Risk, Reliability and Resilience: Phytolith Evidence for Alternative 'Neolithization' Pathways at Kharaneh IV in the Azraq Basin, Jordan.

Monica N Ramsey,Danielle A Macdonald,Arlene Rosen,Lisa A Maher,John P Hart

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164081

Monica N Ramsey, Danielle A Macdonald + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164081

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Abstract

‘Neolithization’ pathway refers to the development of adaptations that characterized subsequent Neolithic life, sedentary occupations, and agriculture. In the Levant, the origins of these human behaviors are widely argued to have emerged during the Early Epipaleolithic (ca. 23 ka cal BP). Consequently, there has been a pre-occupation with identifying and modeling the dietary shift to cereal and grains during this period, which is considered to have been a key development that facilitated increasing sedentism and, eventually, agriculture. Yet, direct evidence of plant use in the form of macrobotanical remains is extremely limited at Epipaleolithic sites and the expected ‘Neolithization’ pathway has not been robustly demonstrated. However, new direct microbotanical phytolith evidence from the large aggregation site of Kharaneh IV, in the Azraq Basin, suggests that increasingly settled occupation was not the result of wild grass and cereal use, but rather the result of a typical hunter-gatherer balance, based on the use of mostly reliable resources supplemented by some risky resources. Moreover, and illustrating this balance, the direct botanical evidence emphases the importance of the wetlands as an under-recognized reliable plant resource. Significantly, the use of these reliable wetland plant resources at Kharaneh IV represents an unexpected ‘Neolithization’ pathway.

Highlights

The complex dynamics of people-plant interactions intrinsic to hunter-gatherer adaptations were central to the development of the ‘Neolithic’ lifestyle
We argue that the evidence demonstrates these people employed a resilient plant use strategy that focused on the selection of risky and reliable resources, which may have facilitated their increasingly sedentary lifestyle and, represents the origins of an alternative and unexpected ‘Neolithization’ pathway
The plant use evidence suggests that increasing sedentism, a key component of later ‘Neolithic’ lifestyles, at Kharaneh IV was borne out of a rational balance typical of huntergatherer adaptations [41,42,43], between the use of risky resources found in the surrounding steppe/parkland landscape and the use of reliable resources found in the wetland landscape, where the site was established

Summary

Introduction

The complex dynamics of people-plant interactions intrinsic to hunter-gatherer adaptations were central to the development of the ‘Neolithic’ lifestyle. The plant use evidence suggests that increasing sedentism, a key component of later ‘Neolithic’ lifestyles, at Kharaneh IV was borne out of a rational balance typical of huntergatherer adaptations [41,42,43], between the use of risky resources (i.e. wild cereals, grasses and other seasonal resources) found in the surrounding steppe/parkland landscape and the use of reliable resources (i.e. sedges and reeds) found in the wetland landscape, where the site was established This strategy was resilient because by ‘hedging their bets’ on the year-round larder of the wetland, and foraging strategically beyond the safety it afforded, the inhabitants at Kharaneh IV were able to aggregate in large groups and settle for longer than ever before in one place, facilitating the development of a rich social and material existence. This understanding of hunter-gatherer adaptation in combination with direct botanical evidence suggests an alternative ‘Neolithization’ pathway at Kharaneh IV

Methods

Laboratory Methods

Results and Discussion

Conclusions