The bird remains from WF16, an early Neolithic settlement in southern Jordan: Assemblage composition, chronology and spatial distribution

Judith White,Fares Khoury,Ben Greet,Steven Mithen,Cheryl Makarewicz,Bill Finlayson

doi:10.1002/oa.3016

Abstract

AbstractExcavations at the early Neolithic settlement of WF16 in Faynan, southern Jordan, 11.84–10.24 ka BP, recovered 17,700 bird bones, of which 7808 could be identified to at least family level. Sixty‐three different bird taxa are present from 18 families, representing a mix of resident and migrant birds, based on present‐day ecology. We describe the settlement context for the assemblage, its taxonomic composition, spatial and chronological distribution, identifying its similarities and differences to avian assemblages from broadly contemporary sites in the region.

Highlights

The emergence of the Neolithic in SW Asia was a gradual process between 20,000 and 8000 years ago, with a intense period of change during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period, ca. 12,000–10,000 years ago (Goring-Morris & Belfer-Cohen, 2011)
We describe the settlement context for the assemblage, its taxonomic composition, spatial and chronological distribution, identifying its similarities and differences to avian assemblages from broadly contemporary sites in the region
We have provided the context for the assemblage, its taxonomic composition, chronological and spatial distribution

Summary

Introduction

The emergence of the Neolithic in SW Asia was a gradual process between 20,000 and 8000 years ago, with a intense period of change during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period, ca. 12,000–10,000 years ago (Goring-Morris & Belfer-Cohen, 2011). Avian assemblages tend to be small, an exception being that from the Late Natufian of Shubayqa 1 in northeast Jordan with 3090 NISP (Number of Identified Specimens; Yeomans & Richter, 2018) Those from Hallan Çemi in the northern Levant (Zeder & Spitzer, 2016), Netiv Hagdud (Tchernov, 1994) and Ohalo (Simmons & Nadel, 1998) in the southern Levant have just over 1000 NISPs (1154, 1138 and 1350, respectively) while significantly smaller assemblages have been recovered from An Darat (n = 24), Fazel VI (n = 31), Salabiya IX (n = 72) and Gilgal (n = 51) (Howitz et al, 2010; Simmons, 2004). Considering the multitude of taphonomic factors that influence avian assemblages, many of which are especially fragile, and the range of potential people–bird relationships that might have existed, drawing robust inferences from such collections is problematic

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion