The Late Neolithic Presence in the Black Desert

The origins of nomadic pastoralism in the eastern Jordanian steppe: a combined stable isotope and chipped stone assessment

“…Wadi Jilat 13 and 25 ELN steppic structures are notably larger than those of the PPNB in the same region (Betts 1993;Baird 1993;Garrard et al 1994b), potentially to encompass a larger co-resident group and/or livestock associated with the introduction of herding. The nature of the settlement at ELN Wadi Jilat is different to that at the later Wisad Pools and Wadi Qattafi sites, particularly in terms of numbers of structures and thus likely size of resident population (Rollefson 2016;Rollefson et al 2014;Rowan et al 2017).…”

“…1) in the eastern Jordanian panhandle are suggested to represent the pastoral side of such a split economy: dated to the latter half of the seventh to the sixth millennium cal. BC, substantial numbers of pastoralists were seemingly occupying large, virtual village sites in the steppe for considerable amounts of time on a seasonal basis (Rollefson 2016;Rollefson et al 2014;Rowan et al 2017). A shift from meat production to dairying is thought to have allowed for greater efficiency in using the steppe regions for animal raising (Rollefson et al 2014;Vigne and Helmer 2007) while hunting continued to be important (Rollefson et al 2016).…”

“…The early Holocene of the southern Levant witnessed higher rainfall than today, as evidenced by speleothem data from Soreq cave (Bar-Matthews et al 1997) and other stable isotope date (Roberts et al 2018). Recent evidence from soil profiles at Wisad Pools suggests that rainfall was significantly higher in the Neolithic than the hyper-arid conditions of today, with charcoal of oak (Quercus ithaburensis) and Tamarix sp., which is characteristic flora of forest-steppe vegetation, being found in hearths (Rowan et al 2017). Therefore, between 9700 and 6200 cal BC, precipitation in the eastern steppe was as a consequence likely higher, Miller et al The origins of nomadic pastoralism in the eastern Jordanian steppe: a combined stable isotope and chipped stone assessment with the 200mm isohyet further east than today.…”

“…Neolithic. Yet, by the earliest Pottery Neolithic/Late Neolithic levels there is evidence of a substantial population of pastoralists living at Wisad Pools and Wadi Qattafi (Rollefson 2016;Rollefson et al 2014;Rowan et al 2017).…”

Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic gazelle hunting in the Badia of north-east Jordan. Reconstruction of seasonal movements of herds by stable isotope and dental microwear analyses

“…This paper seeks to make a contribution to the long-standing debate on factors underlying human habitation of the north-east Jordan steppe/desert (Badia) during the Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic (Betts 1998;Betts et al 2013;Garrard 1998;Garrard and Byrd 2013;Maher et al 2016;Richter 2017;Richter et al 2013;Rollefson et al 2014;Rowan et al 2017). We do this by presenting science-based archaeological evidence for wildlife presence, seasonal hunting opportunities and practices from ten chronologically varied prehistoric sites located in and around the Azraq Basin.…”