WLC

Archaeological Studies

Aims

To develop our understanding of:

the history of human settlement within the Jordan Valley
the methods used to manage water supply
changes in human health and diet from pre-farming to the modern day

Methods

(1) The radiocarbon chronology for human settlement will be re-assessed and developed by the construction of a new data-base of existing samples, the application of new calibration curves and the strategic acquisition of new samples for dating from current and previous archaeological excavations.

(2) The history of water management will be documented and analysed by collating evidence from archaeological sites and documentary sources for the use of springs, wells, cisterns, terracing, reservoirs, dams, conduits and water lifting devices.

(3) The history of human health and nutrition will be assessed by the analysis of skeletal samples from the specified time periods for pathological conditions and by chemical analysis of human bone.

People

Professor Steven Mithen	s.j.mithen@reading.ac.uk
Professor Bill Finlayson	b.finlayson@cbrl.org.uk
Professor Kevin White	k.h.white@reading.ac.uk
Dr Petra Dark	s.p.dark@reading.ac.uk
Dr Emma Jenkins	E.L.Jenkins@reading.ac.uk
Dr Sam Smith	samual.smith@reading.ac.uk
Michela Sandias	M.Sandias@reading.ac.uk

Publications

Scientific papers

Lovell, J. and A. Bradley, Settlement patterns and altitude in the Southern
Levant: GIS analysis of the Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age transition
submitted to Journal of Field Archaeology

Jenkins, E. L., Jamjoum, K., Nuimat. S., Finlayson. B., Nortcliff. S., & Mithen.
S. J. Further investigations into phytoliths as indicators of water
availability:an outline of on-going crop growing experiments and their
implications for phytolith research. Proceedings of the 6th International
Meeting on Phytolith Research. Quaternary International

Whitehead, P.G., S.J. Smith, A.J. Wade, S.J.Mithen, B.L.Finlayson, and
B.Sellwood Modelling of Hydrology and Population levels at Bronze Age
Jawa: A Monte-Carlo approach to cope with uncertainty (submitted to
Journal of Archaeological Science and published in preliminary form as a
WLC working paper)

Newsletter articles

Jenkins, E. (2006) Progress with crop growing for phytolith analysis Water,
Life and Civilisation Newsletter page 6 (Download)

Smith, S.J. (2006) Changing availability of water resources in Wadi Faynan:
implications for understanding human activity during the Holocene Water, Life
and Civilisation Newsletter pages 7-8 (Download)

Sandias, M. (2006) Water and food resources use in Jordan by stable isotope
analysis of human and faunal skeletal remains Water, Life and Civilisation
Newsletter pages 10-11 (Download)

Presentations

Second annual meeting (Jan 2007) presentation (Download powerpoint)

June 2006 progress meeting presentation (Download powerpoint)

First annual meeting (Download powerpoint)

June 2005 progress meeting presentation (Download powerpoint)

Project documents

Second annual report (Download pdf)

First annual report (Download pdf)

Implementation plan (Downlaod pdf)