Assessing socio-economic changes between the Northern and Southern Levant through the function of projectile points from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Kharaysin (Jordan) and Dja’de (Syria)

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This study examines the multifunctional use and socio-economic significance of projectile points from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites of Kharaysin in Jordan and Dja’de el-Mughara in Syria. Analyzing a total of 165 points, including 22 from the EPPNB and 79 from the MPPNB at Kharaysin, and 64 from the EPPNB at Dja’de, we identify a significant proportion of points used for various activities beyond their primary use as projectiles in hunting. Our results reveal consistent patterns of retooling and recycling across both sites, suggesting broadly shared technological strategies despite different ecological and subsistence contexts. Notably, the study highlights the continued relevance of hunting in a period when herding has not yet become a central part of subsistence strategies. Despite that, our new insights highlight the adaptability of Neolithic communities, providing a deeper understanding of the socio-economic organization during the Neolithisation process in the 9th and beginning of the 8th mill. BC across the Levant.