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Pre-Pottery Neolithic B

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) is a phase of the Early Neolithic period in Southwest Asia, distinguished by the absence of pottery and marked by the establishment of sedentary villages, early plant cultivation, and the onset of animal husbandry, spanning approximately 8,800 to 6,500 BCE (calibrated). This period follows the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and represents a critical transition toward more complex agrarian societies, with evidence of increased social organization and symbolic practices across the region.^[1] Geographically, PPNB culture originated in the Levant, encompassing modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, but extended northward into Anatolia and Cyprus, eastward to the Jazira region, southward into the Sinai Peninsula, and even as far as temporary encampments in the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia, indicating widespread human dispersal during a humid Early Holocene climate.^[2] Notable sites include large settlements like Jericho and 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan, where populations reached several thousand inhabitants, supported by fertile environments near palaeolakes and river valleys.^[3] Architecturally, PPNB communities featured rectangular mud-brick houses with lime-plastered floors and walls, often arranged in clustered layouts that suggest communal planning and ritual spaces, such as those with built-in benches and symbolic decorations.^[3] Economically, PPNB societies relied on a mixed subsistence strategy, including the cultivation of emmer wheat, barley, and legumes, alongside the herding of domesticated goats, sheep, and cattle, with domestication processes evident from the early PPNB onward (c. 8,500 BCE).^[4] This marked a shift from opportunistic hunting to systematic food production. Material culture emphasized lithic technologies, such as Jericho and Byblos projectile points alongside transitional El-Khiam and Helwan types for hunting, sickle blades for harvesting, and ground stone tools for processing, while artistic expressions included clay and stone figurines—often anthropomorphic or zoomorphic—that may have served ritual or symbolic functions in domestic contexts.^[2] The period is subdivided into Early (c. 8,500–8,000 BCE), Middle (c. 8,000–7,500 BCE), and Late PPNB (c. 7,500–6,500 BCE), reflecting gradual intensification in sedentism and inter-regional interactions, before declining amid environmental changes like the 8.2 kiloyear event and transitioning to pottery-using phases.^[1]^[5]

Overview and Chronology

Definition and Characteristics

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) constitutes the second major phase of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) cultural sequence in Southwest Asia, following the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and marking a pivotal stage in the transition to fully sedentary agricultural societies. Initially defined by archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon in the 1950s based on stratigraphic evidence from excavations at Jericho, the PPNB is distinguished by the continued absence of fired pottery, which gives the broader PPN its name, alongside the intensification of food production and community organization.^[6]^[7] This phase reflects a maturation of Neolithic adaptations, with communities relying on non-ceramic technologies for storage, construction, and daily life, setting it apart from earlier hunter-gatherer patterns and later ceramic-using cultures.^[8] Central to PPNB characteristics is the establishment of sedentism through permanent villages, often spanning several hectares, supported by mudbrick and lime plaster architecture that shifted from the round structures of the PPNA to more standardized rectangular houses with shared walls and internal divisions.^[9]^[10] These settlements facilitated intensified agriculture, evidenced by the domestication of key crops such as emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), which exhibit morphological changes like non-shattering rachises indicative of human selection.^[7]^[11] Animal management also advanced during this period, with early herding of goats (Capra aegagrus) and sheep (Ovis orientalis), transitioning from hunting wild populations to controlled breeding practices that underpinned economic stability.^[6]^[8] Symbolic and ritual behaviors further define the PPNB, highlighting emerging social complexity, such as the practice of modeling human skulls with lime plaster—often incorporating shells for eyes—to create ancestral figures, a phenomenon documented at Levantine sites and interpreted as evidence of ancestor veneration or communal identity.^[7]^[12] In contrast to the Pottery Neolithic that followed around 7000 BCE, the PPNB eschewed fired ceramics entirely, favoring lime-based plasters for floors, walls, and vessels, which allowed for innovative but brittle technologies suited to a pre-ceramic economy.^[9]^[13] This focus on plaster and mudbrick underscores the period's technological ingenuity in supporting larger, more interdependent communities without reliance on kiln-fired materials.^[14]

