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Even though pivotal for understanding many aspects of human behaviour, preservation and storage of animal resources has not received great attention from archaeologists. One could argue that the main problem lies in the difficulties of demonstrating meat storage archaeologically due to the lack of direct evidence. This paper represents an attempt to refine zooarchaeological methods for the recognition of meat preservation and storage at prehistoric sites. Drawing on the faunal assemblage from Kharaneh IV, an Early/Middle Epipalaeolithic aggregation site in eastern Jordan, this study demonstrates that a combination of taphonomic and contextual analyses alongside ethnographic information may indeed lead archaeologists to insights not directly available from the archaeological record. The empirical evidence presented here contributes to the archaeological visibility of meat preservation and storage, providing a clearer concept of the nature of these practices in pre-agricultural societies.

The analysis of rich bone assemblages from an Epipalaeolithic site in Jordan show that wing feathers were being extracted, probably for ornamental or ceremonial purposes, from eagles and buzzards. These raptors were perhaps caught by luring them with tortoises, evident from smashed shells in the same assemblage. The authors speculate on the symbolic value of eagles' wings among these pre-Neolithic people. Keywords: Jordan, Wadi Jilat, Epipalaeolithic, 16-13k BP, animal bone, equids, gazelles, eagles, tortoises, ritual use of feathers, Introduction In this paper we examine the unusual animal bone assemblages from an Epipalaeolithic site in the Azraq Basin of the eastern Jordanian steppe. Animal remains in this location tend [...]

Katherine Wright & Andrew Garrard Published by Cambridge University Press, 2 January 2015. In a 2003 article by Katherine Wright and Andrew Garrard, an error occurred in the digital publication [...]

The Civil Engineering curriculum at Sheffield University offers students the opportunity to work in groups to design, build and test models. This fulfils vital learning outcomes for accreditation requirements. The onset of the pandemic restricted the amount of face-to-face teaching. Presented here are methodologies to reconfigure teaching with restricted access to allow learning outcomes to be achieved while keeping students motivated. Traditional hands-on manufacturing and testing were replaced by "service" build and test schemes that hinged around the typical relationship between a designer (students) and a contractor. With the use of screens, PPE and careful communication, fabrication activities simulated an "assembly line" relay rather than the traditional "fixed-position assembly" allowing the activity to safely run face-to-face. Students were able to engage individually and in groups on these teaching methods to execute exciting and real projects, in a way that is scalable to large class sizes (Garrard and Beck, 2018). We explore the advantages and drawbacks of these approaches and suggest elements to be retained when restrictions are lifted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hunting of Gazella subgutturosa was a dominant practice for Epipalaeolithic and early Neolithic hunter-gatherers in the east Jordan steppe. The seasonal mobility of this taxon in the Levant is poorly understood, especially for early prehistory when herd movements would have influenced hunter-gatherer use of the steppes. This paper proposes four patterns of seasonal herd mobility for G. subgutturosa centred on Jordan’s Azraq Basin. The four patterns are modelled using oxygen, carbon and strontium stable isotopes. Seasonal environmental signatures of each are understood through carbon and strontium isotopic variation in sixty modern plant specimens collected from twelve selected locations in north Jordan, published data on oxygen isotopes in local precipitation, and the adaptive behaviour of G. subgutturosa. The integrated isotopic datasets provide clear discriminatory markers for each proposed mobility pattern. Results will be applied in future to isotopic data from archaeological gazelle teeth from the Azraq Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]