The Analysis of Mammalian bones from Basta, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Jordan : problems and potential

Abstract

Recent excavations at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic В site of Basta (area of Petra, Jordan) have yielded a large number of animal bones (about 100 000 specimens) which date to the 7th millennium B.C. and represent mainly refuse from slaughter and consumption. Archaeozoological analyses have revealed some unexpected preliminary results : the economy at Basta was above all based on caprine husbandry ; hunting activities concentrated on gazelle, onager, African wild ass and a variety of other ungulates. The faunal assemblage exhibits the existence and exploitation of various different biotopes with their specific faunas in the vicinity of the settlement : flat, semi-arid steppes, hilly regions, wadis with fringe forest and mountainous areas. The results achieved can fill some gaps in the data, concerning our knowledge about the process of domestication, the earlier distribution of some species of ungulates and the economy in an early village-site in this southern part of the Levant.