Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze I Transition Settlements in the Middle Jordan Valley: Investigating Alluvial Sequences as a Chronostratigraphical Framework, and Cycles as a Social Organising Component

Abstract

Recent palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data from the Middle Jordan Valley give evidence of important geomorphic modifications during the Late Chalcolithic and the early beginning of the Bronze Age. Significant human settling/ resettling activities were also identified during this period and found to be concurrent with these modifi cations. A major phase of cutting-down, followed by the development of wide floodplains at the foot of escarpments and on the banks of the Wadi Zarqa, appears to mark the chronological limit between settlements displaying the classic Late Chalcolithic “ Ghassulian” culture material, and others from the Late Chalcolithic/ Early Bronze I (EBI) horizon. Some sites of “ pure Ghassulian” culture might have coexisted with the new settlements and their mixed culture material. These changes in the natural and cultural landscapes of the study region were preceded by a period of prolonged drought, which might have been the regional expression of the worldwide cold and dry event of around 5500 14C BP.