The Late Neolithic of the Southern Levant : hiatus, settlement shift or observer Bias ? The perspective from Wadi Ziqlab

While the predominant view of the Late Neolithic in the southern Levant remains that population density was well below that of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, several sources of bias may have caused researchers to underestimate both population levels and the importance of this period. As a result of geomorphological and other factors, surveys have underrepresented sites at the foot of slopes and on stream terraces which may have been the prefered locations for Late Neolithic settlements. Most of the pottery consists of very fragile plain ware that rarely survives on the surface, and ceramic analysts have concentrated on rare decorated sherds rather than on the technology of whole ceramic assemblages. Similarly, apart from projectile points, sickle blades and a few other infrequent tools, analysts have virtually ignored the bulk of the lithic assemblages of this period, which consist predominantly of utilized flakes. This oversight, in particular, prevents us from gaining a full understanding of the important economic, technological and probably social changes that accompanied the end of the PPNB. Here we use data from the Wadi Ziqlab Project in Jordan to address these problems. Key-Words : PPNB. Late Neolithic, Levant. Jordan, lithics, pottery, settlement, survey, design theory, farmsteads.