Numayra

The emergence of ancient urbanism has long held the interest of archaeologists attempting to understand the origins of inequality and its links to early urban life. This volume presents the results of archeological research at the Early Bronze Age sites of Numayra and Ras an-Numayra, conducted to investigate the rise of Early Bronze Age urban society, with a distinctive focus on links between environmental and social systems.

The Dead Sea Plain excavations at Numayra and Ras an-Numayra uncovered extraordinarily well-preserved architecture, artifacts, and faunal and paleoethnobotanical remains that offer exciting and profound insights that enhance our understanding of life in these walled settlements. Under the codirection of R. Thomas Schaub and Walter E. Rast, the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain team designed their research with an explicitly anthropological focus, based on the New Archaeology’s principles for archaeological knowledge production. Their excavations at these sites in the mid-1970s and early 1980s heralded the now-common approach combining archaeology, paleoethnobotany, palynology, bioarchaeology, zooarchaeology, geology, and ethnoarchaeology into the research project, with a multidisciplinary team in the field to systematize collection and sampling procedures.

These excavations at Numayra and Ras an-Numayra represent a watershed moment in the history of archaeological research in the southern Levant, setting new standards for scientific methods and a multidisciplinary approach to investigating the past.

“This volume is replete with richly detailed, meticulously presented data on an early third-millennium BC town in southern Jordan. Scholars of early urbanism in the Levant will find in this volume a highly valuable trove of information and ideas on architecture, the agricultural economy, daily life, and social organization.”—Glenn M. Schwartz, Whiting Professor of Archaeology, Johns Hopkins University

“Chesson, Schaub, and Rast’s Numayra is an exemplary publication of a classic excavation. It should serve as a reference point for any understanding of how people lived, worked, and flourished in the small fortified settlements of the Early Bronze Age Levant.”—Raphael Greenberg, Tel Aviv University

Meredith S. Chesson is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame.

R. Thomas Schaub was codirector of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain in Jordan. He retired as Professor Emeritus at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Walter E. Rast was codirector of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain in Jordan. He retired as Professor of Theology at Valparaiso University.

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Preface

Meredith S. Chesson

Supporters of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan

1. Introduction: The 1977–1983 Excavations at Numayra and Ras an- Numayra

Meredith S. Chesson

2. Geology and Geomorphology

Jack Donahue

3. Central Area Excavations

Meredith S. Chesson

4. Town Walls and Gate Systems: East Town Area Excavations (Phases 1A–2B) and West Gate Area Excavations (Phases 1A–2B)

R. Thomas Schaub and Meredith S. Chesson

5. Pottery Typology at Numayra

R. Thomas Schaub

6. Excavations at Ras an- Numayra

Meredith S. Chesson, R. Thomas Schaub, Gillian Bentley, and Michael Coogan

7. Storage in Numayra in Phases 1A–2C

Meredith S. Chesson and Nathan Goodale

8. Crop Storage, Processing, and Cooking Practices at Numayra: The Plant Remains

Chantel E. White, David McCreery, and Fabian Toro

9. Chipped Stone Tools from Numayra and Ras an- Numayra

Mark A. McConaughy

10. Basketry, Cordage, Plant Fibers, and Weaving Tools from Numayra

J. M. Adovasio, J. S. Illingworth, T. Miller- Sporrer, M. L. Greek, and S. L. Dost Kerchusky

11. Seal Impressions and Sherds with Markings from Numayra

Nancy Lapp

12. Ornaments Excavated at Numayra, Jordan

N. H. Broeder and H. C. W. Skinner

Bibliography

Appendixes

Appendix A. Master Locus Lists for Numayra’s Central, East Tower, and West Gate Areas and Ras an- Numayra

Meredith S. Chesson, R. Thomas Schaub, and Walter E. Rast

Appendix B. Pottery Plates

Meredith S. Chesson, R. Thomas Schaub, and Walter E. Rast

Appendix C. Illustrated Profiles

Meredith S. Chesson

Appendix D. Registered Objects

Meredith S. Chesson, R. Thomas Schaub, and Walter E. Rast