Ghwair I: A Small, Complex Neolithic Community in Southern Jordan

Abstract

The past several years have witnessed exciting developments in defining the transition to food production in the Near East. In particula1; the documentation of large mega-sites has caused considerable revision in our comprehension of the trajectory of early Neolithic village life. At the same time, recent excavations at smaller villages have also provided considerable new data. One such site is Ghwair I, a small but exceptionally preserved Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) village located in the Wadi Feinan of southern Jordan.This paper summarizes the results of interdisciplinary archaeological investigations at Ghwair I, One of the project's primary research objectives was to examine if a “rural” and “turban” (or “core/periphery”) distinction could be made between Ghwair I and mega-sites. Our findings suggest that Ghwair I was not a peripheral village linked to larger sites. Rathe1; it was an unexpectedly complex settlement that may have served as a local regional center. we also sought to precisely define the site's chronology, artifactual variability, village development, and social structure. Our results show that Ghwair I isfirmly dated to the Middle PPNB; that artifactual diversity and variability is considerable, especially amongst chipped and ground stone; that the village became increasingly complex throughout its occupation; and that social o1lJanization was sophisticated as reflected by artifacts, burials and both residential and non-residential architectural features. Finally, initiated an ecologicalstudy to determine if small settlements such as Ghwair I caused the same negative efficts as have been proposed for some larger sites. The evidence here is ambiguous, but does not suggest the same degree of human effict as at larger settlements. This paper concludes with a discussion of Ghwair I's place within the wider Neolithic world.