The South-Eastern Jordan's Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age Pastoral Nomadic Complex: Patterns of...

Paléorient, vol. 39.1, p. 149-176 © CNRS ÉDITIONS 2013 Manuscrit reçu le 9 novembre 2012, accepté le 17 décembre 2012

THE SOUTH-EASTERN JORDAN’S CHALCOLITHIC–EARLY BRONZE AGE PASTORAL NOMADIC COMPLEX: PATTERNS OF MOBILITY AND INTERACTION

W. ABU-AZIZEH

Abstract: The pastoral nomadic settlement pattern of Southern Jordan has been recognized since research undertaken in the early 1980’s, mostly between Aqaba and Ma’an, demonstrating an extension of the Timnian desert occupation into this region and its contrasting image with the agricultural sedentary core areas of the Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age period. Recent data provided by the micro-regional case study of al-Thulaythuwat and from the deeper remote desert of south-eastern Jordan now allows us to attempt a comprehensive synthesis of the pastoral nomadic subsistence strategies revealed in these areas. Through a careful study of the characteristic stone enclosure campsite remains and parallels with historical transhumance paths, it is possible to show different patterns of mobility of these early pastoral nomadic populations, underlining their full involvement into the remote desert. Although a cultural dichotomy with their sedentary counterparts is obvious, mobility and the exploitation of specifi c desert natural resources such as fl int cortex tool production seem to have allowed the development of strong interactions and the integration of the desert exchange network into the wider Southern Levant socio-economic system during the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age.

Résumé : Dès les recherches entreprises au début des années 1980 dans le sud jordanien, en particulier dans le secteur compris entre Aqaba et Ma’an, un mode d’occupation basé sur le pastoralisme nomade a pu être mis en évidence pour les périodes du Chalcolithique et du Bronze ancien. L’image refl étée par cette extension de l’occupation “timnienne” contraste avec celle du peuplement des zones agricoles sédentaires. Les données récentes fournies par l’étude micro-régionale du secteur de al-Thulaythuwat, ainsi que celles issues de l’exploration du désert profond du sud-est jordanien, permettent de réaliser une première synthèse sur des stratégies de subsistance attestées dans cette région. À travers l’analyse de l’organisation des campements constitués d’enceintes de pierres et la mise en parallèle avec les itinéraires historiques de transhumance, il est possible de défi nir les différents schémas de mobilité de ces populations nomades associés à la conquête et à la mise en valeur de territoires reculés du désert. Bien qu’une dichotomie culturelle assez nette soit perceptible entre cette occupation pastorale nomade et le monde sédentaire, la mobilité et l’exploitation des ressources naturelles spécifi ques au désert, pour la production d’éclats corticaux par exemple, semblent avoir ouvert la voie à de fortes interactions et à l’intégration d’un système d’échanges avec le désert dans l’organisation socio-économique plus globale du sud levantin au cours du Chalcolithique et du Bronze ancien.

Keywords: Al-Thulaythuwat; Jordan; Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age; Timnian; Pastoral Nomadism; Desert.Mots-clés : Al-Thulaythuwat ; Sud-est jordanien ; Chalcolithique/Bronze ancien ; Timnien ; Nomadisme pastoral ; Désert.

INTRODUCTION

Recent syntheses on the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age periods underline the contrasting images refl ected by the

settlement pattern of Southern Jordan compared to the one evi-denced in the northern Jordan Valley and Uplands (Bourke, 2008: 115-117, 128-129; Rowan and Golden, 2009: 17-18). Only a very limited number of sedentary sites related to farming communities are attested, and it seems quite obvious, through

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 149 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

150 W. ABU-AZIZEH

Paléorient, vol. 39.1, p. 149-176 © CNRS ÉDITIONS 2013

the evidence available from fi eldwork undertaken between Aqaba and Ma’an (Jobling, 1981 and 1982; Henry, 1992 and 1995; Henry et al., 1985), but also in the Southern Ghor (MacDonald et al., 1987: 177), the Wadi al-Hasa (MacDonald, 1992; Clark et al., 1992 and 1994; Papalas et al., 1997) and in the Wadi Arabah (Smith et al., 1997; Henry et al., 2001), that the settlement of this area was mainly devoted during this period to the different forms of mobile subsistence related to a pastoral nomadic way of life.

These different projects identifi ed numerous remains of characteristic stone enclosures in campsites. Their strate-gic location on major communication routes, such as the one linking the Ghor/Jordan Valley to the eastern desert periph-ery through the Wadi al-Hasa, has been emphasized as one fundamental basis for assuming a mobile subsistence pat-tern development during the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age (Hill, 2000: 222 and 2004: 390). In his synthesis of evidence gathered from the Ras en Naqb/Wadi Judayid area, D. Henry concludes that fully nomadic pastoralism, as opposed to vil-lage based “semi-nomadic pastoralism” relying on some sort of horticulture as defi ned by Khazanov (Khazanov, 1984), is a region-wide phenomenon across the arid zone of the Levant during the Chalcolithic (Henry, 1995: 355). The extension of this pastoral nomadic occupation into the deep desert territory of southeastern Jordan is only starting to come to light through the more recent explorations undertaken in these areas.

This pastoral nomadic complex of southern and southeast-ern Jordan represents an expansion of the western desert occu-pation phenomenon, defi ned as the “Timnian” entity in Sinai and the Negev regions (Ronen, 1970; Kozloff, 1974; 1981; Rothenberg and Glass, 1992). The establishment of its chrono-logical sequence in the framework of desert archaeology is a major issue as it constitutes a long-term evolution encompass-ing a period from the beginning of the 5th to the end of the 3rd millennium BC.1 Although the notion of “Timnian” came into common use in the recent literature, its defi nition as a culture remains therefore challenging in view of its long time span of more than three millennia and its geographical extent.2 There is indeed still much to do in order to explain the chrono-logical diversity, and the variety of mobility and subsistence strategies embraced in the wider pastoral nomadic context.

The problem of chronology is closely related to the diffi -

1. See the work of Avner for emphasis on the long term evolutionary chrono-logical framework of the desert occupation phenomenon (Avner, 2002: 7; Avner and Carmi, 2001; Avner et al., 1994).

2. Gilead, 2011; See Rosen, 2011 for a recent re-examination and chrono-logical reorganization of the Timnian into discrete sub-periods, although underlining an overall smooth continuity through time.

culties in dating sites due to the nature of the occupation form: temporary campsites leave very scarce remains, which often lack diagnostic artifacts. Dating relies almost exclusively on the fl int assemblage (ceramics are poorly represented), through general technological observations on fl int knapping, and very few characteristic items. Moreover, the tabular scraper—which is the main diagnostic artifact found on desert sites—has a very long time span as it is attested as early as the Late Neolithic period and stayed in use during the entire Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. As a matter of fact, survey results rarely permit a precise dating of desert protohistoric sites. Consequently, there is currently a general consensus towards the use of wide chrono-logical terminologies as “Late Prehistoric” or “Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age” to designate the pastoral nomadic occupa-tion in the desert arid margins of Jordan.3

In this contribution, recent data provided by the micro-regional case study of the al-Thulaythuwat area and those from the deep remote arid margins of southeastern Jordan will be reviewed in order to attempt a comprehensive synthesis of the pastoral nomadic settlement patterns indicated by the survey project. The hitherto little known evidence from these arid mar-gins shows the coexistence of an important pastoral nomadic population alongside the sedentary communities of the Southern Levant, raising in turn the question of the possible interactions that could have emerged between these two distinct cultural groups. Starting at the latest during the Late Chalcolithic period, we can assume indeed that such interactions had developed, but this is much more correlated to our own archaeological knowl-edge and construct of the general developments related to this period (i.e., important social and political changes, rise of urbanism, etc.) than relying on solid factual evidence.4

3. A “Late prehistoric” terminology has been used to defi ne the pastoral nomadic occupation identifi ed to the north-east of the Jafr Basin (Quintero et al., 2002: 17), as well as during the survey of the Azraq Oasis (Rollefson et al., 2001: 77). Alternatively, it is the term “Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age” which is used more recently in the framework of the Wadi al-Sirhan survey (Wasse and Rollefson, 2005: 9, 17), the exploration of southeastern Jordan (Gebel and Mahasneh, 2009) and the northeastern Badia (Müller-Neuhof, communication presented at the workshop Current Research on Protohistoric Settlement in Desert Areas of Jordan, held at Wadi Musa, July 2011, and forthcoming publication of the workshop proceedings).

4. Metallurgy, for instance, has for long been the main artifactual evidence for considering this question of interaction. However, even if the involve-ment of pastoral nomadic societies in metallurgical production seems well established, its starting point in chronology, its evolution through time, and the exact nature of the interaction involved with sedentary communi-ties of the Southern Levant are unclear. As an example, Segal and Rosen (2005: 7), although they have some of the best evidence of involvement of pastoral nomadic societies in copper production at the Camel site, con-clude nevertheless that it is diffi cult to evaluate and quantify the exact role of nomads in the development of early Levantine metallurgy.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 150 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

The South-Eastern Jordan’s Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age Pastoral Nomadic Complex: Patterns of Mobility and Interaction 151


In view of the chronological limitations, the evolution in these synergies during the protohistoric timeframe is still barely perceptible. However, the recent data from southeastern Jordan allow us to provide—as a necessary prerequisite to a better defi -nition of these interactions—a detailed characterization of the desert occupation subsistence strategies and mobility patterns. The full involvement of pastoralists groups into the remote des-ert and the exploitation of specifi c local resources are indeed the key elements that permitted the integration of the pastoral nomadic way of life into the wider Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age socio-economic system. Flint production and exchange is a case in point, and this will be discussed as it provides, despite the general complex chronological context, some solid artifactual evidence to trace an apparently growing interaction in a specifi c Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age I transitional timeframe.

THE AL-THULAYTHUWAT AREA: A MICRO-REGIONAL CASE STUDY IN THE REMOTE DESERT OF SOUTHERN JORDAN

Renewed exploration and excavation seasons at al- Thulaythuwat in 2007, 2008 and 2012,5 a remote area of

5. The Al-Thulaythuwat Survey Project was conducted by the author in the framework of his PhD Thesis (Abu-Azizeh, 2010). The archaeological

southern desert of Jordan, resulted in new data to test the hypothesis of an extension of the pastoral nomadic occupation during the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age. The review of the evidence from this micro-regional case study will attempt a reconstruction of the pastoral nomadic settlement patterns of Southern Jordan, including its eastern periphery in the deep desert.

GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT

The area of al-Thulaythuwat is located to the south of the al-Jafr Basin, halfway between Ma’an and al-Mudawwara at the Saudi border (fi g. 1). The area is totally inserted in the desert landscape dominated by a hyperarid environment, receiving less than 50 mm of rainfall per year. In terms of phytogeography, the area is at the confl uence of the Saharo-Arabian desert and the Sudanian entity.

survey and excavation fi eldwork seasons were organized as a cooperative project with the Faculty of Archaeology of Al-Hussein Bin Talal University (Ma’an, Wadi Musa), which is now taking the form of a wider comparative study on South-Eastern Jordan Desert Protohistoric Occupation. The new scientifi c joint project, co-directed by the author and Dr. M. Tarawneh, is bringing together the study in the Al-Thulaythuwat area with the one in the Qe’an Es-Siq/Rijlat Salim area located at the eastern extremity of the southern desert of Jordan.

Fig. 1 – Location map of al-Thulaythuwat area and Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age sites in southern arid margins of Jordan.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 151 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

152 W. ABU-AZIZEH


Although it is isolated in a remote arid environment, al-Thulaythuwat area takes advantage of a strategic location at crossroads dictated by topography. It is on the road running from Saudi Arabia through the Wadi Hisma which divides into one route leading to the Jordan plateau through the al-Jafr basin, and a second route leading to the Jordan Valley and the Gulf of Aqaba through the Wadi Rum cut.

