The Rise and Fall of Basin-irrigated Agriculture at Remote outposts and the Origin of Pastoral Nomadism in the Near East.

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With a view to tracing the process of pastoral nomadization in the Near East, we examined the rise and fall of basin-irrigated agriculture within the flooded area of Neolithic barrage systems in the Jafr Basin, southern Jordan. The investigations have proved that large-scale, open type of barrages used for basin-irrigated agriculture ｇgradually changed into small-scale, more closed type of barrages specializing in tentative water storage. Of significance is the fact that while the former focused on the westerly area nearer to contemporary farming communities and was often combined with an agro-pastoral outpost, the latter penetrated deep into the desert and was usually isolated without any related settlement. This fact strongly suggests that the full-fledged social infrastructure of initial pastoral transhumants shifted into the ad hoc water-catchmentfacilities in the course of pastoral nomadization. The series of research outcome has enabled us to trace the process of pastoral nomadization from both aspects of life (water) and death (burial practice).