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

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Alan Simmons博士将在位于约旦中部Wadi Feinan地区的Ghwair I遗址进行两个季节的考古研究。该遗址可追溯至新石器时代前陶器B（PPNB）时期，约从公元前2000年开始。公元前7，350 - 6，000年，该遗址很小，占地约1.5英亩，因此可能代表一个村庄。在超过3米深的存款中，它包含至少四个建筑阶段，保存非常壮观。包含窗户和门道的墙壁被保留到2米多高。动物遗迹以及陶瓷和加工过的石器也很丰富。 世界的大致时间段和地区很重要，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，家养植物和动物首次提供了主要的生存来源。对一些较大的“城市”PPNB地点进行了检查，但这些地点可能不是这一时期的典型地点。Ghwair I号的小型挖掘将揭示这个社会鲜为人知的一面。由于该场地位于边缘环境区，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面积的区域，以揭示村庄布局的细节，并将分析文化材料以及动物和花卉遗迹。还将进行区域实地调查，并进行地貌分析，追踪过去环境的变化。 考古学家已经认识到，在“简单”社会中，遗址不能孤立地研究。它们是经济上和政治上一体化的大型社会系统的组成部分，个别地点可能发挥专门的功能。西蒙斯博士的研究是重要的，因为它采取了这种更广泛的视角，并将填补一个关键的图片缺失的部分。他假设Ghwair I，尽管面积很小，但实际上是一个精英定居点。他还认为，该网站，以及许多其他PPNB占领被遗弃，因为环境退化。 这项研究很重要，因为它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据。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.