From seashore to Neolithic floor: origins and spatial distribution patterns of shell bead assemblages at WF16, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A settlement in Southern Jordan

Smith, D. B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0616-6309, Schechter, H. C., Bar-Yosef Mayer, D. E. and Mithen, S. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3391-7443 (2024) From seashore to Neolithic floor: origins and spatial distribution patterns of shell bead assemblages at WF16, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A settlement in Southern Jordan. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 53. 104357. ISSN 2352-4103 doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104357

Abstract/Summary

Shells have been collected and used as body adornments by Homo sapiens for at least 140,000 years. Major increases in their use occurred during the Late Pleistocene and, with the gradual transition to the Neolithic, likely reflected new forms of social interaction associated with larger communities and less mobile lifestyles. We explore this development by considering the shell bead assemblage from WF16, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) site in southern Jordan. This assemblage is one of the largest known from the early Neolithic and can be divided between two PPNA phases. We identify a changing preference for shell types between these phases, one that parallels a change in the wider region which may be associated with evolving social networks during the early Neolithic.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/119239
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104357
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Publisher	Elsevier
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item