On the other hand, the area is also characterized by the diversity of the environments represented (fi g. 2). To the north, it is composed of a limestone plateau rising to an elevation ranging between 960 m and 1050 m height. This cuesta geo-logical formation is gently sloping towards the north-east and is covered by limestone and chert boulders characteristic of the hamada landscapes of eastern deserts of Jordan. It is dis-

Fig. 2 – Topographic map showing location of registered sites (remote sensing) and surveyed sites in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 152 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



sected by a dense hydrographical network of which the Wadi Abu Meil and Wadi al-Kareem are the most important sea-sonal water courses, fl owing north towards the al-Jafr Basin. The plateau ends in the south at a steep slope more than 100 m height, which corresponds to the extension of the Ras en Naqb escarpment farther west. The second geographical entity is constituted of a sandy alluvial plain stretching from the base of the steep slope towards Saudi Arabia and the great Nefud to the south. It follows a gentle slope towards the southeast and is scattered with numerous residual sandstone hills or inselbergs. The three peaks of Jebel al-Thulaythuwat are one of these geo-logical formations extending over 2 km long and terminated to the south by Jebel Mekeyhel al-Thulaythuwat. A dense hydro-graphical network of shallow wadis and sandy playas are organized around the major seasonal wadis as Wadi Mshash Kabd, Wadi Jubu’, Wadi Mekeyhel and Wadi Ruwaytah. In the southeastern extremity of the study area, the Qa’ Jubu’ mudfl at is a large natural depression collecting the run-off water from different wadis of the plain.

CHALCOLITHIC – EARLY BRONZE PASTORAL NOMADIC SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

Archaeological remains identifi ed in al-Thulaythuwat are mostly represented by circular stone enclosures of different sizes and organizations, refl ecting a long tradition of pasto-ral nomadic occupation in the area. Among the 94 sites sur-veyed, 43 were attributed to a Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age chronological time frame, emphasizing a major human settle-ment phase of the area during this period.6

The detailed analysis of the stone circle enclosures and hierarchical classifi cation of the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze sites allowed underlining the characteristic features of the pastoral nomadic occupation and defi ning the settlement pat-tern of the area during this period (table 1 and fi g. 3).7 The

6. Site identifi cation in al-Thulaythuwat study area involved remote sens-ing, using high resolution Quick Bird satellite images available on Google Earth. A total of 171 potential pastoral nomadic camp sites were identifi ed in the study area of 25 km long and 17.5 km wide (ca 435 km2). A repre-sentative sample of 94 sites was subjected to fi eld survey and systematic surface collection. Beside the Chalcolithic – EB settlement phase, human presence in the area is also attested during the Nabatean/Roman, Roman/Byzantine, Islamic and Modern periods. A great number of sites (40) could not be dated due to the lack of diagnostic artifacts in the surface collection assemblages.

7. Abu-Azizeh, 2010: one aspect of the study focused on a structural and architectural analysis of the stone enclosures through the building of a typology. For a wider approach of the settlement dynamics, a statistical hierarchical classifi cation of the sites was performed, combining three

various site layouts that were identifi ed suggest variations in the temporality of the occupation, on-site human group com-positions, subsistence strategies and livestock size. Several general site types have been recognized, which will be sum-marized below.

Ephemeral campsites

The most common form of settlement in the al-Thulaythu-wat area is represented by small ephemeral campsites, charac-terized by a small surface area, a low number of site elements and stone enclosures and low quantities of fl int assemblages (table 1 and fi g. 3: Class 3 sites). The 18 camps related to this group are spread in various geographical positions, in the pla-teau as well as in the sandy alluvial plain, sometimes in very exposed situations unsuited for long term stays.

Site TH.066 is a good example of such sites. Located on the bank of Wadi al-Kareem, it is constituted of three stone enclo-sures, all of small surface areas between 51 and 365 m2. Their organization is very simple, represented by a simple enclosure without associated compartments and two simple partitioned enclosures (fi g. 4). The surface assemblage on site was repre-sented by only seven fl int tools, including two tabular scraper fragments, and principally debitage pieces. The simple enclo-sures are most characteristic of ephemeral campsites and seem to represent pens for the fl ocks, to which light material tents were probably associated.

The “cell and fence” stone enclosure type is another arrangement closely related to this settlement form. A char-acteristic example is found on site TH.232, located in a very exposed topographic situation on the plateau, far off the main wadis, at less than 800 m from the escarpment edge. The site is represented by a single stone enclosure of 25 m diameter, com-posed of an elongated cell construction of 9 m long and 5.50 m wide associated with a large courtyard (fi g. 5). Total surface area of the stone circle about 489 m2 corresponds to the aver-age mean surface of the ephemeral settlements class (431 m2). The combination of the dwelling functions, with the presence of the small cell or room, and the herd-keeping functions with the presence of the associated fence delimitating vast court-yards is clearly indicated by this stone enclosure type.

The generally small surface of these camps and their over-all rudimentary organization indicate a use by small human

comparison criteria: surface areas of the sites, number of site elements (stone circle units, funerary constructions …), and quantity of fl int arti-facts within surface collection (see table 1 and fi g. 3). The results of these two analyses were combined in a Database/GIS approach.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 153 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

154 W. ABU-AZIZEH


Table 1 – Sites list summarizing geographical location as well as the different criteria used for building the hierarchical ascending classifi cation of Chalcolithic/EB pastoral nomadic in al-Thulaythuwat area.

Site Zone Altitude (m) Surface area (m2) Units nb Flints nb Site typeTH.001 Sandy plain 849 749 6 133 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.012 Sandy plain 867 1299 3 183 Long term campsiteTH.026 Sandy plain 876 2075 3 256 Long term campsiteTH.028 Sandy plain 880 360 2 96 Ephemeral campsiteTH.031 Sandy plain 855 1687 6 292 Long term campsiteTH.036 Sandy plain 859 948 6 247 Long term campsiteTH.039 Sandy plain 849 528 5 86 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.044 Limestone plateau 1011 747 3 394 Long term campsiteTH.054 Limestone plateau 1009 158 4 35 Ephemeral campsiteTH.058 Limestone plateau 1011 1617 3 107 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.064 Limestone plateau 980 1206 3 78 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.066 Limestone plateau 980 554 3 71 Ephemeral campsiteTH.067 Limestone plateau 999 596 2 73 Ephemeral campsiteTH.069 Limestone plateau 999 2692 5 127 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.071 Limestone plateau 979 208 1 79 Ephemeral campsiteTH.073 Limestone plateau 990 2241 4 94 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.077 Limestone plateau 999 1065 7 237 Long term campsiteTH.079 Limestone plateau 922 697 1 82 Ephemeral campsiteTH.081 Limestone plateau 969 765 1 22 Ephemeral campsiteTH.084 Limestone plateau 980 333 3 126 Ephemeral campsiteTH.091 Sandy plain 829 1451 5 14 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.092 Sandy plain 810 2763 3 127 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.093 Sandy plain 819 6148 20 84 Outstanding inselberg settlementTH.094 Sandy plain 829 1222 5 133 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.108 Sandy plain 839 818 6 574 Long term campsiteTH.116 Sandy plain 853 421 2 59 Ephemeral campsiteTH.126 Sandy plain 837 2019 3 53 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.127 Sandy plain 845 306 2 95 Ephemeral campsiteTH.143 Sandy plain 847 150 2 9 Ephemeral campsiteTH.145 Sandy plain 830 986 2 108 Ephemeral campsiteTH.149 Sandy plain 852 332 2 75 Ephemeral campsiteTH.158 Sandy plain 833 569 3 57 Ephemeral campsiteTH.161 Limestone plateau 1010 1093 1 224 Long term campsiteTH.170 Sandy plain 827 1758 3 10 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.204 Limestone plateau 970 1754 4 247 Long term campsiteTH.205 Limestone plateau 939 113 3 144 Ephemeral campsiteTH.212 Limestone plateau 960 3126 3 85 High pastoral/Inselberg settlementTH.217 Limestone plateau 969 501 2 28 Ephemeral campsiteTH.230 Limestone plateau 1018 1521 3 201 Long term campsiteTH.232 Limestone plateau 990 489 3 112 Ephemeral campsiteTH.246 Limestone plateau 990 1591 3 183 Long term campsiteTH.305 Limestone plateau 1039 216 1 96 Ephemeral campsiteTH.308 Limestone plateau 990 533 3 291 Long term campsite

groups. The pastoral component would rely on the breeding of small livestock fl ocks, managed by a small production unit represented by the nuclear family or household. Altogether, these characteristics suggest a very temporary or ephemeral settlement phase related to the splitting up of pastoral nomadic human groups and a dispersion of the livestock in smaller

herds scattered over the territory to reduce the environmen-tal ecological stress. This could correspond to the dry season of summer or autumn during pastoral nomadic transhumant cycles.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 154 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



Long-term campsites

A few other sites seem to represent a longer term occupa-tion. Among the 12 campsites attributed to this group, fi ve are

Fig. 3 – Statistical hierarchical ascending classifi cation of the Chal-colithic/EB pastoral nomadic occupation in al-Thulaythuwat area (sites ranks or classes have been interpreted as follows: Class 1 – Outstanding inselberg settlement; 2 – High pastoral/Inselberg settle-ments; 3 – Ephemeral campsites; 4 – Long term campsites).

Fig. 4 – Schematic top plan of ephemeral campsite TH.066 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

Fig. 5 – Aerial picture and top plan drawing of “cell & fence” stone enclosure of ephemeral campsite TH.232 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

located in the plain and seven on the top of the limestone pla-teau. They are characterized by a medium range of total sur-face area, a high number of site elements and large quantities of surface fl int assemblages (table 1 and fi g. 3: Class 4 sites). These sites are moreover represented by a much more complex organization of their stone circle units.

Site TH.044 is a characteristic example of this occupation type group. It includes three stone circles established in a

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 155 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

156 W. ABU-AZIZEH


protected natural enclave along the Wadi Abu Meil (fi g. 6). Although the total surface area of the site (747 m2) is below the mean value for this occupation type,8 it is nevertheless sig-nifi cantly larger than the small ephemeral camps. Moreover, the site produced an unusually high amount of fl int material with a total of 394 artifacts.9 A particularity of this assem-blage is the very high proportion of tools, including numer-ous fi nely worked pieces and a wider diversity in tool types (fi g. 7). Ceramics, although generally lacking, are also rep-resented, as well as a grinding stone fragment, which could indicate relative sedentary stays on the site. All these char-acteristics emphasize a more intense and diversifi ed human

8. The mean average site surface for the long-term campsites is 1260.92 m2.9. The mean value of artifacts number is 76 on the ephemeral campsites, 87

on the high pastoral component campsites, and 277 on the longer term campsites.

activity than in the ephemeral camps. The organization of the site is also distinctive of this kind of occupation, shown by the systematic occurrence of complex stone circle units. Complex multicellular stone enclosures centered on a courtyard, as in unit C of site TH.044, seem to constitute a remarkable feature of these longer term campsites. Such stone enclosures provide a parallel with the organization of Early Bronze Age II sites of Sinai that we believe constitute similar permanent or semi-permanent campsites.10 These “compound” units display mul-tiple dwelling cells that accommodate larger human groups, probably of extended families or other units within the tribe.

These more permanent sites are preferentially located in two specifi c areas: in the course of the Wadi Abu Meil, and at the foot of the escarpment ridge, both locations allowing for good shelter from prevailing winds, and also providing pos-sible water resources. This location could explain a longer time span of the human occupation on these sites and more repeated visits by the pastoral nomadic populations during seasonal transhumance cycles.

