The Middle Epipaleolithic at Tor at-Tareeq in the Wadi al-‐Hasa, Jordan
Walking Through Jordan - Essays in Honor of Burton MacDonald - Michael Neeley
Deborah Olszewski [+ ]
University of Pennsylvania and Penn Museum
Natalie Munro [+ ]
University of Connecticut
Michael Kennerty [+ ]
Georgia Dept of Audits & Accounts
Description
Excavations in 1984, 1992, and 2000 by two separate projects in Area C at the open-air site of Tor at-Tareeq (WHS 1065) in the Wadi al-Hasa region of Jordan yielded assemblages attributable to the Middle Epipaleolithic period. The lithic assemblage is characterized by very wide geometrics, with lunate or trapeze morphology; the only known parallels to these in Jordan are surface collections from Wadi Jilat 28 and excavated materials from Phase D/Area A at Kharaneh IV in the Azraq Basin region. Tor at-Tareeq was situated near Pleistocene marshes and possibly a lake, with Middle Epipaleolithic occupations occurring during a period of warmer and wetter climatic conditions after the Last Glacial Maximum. The small faunal assemblage includes gazelle, aurochs, equid, and tortoise. This paper discusses the cultural materials recovered during these three field seasons, clarifies several erroneous attributions made in previous publications, and compares Tor at-Tareeq to Kharaneh IV Phase D/Area A.