The excavation of WF16, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site in southern Jordan: acquiring new evidence for the origins of sedentary farming communities

约旦南部前陶器新石器时代 A 遗址 WF16 的发掘​​：获取定居农业社区起源的新证据

• 批准号: AH/E006205/1
• 负责人: Steven Mithen
• 金额: $ 93.55万
• 依托单位: University of Reading
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2008 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FE006205%2F1
• 关键词: excavation; WF16; Pre; Pottery; Neolithic

The transition to sedentary farming communities was a relatively recent development in the human past, first occurring at around 10,000 years ago in the Levant, and then independently elsewhere in the world, notably in China, Meso-America and Highland New Guinea. This was the fundamental change in human society, bringing to an end more than two million years of hunting and gathering by Homo and providing the basis for the first civilisations. The critical period of transition in the Levant is the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A culture lasting between 11,600 and 10,200 years ago. This period was originally identified by Kenyon's excavation at Jericho in the 1950s, and has since been explored by excavations in the West Bank region, notably at the site of Netiv Hagdud. Recent excavations at Jerf el Ahmar (Syria) and Gobekli Tepe (SE Turkey) provided striking evidence for elaborate symbolism and ideology within the PPNA, while those at Dhra', Zahrat adh Dhra' and WF16 in southern Jordan provided further evidence for economic, technological and architectural diversity. Although this work has firmly established the PPNA as the critical period of cultural transition, it remains little understood owing to the small scale of excavations, especially in the southern Levant, and the often poor preservation of PPNA deposits. Key questions concerning the extent to which wild plants were cultivated and animals managed, whether communities were mobile or sedentary and the geographic loci of key cultural developments remain unanswered. To address these questions area excavation is required at carefully selected sites so that sufficiently large assemblages of artefacts, faunal remains and botanical material can be acquired. Area excavation is also the only means by which the spatial and temporal variation within deposits can be fully understood. The project proposes to undertake such an excavation at the PPNA site of WF16.This site was discovered by Mithen and Finlayson in 1996 and evaluated by survey, geophysical survey and trial excavation between 1997 and 2003, which will be fully published in a monograph in January 2007. This evaluation demonstrated that WF16 has deeply stratified deposits, good preservation of faunal and floral remains, a rich and diverse array of material culture, human burials, complex architecture and several large buried structures. As such, it has substantial potential to provide data to address a suite of research questions about the PPNA period. The evaluation also raised specific questions about the site itself that need to be answered by area excavation, such as the function of the large structures and whether the existing faunal assemblage is representative of the site as a whole. The proposed project will have two phases. The first - for which funding is currently sought - will excavate a single trench of 600 sq m at the site, undertake its conservation and presentation, and publish the first of three volumes. The second will undertake the post-excavation, host a major conference and publish the second and third volume of results. The first phase of the project will have five core staff: PI, Field Director, Project Manager, Data Manager, and Project Technician. For the excavation three supervisors, a surveyor and 8 professional archaeologists will be employed with 16 student archaeologists, and 12 local Bedouin workmen. Three excavation seasons, each of six weeks duration (spring 2008, 09, 10) will be followed by a season for site conservation (autumn 2010). An Integrated Archaeological Data-Base will be used to manage site records and faciliate development of the project website, archive and publications. Some post-excavation will be undertaken during phase 1 to enable a complete understanding of stratigraphy and site development before specialist analysis commences during Phase 2 of the project (2010-2014).

