Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T06:12:51.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Paleoclimatic and archeological implications of Pleistocene and Holocene environments in Azraq, Jordan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Matthew D. Jones  and
Tobias Richter
Matthew D. Jones*
Affiliation:
School of Geography, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
Tobias Richter
Affiliation:
Department for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, 17-19 Snorresgade, 2300 Copenhagen-S, Denmark
*
⁎Corresponding author. E-mail address:matthew.jones@nottingham.ac.uk (M. D. Jones).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Wetlands are a key archive for paleoclimatic and archeological work, particularly in arid regions, as they provide a focus for human occupation and preserve environmental information. The sedimentary record from 'Ayn Qasiyya, a spring site on the edge of the Azraq Qa, provides a well-dated sequence through the last glacial–interglacial transition (LGIT) allowing environmental changes in the present-day Jordanian desert to be investigated robustly through this time period for the first time. Results show that the wettest period at the site preceded the last glacial maximum, which itself was characterised by marsh formation and a significant Early Epipaleolithic occupation. A sedimentary hiatus between 16 and 10.5 ka suggests a period of drought in the region although seasonal rains and surface waters still allowed seasonal occupation of the Azraq region. Archeological evidence suggests that conditions had improved by the Late Epipaleolithic, about the time of the North Atlantic Younger Dryas. The changes between wet and dry conditions at the site show similarities to patterns in the eastern Mediterranean and in Arabia suggesting the Jordan interior was influenced by changes in both these regions through the LGIT climatic transition.

Keywords

EpipaleolithicLast glacial maximumNear EastJordanAzraqYounger Dryas
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , November 2011 , pp. 363 - 372
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdulla, F.A., Al-Khatib, M.A., and Al-Ghazzawi, Z.D. Development of groundwater modeling for the Azraq Basin, Jordan. Environmental Geology 40, (2000). 11–18.Google Scholar
Abed, A.M., Yasin, S., Sadaqa, R., and Al-Hawari, Z. The paleoclimate of the eastern desert of Jordan during marine isotope stage 9. Quaternary Research 69, (2008). 458–468.Google Scholar
Adamiec, G., and Aitken, M.J. Dose-rate conversion factors update. Ancient TL 16, (1998). 37–50.Google Scholar
Aitken, M.J. An Introduction to Optical Dating: The Dating of Quaternary sediments by the Use of Photo Stimulated Luminescence. (1998). Oxford Science Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Al-Kharabsheh, A. Ground-water modelling and long-term management of the Azraq basin as an example of arid area conditions (Jordan). Journal of Arid Environments 44, (2000). 143–153.Google Scholar
Bajjali, W., and Abu-Jaber, N. Climatological signals of the paleogroundwater in Jordan. Journal of Hydrology 243, (2001). 133–147.Google Scholar
Bajjali, W., and Al-Hadidi, K. Hydrochemical evaluation of groundwater in Azraq Basin, Jordan using environmental isotopes and GIS techniques. 25th Annual ESRI International User Conference, San Diego. (2005). Google Scholar
Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., Gilmour, M., Matthews, A., and Hawkesworth, C.J. Sea–land oxygen isotopic relationships from planktonic foraminifera and speleothems in the Eastern Mediterranean region and their implication for paleorainfall during interglacial intervals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67, (2003). 3181–3199.Google Scholar
Bar-Yosef, O. The impact of late Pleistocene–early Holocene climatic changes on humans in southwest Asia. Straus, L.G., Eriksen, B.V., Erlandson, J.M., and Yesner, D.R. Humans at the end of the Ice Age: The archeology of the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. (1996). Plenum, New York. 61–76.Google Scholar
