Uncovering prehistoric burial rituals from south-eastern Jordan

Uncovering prehistoric burial rituals from south-eastern Jordan

AMMAN — The southeast part of Jordan has not been excavated enough in the past. Despite its remoteness and relative isolation, the south- eastern part of the country provides an abundance of information and artefacts for archaeologists.

For the past couple of years, The South-Eastern Badia Archaeological Project discovered an extensive funerary phenomenon dating back to either the Late Neolithic or a transitional Late Neolithic/ Early Chalcolithic phase. The excavation of a small but representative sample of burial structures highlighted different levels of variability. However, when viewed as a whole, this necropolis on the south-eastern fringe of Jordan demonstrated a marked level of consistency. 

“During the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age periods, the arid margins of the Southern Levant witnessed an important episode of pastoral nomadic occupation on the edge of the sedentary zone,” noted Wael Abu- Azizeh from the French institute of Middle Eastern studies Ifpo, adding that besides stone enclosures and various structures related to herding and campsites of mobile populations, funerary constructions too are widespread in these desert regions and are believed to represent an important component of a Late Prehistoric pastoral nomadic complex. 

“These structures, generically labelled as ‘cairns’, actually encompass a variety of construction types, the exact form