ICE AGE VILLAGERS OF THE LEVANT: SEDENTISM AND SOCIAL CONNECTIONS IN THE NATUFIAN PERIOD (NON-LEAD)

Abstract

This project will advance theories on early sedentism by investigating Wadi Hammeh 27 in Jordan, settled by Natufian hunter-gatherers at 12,500 BC. This site is claimed as a pre-agrarian, sedentary village but archaeological indicators of sedentism remain ambiguous. This project will resolve the issue by applying new technologies to human skeletal remains from the site to establish the length and frequency of residential occupations. Wadi Hammeh 27 also exemplifies trends towards the dispersal of Natufian social interactions. They will be investigated by tracing the exchange of artefacts and materials between Wadi Hammeh 27 and small, seasonal Natufian sites because these links underlie theo..