Excavations at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and B site of Khuraysān (Az-Zarqāʼ, Jordan) 2015 and 2016 fieldwork
Résumé
Khuraysān is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site, dated to between the end of the 10 th millennium and first half of the 8 th millennium cal. BC. Located in the village of al-Qunayyah, by the az-Zarqāʼ river, it is 25ha in extent. To date, four occupation phases have been discovered, two corresponding to the PPNA and two to the PPNB. In Zone A, in H100, an oval sunken dwelling without internal subdivisions and with earth floors, has been dated to the end of the 10 th millennium cal. BC. In IJ100, another sunken dwelling, in transition between an oval and rectangular shape, contains two rooms divided by a mud wall; one of the rooms has a lime-plaster floor displaying the remains of red pigment. It is dated to the beginning of the 9 th millennium cal. BC, during the last phase of the PPNA. Towards the south, in Zone B, is an agglomerated ensemble of square houses that are semi-sunken into the slope of the site. These have rounded corners, stone walls and lime-plaster floors, and have been dated to the second half of the 9 th millennium BC, during the Early PPNB. The most recent occupation phase has been documented in Zone C and dates to the beginning of the 8 th millennium cal. BC, during the Middle PPNB. It is represented by rectangular houses with stone walls and lime-plaster floors (one of them painted), which are arranged parallel to one another. The abundant implements, human, animal and botanical remains, figurines and other objects recovered at Khuraysān make this a key site for understanding the first sedentary villages and the development of arable and livestock farming in northern Jordan. Keywords Neolithic Jordan; agriculture; livestock; first villages. 1. Map showing the location of Khuraysān and some other important Neolithic sites.
Domaines
Archéologie et Préhistoire
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