Chapter 6: Neolithic 4 Jericho (Pages 451-453)

Pre-History and Archaeology Glossary

Excerpts and Definitions and Addendums

Kenyon has called the Neolithic 4 or Late Neolithic phase 2 settlement at Jericho Pottery Neolithic B. This settlment covered the whole mound and so was as extensive as that of Pottery Neolithic A. The first structures built in this stage were circular semi-subterranean huts set in pits like those used in Pottery Neolithic A. There walls were made of plano-convex or bun-shaped bricks. Later curved walls of bun-bricks with stone foundations were built on the surface. These structures may have been circular huts. Other rectilinear buildings with the same walling were constructed which may also have been houses. In one building phase there was a substantial enclosure wall. Towards the end of Pottery Neolithic B more solid rectilinear structues were built.

The coarse pottery of this stage was quite similar in shape to that of Pottery Neolithic A though not quite so crude. The fine ware was much better made since the clay was tempered with sand and grit but less straw and the vessels were thinner walled. These pots were hand-made but many were finished by turning on a mat. The common shapes were hole-mouth jars - jars with everted rims or splayed necks and bow rim jars. Some had knob or ledge handles - other strap handles with splayed attachments. There were some simple globular bowls - others with splayed sides and some carinated ones. Small cups also were made. Thes vessels were frequently decorated with a red wash or slip which was sometimes carried over the rim; other vessels were just painted at the rim. Some vessels also had a little incised decoration - the most common design being a band of herringbones just below the rim. Many Pottery Neolithic B vessels were burnished all over and a few were pattern burnished. This pottery developed gradually from that used in Pottery Neolithic A while the dwellings constructed in Pottery Neolithic B were also a straightforward development of those made in the previous stage. Pottery Neolithic B thus evolved from Pottery Neolithic A without a break.

The dwelling used at Jericho during Pottery Neolithic B were Palestinian in type without parallels on South Syrian Sites. Only when rectilinear houses began to be built later in this stage did the appearance of the settlement at Jericho resemble that of sites like Byblos or Tell Ard Tlaili. The pottery however shared certain general characteristics with sites further north throughout this stage. There were the same vessel shapes at Byblos in the Neolithique Moyen and Recent - Tells Ard Tlaili - Ain Nfaikh and Tel Jisr; while the use of red colouring - often highly burnished - pattern burnish and some incised decoration is also typical of these sites. The closest parallels are with the Bekaa Valley and Damascus Basin sites since the shapes of Pottery Neolithic B vessels and the way they were decorated are most closely matched at these settlements. These comparisons confirm that Pottery Neolithic B Jericho was occupied in Neolitihc 4 ...

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