Bateman, M.D., and Catt, J.A. An absolute chronology for the raised beach deposits at Sewerby, E. Yorkshire, UK. Journal of Quaternary Science 11, (1996). 389–395.Google Scholar
Bender, F. Geology of Jordan. (1974). Gebruder Borntrager, Berlin.Google Scholar
Betts, A.V.G., (1991). The late Epipalaeolithic in the Black Desert, eastern Jordan. In: Bar-Yosef, O., Valla, F.R. (Eds.), The Natufian Culture in the Levant. International Monographs in Prehistory, Ann Arbor. pp. 217–234.Google Scholar
Blockley, S.P.E., and Pinhasi, R. A revised chronology for the adoption of agriculture in the Southern Levant and the role of Lateglacial climatic change. Quaternary Science Reviews 30, (2011). 98–108.Google Scholar
Cauvin, M.-C., and Couqueugniot, E. L'oasis d'el Kowm et le Kebarien Geometrique. Paléorient 14, (1988). 270–282.Google Scholar
Cordova, C.E., Rollefson, G.O., Kalchgruber, R., Wilke, P., and Quintero, L. Natural and cultural stratigraphy of 'Ayn as-Sawda, Azraq Wetland reserve. 2007 Excavation report and discussion of finds. Annual of the Departement of Antiquities of Jordan 52, (2008). 417–425.Google Scholar
Davies, C.P. Quaternary paleoenvironments and potential for human exploitation of the Jordan Plateau desert interior. Geoarcheology 20, (2005). 379–400.Google Scholar
Dean, W.E. Determination of carbonate and organic matter in calcareous sediments and sedimentary rocks by loss on ignition: comparison with other methods. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 44, (1974). 242–248.Google Scholar
Edwards, P.C. By the shores of Lake Lisan: the Epipaleolithic in the east Jordan Valley between 20,000 and 11,000 years ago. Studies in the History and Archeology of Jordan VII Department of Antiquities of Jordan, Amman. (2001). 85–93.Google Scholar
El-Naqa, A., Al-Momani, M., Kilani, S., and Hammouri, N. Groundwater deterioration of shallow groundwater aquifers due to overexploitation in Northeast Jordan. CLEAN — Soil, Air, Water 35, (2007). 156–166.Google Scholar
Enzel, Y., Amit, R., Dayan, U., Crouvi, O., Kahana, R., Ziv, B., and Sharon, D. The climatic and physiographic controls of the eastern Mediterranean over the late Pleistocene climates in the southern Levant and its neighboring deserts. Global and Planetary Change 60, (2008). 165–192.Google Scholar
Field, H. North Arabian desert archeological survey, 1925–1950. Papers of the Peabody Museum 45, Harvard, Cambridge. (1960). Google Scholar
Galbraith, R.F., and Green, P.F. Estimating the component ages in a finite mixture. Radiation Measurements 17, (1990). 197–206.Google Scholar
Garrard, A.N. Environment and cultural adaptations in the Azraq Basin: 24,000–7,000 B.P.. Henry, D.O. The Prehistory of Jordan. British Archeological Reports International Series 705, Oxford (1998). 139–148.Google Scholar
Garrard, A.N., and Byrd, B.F. New Dimensions to the Epipaleolithic of the Wadi el-Jilat in central Jordan. Paléorient 18, (1992). 47–62.Google Scholar
Garrard, A.N., Baird, D., Colledge, S., Martin, L., and Wright, K. Prehistoric environment and settlement in the Azraq Basin: an interim report on the 1987 and 1988 Excavation Season. Levant 26, (1994). 73–109.Google Scholar
Goring-Morris, A., Hovers, E., and Belfer-Cohen, A. The dynamics of Pleistocene and Early Holocene settlement patterns and human adaptations in the levant — an overview. Shea, J., and Lieberman, D. Transitions in Prehistory: Essays in honour of Ofer Bar-Yosef. (2009). Oxbow Books, Oxford. 185–252.Google Scholar
Hull, K.L. Identification of cultural site formation processes through microdebitage analysis. American Antiquity 52, (1987). 772–783.Google Scholar
Hunt, C.O., and Garrard, A.N. The 1985 excavations at C-Spring. Copeland, L., and Hours, F. The Hammer on the Rock. (1989). B.A.R. International Series, Oxford. 319–323.Google Scholar
Hunt, C.O., Gilbertson, D.D., and El-Rishi, H.A. An 8000-year history of landscape, climate, and copper exploitation in the Middle East: the Wadi Faynan and the Wadi Dana National Reserve in southern Jordan. Journal of Archeological Science 34, (2007). 1306–1338.Google Scholar
Jones, M.D., Roberts, C.N., and Leng, M.J. Quantifying climatic change through the last glacial–interglacial transition based on lake isotope paleohydrology from central Turkey. Quaternary Research 67, (2007). 463–473.Google Scholar