High pastoral component campsites and the “inselberg” settlements

Twelve sites are characterized by high surface areas, a high site element number and low fl int densities (table 1 and fi g. 3: Class 2 sites). Five among these sites are located on the lime-stone plateau and the seven others in the plain. All these sites refl ect a high pastoral component suggested by the presence of large surface areas of courtyards to shelter numerically more important animal herds. However, these sites follow clear and distinctive organization patterns in the two different environ-ments of the study area.

Site TH.058 is representative of such settlement type on the plateau. Located on a natural terrace overlooking the course of a tributary of Wadi Abu Meil, it is composed of three stone enclosures scattered across a length of 140 m (fi g. 8). The total surface area of the site of 1617 m2, considerably exceeds the mean value of both the ephemeral and long-term campsites. This is mainly due to the presence of a large simple enclosure with compartments that covers a surface of 1014 m2 and which seems suited for penning large herds of animals. To the west, two other smaller stone enclosure units are associated, one complex multicellular on a courtyard and the other one simple without compartments.

10. See Beit-Arieh, 2003: 101-109 and Fig. 3.6, 3.7 for a review of the archi-tecture of these sites and isometric reconstructions.

Fig. 6 – General and detail drawing of stone enclosure units of long-term campsite TH.044 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 156 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



The general image refl ected by this settlement type on the plateau is that it could be related to some more intensive animal breeding practices. Besides the presence of the large courtyards and pens, these settlements are also characterized by the presence of complex stone enclosure units, which make them more comparable to the long-term settlements group than to the ephemeral campsites. The presence of larger human groups could corroborate the idea of signifi cantly bigger herds inducing a production unit adapted to achieve the amount of work.11 However, the limited fl int material found contrasts with the situation observed at the long term settlements and points to shorter stays on these high pastoral component sites.

The sites attributed to this settlement group in the plain are concentrated around Jabal al-Thulaythuwat and are character-

11. See Cribb, 1991: p. 35 for a discussion on the relation between the human group size (or pastoral production unit) and the size of the herd.

ized by their location at the foot of small residual hills or insel-bergs emerging from the fl at surrounding topography.

TH.091 and TH.092 are representative of this kind of settle-ment, and show striking similarities in their layout organiza-tions. They both attest for the presence of stone enclosures of a particularly elaborated arrangement, which can be considered to be “complex extended units” (fi g. 9: Unit A; fi g. 10: Units A and B). These units are represented by numerous intercon-nected spaces associating small cells and compartment struc-tures to large courtyards. On site TH.091, the extended unit A reaches a total surface area of 1074 m2, thus being one of the larger stone enclosures discovered in the study area.

Clearly the structural and architectural organization of these sites is very different from the one identifi ed elsewhere in the study area on the ephemeral as well as the long term camp-sites. The organization layout of the architecture emphasizes here a higher complexity of social organization, along with a

Fig. 7 – Artifacts from surface collection on long-term campsite TH.044 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 157 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

158 W. ABU-AZIZEH


high pastoral component demonstrated by the sizeable surface area allocated to the livestock. Although the quantities of fl int surface collections are quite low on these sites, this could well be due to environmental bias as architectural remains are sub-jected to heavy sand accumulation in the plain.

These sites are moreover characterized by the recurrence of unusual structures of circular organizations of small stone mounds12 (fi g. 10: Unit C), along with long rectilinear stone

12. These structures recall the “Plaza Sites” layout identifi ed in Sinai (See Avner, 2002: 105, for a short review on the few data available). Different

alignments that have no equivalent elsewhere in the study area. The function of these structures is still uncertain, but a gen-eral interpretation involving some form of important livestock penning and specialized pastoral practices has been proposed (Abu-Azizeh, 2011a). Although this has to be confi rmed by further investigation, the central point of the present discussion

interpretations have been proposed for these structures: Anati (1993) con-sidered them to be guard sites, markets (?) or cult sites, while Eddy and Wendorf (1999: 81-82, 254-273) termed them “villages”. None of these different interpretations seems to be convincing as regards the data avail-able from al-Thulaythuwat.

Fig. 8 – General and detail drawing of stone enclosure units of high pastoral component campsite TH.058 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 158 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



is the striking similarities emphasized by this group of settle-ments in terms of complexity of their stone enclosure units, the recurrence of unusual structures, and the concentration of these sites in a defi ned area of the alluvial plain. These charac-teristics underline the consistency of this cluster of sites, which could be viewed as settlements of high status individuals or kin groups within a wider clan-based or tribal organization. For these sites, the higher pastoral component not only seems to be related to more intensive herding strategies, but also to a higher complexity of social organization that can be correlated with the presence of an exceptional settlement close by at site TH.093.

An outstanding “inselberg” settlement

Within the inselberg settlement group to the east of Jabal al-Thulaythuwat, one site stands out from the hierarchical clas-sifi cation as an exceptional occupation form (table 1 and fi g. 3: Class 1 site). TH.093 has an impressive number of 20 site ele-ments, including simple stone enclosures (some with numerous associated compartment structures) and a complex multicel-lular enclosure on a courtyard that probably constitutes the center of domestic activities on the western slope of the hill (fi g. 11).

Aside from their number, the structures testify also to a great diversity: nine stone enclosure units; six circular arrange-ments of stone mounds located at the western periphery of the site (Units J to O); a funerary cairn to the south (Unit S); three rectangular stone platforms and podiums associated with the tomb (Units P to R); and a very distinctive tailed tomb on the

top of the hill (Unit T). The importance of the settlement is refl ected by the extent of the site units over a length of 280 m and a totally unusual surface area of 6148 m2.

Altogether, the architectural complexity of the site, its high surface area, and the presence of special structures such as the megalithic tombs emphasize the specialness of the settlement, along with a strong symbolic dimension.

The coexistence of this site with the cluster of inselberg settlements is certainly no coincidence. This area indeed provided a settlement form which is in strong contrast with what is known from the rest of the study area. Contrary to the rest of the sites designated as campsites, whether being considered as ephemeral or long term use, here the human settlement clearly stands out from the notion of the reduced nuclear or even extended family. It refl ects a much more important population group, closer to a hierarchical clan-based or tribal organization. In such a general context, the unusual site TH.093 could be viewed as the center of a local tribal chiefdom, on which the inselberg settlements nearby could have depended.

The practice of some form of specialized pastoralism, in close relation to a collective management of the livestock is a conceivable hypothesis that could explain the specifi city of the occupation pattern in this sector of the plain. It would imply a more complex hierarchical social organization necessary for this production scale. The presence of the Qa’ Jubu’, a natural water catchment a few kilometers to the south-east, seems to constitute a fundamental feature for the understanding of this human settlement phenomenon during the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age (fi g. 2).

Fig. 9 – Top plan drawing of inselberg settlement TH.091 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 159 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

160 W. ABU-AZIZEH


PASTORAL NOMADIC PATTERNS OF MOBILITY IN SOUTHERN AND SOUTHEASTERN JORDAN

VERTICAL VS HORIZONTAL MOBILITY

The case study of the al-Thulaythuwat area allowed the recognition of different kinds of pastoral nomadic settlements

in a remote area of the southern desert of Jordan, far from the western sedentary core region. A comparison with the work undertaken by Henry for the study of Ras en-Naqb/Wadi Judayid area further west could be of some interest for a recon-struction of the patterns of mobility of these pastoral nomadic populations in Southern Jordan.

In a study area of 32 km2 covering the Wadi Judayid Basin, the higher plateau of Ras en-Naqb and the Wadi Hisma, Henry identifi ed 24 sites attributed to the Chalcolithic period

Fig. 10 – Top plan drawing of inselberg settlement TH.092 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 160 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



(Henry, 1995). These sites were correlated with a Timnian cultural entity, and they were integrated in a regional pas-toral nomadic subsistence strategy, distinguishing between two fundamentally different types of sites: ephemeral and long-term camps.13 The clear distributional patterning of the two sites types over the elevationally zoned environments of the valley’s fl anks and adjacent uplands suggested a sea-sonally governed, vertical transhumance pattern of pastoral nomadism.

Although the methodology followed in the study of the al-Thulaythuwat area for defi ning the settlement patterns was formally slightly different from the one proposed by Henry, both are comparable in substance.14 The results of both studies

13. Henry, 1995: 356: the ephemeral camps were represented by smaller sur-face areas, leaving shallow stratigraphic deposits and a low density of artifacts. Most of them were located in the lowlands, on the fl oor of the Wadi Hisma, although some others could be found also on the piedmont, and in the lower altitudes of the uplands. The long term camps were found instead in the more favored areas of the piedmont, at higher altitudes within an elevational belt ranging from ca 1100 to 1250 m.a.s.l. They showed a much wider range of artifacts, including pottery sherds, which are rare or absent in the ephemeral camp inventories.

14. The total surface area of the sites and the density of fl int material are two criteria that were used in both studies to defi ne the pastoral nomadic settlement pattern (Henry, 1995: 356).

show some strongly comparable affi nities, for two main site types of ephemeral and longer-term camps were identifi ed. One signifi cant difference, however, might be emphasized concerning the geographic and natural setting patterns of these distinct site types. In the al-Thulaythuwat area, a bimodal dis-tribution of sites along elevational belts cannot be recognized (fi g. 12). The ephemeral camps are found in both environments of the plain and the plateau, which provide a reduced altitude range between a maximum difference of 200 m. Preferential geographical locations for the long-term settlements is, on the other hand, much more governed by local environmental conditions favoring availability of water rather than by alti-tude. Obviously, instead of being involved in a vertical trans-humance pattern, the sites of the al-Thulaythuwat area are to be integrated in a wider horizontal, longer distance seasonal transhumance oriented towards the deeper eastern desert of Southern Jordan.

The distinction between a short-distance, vertical transhu-mance semi-nomadism or enclosed nomadism (Rowton, 1974) in a “close periphery area” of the Rift Valley, and a higher mobility horizontal nomadism towards the eastern deeper des-ert could be paralleled with traditional transhumance paths fol-lowed until the early decades of the twentieth century in Jordan and adjacent countries (fi g. 13). The Abu Tayeh Bedouin group

Fig. 11 – General top plan of outstanding inselberg settlement TH.093 in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 161 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

162 W. ABU-AZIZEH


for instance (a section of the Huweitat tribe) practiced until recent times a short-distance pastoral nomadic pattern that is very similar to what is evidenced during Chalcolithic period in the Ras en Naqb area, while other Huweitat and Sherarat tribes were practicing larger scale seasonal migration involv-ing the eastern edge of the western highlands in summer and the eastern slopes of the Jibal al-Athriyat overlooking the Wadi As-Sirhan in winter.15

These ethnographic and historical examples underline the complexity of mobility strategies over the southeastern desert environments of Jordan, with notably long distance seasonal migrations preceding the demarcation of modern political state borders. The area of al-Thulaythuwat, being located at the boundary between the two mentioned mobility systems, may have been a zone of close contact of the differ-

15. Cordova, 2007: 116; Scholtz and Schweizer, 1992; Wallin, 1979: 16, 23: the southwestern border of the Wadi Sirhan is mentioned as being “the home of the Sherarat tribe”. See also Henry, 1992 and 1995.

ent pastoral nomadic groups engaged in the western verti-cal transhumance and the eastern longer distance migration pattern.

Although ethnographic parallels have to be taken with some caution, obviously the historical seasonal routes and transhu-mance strategies evidenced in southern Jordan are dictated by a great deal of geographical patterning and determinism. They could provide some insights to understand the complex transhumance and pre-camel nomadism strategies that were already practiced since the Chalcolithic period.

