Building WF16: construction of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) pisé structure in Southern Jordan

Abstract

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period in Southwest Asia is essential for our understanding of the transition to sedentary, agricultural communities. Developments in architecture are key to understanding this transition, but many aspects of PPNA architecture remain elusive, such as construction techniques, the selection of building materials and the functional use of space. The primary aim of the research described within this contribution was to build a PPNA-like structure in order to answer questions about PPNA architecture in general, while specifically addressing issues raised by the excavation of structures at the site of WF16, southern Jordan. The second aim was to display a 'PPNA' building to visitors in Wadi Faynan to enhance their understanding of the period. The experimental construction based on one of the WF16 structures showed that (1) required materials can be acquired locally; (2) a construction technique using mud layers as described in this paper was most probably used; (3) flat, or very slightly dome-shaped, roofs are functional and can also be used as a solid working platform; (4) the WF16 small semisubterranean buildings appear inappropriate for housing a nuclear family unit.

A natural adaptive syndrome as a model for the origins of cereal agriculture

“…and then throwing away seed accidentally with discarded chaff; or by using chaff as a temper for unfired mud-brick buildings [63], where remnant seed could germinate when buildings became derelict. Translocation could even be long-distance, as extensive trade in gathered grain from wild grasses continues to this day in Africa [64].…”

“…Originally local seed movement by humans could have been accidental, either by taking harvested material to the home base for de-chaffing and husking (needed for early cereals) and then throwing away seed accidentally with discarded chaff; or by using chaff as a temper for unfired mud-brick buildings [63], where remnant seed could germinate when buildings became derelict. Translocation could even be long-distance, as extensive trade in gathered grain from wild grasses continues to this day in Africa [64].…”

Revealing early villages – Pseudo‐3D ERT geophysical survey at the pre‐pottery Neolithic site of Kharaysin, Jordan

“…A connected network of probable stone constructions have been identified particularly in the southwest part of Area B (cf. Goring‐Morris & Belfer‐Cohen, ) resembling those at Wadi Faynan 16, a PPNA site with pisé structures (Flohr, Finlayson, Najjar, & Mithen, ) and PPNB sites such as Shkarat Msaied (Kinzel et al, ) and Late PPNB Ba′ja (Gebel & Bienert, ). Stone structures in Kharaysin are often characterized by high resistivity, the exceptions being thin walls whose signal is probably swamped by the surrounding sediment.…”

7,200 years old constructions and mudbrick technology: The evidence from Tel Tsaf, Jordan Valley, Israel

“…If more recent mudbrick houses (e.g. [51,[86][87]) are used as an analogy, the houses at Tel Tsaf would have had flat roofs supported by horizontally placed wooden beams; they were less likely supported by wood logs placed in postholes. As most of the features (e.g., walls, silos) comprising the interiors of Buildings I-IV at Tel Tsaf are not set far from each other, frequently only 100-200 cm apart, extremely long wooden beams or logs were not a necessity.…”

“…Mudbricks seem to appear for the first time in the southern Levant as early as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period (PPNA) (e.g. [49][50][51][52][53][54]), and they continued to be used in the region until recently (see [55]). Mudbrick constructions and mudbricks as architectural features reflect several specific choices entailed in production, construction and maintenance.…”