Landmann, G., Reimer, A., and Kempe, S. Climatically induced lake level changes at Lake Van, Turkey, during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 10, (1996). 797–808.Google Scholar
Macumber, P.G. Evolving landscape and environment in Jordan. MacDonald, B., Adams, R., and Bienkowski, P. The Archeology of Jordan. (2001). Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield. 1–30.Google Scholar
Maher, L.A., Banning, E.B., and Chazan, M. Oasis or mirage? Assessing the role of abrupt climate in the prehistory of the Southern Levant. Cambridge Archeological Journal 21, (2011). 1–29.Google Scholar
Marsh, R.E., Prestwich, W.V., Rink, W.J., and Brennan, B.J. Monte Carlo determinations of the beta dose rate to tooth enamel. Radiation Measurements 32, (2002). 609–616.Google Scholar
Moumani, K., Alexander, J., and Bateman, M.D. Sedimentology of the Late Quaternary Wadi Hasa Marl Formation of Central Jordan: a record of climate variability. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 191, (2003). 221–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muheisen, M., (1988). The Epipalaeolithic Phases of Kharaneh IV. In: A.N., , Garrard, H.G.G., (Eds.), The prehistory of Jordan. The state of research in 1986. British Archaeological Reports International Series 396, Oxford. pp. 353–367.Google Scholar
Murray, A.S., and Wintle, A.G. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliqout regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements 32, (2000). 57–73.Google Scholar
Nelson, J.B. Azraq : desert oasis. (1973). Allen Lane the Penguin Press, London.Google Scholar
Nicholas, G.P. Wetlands and hunter-Gatherers: a global perspective. Current Anthropology 39, (1998). 720–731.Google Scholar
Parker, A.G., Goudie, A.S., Stokes, S., White, K., Hodson, M.J., Manning, M., and Kennet, D. A record of Holocene climate change from lake geochemical analyses in southeastern Arabia. Quaternary Research 66, (2006). 465–476.Google Scholar
Prescott, J.R., and Hutton, J.T. Cosmic ray contributions to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating: large depths and long-term time variations. Radiation Measurements 2, 3 (1994). 297–500.Google Scholar
Quade, J., and Broecker, W.S. Dryland hydrology in a warmer world: Lessons from the Last Glacial period. The European Physical Journal — Special Topics 176, (2009). 21–36.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Ramsey, C.B., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Edwards, R.L., Friedrich, M., Grootes, P.M., Guilderson, T.P., Hajdas, I., Heaton, T.J., Hogg, A.G., Hughen, K.A., Kaiser, K.F., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Manning, S.W., Reimer, R.W., Richards, D.A., Southon, J.R., Talamo, S., Turney, C.S.M., van der Plicht, J., and Weyhenmeyer, C.E. IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51, (2009). 1111–1150.Google Scholar
Richter, T. Marginal landscapes? The Azraq Oasis and the cultural landscapes of the final Pleistocene Levant. (2009). University College London, Institute of Archeology, London. http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/18727/ Google Scholar
Richter, T., Maher, L., in press. The Natufian of the Azraq Basin: An Appraisal. In: Bar-Yosef, O., Valla, F. (Eds.) The Natufian Culture in the Levant II. Monographs in Prehistory, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Richter, T., Colledge, S., Luddy, S., Jones, D., Jones, M., Maher, L., and Kelly, R. Preliminary report on the 2006 season at Epipaleolithic 'Ayn Qassiya, Azraq Ash- Shishān. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 51, (2007). 313–328.Google Scholar
Richter, T., Allcock, S., Jones, M.D., Maher, L., Martin, L., Stock, J., and Thorne, B. New light on final pleistocene settlement diversity in the Azraq Basin (Jordan): recent excavations at 'Ayn Qasiyya. Paleorient 35, (2010). 49–68.Google Scholar
Richter, T., Stock, J.T., Maher, L., and Hebron, C. An early Epipaleolithic sitting burial from the Azraq Oasis, Jordan. Antiquity 84, (2010). 321–334.Google Scholar
