Abstract
Shubayqa 1 is a newly identified early and late Natufian site in the harra desert of northeastern Jordan. In addition to buildings, and rich chipped stone, faunal, and botanical assemblages, the site has produced a large collection of ground stone tools. This paper presents the result of a preliminary study of the ground stone artefacts associated with the late Natufian phase. Results indicate that while the assemblage is overall very similar to other Natufian sites in the Mediterranean zone, there are also some notable differences. Although grinding rather than pounding tools appear to be more important at the site, many tools were seemingly involved in both grinding and pounding activities. We hypothesize that this dual function could be explained by the processing of rhizome tubers, which were found in abundance at the site, and which may have represented an important food source for the inhabitants. In addition, we argue that the relationship between ground stone tools and cereal processing has been overemphasized and the processing of other plant food resources, in this case tubers could have been equally significant. While the processing of plant foods was one function, many tools are also associated with pigment stains, suggesting that they were involved in the processing of non-vegetal matter.
Highlights
One of the key characteristics of the Late Epipalaeolithic in the Levant is the proliferation of ground stone tools, at Natufian sites (Bar-Yosef 1998; BelferCohen 1991; Wright 1991; 1994; Belfer-Cohen & Hovers 2005)
In this paper we provide a preliminary overview of the ground stone tool assemblage from the late Natufian phase at Shubayqa 1, which is situated in the harra desert of northeast Jordan (Richter et al 2012; 2014)
We primarily focus on the late Natufian ground stone tools from Shubayqa 1
Summary
One of the key characteristics of the Late Epipalaeolithic in the Levant is the proliferation of ground stone tools, at Natufian sites (Bar-Yosef 1998; BelferCohen 1991; Wright 1991; 1994; Belfer-Cohen & Hovers 2005). Only four Late Epipalaeolithic sites were excavated in eastern Jordan: Azraq 18 (Garrard 1991; Garrard & Byrd 2013: 291-297), Wadi Jilat 22 (Garrard & Byrd 1992, 2013: 224-235), Khallat Anaza (Betts 1991; 1998) and Bawab al-Ghazal (Rollefson et al 1999) All of these sites, apart from Wadi Jilat 22, can be readily recognised as Natufian occupations (see Richter & Maher 2013 for a more detailed discussion). Recent work in the Qa' Shubayqa area has demonstrated that substantial Natufian settlements existed in this region but, that some of these date back to the Early Natufian and were continuously occupied (Richter et al 2014)
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