THE CONQUEST OF THE “DEEPER SOUTH-EAST”

Indeed, recent exploration of the deeper southeastern desert of Jordan has evidenced the presence of considerable remains attributed to Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age pasto-ral nomadic societies. In al-Jafr Basin, some 60 km to the north-east of the al-Thulaythuwat study area, stone enclosure

Fig. 12 – Diagram showing altitude of the different pastoral nomadic site types in al-Thulaythuwat area.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 162 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



settlements where found in close association with huge fl int mining productions of hitherto unknown dimension (Fujii, 1998; 1999; 2000; 2001 and 2003; Quintero et al., 2002). The Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age pastoral nomadic settle-ment pattern was recognized further east, as far as the south-eastern extremity of Jordan. In Wadi Hudruj a number of sites attributed to the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age period were identifi ed, including surface fl int scatters as well as stone enclosure encampments following different architectural organizations that are thought to refl ect a winter seasonal settlement pattern (Wasse and Rollefson, 2005: 9). The pre-dominance of remains related to this period led the authors to support a phase of climatic amelioration as one of the factors allowing the development of this occupation phenomenon. Moreover, the exploitation of secondary products of animal husbandry, mostly milk derived products is considered as a

possible necessary condition for the conquest of such remote desert areas.16

In the Qe’an es-Siq/Rijlat Salim area, located some 30 km to the northwest of Wadi Hudruj, 49 stone enclosure sites were registered over an area of about 250 km2 (Tarawneh, 2007; Tarawneh and Abudanah, 2011). Twenty-eight were attributed to the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age period on the basis of the fl int material. The sites showed a great diversity in their gen-eral architectural layout, ranging from a single stone enclosure to an association of up to fi ve units. Partition walls inside the stone enclosures, small storage compartments, courtyards and

16. Wasse and Rollefson, 2005: 10. See also Grigson, 1995; Sherratt, 1981 and 1983; Chapman, 1983; Lancaster and Lancaster, 1991, concerning the so called “secondary products revolution” and its consequences in the developments of pastoral nomadism and the conquest of remote areas of the desert margins.

Fig. 13 – Traditional mobility patterns of pastoral nomadic tribes in Jordan (modifi ed after Cordova, 2007: Fig.4.6, and Scholz and Schweizer, 1992).

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 163 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

164 W. ABU-AZIZEH


cells were very similar to the remains described for the al-Thu-laythuwat area. Based on observation of the sites’ topographi-cal settings and exposure to the dominant western winds, pastoral nomadic occupation of the area is believed to refl ect both summer and winter seasonal camps: the sites of Qe’an es-Siq were more exposed while those of Rijlat Salim area are set in sheltered locations. The Jibal al-Athiryat and the slopes towards the Wadi as-Sirhan witness indeed a variety of envi-ronments that can provide for several alternative transhumance strategies besides a schematic east-west general dynamic. This emphasizes the full involvement of pastoral nomadic popu-lations in the remote desert of southeastern Jordan since the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age by taking advantage of almost every ecological niche available for its specifi c environmental characteristics.

Evidence is also provided by the work in Wadi As-Sahab Al Abyad and Qulban Bani Murra, located close to the Saudi Arabian border in the south-eastern extremity of the country (Gebel and Mahasneh, 2009; Mahasneh and Gebel, 2009; Gebel et al., 2011). Remains of a Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age occupation are numerous there. Worth mentioning is a funerary megalithic complex at Qulban Bani Murra, whose extent could exceed 2 to 3 km2. The site includes a total of about 200 diverse structures of cairn chamber graves, ashlar walls and standing stone arrangements. It is viewed as a major funer-ary and ceremonial center of regional importance related to a hitherto unknown late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age desert culture. The site is also compared to Risqeh to the east of Aqaba (Kirkbride, 1969) and to Rajajil in the Jawf area in northern Saudi Arabia (Zarins, 1979) and it is believed to have played an important role in the social organization of the mobile pastoral groups, particularly in maintaining tribal identity and reinforc-ing social ties. The appearance of such funerary and ceremo-nial centers, along with funerary cairn necropolises, of which we have some examples in Sinai and Negev (Avner, 2002), northeastern Jordan (Rollefson et al., 2011), but also in the al-Thulaythuwat area (Abu-Azizeh, 2011b), is the expression of the setting of the pastoral nomadic migration routes in remote areas of the desert since the beginning of the Chalcolithic period. In southeastern Jordan the mobility of these human groups seems to have been based on possibly long distance, or at least middle range, seasonal migration between summer and winter pastures, developing during the 5th millennium BC.

Besides these remains, numerous stone enclosure camps and pen structures were identifi ed in Wadi Sahab al-Abyad and Wadi Sahab al-Asmar. A distinctive form of settlement was represented by complex organizations of interconnected stone enclosures set at the foot of small mounds or hills. These

are actually strikingly reminiscent of the inselberg settlement cluster identifi ed in the plain around Jabal al-Thulaythuwat (see above). Interestingly, these campsites seem in both cases related to water availability, either through natural depressions (Qa’ Jubu’ in the al-Thulaythuwat area) or artifi cially made holes (Mshash in Wadi as-Sahab al-Asmar).17 Obviously, they refl ect a specifi c settlement pattern encompassing the whole arid margins of southeastern Jordan, and which has not been identifi ed up to now in the smaller-scale vertical transhu-mance system further west. Whether these sites represent a chronological evolution of the desert pastoral nomadic occu-pation (possibly in the setting of a climate change) or a cul-tural or socio-organizational differentiation that still have to be clarifi ed.18

This overview of the research framework in the southeast-ern arid zones of Jordan thus emphasizes the great amount of evidence for a widespread pastoral nomadic phenomenon intruding into remote areas of the desert since the Chalcolithic period. Although fi tting a generic Timnian culture defi nition as described by the studies undertaken in Sinai, Negev and Southern Jordan (see above), the diversity of remains observed provides precious information about different subsistence strategy adaptations within a broader pastoral nomadic way of life. On one side a vertical short distance transhumance in the south took advantage of the variety of environments provided by the higher western highlands and the lower altitudes of the rift in the Wadi Arabah. The pastoral nomadic groups follow-ing this subsistence strategy were located in a geographical area closer to the traditional Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age sedentary core areas. On the other hand, an extension of this pastoral nomadic settlement pattern has been identifi ed, fol-lowing a horizontal, probably longer distance pastoralism in

17. Gebel et al., 2011: 548 and Fig.4-10. These inselberg campsites identifi ed in Wadi As-Sahab Al-Asmar are considered to refl ect a semi-sedentary way of life based on availability of water in artifi cial depressions (Mshash or Khabrat).

18. Gebel et al., 2011: 541-545: a tentative evolutionary restitution is suggested in which an early phase of pastoral nomadic intrusion into the remote des-ert would have developed during the second half of the 5th millennium BC climatic optimum, possibly leading to the emergence of the fi rst oasis cultures of the Arabian Peninsula starting in the fi rst half of the 4th millen-nium BC during drier conditions induced by the “rapid climate change” event (refer to Staubwasser and Weiss, 2006; Weninger et al., 2009 for climatic considerations). In the context of the present state of research in the al-Thulaythuwat area, socio-cultural factors and distinctions in subsistence strategies have been favored to explain the appearance of the inselberg settlements, rather than a chronological differentiation (see above, and Abu-Azizeh, 2011b for the hypothesis of specialized pasto-ral practices which could be related to these sites). Further research and essential 14C dates are needed in order to clarify these hypotheses on pas-toral nomadic developments in the deeper southeastern desert of Jordan.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 164 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



the deeper southeastern desert. How these different pastoral nomadic groups interacted with each other, and especially how they interacted with their sedentary Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age counterparts located in the better-watered areas of the Southern Levant is a major question which is emphasized by the new evidence available.

PASTORAL NOMADIC COMMUNITIES AS A NEW FIGURE OF THE LC/EB SOCIO-ECONOMIC ESTABLISHMENT?

CULTURAL DICHOTOMY VS INTERACTION

Very few links are evidenced between the Timnian pasto-ral nomadic occupation and its sedentary agricultural counter-parts in the Mediterranean zone, either with the Ghassulian/Beershevan culture during the Chalcolithic period or the village-based communities of the later Early Bronze Age (Gilead, 2011: 16; Rosen, 2011: 71, 80-81). This is true con-cerning artifactual material culture, especially concerning ceramic and fl int assemblages, but also in regard to domes-tic, mortuary and cult architecture, which refl ects clear socio- cultural differences as well as distinct symbolism and religious beliefs between the desert pastoral nomadic complex and the Mediterranean societies.

Despite this clear cultural opposition, contacts and interac-tions between the pastoral nomadic and sedentary societies are nevertheless obvious. These can be especially recognized in the fi eld of exchange and trade networks. The involvement of mobile pastoral nomadic societies in metallurgical production and trade seems indeed well established through the exploita-tion of the mines of Feinan and Timna in the Wadi Arabah (Gates, 1992; Gilead, 1992: 39; Rosen, 1993: 50-51). Although on site metallurgical production is still uncertain concern-ing the Chalcolithic period,19 the ore extraction and transport towards the Beersheva Valley sites (Bir es Safadi, Abu Matar, Shiqmim) leaves no doubt about the interactions. For instance, several studies have recognized the concentration of copper

19. See Hauptmann and Weisgerber, 1992: 63, for indications of metallurgical production during the Chalcolithic period at sites Feinan 17 and Feinan 19 (the dating of Wadi Feinan 4, attributed fi rst to the Chalcolithic by Adams and Genz (1995) was reconsidered later to be of the Early Bronze Age by Levy et al., 2001). The limited number of slags on these sites indi-cates a low metallurgical processing level at this production stage, mainly restricted to intensive ore mining and extraction as evidenced by the high amounts of stone tools related to this activity.

objects and metallurgical processing in sites located in the arid margins of the Southern Levant or at close periphery during the Chalcolithic period (Levy and Shalev, 1989: 359; Ilan and Sebbane, 1989: 140).

At the two mines of Feinan and Timna, no site attributed to the Ghassulian cultural tradition has been found, while typical stone circle enclosures of the Timnian desert tradition have been identifi ed in association with the characteristic fl int material culture (Raikes, 1980: 55; 1985: 99). These are good clues for relating this early phase of metallurgical production with the pastoral nomadic populations of Southern Jordan. The mobile subsistence strategy evidenced in Southern Jordan and in the Negev, involving the Wadi Arabah in a seasonal settle-ment pattern, would have indeed made these pastoral nomadic populations ideal actors in the metallurgical production and exchange system.

In such a system, the unique sites of Tell al-Magass and Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan close to Aqaba appear to have played a major role in the processing and redistribution of the cop-per products. These sites are the only sedentary settlements known from Southern Jordan during the Late Chalcolithic and beginning of the Early Bronze Age periods. At both of them important copper metallurgical production is attested by the copper ore remains, crucibles, moulds, slags and copper ingots (Khalil et al., 2003: 164, Fig. 4, 13a-b, 14a; Hauptmann et al., 2009; Pfeiffer, 2009). Alongside evidence for other craft specialization (sea shell beads and ornament items, carved bone objects, etc.), the intensive metallurgical produc-tion at these sites was involved in a developed long-distance exchange system, notably with Pre-dynastic Egypt at the end of the Chalcolithic period. The intensity of craft activity and the unusual character of the sedentary settlements of Tell al-Magass and Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan are unexpected in such an isolated periphery of Southern Jordan. These sites are indeed well inserted within the pastoral nomadic countryside and this location implies obvious direct contact to these mobile populations. The identifi cation of characteristic stone enclo-sures in the immediate vicinity of Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan, at Wadi al-Yutum B, clearly emphasizes the coexistence of these sedentary and pastoral nomadic communities in this area dur-ing the Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age.20

20. Brückner et al., 2002: 241: the site is represented by a complex organiza-tion of more than 25 stone enclosures ranging from 4 to 5.5 m in diameter. It is comparable to the stone enclosure sites attributed to the EB I Period in the Wadi Al-Hasa and interpreted as temporary campsites of pastoral nomadic populations (reference is made to MacDonald, 1988: 161-163; Papalas et al., 1997: 436). It is also compared to EB II campsites identifi ed in Sinai (Beit-Arieh, 1986 and 2003).

