Because of its unique stratigraphic sequence ranging from the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8th millennium cal. BC) to the Late Pottery Neolithic (6th millennium cal. BC), Munhata is one of the most important prehistoric site for tracking the Neolithization process in the Near East. This major open-air settlement, located in the Upper Jordan Valley (251690; 723790), was the subject of a large-scale excavation (2050 m2) carried out during the 1960s by Jean Perrot. The field investigations have led to the uncovering of about a dozen of remarkably well-preserved Neolithic houses as well as thousands of well contextualized artefacts associated with one of the nine occupation phases identified. Despite the importance of the discoveries, the field data have never been analyzed and published in detail; the collections have been only partly studied without accurate archaeological contexts, making the results unusable. Our collaborative project aims to publish the outstanding data coming from Jean Perrot’s large-scale excavation at the major site of Munhata, by analyzing both the field documentation (stratigraphic and spatial analysis of architectures and burials) (Fig. 1) and the material culture as a whole (technological analysis of ceramic vessels, white ware and stone vessels; flint, bone, basalt and ceramic tools; shell, bone and stone ornaments; clay and stone figurines as well as faunal remains) (Fig. 2). Such comprehensive and integrated study will shed new light on the economic (emergence of pottery, development of pastoralism), social (emergence of the first villages structured into living quarters and streets) and symbolic (scarcity of human burials, increase of anthropomorphic figurines) changes that occurred during the PPN-PN transition. It will, furthermore, contribute to a better understanding of the final stage of the Neolithization processes in the Near East that remains poorly studied.
The publication project is directed by Julien Vieugué and Anna Eirikh-Rose.
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