Richter, T., Garrard, A.N., Allcock, S., and Maher, L.A. Interaction before Agriculture: exchanging material and sharing knowledge in the Final Pleistocene Levant. Cambridge Archeological Journal 21, (2011). 95–114.Google Scholar
Roberts, N. Age, paleoenvironments, and climatic significance of Late Pleistocene Konya Lake, Turkey. Quaternary Research 19, (1983). 154–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, N., Wright, H.E. Jr. Vegetational, lake-level, and climate history of the Near East and southwest Asia. Wright, H.E. Jr., Kutzbach, J.E., Webb, T. III, Ruddiman, W.F., Street-Perrott, F.A., and Bartlein, P.J. Global climates since the Last Glacial Maximum. (1993). University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. 194–220.Google Scholar
Roberts, N., Jones, M.D., Benkaddour, A., Eastwood, W.J., Filippi, M.L., Frogley, M.R., Lamb, H.F., Leng, M.J., Reed, J.M., Stein, M., Stevens, L., Valero-Garces, B., and Zanchetta, G. Stable isotope records of Late Quaternary climate and hydrology from Mediterranean lakes: the ISOMED synthesis. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, (2008). 2426–2441.Google Scholar
Robinson, S.A., Black, S., Sellwood, B.W., and Valdes, P.J. A review of paleoclimates and paleoenvironments in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean from 25,000 to 5000 years BP: setting the environmental background for the evolution of human civilisation. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, (2006). 1517–1541.Google Scholar
Rollefson, G.O. Preliminary report on the 1980 excavations at Ain El-Assad. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 26, (1982). 5–35.Google Scholar
Rollefson, G., Schnurrenberger, D., Quintero, L., Watson, R.P., and Low, R. Ain Soda and 'Ayn Qasiya: New late pleistocene and early Holocene sites in the Azraq Shishan area, eastern Jordan. Gebel, H.G.K., Kafafi, Z., and Rollefson, G.O. The prehistory of Jordan II. Perspectives from 1997. (1997). Ex Oriente, Berlin. 45–58.Google Scholar
Rollefson, G., Quintero, L., and Wilke, P. Bawwab al-Ghazal: preliminary report on the testing season 1998. Neo-Lithics 9, (1999). 2–4.Google Scholar
Rollefson, G., Quintero, L., and Wilke, P. Azraq Wetlands Survey 2000. Preliminary report. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 45, (2001). 71–82.Google Scholar
Sanlaville, P. Changements climatiques dans la peninsula arabique Durant le Pleistocene superieur et L'Holocene. Paleorient 18, (1992). 5–26.Google Scholar
Schick, K. Experimentally derived criteria for assessing hydrologic disturbance of archeological sites. Nash, D.T., and Petraglia, M.D. Natural Formation Processes and the archeological record. (1987). British Archeological Reports International Series, Oxford. 86–107.Google Scholar
Schuldenrein, J., and Clark, G.A. Landscape and prehistoric chronology of west-central Jordan. Geoarcheology 9, (1994). 31–55.Google Scholar
Stein, M., Torfstein, A., Gavrieli, I., and Yechieli, Y. Abrupt aridities and salt deposition in the post-glacial Dead Sea and their North Atlantic connection. Quaternary Science Reviews 29, (2010). 567–575.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P.J. Extended 14 C database and revised CALIB radiocarbon calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, (1993). 215–230.Google Scholar
Tensorer, J.-M.L., Jagher, R., Rentzel, P., Hauck, T., Ismail-Meyer, K., Pümpin, C., and Wojtczak, D. Long-term site formation processes at the natural springs Nadaouiyeh and Hummal in the El Kowm Oasis, Central Syria. Geoarcheology 22, (2007). 621–640.Google Scholar
Tsatskin, A., and Nadel, D. Formation processes at the Ohalo II submerged prehistoric campsite, Israel, inferred from soil micromorphology and magnetic susceptibility studies. Geoarcheology 18, (2003). 409–432.Google Scholar
Waechter, J., Seton-Williams, V., Bate, D.M., and Picard, L. The excavations at Wadi Dhobai 1937–1938 and the Dhobaian industry. Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 18, (1938). 172–186.Google Scholar
Zeuner, F., Kirkbride, D., and Park, B. Stone Age exploitation in Jordan 1. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 89, (1957). 17–44.Google Scholar