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 165 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

166 W. ABU-AZIZEH


The overall picture which is portrayed by this specifi c settlement pattern could be compared to what has been iden-tifi ed in other buffer zones of Southern Levant, in the wider Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age chronological framework. In the desert periphery of north-eastern Jordan and south-ern Syria, fortifi ed agglomerations are associated with com-plex water management systems during the EB I at Jawa and the EB II period at Kh. Umbashi (Helms, 1981; Betts, 1991; Braemer et al., 2004). The site of Arad appears at the end of the Chalcolithic period and would become during the EB II the southernmost fortifi ed settlement of Palestine, at the fringe of the Negev arid margins (Amiran and Ilan, 1996). These sites raised much debate on the nature of the settlements, their origins and the consequences of their geographical set-ting as regards to their interpretation.21 Their characteristics did not fi t convincingly with the traditional models of urban development. Although a review of this debate is beyond the aim of this discussion—especially because it will need a detailed analysis of the specifi c chronological and geographi-cal backgrounds of somewhat different situations—the exam-ples mentioned testify for the development of original forms of settlements in unusual transitional environmental zones in close contact with the desert arid margins. We suggest that these settlements represent a variety of alternatives or responses to a growing socio-economic interaction between pastoral nomadic populations and sedentary communities of the Southern Levant, starting at the latest from the Late Chalcolithic period. This increasing interaction could have led to the rise of such innovative forms of settlements, which could fi t well the defi nition of gateway agglomerations (Hirth, 1978: 37):

21. The question of the origin of the settlers at Jawa has been for long, and still is, much debated. Fundamental is the question of the urban character of the site. Helms (1981 and 1984: 86) viewed the site as an urban settle-ment resulting from a foreign incursion from sedentary populations of a “kingdom” of Damascus into the desert. Later, through the study of the comparable site of Kh. El-Umbashi and its micro-region in Southern Syria, an alternative interpretation was suggested viewing Umbashi and Jawa as “meeting points for mobile pastoralist groups” (Braemer, 2011: 38, 41) and/or having been constructed by the pastoral nomads (Nicolle, 2011: 82-83). Arad again was fi rst considered as a typical urban settle-ment of the EB II sedentary culture (Amiran, 1970: 96). Its appearance was thought to be related to the control over the desert territory of the Negev and Sinai to the south (Amiran et al., 1973: 197; Beit-Arieh, 1978: 1 and 1981: 31). Re-examination of the site’s architecture and a better know ledge of the desert settlement pattern allowed, however, to propose a much more convincing interpretation of the site as a community of seden-tarized pastoralists facilitating interaction between the populations of the south Palestinian steppe and the Mediterranean zone (Finkelstein, 1990; 1995: 80-82).

“Gateway communities develop either as a response to increased trade or to the settling of sparsely populated frontier areas. They generally are located along natural corridors of communication and at the critical passages between areas of high mineral, agricultural, or craft productivity (…). The function of these settlements is to satisfy demand for commodities through trade and the location of these communities reduces transportation costs involved in their movement”.

It is very likely that a site like Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan materialized such a response, probably a local initiative, to the pastoral nomadic settlement developments in the hinterland of southeastern Jordan.

PASTORAL NOMADIC POPULATIONS AND FLINT MINING ACTIVITY

If the implication of pastoral nomadic populations in the development of exchange networks is obvious, in particular concerning metallurgy as it has been underscored, other desert exchange and production systems have been brought to light by recent research in these areas.

Spectacular mining and production evidence of cortical fl akes, which are the base products for shaping the characteris-tic Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age tabular or fan scrapers, has been identifi ed in the al-Jafr Basin. For a long time this pro-duction was considered as a specifi city of Sinai and Negev arid margins (Rosen, 1983 and 1997: 75), but the new data from Southern Jordan are considerably changing our perception of this production activity in Southern Levant.

At Qa’ Abu Tulayha, at the western limit of the al-Jafr Basin, eight mining areas associated with core concentrations are thought to have produced about 15,000 tabular scraper blanks (Fujii, 2003: 219, see also Fujii, 1998 and 2001). On the basis on these remains, it is clear that this activity in al-Jafr was far more developed than the one much more occasional in Sinai and Negev.

Exploration of the western slopes of Jibal al-Athriyat, to the north-east of Qa’ al-Jafr, provided an even more impres-sive image of the extent of this production (Quintero et al., 2002). About 80 sites related to the extraction of fl int nodules and knapping activity were identifi ed. Among them 11 sites were characterized by an intensive production as the ground surface was literally covered by the remains of the fl int cores. At site J12, for instance, the fl int remains are covering a sur-face of about 12 ha. An estimate has been proposed of 240,000

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 166 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



fl int cores, which would have produced about 750,000 cortical fl akes on this sole site (Quintero et al., 2002: 26). Obviously, this evidence points out to a very specialized activity, consid-ered to be “industrial” and oriented towards exportation. It is likely that several millions of cortical fl akes were produced in this area of the al-Jafr Basin in order to be exchanged with consumers in the sedentary sites of the Southern Levant. This activity is considered to have covered a long time span, starting as early as the Chalcolithic period.

The location of Qa’ al-Jafr, well situated into the des-ert environment, and the settlement pattern evidenced for Southern Jordan, suggests an involvement of pastoral nomadic population in this production activity. This is, moreover, highly supported by the presence of the typical stone enclo-sures in close association to the fl int mine sites. It is likely that the fl int mining and production activity was practiced on a seasonal basis, in winter, when the al-Jafr Basin provided the necessary water resources (Quintero et al., 2002: 46). This would refl ect the specialization of a part of the population in the production of cortical fl akes, as a complement to the main herding subsistence strategy. The transport of the cortical fl ake blanks seems to have been achieved in the framework of the seasonal transhumance of these mobile populations, and these products could have been exchanged with sedentary popula-tions for other essential commodities, such as grain. It should be stressed here that in view of the “industrial” scale of the production at al-Jafr, the introduction of equids as beasts of burden (notably donkeys) could be viewed as a necessary condition allowing both the conquest of remote areas of the arid margins and the exploitation of the natural resources by means of transport.22 Although this has still to be proven, if this hypothesis turns out to be valid, then it could provide a clue to set the rise of the mass fl int production and the real development of this desert activity at the earliest during the Late Chalcolithic or the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, since evidence for domesticated donkeys (as the pottery fi gu-rines from Giv’Atayim, Azor, and Beit-Yam) are not known prior to the early 4th millennium BC.23 Further research should allow to test this likely assumption.

22. Quintero et al., 2002: 45; Wasse and Rollefson, 2005: 10; but see Fujii, 2011: 12, for a different point of view.

23. Based on the same statement on the use of donkeys, B. Müller-Neuhof assumes that the start of the fl int mining activity in the production cen-ters he identifi ed in northeastern Jordan south of Ruwaished should be set, at the earliest, during the beginning of the 4th millennium (commu-nication presented at the workshop Current Research on Protohistoric Settlement in Desert Areas of Jordan, held at Wadi Musa, July 2011, and forthcoming publication of the workshop proceedings). For early don-key domestication evidence see Epstein, 1985: Fig.9-10; Ovadia, 1992:

The involvement of pastoral nomadic populations in this fl int knapping activity is further revealed on a smaller pro-duction scale by the recent work undertaken in the remote southeastern extremity of Jordan. In the Qe’an es-Siq area, two cores showing cortical fl ake removal were identifi ed at the site of Rijlat Salim 15, in direct association with a stone enclo-sure campsite (Tarawneh, 2007: 172 and Pl. 6.1-6.2). Other small scale productions were identifi ed in Wadi Hudruj area where concentrations of 2 to 47 cores were identifi ed on dif-ferent sites.24 These fl int scatters, devoid of any architectural remains, are thought to represent repeated visits of pastoral nomadic populations to the fl int outcrops.

This local production, on a much smaller scale than what has been evidenced in the al-Jafr Basin, clearly confi rms the diversifi cation of subsistence strategies of pastoral nomadic populations in a remote area of the southeastern desert of Jordan.

Finally, it must be stressed that the cortical fl int mining activity has been recently also discovered as far away as to the south of Ruwayshid in the northeastern panhandle of Jordan, thus considerably extending its expansion in the deeper remote desert (Müller-Neuhof, 2006). The evidence from southern Wadi Ruwayshid points to an extensive production following several techniques (outcrop and pit mining) similar in scale to the one of the al-Jafr Basin. It is thus clear that other pro-duction sites are expected to be found in the deserts of Jordan and neighbouring regions, and that the extent of this activity among pastoral nomadic economy is yet far from being fully revealed.

THE DESERT TRADE AND EXCHANGE NETWORK

Several recent discoveries help to outline the general net-work of what appears to have been a desert economy related to this cortical fl akes production. In our survey of the al-Thu-laythuwat area, a group of cortical fl akes was discovered in a stone enclosure of site TH.058 (fi g. 14). The 17 cortical fl akes were grouped together indicating that they were probably origi-nally stored in a bag made of organic material. Knowing that no cortex fl ake mining has been found in the al-Thulaythuwat area, and in view of the high quality of the artifacts, it is likely that they were imports from the extensive productions of al-Jafr,

Fig.1-3; Benecke, 2009 for faunal remains from Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan; see also Grigson, 1995, and Milevski, 2011: 177-197.

24. Wasse and Rollefson, 2005: sites Wadi Hudruj 3, Wadi Hudruj 7 and Wadi Judhayat Hudruj 2.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 167 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

168 W. ABU-AZIZEH


stored during their transport before being exchanged. The al-Thulaythuwat area is in fact located less than 60 km to the south of the al-Jafr Basin, and the Wadi Abu Meil is a direct com-munication axis leading to the extensive mining region. There is little doubt, therefore, that the Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age herders of the al-Thulaythuwat area were massively engaged in the cortical tool production and diffusion network.

Another similar group of cortical fl akes was discovered to the north-west of Qa’ al-Jafr at the site of Wadi Qusayr 173 (Fujii, 2011). Fifteen cortical fl ake blanks and fi nished prod-ucts of tabular scrapers were grouped in a concentration very similar to what was identifi ed in the al-Thulaythuwat area. Here again, all the artifacts were lying in a compact tumble, suggesting they were originally contained within a bag made of organic material. Along with the high quality of the fl akes assemblage (complete artifacts, large dimensions of the fl akes), this indicates a transport of trade items. The similarities in the number of artifacts grouped together (17 on site TH.058 in the al-Thulaythuwat area, 15 at site Wadi Qusayr 173), may point to some sort of standard exchange unit, the cortical fl akes being traded as “bundle” bags. The fi nd spot of Wadi Qusayr 173 is thought to represent lost property of trade items during their transportation by pastoral nomadic populations towards the sedentary communities of the western agricultural lands of Southern Levant (Fujii, 2011: 10). Indeed, Wadi Qusayr seems to be another natural transportation route linking the al-Jafr Basin to the western highlands of the Jordan plateau. This is also supported by the discovery of a set of six cortical fl akes blanks identifi ed in close association to a cairn burial attrib-uted to the Early Bronze Age period at Tal’at Ubayda, only a few kilometers to the east of Wadi Qusayr.25

Other fi nds provide further evidence for tracing the corti-cal tool trade network in the desert peripheries of the Southern Levant. At Nabi Saleh, a pastoral nomadic camp attributed to the Early Bronze Age II period in Sinai, a bundle of 13 cortical fl akes was identifi ed in a cist tomb construction (Beit-Arieh, 2003: 27 and Fig. 2.24). The fl akes were piled up together and are though to have been originally wrapped in a cloth, possibly as a burial offering. As in the case of similar discoveries at al-Thulaythuwat and northwestern al-Jafr Basin, the fl akes were characterized by their high quality and their unusually large dimensions. A pile of 31 tabular scraper blanks was also found in the funerary tumulus of Eilat VI (Avner, 2002: Fig. 10: 26), and 39 were found in a cairn tomb installation at ‘Ain Yarqa in

25. Fujii, 2005: 33: the 6 tabular scraper blanks were found together outside the enclosure wall of the cairn burial. The direct relation between this fi nd and the funerary remains is thus diffi cult to prove, although very likely.

central Sinai (Rothenberg and Weyer, 1979: 126). These few examples show the use of these artifacts as funerary depos-its in the framework of the pastoral nomadic occupation, thus confi rming their nature as valuable goods to these populations. They furthermore emphasize the extent of this cortical fl ake desert exchange network in the arid margins of the Negev and Sinai, where they could be related to the less intensive exploi-tation uncovered in these areas (Rosen, 1983 and 1997: 109; Kozloff, 1974), or even be integrated in a trade system origi-nating from Southern Jordan with its neighboring regions.

