Chapter 4: Neolithic 2 TransJordan Plateau (Pages 240-241)

Pre-History and Archaeology Glossary

Excerpts and Definitions and Addendums:

Several Neolithic 2 sites have been discovered east of the Rift Valley in the mountains and on the plateau of Transjordan. One of these is Abu Suwan at Jerash which covers a large area of hillside to the east of Hadrian's Arch (See Page 9 in *1 Below). Flint implements of several periods were found here but the most abundant were Neolithic 2 types. These were scattered all over the surface and included pressure-flaked tanged arrowheads and leaf-shaped points, burins, end-scrapers on blades and flake scrapers, sickle blades with finely-denticulated edges, flaked tranchet and other axes and a piece of obsidian. The cores were both discoid and double-ended, the latter accompanied by typical core-tablets and crested blades. Kirkbride excavated a small trench at the site (See Page 14 ibid) in which material from the same industry was found stratified with bone pins, animal bones and hearths. The variety of the flint artifacts and the other material indicate that Abu Suwan was a settlement which was occupied for a significant length of time. The flint artifacts from Abu Suwan match those from PPNB Jericho and other Palestinian Neolithic sites quite closely although one notes the absence of winged and notched tanged arrowheads.

Kirkbride found several other Neolithic 2 surface sites with similar artifacts around Jerash, some of which yielded collections of material quite as varied as that from Abu Sawan. Both double-ended and keeled cores were found at the Middle Field station, the only occurrence of the latter type of core known to me in Transjordan. Several of these sites were probably also true settlements but the smaller ones may have been factory sites or temporary camps.

Another Neolithic 2 settlement is known as Jisr Shueib on the road from Salt to Jericho (See Page 23 in *2 Below). The site is a large settlement mound in which a section was exposed during roadworks. Several red-painted plaster floors could be seen in the section and associated with them were flint tools of Neolithic 2 type .....