The environmental setting of Epipalaeolithic aggregation site Kharaneh IV

Jones, Matthew D.; Maher, Lisa A.; Macdonald, Danielle A.; Ryan, Conor; Rambeau, Claire; Black, Stuart; Richter, Tobias

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.08.092

The environmental setting of Epipalaeolithic aggregation site Kharaneh IV

Jones, Matthew D.; Maher, Lisa A.; Macdonald, Danielle A.; Ryan, Conor; Rambeau, Claire; Black, Stuart; Richter, Tobias

Authors

Professor MATTHEW JONES MATTHEW.JONES@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Head of School (Professor of Quaternary Science)

Lisa A. Maher

Danielle A. Macdonald

Conor Ryan

Claire Rambeau

Stuart Black

Tobias Richter

Abstract

The archaeological site of Kharaneh IV in Jordan’s Azraq Basin, and its relatively near neighbour Jilat 6 show evidence of sustained occupation of substantial size through the Early to Middle Epipalaeolithic (c. 24,000 – 15,000 cal BP). Here we review the geomorphological evidence for the environmental setting in which Kharaneh IV was established. The on-site stratigraphy is clearly differentiated from surrounding sediments, marked visually as well as by higher magnetic susceptibility values. Dating and analysis of off-site sediments show that a significant wetland existed at the site prior to and during early site occupation (~ 23,000 – 19,000 BP). This may explain why such a substantial site existed at this location. This wetland dating to the Last Glacial Maximum also provides important information on the palaeoenvironments and potential palaeoclimatic scenarios for today’s 43 eastern Jordanian desert, from where such evidence is scarce.

Citation

Jones, M. D., Maher, L. A., Macdonald, D. A., Ryan, C., Rambeau, C., Black, S., & Richter, T. (2016). The environmental setting of Epipalaeolithic aggregation site Kharaneh IV. Quaternary International, 396, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.08.092

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 23, 2015
Online Publication Date	Dec 22, 2015
Publication Date	Mar 7, 2016
Deposit Date	Feb 11, 2016
Publicly Available Date	Feb 11, 2016
Journal	Quaternary International
Print ISSN	1040-6182
Electronic ISSN	1040-6182
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	396
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.08.092
Keywords	Epipalaeolithic, Jordan, Last Glacial Maximum, Wetland, Azraq
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/781191
Publisher URL	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618215011271