Death and Architecture: The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Burials at WF16, Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan

Abstract

F8, Context 298 , Structure F8, Evaluation Trench 2Cut into redeposited gravel, with the skull protruding through the fl oor of a PPNA structure and stratigraphically sealed by two PPNA fl oors and associated occupation. A NE-SW orientated arrangement of articulated and disarticulated bones with disarticulated skull placed on a 'pillow' stone. Fragile especially in the upper part of the inhumation. At least two adults and a juvenile appear to be present. Chipped stone artefacts including bladelets, a microlith and an awl. F39910, Structure F3992, Evaluation Trench 3 With its skull probably protruding through the fl oor of a PPNA structure and positioned on a 'pillow' stone; stratigraphically sealed by a PPNA fl oor. A NE-SW orientated crouched inhumation on its right side with the skull facing NW. The skull was disarticulated but in position by appearing to have been stretched from the body and then placed on a 'pillow' stone. Appears to be a complete but fragile adult skeleton. Chipped stone artefacts.O3 , Structure O31 Cut through the infi ll and wall of a disused PPNA structure and sealed by defl ated overburden. Undetermined. Fragmentary remains, appearing to consist of only two hand or foot bones, one long bone and several ribs O4 , Midden O60 Cut into PPNA midden deposits and sealed by defl ated overburden. Probably a crouched inhumation; a mortar fragment had been set on an edge appearing to form one side of the burial. Fragmentary -only some hand and feet bones survive. Fragment of a mortar stoneCut through the wall of a PPNA structure and sealed by defl ated overburden. A NE-SW orientated crouched inhumation, lying on its back with legs bent to the right and head facing to the left. Appears to be a complete, well preserved juvenile skeleton. Fragment of a possibly worked animal bone.O7 , Structure O31 Cut through PPNA infi ll inside the structure and sealed by a PPNA fl oor. A N-S orientated crouched inhumation on its left side, facing east. Appears to be a complete but poorly preserved adult skeleton. A hammerstone, an El Khiam point and a chipped stone pick.O8 , Area O108 Cut through the infi ll of a disused PPNA structure and sealed by defl ated overburden. A semi-crouched inhumation, orientated E-W with its head at the east end facing NE. A fragmentary and poorly preserved juvenile skeleton appearing to have the lower right arm, complete left arm, hand and unfused epiphyses missing. A green stone bead. O9 , Structure O65Cut through the wall of a PPNA structure and sealed by defl ated overburden. A crouched inhumation on its right side, orientated E-W and facing north with its left hand under the skull. A fragmentary juvenile skeleton appearing to have only the skull, arms, hands and feet present. Four chipped stone artefacts and a caprine pelvis. O10 , Structure O84Cut through the infi ll of a disused PPNA structure and sealed by defl ated overburden. A N-S orientated crouched inhumation on its right side with its head to the south facing east. Fragmentary remains with, at least, both scapulae, left...

Dating WF16: Exploring the Chronology of a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Settlement in the Southern Levant

“…Chronological analysis required the calibration of the 14 C dataset to produce probability frequency distributions (Stuiver & Reimer 1993) of their calendar date ranges using the recent refinements to the atmospheric (IntCal13) calibration curve (Reimer et al 2013), this being accessible via the OxCal v. 4.2 14 C plotting software (Bronk Ramsey 2009). All calibrated date ranges are given at 95% probability unless stated as otherwise in the text.…”

The Beixin Culture: archaeobotanical evidence for a population dispersal of Neolithic hunter-gatherer-cultivators in northern China

“…2012) and WF16 in southern Jordan (Mithen et al . 2018), the presence of ‘Neolithic’ material culture does not necessarily reflect a farming economy. As such, its spread across continental regions need not imply the movement of farming populations, which is a fundamental tenet of the farming/dispersal hypothesis.…”

Constructing community in the Neolithic of southern Jordan: Quotidian practice in communal architecture

“…While some burial and associated mortuary rituals practiced in southern Jordan were shared with the rest of the southern Levant, in particular the PPNA practice of interring individuals on the side in a flexed position under house floors, within destruction/abandonment layers in buildings, and in outdoor spaces within accumulating occupation deposits, there was considerably more diversity in burial practices within southern Jordan within and between individual sites. In addition to arranging bodies in a flexed position, interred individuals were laid out in a fully extended position, on the back with the knees lying to the side, and in a fully upright seated position [ 25 , 26 ]. Burials at WF16, el-Hemmeh, and ‘Dhra were regularly marked with shaped stones and pisé platforms, while at el-Hemmeh, numerous individuals were within purpose-built stone cists situated within a single building [ 25 ].…”

“…In addition, while, no secondary burials have been identified at el-Hemmeh or Dhra, several have been uncovered at WF16 and Sharara which include communal interments consisting of skull elements representing multiple individuals, fragments of skulls from multiple individuals but associated with a single primary burial, and multiple skulls arranged with collections of bones from multiple individuals. Modification of human bone, in particular cranial parts, was also practiced at WF16, and is represented by a painted cranial vault belonging to a complete skeleton and also a drilled and polished cranial fragment [ 26 ].…”

“…Although communal buildings were a highly visible and distinctive component of early Neolithic settlements in southern Jordan and other regions of the Near East, they have been relegated to a lesser role in facilitating social interaction and integration in favor of the widely-known MPPNB mortuary practices of skull removal and plastering, thought to have been an essential social mechanism that both reinforced group cohesion and supported the development of multi-generational lineages [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. While skull removal was practiced at PPNA WF16 [ 26 ], although not at Dhra’ or el-Hemmeh, and skulls were collected at MPPNB Shkarat Msaied in a stone cist located in Building F [ 27 ], the MPPNB practice of skull plastering was not undertaken in southern Jordan suggesting that alternative means of social integration were in operation in this region ( Fig 1 ). Through renewed excavations at Beidha, a MPPNB settlement located in the Shara’a mountains in the Petra region of southern Jordan, we more closely evaluate the role of communal buildings in structuring social organization during the MPPNB.…”