WF16, a new PPNA site in Southern Jordan

Extract

Wadi Faynan in southern Jordan has a remarkable archaeological landscape with the remains of a vast Romad/Byzantine settlement and field system, many later prehistoric sites and a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B village dating to c. 8700 radiocarbon years BP. Since 1996 we have been conducting survey and excavation within this Wadi, and especially at its confluence with Wadi Ghuwayr, to locate the precursor to the PPNB site and any earlier prehistoric activity. The most important site so far discovered has been called WF16 and is a well preserved Pre-Pottery Neolithic A settlement, dated to between 10,200 and 9400 radiocarbon years BP (FIGURE 1). Sites of this period are extremely rare in the Near East and of considerable importance for they lie right at the juncture between a hunting-gathering and farming lifestyle (Bar-Yosef & Belfer-Cohen 1989). WF16 is particularly well preserved for, unlike other PPNA settlements such as Jericho, it was not buried by a later PPNB settlement, this having been located approximately 100 m away in the lower reaches of Wadi Ghuwayr. Neither does there appear to be significant Natufian deposits at WF16 — it appears to be a pristine PPNA site and for that reason is of considerable significance.