Where’s the beef? The value of an interdisciplinary approach to PPN features

Summary

The anthropogenic landscape of a prehistoric site is made up of artifacts, structures, and features. However, the three do not receive equal attention. Features--by which we mean stationary but non-structural evidence of human activity--are usually the least analyzed. Inspired by Paul Goldberg’s work on Paleolithic hearths, we hope to bring a new, more inter-disciplinary look at some of these less-studied elements of the anthropogenic landscape. To do so, we will expand the study to a later time period, the PPN of the Levant, with a special emphasis on the southern Levant. This paper accomplishes three goals: first, a summary and characterization of the types of features commonly found within the PPN of the Levant and a discussion of what they are, what information they contain, and how they are treated in the literature. Second, drawing on our own research, as well as already published results, we provide examples of the microstratigraphic study of selected features from PPN sites. These data will demonstrate the value these studies in expanding upon the interpretations made in the field. Third, we will use our results to suggest new protocol for documenting and sampling such features in the future.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology in Context: The Influence of the Geoarchaeological Career of Paul Goldberg   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage