Investigations on the Early Neolithic period in the southern Levant. Mushash 163: a site of the late PPNA / early PPNB in the western Badia / Jordan

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Studies on the Early Neolithic in the Southern Levant. Mushash 163: a late PPNA / early PPNB site in the Western Badia / Jordan The early Neolithic site of Mushash 163 was discovered during the Qasr Mushash survey and was investigated during two short seasons of excavations in 2014/2015. The site is located 40 km east of Amman near the Early Islamic site of Qasr Mushash in the limestone region of the western badia. It consists of more than 30 round structures which were detected through geophysical prospecting. As the excavations have shown they should be defined as round houses of semi-subterranean type. During the excavations three houses were partly resp. completely uncovered. The completely excavated building is characterized by several special features: some post-like standing stones, cup holes in the stones of the walls and an arrow-shaped anthropomorphic figure in front of a wall. Among the lithic finds a number of borers and points of el-Khiam and Helwan type are to be mentioned. Several 14C data point to the time span between 8800 and 8500 cal BC, i.e. the late PPNA/early PPNB, a period which is not very well known until now. However, it is of specific significance since it seems to be the initial stage of plant domestication. Motza VI, Horvat Galil, Zahrat edh-Dhra 2, Tall Qarassa and Tall Aswad are the most important sites of these periods known so far in the Mediterranean zone. In the eastern desert of the badia it is only Shubayqa 6 where surface finds indicate a settlement of the PPNA, and Wadi Jilat 7, 40 km to the south of Mushash 163, where levels of the early PPNB were discovered. Research at Mushash 163 will contribute tremendously to the current knowledge of this important period by investigating the subsistance strategies, the type of settlement and symbolic aspects. Due to the numerous illegal excavations and agricultural activities in the region the site is under severe threat.