Abstract

Ofer Bar-Yosef, Avi Gopher, Eitan Tchernov, and Mordechai E. Kislev
Netiv Hagdud: An Early Neolithic Village Site in the Jordan Valley
Journal of Field Archaeology 18 (1991) 405--424

Nativ Hagdud is an Early Neolithic village site in the Lower Jordan Valley. Systematic excavations posed a 500-sq m surface, which included several oval and circular houses. Carbonized plant remains, animal bones, and a wealth of lithic assemblages were the primarily materials recovered from the houses and the fill. The seeds indicate that barley cultivation was practiced, along with the continuous gathering of wild fruits and seeds. Gazelle hunting and trapping of migratory waterfowl provided the major meat sources. Evidence concerning distribution of subsistence activities indicates that the site was occupied during at least nine months each year. Domestic activities are expressed in a variety of grinding and pounding tools, a few bone objects, and numerous flint tools. The lithic industry, classified as Sultanian, is characterized by the presence of Khiam points, sickle blades, and trancet (Tahunian) axes, and is similar to that uncovered in Jericho. Flexed burials, the removal of adult skulls, and a few female figurines are the only sources of information concerning on-site symbolic activities. The report discusses the primary finds from the excavations and places the site within the context of other Early Neolithic sites in the southern Levant.

Main Author Listing

List of Indices

JFA Home Page


Maintained by Al B. Wesolowsky
abw@bu.edu
http://www.bu.edu/jfa
©Journal of Field Archaeology All rights reserved.
Last modified: Wed Oct 25 10:19:22 EDT 2000