Plant gathering and people-environment interactions at Epipalaeolithic Kharaneh IV, Jordan

This paper presents the first archaeobotanical results on plant macroremains other than charcoal from the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic site of Kharaneh IV in the Azraq basin, one of the largest Epipalaeolithic sites in the southern Levant and one of the few with evidence for multiple phases of occupation. The analysis of the substantial archaeobotanical assemblage from the site provides new insights into the local environmental conditions and how these changed throughout occupation, potentially affecting the use of the site, and it further contributes to debates about hunter-gatherer lifeways during the earlier Epipalaeolithic. A variety of potential food plant resources was identified, including several starch-rich seeds and tissues, fruits and various other wild seeds and grains. Comparison of the Kharaneh IV archaeobotanical assemblage with those from other Epipalaeolithic sites in the southern Levant reveals a number of similarities and differences. These comparisons, and especially with the contemporary nearby site of Wadi Jilat 6, support the emerging picture of an ecological mosaic within the Epipalaeolithic Azraq basin, and a general pattern of local resource use across the wider region.