The end of the trade chain is quite obviously represented by the quantities of tabular scrapers collected from the sed-entary sites of the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age peri-ods in the agricultural areas of the Southern Levant. Although it is not the aim of the present discussion to do a review of the tabular scraper occurrences at these sedentary sites, it is worth mentioning the discovery of two collections or groups of tabular scrapers inside a building and in its courtyard at Teleilat al-Ghassul, where they seem to display intra-site dis-tributional patterning (Bourke, 2008: 124, 134; Bourke et al., 2000: 58). At Bab edh-Dhra’, another bundle of tabular scrap-ers was found in the vicinity of an altar in the sanctuary attrib-uted to the Early Bronze Age III period, and according to the microwear analysis these tools are thought to have been used in the context of some butchering activities related to ritual offerings (Mcconaughy, 2003: 498-499; Rast and Schaub, 1980: 31, 53: “Chipped Stone Tools” by Mcconaughy).

In this southeastern desert exchange network, the sites of Tell al-Magass and Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan may be seen as major trade centers for tabular scrapers products. Aside the large amounts of isolated tabular scrapers gathered at Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan,26 these artifacts were also found in several cases grouped together in storage areas of excavated buildings (Khalil et al., 2003: 167). A group of unworked cortical fl akes was also discovered in a storage area of Building A (Khalil et al., 2003: 173; Khalil and Schmidt, 2009: 28 and Fig. 11). The distribution of fi nished tabular scrapers and unretouched cortical fl akes in different storage areas of buildings, grouped together in bundles points to some sort of spatial organization of the craft production related to these products. Similar tabu-lar scrapers and cortical fl ake blanks were found at Maadi in Egypt, where they are seen to be imports from the Southern Levant (Rizkana and Seeher, 1988: Pl. 49-67 and Pl. IV: 1-6; Harrison, 1993: 84). In view of the strong evidence for trade

26. Hikade, 2009: 235-236 and see Table 4: “Cortex Tools” constitute by far the best represented tool type within the fl int assemblage of the site (31.3% of the total assemblage).

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 168 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



Fig. 14 – Selected characteristic tabular scrapers from Chalcolithic/EB pastoral nomadic campsites in al-Thulaythuwat area (a-f) and cortical fl akes bundle cache at site TH.058 (g).

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 169 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

170 W. ABU-AZIZEH


relations between these two sites, it is likely that Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan was also involved in long distance exchange of tabular scrapers, as far as Pre-dynastic Lower Egypt. It is also highly probable that the tabular scraper blanks traded by the popula-tion of Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan were obtained from the massive production centers of al-Jafr area.

Considering the strategic situation of the al-Thulaythuwat area on a direct communication axis between al-Jafr and Aqaba (see above), and the evidence for transport of tabular scraper blanks by the pastoral nomadic groups during their seasonal movements in this region, we could have here some strong clues to link the different steps of production, trans-port, and redistribution in one consistent exchange network. The few elements of radiocarbon dates available could sup-port this idea: two radiocarbon dates obtained from stone enclosure campsites from al-Thulaythuwat match with four of the older dates available from Tell al-Magass and Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan that range across a short 300 year period of time spanning from 4100 to 3800 cal. BC,27 in a Late Chalcolithic or a transitional Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age chronological context.28 Although no radiocarbon dates are available from site TH.058, which provided the cortical fl akes bundle in al-Thulaythuwat, the general chronologi-cal consistency allows us to catch a glimpse of an example of interaction between pastoral nomadic populations and sedentary communities of southern Jordan during the Late Chalcolithic period (fi g. 15).

The new light brought by recent research on this aspect of a desert exchange system is certainly of some interest once integrated into the wider Southern Levant Chalcolithic context. Although craft production during the Chalcolithic period seems to have been largely local (Rowan and Golden, 2009: 49; Bourke, 2008: 143), tabular scraper production is—along with metallurgy—among some of the few exam-ples of specialized manufacturing on intra-regional or even inter-regional scales during this period. Interestingly enough, both these production systems seem to have been essentially controlled by pastoral nomadic populations of the Southern Levant.

27. Radiocarbon dates obtained are 3960-3811 cal. BC for site TH.126 (Pa 2484) and 4221-3975 cal. BC for site TH.161 (Pa 2482), dates calibrated using Oxcal v4.0.5, at 2 Sigma – 95.4% probability. For radiocarbon dates from Tell al-Magass and Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan refer to Görsdorf, 2002 and Klimscha, 2009.

28. The end of the Chalcolithic period is traditionally considered around 3500 cal. BC (Joffe and Dessel, 1995: 514) but see Bourke et al., 2004; Klimscha, 2009 and also Burton and Levy, 2011, for recent discussions on radiocarbon dating arguing on a signifi cantly earlier date for the tran-sitional phase of Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age.

Our aim is therefore to underline the crucial character of pastoral nomadic communities acting as catalysts in the developmental process of the southern Levantine protohis-toric societies. Obviously there was nothing marginal about these populations but their geographical environment, and they seem to have been fully involved in the socio-economy of the wider Southern Levant (Philip, 2008: 191-192). It has been suggested that during the Chalcolithic period, rather than centralized production or élite control over production, the evidence instead supports the possibility that different communities specialized in specifi c craft production, thereby contributing to the integration of the different resources of the sub-cultural regions of the southern Levantine Chalcolithic.29 We believe that the desert production and exchange system described here fi ts well into such a model, and that pastoral nomadic groups of Southern Jordan represented one impor-tant segment of this polymorphic socio-economic organi-zation. The production and exchange of the fl int industry in the arena of the pastoral nomadic subsistence strategies could match a “down the line” pattern (Milevski, 2011: 105; Bourke, 2008: 145), governed by the seasonal mobility of the desert populations and relayed by outpost or gateway sed-entary settlements emerging in buffer zones at close contact with different environmental areas (i.e. the agricultural lands and the arid margins). It is moreover likely that pastoral nomadic populations engaged in a range of other production activities that left little evidence in the archaeological record. The Wadi Arabah, for instance, provides several valuable natural resources of which bitumen and salt could well have been exchanged at least as early as the Chalcolithic period (MacDonald, 2006: 78). Among other products, aromatic or medicinal herbs, ostrich egg shells and local stones are some which could have come as well from the remote southeast-ern desert (Wasse and Rollefson, 2005: 11). The mobility and the conquest of new territories with their specifi c resources would be the key factors of the development of such a produc-tion and exchange system by the pastoral nomadic people, leading to strong interaction with the sedentary communities of the protohistoric Southern Levant.

29. Rowan and Golden, 2009: 50: the following examples are mentioned: olives seem to have been processed in highland locales while they where also found in sites such as Gilat or Tuleilat al-Ghassul, basalt bowls may have been produced in the Golan region where the natural resource was available and redistributed to more distant areas. See Philip, 2008: 184, for a similar idea of regionally-specialized economy in the Early Bronze Age context.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 170 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



CONCLUSION

The recent interest in the study of the southeastern desert of Jordan has provided an abundance of information highlight-ing a hitherto unsuspected pastoral nomadic occupation phe-nomenon that extended far into the remote areas of these arid margins at least as early as the Chalcolithic period. Although the identifi ed remains are scanty and the material culture rela-tively limited, a thorough study demonstrates a great diversity in the campsite organizations related to this pastoral nomadic way of life. A comparison of the micro-regional case study of the al-Thulaythuwat area, located in a hyperarid environment at the boundary of the deeper east, with the data provided by the region of Ras en-Naqb, underlines the coexistence of two distinct mobility systems within a pastoral nomadic land use close to the pattern described by ethnographic and historical records. The full involvement of the pastoral nomadic popula-tions in the remote desert is moreover emphasized by the diver-sity of the alternative transhumant strategies as evidenced by exploiting almost every ecological niche available for its spe-cifi c environmental characteristics. Such a complexity of the

settlement pattern is the result of a long evolutionary occupa-tion phenomenon and the progressive development of the pas-toral nomadic way of life which seems to take its roots in the Late Neolithic in southeastern Jordan.30 Its growth eventually was based on a series of underlying changes, among which the exploitation of secondary products of animal husbandry, cli-mate amelioration, and the use of donkeys as beasts of burden are some necessary conditions that permitted the conquest of such remote areas. In turn, transhumance patterns and sea-sonal migrations induced the setting of a network of circula-tion corridors in these newly exploited territories, governed by the availability of water, but also by funerary or ceremonial focal centers as fi xing points that expressed territoriality and tribal identity.

Although this development of pastoral nomadism seems to be the manifestation of a specifi c and somehow separate trajectory of the evolution of southern Levantine protohistoric

30. W. Abu-Azizeh: communication presented during the workshop Current Research on Protohistoric Settlement in Desert Areas of Jordan, held at Wadi Musa, July 2011, and forthcoming publication of the workshop pro-ceedings.

Fig. 15 – Composite map of the Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age I cortex tools desert production and exchange network in southern arid margins of Jordan.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 171 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

172 W. ABU-AZIZEH


societies, it achieved at one point—probably starting from the later part of the Chalcolithic period—to become fully integrated into the region-wide established socio-economic system. Patterns of mobility and the exploitation of specifi c desert natural resources by specialization of part of the pasto-ral nomadic population are the key factors leading to the strong interaction in this step of the evolutionary process. The case of cortical tool production, transport and exchange provides an extraordinarily vivid testimony for such interactions. The emergence of gateway sedentary settlements in buffer zones in close contact between the desert and the sown, as materialized by the site of Tell Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan in Southern Jordan, crystallizes the rise of original responses to the new socio-economic equilibrium resulting from this impulse at the onset of the Early Bronze Age.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The fi eldwork in the al-Thulaythuwat area, of which some of the results have been highlighted in this paper, has been organized in the

context of a joint French-Jordanian scientifi c project. It received a fi nancial support by the IFPO (Institut Français du Proche-Orient), CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifi que) and the Fac-ulty of Archaeology of al-Hussein Bin Talal University. I would like to express my thanks to the Department of Antiquities of Jordan for its trust and the permission to undertake the surveys and excavations in this remote area of Southern Jordan. This work would have been impossible without the involvement of my colleagues from the Univer-sity al-Hussein Bin Talal in the project: Dr. M. Tarawneh, Dr. F. Abu-danah, Dr. Saad Twaissi, M.A. al-Salameen and Dr. Z. al- Salameen. I want to thank them for their enthusiasm and their dedication under the diffi cult conditions that can sometimes arise with work in a desert environment. I am also deeply indebted to G. Dollfus for her constant support and advice during my research. My thanks goes fi nally to V. Roux for having given the opportunity to express some aspects of the results of the study in this paper, and to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments to improve the initial draft.

