Area of study: South Eastern desert of Jordan (south and east of the Jafr basin)

• Status of Project and date of conduction : Project initiated in cooperation with the IFPO-Amman (French Institute for the Near East) and Petra College of the University al-Hussein Bin Talal (AHU, Ma'an, Wadi Musa-Petra) under the direction of W. Abu-Azizeh (Ifpo, Archéorient Lab, France) and M. Tarawneh (AHU). The project is funded since 2012 by the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) and AHU. 6 survey and excavation fieldwork seasons have been organized in remote desert regions of southeastern Jordan. The project received recently the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which provided a 4 years funding for its accomplishment (2016-2019). The project involves an international and interdisciplinary team (geoarchaeology, geography, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, funerary anthropology, material culture study).

Partners:

Ifpo (French Institute for the Near East, Amman)

CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research)

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs

French Embassy in Amman

Petra College - Al-Hussein Bin Talal University

Brief about the Project :

The research program of SEBAP focuses on the study of the development of human occupation in the Near Eastern desert margins, outside of the so-called « Fertile Crescent », during the Late Prehistory (Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age). The results of the project allow to investigate the whole sequence of occupation and to study the first pastoral nomadic societies, as well as the evolution of specialized subsistence strategies.

The great diversity of human remains evidenced in these regions (« desert kites », pastoral nomadic campsites and enclosures, remains of natural resources exploitation, cairns and funerary megalithic constructions) allow to tackle multiple aspects of this development of human occupation outside the « Fertile Crescent ».

Significant Finds:

Since 2013, the project focuses on the study of the “Desert kites”. The “desert kites” are certainly amongst the most impressive structures found in the Near Eastern arid landscapes. These large scale structures are made of two long guiding walls converging on an enclosure surrounded by small circular compartments. Although a consensus as to a hunting function is now established, the dating of the origins of this phenomenon is still much debated.  In the framework of this project, the first occurrences of “desert kites” have been identified in the south-eastern desert of Jordan. Work in progress confirmed the hunting hypothesis and provided the first clear and indisputable evidence for a dating as early as the PPNB period. These outstanding results could have far-reaching implications on our understanding of the socio-cultural and socio-economic organization of the Late Prehistoric hunting societies of the Near Eastern arid margins, as they involve an unsuspected communal dimension and a strong human-environment interaction in an early timeframe of the Holocene. Moreover, a major aspect of the projects results was the discovery of the Neolithic hunting campsites related to the use of these structures. It’s the first time that the desert kites are clearly related to some human occupation remained in the Middle East. The project therefore provides invaluable opportunities to study the human societies involved in these very specialized strategies of exploitation of animal resources in an early chronological timeframe of the Neolithic.

Local community engagement (employment and public awareness):

The project is now working on the setting up of an exhibition room in the Faculty of Archaeology in Wadi Musa. This project, supported by the French Embassy in Amman, aims to disseminate the results of the project to a wider public, including the students of the university.

Publications related to the project:

Editorship of workshop proceedings

• ABU-AZIZEH, W. & TARAWNEH, M. (eds.), 2013 – Recherches actuelles sur l'occupation des périphéries désertiques de la Jordanie aux périodes protohistoriques, Proceedings of the workshop organized in cooperation with the IFPO and petra College of Al-Hussein Bin Talal University (Wadi Musa, 11-13 July 2011). Syria 90 : 9-254.

Articles in peer-reviewed journals and book

• TARAWNEH, M., ABU-AZIZEH, W. & F. ABUDANAH, 2016 – “Results of the Surveys and Excavations of the Southeastern Badia Archaeological Project in the Region of al-Thulaythuwat al-Janubiyah 2010-2015” (in Arabic), Jordanian Journal of History and Archaeology 11/1 : 73-93.

