Hunting Practices at an Eastern Jordanian Epipalaeolithic Aggregation Site: The Case of Kharaneh IV

Two Epipalaeolithic sites, Kharaneh IV and Wadi Jilat 6 in the Azraq basin of eastern Jordan, are much larger than any others of the same period. They are locations to which hunters/gatherers/foragers returned across thousands of years. This paper explores human settlement and mobility patterns at these unusual sites through the perspective of animal resources. The predominant prey were gazelle but with no evidence for specialized targeting, rather the faunal spectra seem directly to reflect high-level game availability in the immediate locale. The proximity of prey is evidenced by non-selective carcass transport, even for the largest ungulates. Regional comparisons across the Levant revealed variation in animal procurement that can be explained largely by influences of geographical, environmental and vegetational factors on animal availability. The range of fauna at these sites suggests greater water accessibility than seen today, in line with published environmental studies indicating cooler/wetter conditions in the Early Epipalaeolithic. Mortality profiles and presence of migrating bird species suggest occupation and hunting mostly in the winter and early spring, when large herds of gazelle, other fauna and humans would have been drawn to the water and plant rich environs of the Azraq basin wadis.