向定居农业社区的过渡是人类历史上相对较新的发展，首先发生在大约10，000年前的黎凡特，然后在世界其他地方独立出现，特别是在中国，中美洲和新几内亚高地。这是人类社会的根本性变化，结束了人属两百万多年的狩猎和采集，为第一个文明提供了基础。黎凡特转型的关键时期是新石器时代前陶器时期，一种持续11，600至10，200年前的文化。这一时期最初是由凯尼恩在20世纪50年代在杰里科的挖掘确定的，此后在约旦河西岸地区的挖掘，特别是在Netiv Hagdud遗址进行了探索。最近在Jerf el Ahmar（叙利亚）和Gobekli Tepe（土耳其东南部）的发掘为PPNA内精心制作的象征主义和意识形态提供了惊人的证据，而在约旦南部的Dhra '，Zahrat adh Dhra'和WF 16的发掘则为经济，技术和建筑多样性提供了进一步的证据。虽然这项工作已经牢固地确立了PPNA作为文化过渡的关键时期，但由于挖掘规模小，特别是在黎凡特南部，以及PPNA沉积物的保存状况往往很差，人们对PPNA的了解仍然很少。关于野生植物的种植和动物管理的程度，社区是移动的还是定居的，以及关键文化发展的地理位置等关键问题仍然没有答案。为了解决这些问题，需要在精心挑选的地点进行区域挖掘，以便能够获得足够大的人工制品、动物遗骸和植物材料组合。区域开挖也是唯一的手段，通过它的空间和时间的变化，在存款可以充分了解。该项目建议在WF 16的PPNA遗址进行这样的挖掘。该遗址由Mithen和Finlayson于1996年发现，并在1997年至2003年期间通过调查、地球物理调查和试挖进行了评估，将于2007年1月在专著中全面出版。这一评价表明，WF 16具有深厚的分层沉积，良好的动物和植物遗迹保存，丰富多样的物质文化，人类墓葬，复杂的建筑和几个大型埋藏结构。因此，它有很大的潜力提供数据，以解决一套关于PPNA期间的研究问题。评估还提出了有关遗址本身的具体问题，需要通过区域挖掘来回答，例如大型结构的功能以及现有的动物群是否代表整个遗址。拟议项目将分两个阶段进行。第一个项目--目前正在寻求资金--将在该遗址挖掘一条600平方米的沟渠，进行保护和展示，并出版三卷中的第一卷。第二个将进行后期挖掘，主办一次重要会议，并出版第二和第三卷成果。该项目的第一阶段将有五名核心工作人员：PI、现场主任、项目经理、数据经理和项目技术员。为了进行挖掘，将雇用三名监督员，一名测量员和8名专业考古学家，16名学生考古学家和12名当地贝都因工人。三个挖掘季节，每个为期六周（2008年春季，2009年，2010年秋季），随后将是一个季节的网站保护。综合考古数据库将用于管理遗址记录，并促进项目网站、档案和出版物的开发。第一阶段将进行一些后期挖掘工作，以便在项目第二阶段（2010-2014年）开始进行专家分析之前，全面了解地层和现场开发情况。

项目成果

On the Edge: Southern Levantine Epipalaeolithic-Neolithic Chronological succession

边缘：南黎凡特旧石器时代-新石器时代年代演替

• DOI: 10.1179/175638011x13112549592961
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: Levant
• 影响因子: 0.8
• 作者: Finlayson B

New Evidence from Southern Jordan: Rethinking the Role of Architecture in Changing Societies at the Beginning of the Neolithic Process

来自约旦南部的新证据：重新思考新石器时代初期建筑在社会变革中的作用

• DOI: 10.3406/paleo.2011.5443
• 发表时间: 2011
• 期刊: Paléorient
• 作者: Finlayson B

The flow of ideas: shared symbolism during the Neolithic emergence in Southwest Asia: WF16 and Göbekli Tepe

思想的流动：西南亚新石器时代兴起期间的共同象征：WF16 和哥贝克力石阵

• DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2023.67
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Antiquity
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Mithen S

An 11 600 year-old communal structure from the Neolithic of southern Jordan

约旦南部新石器时代一处拥有 11600 年历史的公共建筑

• DOI: 10.1017/s0003598x00067806
• 发表时间: 2015
• 期刊: Antiquity
• 影响因子: 1.8
• 作者: Mithen S

The transition from the PPNA to the PPNB in Southern Jordan

约旦南部从 PPNA 到 PPNB 的过渡

• 发表时间: 2014
• 期刊: Department of Antiquities
• 作者: Finlayson,B