• TARAWNEH, M., ABU-AZIZEH, W., ABUDANAH, F. & R. CRASSARD, (submitted) – “Les pièges de kites et l’occupation de chasseurs associés. Résultats de la Mission Archéologique du Sud-Est Jordanien dans le secteur des J. al-Khashabiyeh” (in Arabic), Al-Hussein Bin Talal Journal of Research.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W. & TARAWNEH, M., 2015 – “Out of the Harra: Desert kites in Southeastern Jordan. New results from the South Eastern Badia Archaeological Project”, Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 26 : 95-119.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W., TARAWNEH, M., ABUDANAH, F., TWAISSI, S. & AL-SALAMEEN, A., 2014 – “Variability within consistency: Cairns and funerary practices of the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic in Al-Thulaythuwat Area, Southern Jordan”, in: Müller-Neuhof (ed.), Late Prehistory of the Arid Regions in Jordan, Actes de la table ronde organisée à l’ICHAJ 12 (Berlin, 8 Mai 2013), Levant 46/2: 161-185.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W., 2014a – “Stone Enclosures and Late Prehistoric Pastoral Nomadic Campsites: A Methodological Review of Al-Thulaythuwat Case Study, Southern Jordan”, p.187-208, in: B. Finlayson & C. Makarewicz (eds.), Settlement, Survey, and Stone. Essays on Near Eastern Prehistory in Honour of Gary Rollefson. Berlin : Ex Oriente.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W., 2014b – “Late Prehistoric Presence in Southern Desert of Jordan : Vth to IIId Millennia Settlement and Country Planning in al-Thulaythuwat area”, p.237-252, in : G. Rollefson & B. Finlayson (eds.), Jordan's Prehistory: Past and Future Research, Amman: Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W., 2013a – “The South-Eastern Jordan's Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age Pastoral Nomadic Complex: Patterns of mobility and interaction”, Paléorient 39/1: 149-176.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W., 2013b – “Prospections et fouilles archéologiques dans la région désertique de al-Thulaythuwat: Modalités d'occupation et analyse structurelle des campements de pasteurs nomades du Chalcolithique/Bronze ancien dans une zone de périphérie désertique du sud jordanien”, in: ABU-AZIZEH, W. & TARAWNEH, M. (eds.), Recherches actuelles sur l'occupation des périphéries désertiques de la Jordanie aux périodes protohistoriques, Actes de la table ronde organisée en coopération avec l'IFPO et la Faculté d'Archéologie de l'Université al-Hussein Bin Talal (Wadi Mussa, 11-13 Juillet 2011). Syria 90 : 13-48.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W., 2011a – “Mise en valeur et aménagement des marges arides du sud jordanien aux IV-IIIèmes mill. av. J.-C. : cercles de pierres et "murets-barrières" de la région de al-Thulaythuwat”, Syria 88 : 93-110.

• ABU-AZIZEH, W., 2011b – “Structures cultuelles et funéraires des IV-IIIème millénaires dans le sud jordanien désertique : l'occupation de la région de Al-Thulaythuwat”, p.21-39, in : T. Steimer-Herbet (ed.), Pierres levées, stèles anthropomorphes et dolmens. Maison de l'Orient Méditerranéen-BAR int. Series 2317.

• TARAWNEH, M. & ABUDANAH, F. 2011 – “The Eastern Bayir Archaeological Project: Preliminary Report on thte 2004, 2005 and 2009 Survey Seasons”, ADAJ 55, p.57-72.

• TARAWNEH, M. & ABUDANAH, F., 2013 – "Subsistence of Early Pastoral Nomadism in the Southern Levant: New Data from Southern Bayir", dans: ABU-AZIZEH, W. & TARAWNEH, M. (éds.), Recherches actuelles sur l'occupation des périphéries désertiques de la Jordanie aux périodes protohistoriques, Actes de la table ronde, à paraître dans un dossier thématique de Syria 90.

•    Tarawneh, M., Abu-Azizeh, W., Abudanah, F. (2017), Results of the South-Eastern Badia Archaeological Project in Al-Thulaythuwat area to the south-east of Al-Jafr during the period 2010-2015. Jordan Journal for History and Archaeology, 11 (1): 73-93.

•    Tarawneh, M., Abu-Azizeh, W., Abudanah, F. (2017). Desert Kites and Campsites in Jibal al-Khashabiyeh: Results of the South Eastern Badia Archaeological Project, Jordan. Al-Hussein Bin Talal University Journal of Research, 2 (3): 54-81.