Villages on the Periphery: Neolithic Adaptations at Ghwair I, Southern Jordan

在国家科学基金会的支持下，艾伦·西蒙斯博士将在位于约旦中部瓦迪费南地区的Ghwair I遗址进行为期两个季节的考古研究。该遗址的年代可以追溯到公元前7,350-6,000年前的新石器时代B(PPNB)时期。遗址面积很小，占地约1.5英亩，因此很可能代表着一个村庄。它至少有四个建筑阶段，沉积深度超过3米，保存壮观。包含窗户和门道的墙壁被保存到2米以上的高度。动物遗迹以及陶器和石器也很丰富。世界的一般时期和地区很重要，因为它记录了新石器时代革命的早期阶段，当时村庄生活首次出现，家养动植物最初提供了主要的生存来源。一些较大的“城市”PPNB网站已经被调查过，但这些网站很可能不是这个时期的典型。Ghwair I的小发掘将揭示这个社会鲜为人知的一面。由于该遗址位于边缘环境区域，它还将为生存适应提供一个新的视角。在两个野外季节，西蒙斯博士和他的合作者将挖掘大片区域，揭示村庄布局的细节，并将分析文化材料以及动植物遗迹。还将进行区域现场调查，地貌分析将追踪过去环境的变化。考古学家已经意识到，在“简单”的社会中，不能孤立地研究遗址。它们构成了大型社会系统的一部分，这些系统在经济和政治上是一体化的，个别地点可以发挥特殊的功能。西蒙斯博士的研究很重要，因为它采用了这种更广泛的视角，并将填补这幅图景中一个关键的缺失部分。他推测，Ghwair I尽管面积很小，但实际上是一个精英聚居地。他还认为，由于环境退化，该地点以及PPNB的许多其他职业都被放弃了。这项研究很重要，因为它将提供许多考古学家感兴趣的数据。它将为包括我们自己在内的复杂社会是如何出现的提供新的线索。

With National Science Foundation support Dr. Alan Simmons will conduct two seasons of archaeological research at the site Ghwair I which is located in the Wadi Feinan region in central Jordan. The site is dated to the pre Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period from ca. 7,350 - 6,000 B.C. The site is small, covers an estimated 1.5 acres, and thus likely represents a village. It contains at least four architectural phases in over 3 meters depth of deposit and preservation is spectacular. Walls containing windows and doorways are preserved to over 2 meters in height. Faunal remains as well as ceramics and worked stone tools are also abundant. The general time period and region of the world is important because it documents an early stage in the Neolithic Revolution, when village life first emerged and domestic plants and animals first provided the major source of subsistence. A number of larger `urban` PPNB sites have been examined but these likely are not typical of this period. The small Ghwair I excavation will shed light on a little known aspect of this society. Because the site is located in a marginal environmental area it will also provide a new perspective on subsistence adaptation. During the two field seasons Dr. Simmons and his collaborators will excavate large areas to reveal details of village layout and will analyze the cultural materials as well as faunal and floral remains. An areal site survey will also be conducted and geomorphological analysis will trace changes in past environments. Archaeologists have come to realize that within `simple` societies, sites cannot be studied in isolation. They form parts of large social systems which are economically and politically integrated and that individual sites may serve specialized functions. Dr. Simmons' research is important because it takes this broader perspective and will fill in a crucial missing portion of the picture. He postulates that Ghwair I , despite its small size was, in fact, an elite settlement. He also believes that the site, as well as many other PPNB occupations was abandoned because of environmental degradation. This research is important because it will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will shed new light on how complex societies, including our own, emerged.