extraction. Phytoliths observed include simple
the large samples of faunal material that would sheet elements and various trapezoids indica-
undoubtedly be recovered from more extensive tive of the Poaceae family (Kaplan et al. 1992).
work at Khirbat al-Óammåm would be both These forms are coming found in a variety of
time-consuming and expensive. grass species.
These initial investigations establish the
Botanical Remains presence of both faecal spherulites and phyto-
The flotation program did not yield any mac- liths at Khirbat al-Óammåm. Future phytolith
robotanical remains in the five samples pro- and spherulite research will integrate additional
cessed from Khirbat al-Óammåm. However, micromorphological and microartifact analyses
good preservation of both seeds and wood at to address a range of taphonomic and behavioral
nearby al-Óimmah encourage us to search for questions.
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ADAJ 54 (2010)
Summary groups on either side of the agricultural tran-

Two decades of survey, excavation and geoar- sition. Productive test excavations confirmed
chaeological study in the Wådπ al-Óaså have pro- the presence of both Late Natufian and PPN
duced a wealth of information. Preliminary work groups. Accumulating absolute dates and ty-
at the Natufian sites has added to our knowledge pological evidence, narrows the temporal gap
of late Pleistocene adaptations in west-central between the last foragers and first farmers in
Jordan in several ways. First, it is apparent from this area.
marl deposits and potential springs that marsh/
wetland environments were more numerous in Acknowledgements
this area during the late Pleistocene. Second, The 2006 excavations at Khirbat al-Óam-
it appears that Natufian settlement in the area måm were funded by Montana State University,
was closely tied to these resource areas. This University of Minnesota-Duluth, and Marquette
is apparent from the Wådπ al-Qußayr as well as University. Thanks go to the people of Jordan
the Wådπ al-Óaså. It remains to be determined for hosting us during our research. Special
whether these were seasonally productive areas thanks are extended to the Director of the De-
resulting in repeated short-term occupation or partment of Antiquities, Fawwaz al-Khraysheh,
more sedentary occupations. We presently lack and his staff in the Amman, Karak, and Tafila
the architecturally components that character- offices. Our DoA representative in the field, Ab-
ize other parts of the Southern Levant. Third, dallah al-Rawashdeh kept the daily operations
the typological and radiocarbon evidence point of our fieldwork running smoothly. Thanks are
to a Late Natufian occupation in the Wådπ al- extended to Jordan Knudsen who participated in
Qußayr, which makes these the first sites of this the excavations. We also would like to thank the
period in west-central Jordan. A Late Natufian staff at ACOR, particularly Barbara Porter and
presence is potentially significant for addressing Chris Tuttle. Thanks are due to the Council for
local influences on the subsequent development British Research in the Levant for granting ac-
of agricultural communities. cess to the comprehensive collection of modern
Test excavations at Khirbat al-Óammåm zoological material held at the British Institute
shed light on Neolithic occupation in the area. at Amman, Jordan. Marquette students Jenni-
Geoarchaeological investigations suggest that fer Ahern, Daniel Koska, Larissa Rudnicki, and
the Hasa environs may well have provided a Abby Vande Walle made sizable contributions
stable and productive foundation supporting to the analysis of the 2006 lithic collections
developments in farming and animal husband- from Khirbat al-Óammåm. Becky Shafstall as-
ry. From the vantage of Khirbat al-Óammåm’s sisted with the figure preparation. Analysis of
multi-phase occupation, we suggest that certain the Natufian materials was assisted by Montana
locales within the Wådπ al-Óaså sustained re- State University students Loni Waters, Dallas
peated, and perhaps continuous occupations dat- Timms, Jake Adams, and River Lovec.
ing to the PPNA/EPPNB, MPPNB, and LPPNB.
At Khirbat al-Óammåm, continuity between the Jane Peterson
MPPNB and LPPNB is manifest across a range Department of Social & Cultural Sciences
of behavioral correlates including masonry con- Marquette University
struction techniques, shell acquisition, and fau- Milwaukee, WI 53208 USA
nal exploitation patterns and may suggest an in
situ transition. Our results also show that the Michael Neeley
residents at Khirbat al-Óammåm were inextri- Department of Sociology & Anthropology
cably linked to a larger PPNB world via ritual Montana State University
practice, symbolism, trade relationships, and Bozeman, MT 59717 USA
shared technological repertoires (plaster pro-
duction, chipped stone styles, etc.). Brett Hill
The results from 2006 provide further evi- Department of Sociology & Anthropology
dence that the Wadi al-Hasa catchment pro- Hendrix College
vided a well-watered, sustainable landscape for Conway, AR 72032 USA
-408-
Jennifer Jones thropology 6: 159-177.
Department of Sociology & Anthropology 2000 The Impact of Radiocarbon Dating on Old
University of Minnesota – Duluth World Archaeology: Past Achievements and Fu-
Duluth, MN 55812 USA ture Expectations. Radiocarbon 42: 23-39.
Barzilai, O., and Garfinkel, Y.
2006 Bidirectional Blade Technology After the
Patricia Crawford
PPNB: New Evidence from Sha’ar Hagolan, Is-
Department of Anthropology rael. Neo-Lithics 1/06: 27-31.
SUNY – Stony Brook Belfer-Cohen, A.
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THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN THE

WÅD∏ AL-ÓASÅ REGION: 2006 TEST EXCAVATIONS AT KHIRBAT

Introduction ment, the smaller wadis to the south (e.g., Wådπ

1. Location of ODAJ Project

2. Topographic Map of Khirbat

3. Topographic Map of TBAS 102

4. Topographic Map of TBAS 212

5. West and North Profiles of

materials that dominate the site. In this case, we Khirbat al-Óammåm

7. West Profile of TBAS 212 Unit 1.

measuring 75cm, compared to the over 2m walls

9. South and West Profiles of Kh-

TBAS 102 %1 %2 TBAS 212 %1 %2

TBAS 102 TBAS 212

TBAS 102 TBAS 212

Khirbat al-Óammåm. The chipped stone assem-

Table 6: Tool Classes from the 2006 Excavations at Kh-

TBAS 102 TBAS 212

Summary groups on either side of the agricultural tran-

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