Evidence of Wild Fires From Barremian Cretaceous Jordan

Fire in a Weichselia-dominated coastal ecosystem from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) of the Kurnub Group in NW Jordan

Authors:

Abu Hamad et al

Abstract:

Large intervals of the Cretaceous are considered as a ‘high-fire’ period in Earth's history. However, so far most studies dealing in greater detail with the fossil evidence of palaeo-wildfires, i.e. fossil charcoal, originate from the northern hemisphere (i.e. North America, Europe, Asia) whereas there are large stratigraphic and geographic gaps on the Cretaceous southern continents. The present paper deals with the fossil contents (plant macro-remains, palynomorphs and charcoal) of a lignite lens from the lower part of the Lower Cretaceous Kurnub Group near King Talal Dam in Jordan. The data provide evidence for the repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires in coastal ecosystems on the northern margin of Gondwana during the Barremian. The fossil content of the lens indicates that the vegetation, which was repeatedly affected by fire, has been dominated by the matoniaceous tree fern Weichselia reticulata. Palynological data from the lignite, as well as the repeated occurrence of wildfires point to an at least seasonally dry (or at least less humid) climate during deposition of the lignite.

20,000 Year old (!!!), EpiPaleolithic pre Natufian Huts (Village?) From Jordan

Twenty Thousand-Year-Old Huts at a Hunter-Gatherer Settlement in Eastern Jordan

Authors:

Maher et al

Abstract:

Ten thousand years before Neolithic farmers settled in permanent villages, hunter-gatherer groups of the Epipalaeolithic period (c. 22–11,600 cal BP) inhabited much of southwest Asia. The latest Epipalaeolithic phase (Natufian) is well-known for the appearance of stone-built houses, complex site organization, a sedentary lifestyle and social complexity—precursors for a Neolithic way of life. In contrast, pre-Natufian sites are much less well known and generally considered as campsites for small groups of seasonally-mobile hunter-gatherers. Work at the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic aggregation site of Kharaneh IV in eastern Jordan highlights that some of these earlier sites were large aggregation base camps not unlike those of the Natufian and contributes to ongoing debates on their duration of occupation. Here we discuss the excavation of two 20,000-year-old hut structures at Kharaneh IV that pre-date the renowned stone houses of the Natufian. Exceptionally dense and extensive occupational deposits exhibit repeated habitation over prolonged periods, and contain structural remains associated with exotic and potentially symbolic caches of objects (shell, red ochre, and burnt horn cores) that indicate substantial settlement of the site pre-dating the Natufian and outside of the Natufian homeland as currently understood.

F-22 Raptors are Escorting Jordanian Air Strikes in Syria

When Jordan’s air force launched a campaign of revenge air raids on Islamic State in Syria in early February, U.S. Air Force fighter jets helped protect the Jordanian F-16s as they flew over enemy territory.

The American escorts included F-16CJs specially equipped to find and destroy surface-to-air radars—and also F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, which flew their first ever combat missions in the opening hours of the U.S.-led air campaign targeting Islamic State militants Syria beginning in September.

A small number of F-22s—likely six or a dozen—has been active over Syria ever since, steadily honing a new specialty as escorts for older, less stealthy planes.

The twin-engine Raptors, apparently flying from Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates, are now part of the “standard strike package” for coalition air raids hitting Syria, Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren, a U.S. Army colonel, told Air Force Times.

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Evidence the 'Sea People' of the Eastern Mediterranean Were European

Swedish archaeologists in Jordan led by Professor Peter M. Fischer from the University of Gothenburg have excavated a nearly 60-metre long well-preserved building from 1100 B.C. in the ancient settlement Tell Abu al-Kharaz. The building is from an era characterised by major migration.

New finds support the theory that groups of the so-called Sea Peoples emigrated to Tell Abu al-Kharaz. They derive from Southern or Eastern Europe and settled in the Eastern Mediterranean region all the way to the Jordan Valley.

'We have evidence that culture from present Europe is represented in Tell Abu al-Kharaz. A group of the Sea Peoples of European descent, Philistines, settled down in the city,' says Peter Fischer. 'We have, for instance, found pottery resembling corresponding items from Greece and Cyprus in terms of form and decoration, and also cylindrical loom weights for textile production that could be found in central and south-east Europe around the same time.'

Tell Abu al-Kharaz is located in the Jordan Valley close to the border to Israel and the West Bank. It most likely corresponds to the biblical city of Jabesh Gilead. The Swedish Jordan Expedition has explored the city, which was founded 3200 B.C. and lasted for almost 5 000 years. The first excavation took place in 1989 and the most recent in autumn 2013. All in all, 16 excavations have been completed.

Peter M. Fischer and his team of archaeologists and students have surveyed an urban settlement that flourished three times over the 5 000 years: around 3100-2900 B.C. (Early Bronze Age), 1600-1300 B.C. (Late Bronze Age) and 1100-700 B.C. (Iron Age). These are the local periods; in Sweden, they occurred much later.

Remarkably well-preserved stone structures have been exposed during the excavations. The finds include defensive walls, buildings and thousands of complete objects produced locally or imported from south-east Europe.

'What surprises me the most is that we have found so many objects from far away. This shows that people were very mobile already thousands of years ago,' says Fischer.

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