The Jordan Valley in the Neolithic era

Jordan Times

15-05-2025

Pottery found in the 3,100-year-old building at Tell Abu Al Kharaz (Photo courtesy of University of Gothenburg)
The area around the Jordan Valley was populated from the Neolithic Period and one of the most crucial preconditions for settlements in an arid area is access to fresh water.
The perennial Wadi Al Yabis to the south is close, and the perennial Jordan River goes a few km to the west. The most important and most reliable water source during the entire year was certainly the easily accessible perennial Wadi Al Yabis. Its source lies around 1100 m above mean sea level. It flows almost due west to where it joins the River Jordan, approximately 25 km from its source and 250 m below mean sea level.
"The highest amount of annual precipitation in Jordan, which is around 600 mm, is recorded close to the headwaters of the Wadi Al Yabis. The River Jordan, although at some distance from the settlement, also was a life-saving water source that was utilised during years of drought. Springs in the eastern foothills were other sources of water," said Professor Peter Fisher, adding that traces of ancient irrigation channels can be seen everywhere in the area surrounding the site.
The Central Jordan Valley had sites like Pella, Tell Abu Kharaz, Beith Shan on the West Bank and North Shunneh.
There may also once have been a channel through which water was transported from upstream Wadi Al Yabis, passing the site through the small valley between the site and the hillock to the south, which separates the site from the natural course of the Wadi Al Yabis farther south.
Cisterns that were discovered on the site itself served as water reservoirs throughout the year. Rainwater was collected in them through a system of small channels. They were also utilised as containers for water, which was brought there from the nearest water source, Fisher continued, adding that water reservoirs were maintained by daily replenishment during the summer months, and this was certainly centrally organised in order to ensure the survival of the community on the site.
"The arable land, with alluvial/colluvial soil around the site, is fertile and dry farming may have been possible and was certainly practiced during some periods, for example, during the Early Bronze Age occupation of Tell Abu Kharaz," Fisher underlined, saying that there is, however, no doubt that efficient farming was (and is) only possible with water irrigation systems. The major cereal crops that are present in the floral remains of floated Early Bronze Age soil from Tell Abu Al Kharaz are predominantly of einkorn/emmer wheat, with the majority of the grain being morphologically similar to two-grained einkorn.
Lesser quantities of two-rowed hulled barley were present. And rare twisted grains and apparently naked ones give the impression that rare six-rowed hulled barley and naked barley could also have been present but in very small quantities, the professor said, noting that other cultivated species recovered in much smaller quantities from Early Bronze Age contexts include broad bean (Vicia faba) and lentil (Lens culinaris), which were important protein-rich food resources.
" Flax [Linum usitatissimum] and olive [Oleaeuropaea] were recovered and were very likely cultivated as a source of oil or for their fiber or edible fruits respectively. The remains of fig are present, while evidence of grape [Vitis vinifera] was secured in the form of the whole dried fruits and pips," Fisher elaborated,
The pips could have derived from eating either the fresh fruits or from winemaking but it seems most likely that fruits represent the remains of a dried grape product such as raisins. Non-crop species from the Early Bronze Age were dominated by members of the grass family but, with the exception of the grains of Lolium sp. (rye grass) and Bromus sp., are not abundant.
"This genus contains a number of species that are common components of the weed flora of cultivated fields. They are all typical weeds that represent a contaminant of the cereal crops," Fisher said.
Pistacia sp. was used economically for its oil and its flavoring and as a food. The legume Scorpiurusmuricatus L. is present in large numbers.
This species is a common component of agricultural fields in the Jordan Valley and elsewhere. There are plenty of grazing grounds for domesticated animals on the foothills, which cannot be used for agriculture, Fisher explained.
"The results of our osteological investigation disclose a clear diachronic pattern. There is a fairly high degree of similarity between the Early and Middle/Late Bronze Age samples, but the findings suggest a different situation during the Iron Age: the still predominant sheep and goats were significantly less important and cattle much more important than formerly," Fisher highlighted.
No clear contrast can be seen in the case of pigs: Their relative scarcity shows that they were obviously of subordinate economic value. The remains of other food animals in the Tell Abu Al Kharaz assemblage include fallow deer and gazelle, which were clearly of some significance. Equid, dog, cat, and fox remains attest the presence of animals whose importance to the human community may also have lain in attributes other than their ability to provide meat, the professor pointer out, adding that bear may have been hunted for meat and furs.
" Non-mammalian taxa were represented by bones of birds and very small amounts of fish, crab, frog, and tortoise/terrapin," Fisher concluded.