Wael ABU-AZIZEHUMR 7041 ArScAn - VEPMO

Du Village à l’État au Proche et Moyen-OrientMaison René-Ginouvès, 92023 Nanterre cedex – FRANCE

[email protected]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABU-AZIZEH W.

2010 Occupation et mise en valeur des périphéries désertiques du Proche-Orient au Chalcolithique/Bronze ancien: Le cas de la région de al-Thulaythuwat dans le sud de la Jordanie, Thèse non publiée de l’Université de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines: USQ.

2011a Mise en valeur et aménagement des marges arides du Sud jor-danien aux IVe-IIIs mill. av. J.-C.: cercles de pierres et “murets-barrières” de la région de al-Thulaythuwat. Syria 88: 93-110.

2011b Structures cultuelles et funéraires des IVe-IIIe millénaires dans le sud jordanien désertique: l’occupation de la région de Al-Thulaythuwat. In: STEIMER-HERBET T. (éd.), Pierres levées, stèles anthropomorphes et dolmens: 21-39. Lyon, Oxford (MOM; BAR Int. Ser. 2317).

ADAMS R. and GENZ H.

1995 Excavations at Wadi Fidan 4: A Chalcolithic Village Complex in the Copper Ore District of Faynan, Southern Jordan. Palestine Exploration Quaterly 127: 8-20.

AMIRAN R.

1970 The Beginning of Urbanization in Canaan. In: SANDERS J.A. (ed.), Near Eastern Archaeology in the Twentieth Century, Essays in Honor of Nelson Glueck: 83-100. Garden City, New York : Doubleday.

AMIRAN R. and ILAN O.

1996 Early Arad II The Chalcolithic and Early Bronze IB Settlements and the Early Bronze II City: Architecture and Town Planning Sixth to Eighteenth Seasons of Excavations, 1971-1978, 1980-1984. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.

AMIRAN R., BEIT-ARIEH I. and GLASS J.

1973 The Interrelationship between Arad and Sites in the Southern Sinai in the Early Bronze Age II. Israel Exploration Journal 23: 193-197.

ANATI E.

1993 Har Karkom in the Light of the New Discoveries. Capo di Ponte: Studi Camuni.

AVNER U.

2002 Studies in the Material and Spiritual Culture of the Negev and Sinai Populations, During the 6th – 3rd Millennia B.C. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Jerusalem: Hebrew University.

AVNER U. and CARMI I.

2001 Settlement Patterns in the Southern Levant Deserts during the 6th-3rd Millennia B.C.: A Revision Based on 14C Dating. Radiocarbon 43,3: 1203-1216.

AVNER U., CARMI I. and SEGAL D.

1994 Neolithic to Bronze Age Settlement of the Negev and Sinai in Light of Radiocarbon Dating : A View from the Southern Negev. In: BAR-YOSEF O. and KRA R.S. (eds.), Late Quaternary Chronology and Paleoclimates of the Eastern Mediterranean: 265-300. Tucson and Cambridge: Radiocarbon and American School of Prehistoric Research.

BEIT-ARIEH I.

1978 A Canaanite Site Near Sheikh Mukhsen. Expedition 20,4: 8-11.1981 A Pattern of Settlement in Southern Sinai and Southern Canaan

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 172 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



in the Third Millennium B.C. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 243: 31-55.

1986 Two Cultures in Southern Sinai in the Third Millennium B.C. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 263: 27-54.

2003 Archaeology of Sinai The Ophir Expedition. Tel Aviv: Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology.

BENECKE N.

2009 Faunal Remains of Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan (Excavations 2000-2004), In: KHALIL L. and SCHMIDT K. (eds.): 339-354.

BETTS A.V.G.

1991 Excavations at Jawa 1972-86: Stratigraphy, Pottery and Other Finds. Edinburgh: E.U.P.

BOURKE S.J.

2008 The Chalcolithic Period. In: ADAMS R.B. (ed.), Jordan: An Archaeological Reader: 109-160. London, Oakville, CT: Equi nox Pub.

BOURKE S.J., ZOPPI U., MEADOWS J., HUA Q. and GIBBINS S.

2004 The End of the Chalcolithic Period in the South Jordan Valley: New 14C Determinations from Teleilat Ghassul, Jordan. Radiocarbon 46,1: 315-323.

BOURKE S.J., LOVELL J., SPARKS R., SEATON P., MAIRS L. and MEADOWS J.

2000 A Second and Third Season of Renewed Excavation by the Uni-versity of Sydney at Tulaylat al-Ghassul (1995-1997). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 44: 37-90.

BRAEMER F.

2011 Badia and Maamoura, the Jawlan/Hawran Regions during the Bronze Age: Landscapes and Hypothetical Territories. Syria 88: 31-46.

BRAEMER F., ECHALLIER J.-C. et TARAQJI A.

2004 Khirbet el Umbashi. Villages et campements de pasteurs dans le Désert Noir (Syrie) à l’âge du Bronze. Beyrouth : Institut français du Proche-Orient (BAH 171).

BRÜCKNER H., EICHMANN R., HERLING L., KALLWEIT H., KERNER S., KHALIL L. and MIQDALI R.

2002 Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Sites Near ‘Aqaba, Jordan. In: EICHMANN R. (Hrsg.), Ausgrabungen und Surveys im Vor -de ren Orient I. Rahden: Verlag Marie Leidorf (Orient-Archäo-logie 5).

BURTON M.M. and LEVY T.E.

2011 The End of the Chalcolithic Period (4500-3600 BC) in the Northern Negev Desert, Israel. In: LOVELL J.L. and ROWAN Y.M. (eds.), Culture, Chronology and the Chalcolithic. Theory and Transition: 178-191. Oxford, Oakville: Oxbow Books (CBRL; Levant Supplementary Series 9).

CHAPMAN J.

1983 The “Secondary Products Revolution” and the Limitations of the Neolithic. Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology 19: 107-122.

CLARK G., NEELEY M., MACDONALD B., SCHULDENREIN J. and ‘AMR K.

1992 Wadi al-Hasa Paleolithic Project – 1992: preliminary report. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 36: 13-23.

CLARK G., OLSZEWSKI D., SCHULDENREIN J., RIDA N. and EIGHMEY J.

1994 Survey and Excavation in the Wadi al-Hasa: a preliminary report of the 1993 field season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 38: 41-55.

CORDOVA C.E.

2007 Millennial Landscape Change in Jordan: Geoarchaeology and Cultural Ecology. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press.

CRIBB R.

1991 Nomads in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

EDDY F.W. and WENDORF F.

1999 An Archaeological Investigation of the Central Sinai. Cairo: American Center in Egypt Inc. Research.

EPSTEIN C.

1985 Laden Animal Figurines from the Chalcolithic Period in Pales-tine. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 258: 53-62.

FINKELSTEIN I.

1990 Early Arad Urbanism of Nomads. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 106: 34-50.

1995 Living on the Fringe: the Archaeology of the Negev, Sinai and the Neighbouring Regions in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press (Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 6).

FUJII S.

1998 Qa’Abu Tulayha West: An Interim Report of the 1997 Season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 42: 123-140.

1999 Qa’ Abu Tulayha West: An Interim Report of the 1998 Season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 43: 69-89.

2000 Qa’ Abu Tulayha West: An Interim Report of the 1999 Season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 44: 149-171.

2001 Qa’ Abu Tulayha West, 2000: An Interim Report of the Fourth Season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 45: 19-37.

2003 Qa’ Abu Tulayha West, 2002: An Interim Report of the Sixth and Final Season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 47: 195-223.

2005 Wadi Burma North, Tal’at ‘Ubayda, and Wadi Qusayr: A pre-liminary report of the Jafr Basin Prehistoric Project, 2004. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 49: 17-56.

2011 “Lost Property” at Wadi Qusayr 173: Evidence for the Transportation of Tabular Scrapers in the Jafr Basin, Southern Jordan. Levant 43,1: 1-14.

GATES M.-H.

1992 Nomadic pastoralists and the Chalcolithic hoard from Nahal Mishmar. Levant 24: 131-139.

GEBEL H.G.K. and MAHASNEH H.

2009 Petroglyphs and Sepulchral Contexts: Preliminary Note on Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age Findings at Qulban Beni Murra, Wadi as-Sahab al-Abyad. Journal of Epigraphy and Rock Drawings 3: 1-9.

GEBEL H.G.K., MAHASNEH H., KEILHOLZ P. and BAUMGARTEN J.

2011 Life at the Edge: Sepulchral, Hydraulic and Pastoral Land Use in Wadis as-Sahab al-Abyad and al-Asmar, South-Eastern Jordan: Preliminary Report on the Fourth Season of the Eastern Jafr

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 173 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

174 W. ABU-AZIZEH


Joint Archaeological Project, 2010. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55: 537-559.

GILEAD I.

1992 Farmers and Herders in southern Israel during the Chalcolithic period. In: BAR-YOSEF O. and KHAZANOV A. (eds.), Pastoralism in the Levant: 29-42. Wisconsin: Prehistory Press.

2011 Chalcolithic Culture History: Ghassulian and Other Entities in the Southern Levant. In: LOVELL J.L. and ROWAN Y.M. (eds.), Culture, Chronology and the Chalcolithic. Theory and Tran-sition: 12-24. Oxford, Oakville, CT : Oxbow Books (CBRL; Levant Supplementary Series 9).

GÖRSDORF J.

2002 New C14-Datings of Prehistoric Settlements in the South of Jordan. In: EICHMANN R. (Hrsg.), Ausgrabungen und Surveys im Vorderen Orient I: 333-339. Rahden: Verlag Marie Leidorf (Orient-Archäologie 5).

GRIGSON C.

1995 Plough and pasture in the early economy of the southern Levant. In: LEVY T.E. (ed.), The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. London: Leicester University Press.

HARRISON T.P.

1993 Economics with an Entrepreneurial Spirit: Early Bronze Trade with Late Predynastic Egypt. Biblical Archaeologist 56,2: 81-93.

HAUPTMANN A. and WEISGERBER G.

1992 Periods of Ore Exploitation and Metal Production in the Area of Feinan, Wadi ‘Arabah, Jordan. In: ZAGHLOUL M. and ‘AMR K. (eds.), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan vol. IV: 61-66. Amman: Department of Antiquities.

HAUPTMANN A., KHALIL L. and SCHMITT-STRECKER S.

2009 Evidence of Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age I Copper Production from Timna Ores at Tall al-Magass, ‘Aqaba. In: KHALIL L. and SCHMIDT K. (eds.): 295-304.

HELMS S.W.

1981 Jawa, Lost City of the Black Desert. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.

1984 The Land Behind Damascus: Urbanism During the Fourth Millennium in Syria/Palestine. In: KHALIDI T. (ed.), Land Tenure and Social Transformation in the Near East. Beirut: American University of Beirut.

HENRY D.O.

1992 Seasonal Movements of Fourth Millennium Pastoral Nomads in the Wadi Hisma, Southern Jordan. In: ZAGHLOUL M. and ‘AMR K. (eds.), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan, Vol. IV: 137-141. Amman: Department of Antiquities.

1995 Prehistoric Cutltural Ecology and Evolution Insights from Southern Jordan. New York and London: Plenum Press.

HENRY D.O., TURNBULL P., EMERY-BARBIER A. and LEROI-GOURHAN A.

1985 Archaeological and Faunal Evidence from Natufian and Timnian Sites in Southern Jordan, with Notes on Pollen Evi-dence. Bulletin of American Schools of Oriental Research 257: 45-64.

HENRY D.O., BAUER H.A., KERRY K.W., BEAVER J.E. and WHITE J.J.

