Milestones for a tentative chronological framework for the late prehistoric colonization of the basalt desert (north-eastern Jordan)

Abstract

The discovery, in recent years, of a number of Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age hillfort sites east of Jawa, provides a new perspective on settlement activities in the hinterland of Jawa. Recent surveys and soundings at two of these hillfort sites, namely Tulul al-Ghusayn and Khirbet al-Ja'bariya, have provided a series of AMS dates which are considered here in relation to the recently published first set of AMS dates from Jawa itself. Of particular importance are the fortification systems at these settlements, which (may) provide new insights into the evolution of fortifications in the late prehistory of South-west Asia.