2001 Survey of Prehistoric Sites, Wadi Araba, Southern Jordan. Bulletin of American Schools of Oriental Research 323: 1-19.

HILL J.B.

2000 Decision Making at the Margins: Settlement Trends, Temporal Scale, and Ecology in the Wadi al Hasa, West-Central Jordan. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 19: 221-241.

2004 Land Use and an Archaeological Perspective on Socio-Natural Studies in the Wadi Al-Hasa, West-Central Jordan. American Antiquity 69,3: 389-412.

HIKADE T.

2009 The Lithic Industry at Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan – Campaigns 2000-2003. In: KHALIL L. and SCHMIDT K. (eds.): 233-246.

HIRTH K.G.

1978 Interregional Trade and the Formation of Prehistoric Gateway Communities. American Antiquity 43,1: 35-45.

ILAN O. and SEBBANE M.

1989 Copper Metallurgy, Trade and the Urbanization of Southern Canaan in the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. In: MIROSCHEDJI P. DE (éd.), L’Urbanisation de la Palestine à l’âge du Bronze ancien: 139-162. Oxford (BAR Int. Ser. 527).

JOBLING W.J.

1981 Preliminary Report on the Archaeological Survey Between Ma’an and Aqaba. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 25: 105-111.

1982 Aqaba-Ma’an Survey, Jan-Fev 1981. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 26: 199-209.

JOFFE A.H. and DESSEL J.P.

1995 Redefining Chronology and Terminology for the Chalcolithic of the Southern Levant. Current Anthropology 36,3: 507-518.

KHALIL L. and SCHMIDT K. (eds.)

2009 Prehistoric ‘Aqaba I. Berlin (Orient-Archäologie 23).

KHALIL L., EICHMANN R. and SCHMIDT K.

2003 Archaeological Survey and Excavations at the Wadi Al-Yutum and Al-Magass Area – Al-‘Aqaba (ASEYM): A Preliminary Report on the Third and Fourth Seasons Excavations at Tall Hujayrat Al-Ghuzlan in 2002 and 2003, Wadi Al-Yutum. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 47: 159-182.

KHAZANOV A.M.

1984 Nomads and the Outside World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

KIRKBRIDE D.

1969 Khirbet Risqeh. Revue Biblique 67: 232-235.

KLIMSCHA F.

2009 Radiocarbon Dates from Prehistoric ‘Aqaba and Other Rela ted Sites from the Chalcolithic Period. In: KHALIL L. and SCHMIDT K. (eds.): 363-402.

KOZLOFF B.

1974 A Brief Note on the Lithic Industries of Sinai. Museum Haaretz Yearbook 15-16: 35-49.

LANCASTER W. and LANCASTER F.

1991 Limitations on sheep and goat herding in the eastern badia of Jordan: an ethno-archaeological enquiry. Levant 23: 125-138.

LEVY T.E. and SHALEV S.

1989 Prehistoric Metalworking in the Southern Levant: Archaeo-metallurgical and Social Perspectives. World Archaeology 20,3: 352-372.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 174 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT



LEVY T.E., ADAMS R.B., WITTEN A.J., ANDERSON J., ARBEL Y., KUAH S., MORENO J., LO A. and WAGONNER M.

2001 Early Metallurgy, Interaction, and Social Change: The Jabal Hamrat Fidan (Jordan) Research Design and 1998 Archaeo-logical Survey: Preliminary Report. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 45: 159-188.

MACDONALD B.

1988 The Wadi el Hasa Archaeological Survey 1979-1983, West-Central Jordan. Waterloo (Ontario): Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

1992 The Southern Ghors and Northeast ‘Arabah Archaeological Survey. Sheffield: University of Sheffield.

2006 The Southern Ghors and North-east Arabah: Resources, Sites and Routes. In: BIENKOWSKI P. and GALOR K. (eds.), Crossing the Rift: Resources, routes, settlement patterns and interaction in the Wadi Arabah: 75-90. Oxford and Oakville: CBRL and Oxbow Books (Levant Supplementary Series 3).

MACDONALD B., CLARK G.A., NEELEY M., ADAMS R. and GREGORY M.

1987 Southern Ghors and Northeast ‘Arabah Archaeological Survey 1986, Jordan: A Preliminary Report. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 31: 391-418.

MAHASNEH H. and GEBEL H.G.K.

2009 The Eastern Jafr Joint Archaeological Project The 2001 and 2006 Surveys in Wadi as-Sahab al-Abyad, Southeastern Jordan. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 53: 465-478.

MCCONAUGHY M.A.

2003 Chipped Stone Tools at Bab Edh-Dhra. In: RAST W.E. and SCHAUB R.T. (eds.), Bab Edh-Dhra’: Excavations at the Town Site (1975-1981), Part 1: Text, Part 2: Plates and Appendixes: 473-512. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

MILEVSKI I.

2011 Early Bronze Age Goods Exchange in the Southern Levant: A Marxist Perspective. London, Oakville: Equinox Publishing.

MÜLLER-NEUHOF B.

2006 Tabular scraper quarry sites in the Wadi ar-Ruwayshid region (N/E Jordan). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50: 373–383.

NICOLLE C.

2011 Entre Symbiose et autarcie: les établissements fixes des pasteurs du Harra à l’âge du Bronze. Syria 88 : 75-92.

OVADIA E.

1992 The Domestication of the Ass and Pack Transport by Animals: A Case of Technological Change. In: BAR-YOSEF O. and KHAZANOV A. (eds.), Pastoralism in the Levant, Archaeological materials in Anthropological Perspectives: 19-28. Wisconsin: James Knight.

PAPALAS C.A., EIGHMEY J.D. and CLARK G.A.

1997 Rock Rings: a Preliminary Report on Chalcolithic and EB I Settlement in the Wadi Hasa Drainage, West-Central Jordan. In: GEBEL H.G.K., KAFAFI Z. and ROLLEFSON G.O. (eds.), The Prehistory of Jordan, II. Perspectives from 1997. Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence, and Environment 4: 429-439. Berlin: Ex Oriente.

PFEIFFER K.

2009 The Technical Ceramic for Metallurgical Activities in Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan and Comparable Sites in the Southern Levant. In: KHALIL L. and SCHMIDT K. (eds.): 305-338.

PHILIP G.

2008 The Early Bronze Age I-III. In: ADAMS R.B. (ed.), Jordan: An Archaeological Reader: 161-226. London, Oakville, CT: Equinox Pub.

QUINTERO L., WILKE P.L. and ROLLEFSON G.O.

2002 From Flint Mine to Fan Scraper: The Late Prehistoric Jafr Indus trial Complex. Bulletin of American Schools of Oriental Research 327: 17-48.

RAIKES T.D.

1980 Notes on some Neolithic and later Sites in Wadi Araba and the Dead Sea Valley. Levant 12: 40-60.

1985 The Character of the Wadi Araba. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan II: 95-101.

RAST W.E. and SCHAUB R.T.

1980 Preliminary Report of the 1979 Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 240: 21-61.

RIZKANA I. and SEEHER J.

1988 Maadi II: The lithic industries of the predynatic settlement. Mainz: von Zabern.

ROLLEFSON G., ROWAN Y. and WASSE A.

2011 The Deep-Time Necropolis at al-Wisad Pools, Eastern Badiya, Jordan. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55: 267-286.

RONEN A.M.

1970 Flint Implements from South Sinai: Preliminary Report. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 100,2: 30-41.

ROSEN S.A.

1983 The tabular scraper trade: A model for material culture disper-sion. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 249: 79-86.

1993 Metals, rocks, specialization, and the beginning of urbanism in the northern Negev. In: BIRAN A. and AVIRAM J. (eds.), Biblical Archaeology Today, 1990. Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Biblical Archaeology, Supplement: 41-56. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.

1997 Lithics after the Stone Age. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press.2011 Desert Chronologies and Periodization Systems. In: LOVELL

J.L. and ROWAN Y.M. (eds.), Culture, Chronology and the Chalcolithic. Theory and Transition: 71-83. Oxford, Oakville: Oxbow Books (CBRL; Levant Supplementary Series 9).

ROTHENBERG B. and GLASS J.

1992 The Beginnings and the Development of Early Metallurgy and the Settlement and Chronology of the Western Arabah, from the Chalcolithic Period to Early Bronze Age IV. Levant 24: 141-157.

ROTHENBERG B. and WEYER H.

1979 Sinai: Pharaohs, Miners, Pilgrims and Soldiers. Washington DC : Binns.

ROWAN Y.M. and GOLDEN J.

2009 The Chalcolithic Period of the Southern Levant: A Synthetic Review. Journal of World Prehistory 22,1: 1-92.

ROWTON M.B.

1974 Enclosed Nomadism. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 17: 1-30.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 175 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

176 W. ABU-AZIZEH


SCHOLZ F., SCHWEIZER G., BAUER F. und WEHLING K.

1992 Vorderer Orient: Nomadismus und andere Formen der Wander-viehwirtschaft. A X-11, scale 1:8 million. Wiesbaden: Reichert (Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients – TAVO).

SEGAL I. and ROSEN S.A.

2005 Copper Among the Nomads: Early Bronze Age Copper Objects from the Camel Site, Central Negev, Israel. Institute for Archaeo-Metallurgical Studies 25: 3-8.

SHERRATT A.

1981 Plough and Pastoralism: Aspects of the Secondary Products Revolution. In: HODDER I., ISAAC G. and HAMMOND N. (eds.), Pattern of the Past: Studies in Honor of David Clarke: 261-305. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

1983 The Secondary Exploitation of Animals in the Old World. World Archaeology 15: 90-104.

SMITH A.M., STEVENS M. and NIEMI T.M.

1997 The Southeast Araba Archaeological Survey: A Preliminary Report of the 1994 Season. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 305: 45-71.

STAUBWASSER M. and WEISS H.

2006 Holocene Climate and Cultural Evolution in the Late Prehistoric-Early Historic West Asia. Quaternary Research 66,3: 372-387.

TARAWNEH M.B.

2007 Pastoral nomadism in the southern Levant during the Chalco-lithic period: New evidence from eastern Bayir. Unpublished PhD Thesis: Sydney, University of Sydney.

TARAWNEH M.B. and ABUDANAH F.Q.

2011 The Eastern Bayir Archaeological Project: Preliminary Report on the 2004, 2005 and 2009 Survey Seasons. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55: 57-72.

WALLIN G.A.

1979 Travels in Arabia 1845 and 1848. Cambridge: Burlington Press.

WASSE A. and ROLLEFSON G.

2005 The Wadi Sirhan Project: Report on the 2002 Archaeological Reconnaissance of Wadi Hudruj and Jabal Tharwa, Jordan. Levant 37: 1-20.

WENINGER B., CLARE L., ROHLING E.J., BAR-YOSEF O., BÖHNER U., BUDJA M., BUNDSCHUH M., FEURDEAN A., GEBEL H.G.K., JÖRIS O., LINSTÄDTER J., MAYEWSKI P., MÜHLENBRUCH T., REINGRUBER A., ROLLEFSON G., SCHYLE D., THISSEN L., TODOROVA H. and ZIELHOFER C.

2009 The Impact of Rapid Climate Change on Prehistoric Societies During the Holocene in the Eastern Mediterranean. Documenta Praehistorica 36: 7-59.

ZARINS J.

1979 Rajajil: A Unique Arabian Site from the Fourth Millennium B.C. Atlal 3: 73-78.

paleorient-39.1_001-224.indb 176 06/06/13 11:14

CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

• CN

RS

ÉD

ITIO

NS

- TI

RÉ

S À

PA

RT

The South-Eastern Jordan's Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age Pastoral Nomadic Complex: Patterns of...

Documents

Transcript of The South-Eastern Jordan's Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age Pastoral Nomadic Complex: Patterns of...