Time Period and Phases

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) spans approximately 8,800–6,900 BCE in the Levant and surrounding regions, marking a key phase in the Neolithic transition, characterized by increasing sedentism and agricultural development.^[2] This period follows the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and precedes the Pottery Neolithic, with its chronology established through radiocarbon dating of archaeological contexts across multiple sites.^[15] Note that dates vary slightly by region due to ongoing debates in calibration and site-specific evidence. The PPNB is internally divided into three main phases: early (EPPNB), middle (MPPNB), and late (LPPNB), each reflecting progressive sociocultural and economic changes. The EPPNB, dated to around 8,800–8,000 BCE, represents the initial stage of sedentism, with communities transitioning from semi-permanent PPNA settlements to more stable villages featuring rectangular houses and early reliance on cultivated crops and managed animal herds.^[16] During the MPPNB (ca. 8,000–7,500 BCE), agriculture expanded significantly, incorporating a broader range of domesticated plants and animals, alongside the growth of trade networks and more complex social structures evident in architectural elaboration.^[17] The LPPNB (ca. 7,500–6,900 BCE) saw the emergence of larger villages, often exceeding 10 hectares, and intensified ritual practices, including communal buildings and symbolic treatments of human remains, signaling heightened social complexity.^[15] The transition from the LPPNB to the Pottery Neolithic around 7000 BCE involved widespread site abandonments and cultural shifts, attributed to environmental changes such as aridification and resource stress, alongside adaptations in subsistence and mobility that facilitated the introduction of pottery and new settlement patterns.^[18]

Relative Chronology

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) directly succeeds the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) in the Levant and adjacent regions, representing a key developmental stage in the transition from initial experimentation with sedentism and plant management to more intensive agricultural practices. While PPNA communities exhibited early signs of wild cereal cultivation and rudimentary architecture such as round houses, PPNB societies advanced these elements through the widespread adoption of domesticated cereals like emmer wheat and einkorn, alongside legumes such as lentils, which supported larger, more stable settlements. Architectural innovations, including rectangular buildings with lime-plastered floors and agglomerated layouts sharing walls, further distinguished PPNB from PPNA, facilitating increased social complexity and resource storage.^[6]^[19] The transition from PPNB to the Pottery Neolithic is characterized by the gradual introduction of ceramic vessels, which replaced earlier lime-plaster containers for storage and cooking, while maintaining continuity in core subsistence strategies like crop cultivation and animal herding. This shift occurred amid regional variations, with evidence from sites in the southern Levant showing persistence of ritual practices, such as skull plastering, into the early Pottery Neolithic phases, suggesting cultural rather than abrupt economic ruptures. Influenced by interactions between Levantine farming communities and Anatolian developments, the Pottery Neolithic marked the end of the pre-pottery era, enabling further expansion of village life and trade networks.^[20]^[21] Within the broader Neolithic Revolution, PPNB occupies a pivotal position as the phase where the foundational elements of farming economies solidified, bridging the Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherer lifeways—exemplified by Natufian semi-sedentism—and the subsequent Chalcolithic period with its metallurgical innovations. This era encompassed the establishment of village-based societies across Southwest Asia, driven by multi-regional processes of migration, exchange, and adaptation that transformed human-environment interactions from foraging to agriculture. PPNB's emphasis on domesticated resources and communal architecture laid the groundwork for the demographic and technological expansions seen in later Neolithic stages.^[22]

Geography and Settlement Patterns

Geographic Extent

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) culture was primarily distributed across the Levant, encompassing the modern territories of Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, with significant extensions into southern Anatolia, northern Mesopotamia, and the island of Cyprus. This core region formed part of the broader Fertile Crescent, where PPNB communities established sedentary villages amid interconnected ecological zones that facilitated cultural and economic interactions. Evidence from ancient DNA and archaeological assemblages confirms this spatial scope, highlighting a genetic and material continuity from Levantine origins to peripheral expansions via maritime and overland routes.^[23] PPNB settlements thrived in Mediterranean climate zones characterized by seasonal rainfall, which supported semi-arid to temperate conditions ideal for wild resource exploitation and nascent agriculture. These environments often included oak-pistachio woodlands—dominated by species such as Quercus (oak), Pistacia (pistachio), and almond trees—covering hilly and mountainous terrains, alongside riparian zones in river valleys like the Jordan, Euphrates, and Tigris. Such landscapes provided diverse foraging opportunities, including nuts, legumes, and cereals, while alluvial soils in valley bottoms enabled early cultivation practices, contributing to the demographic growth and sedentism of PPNB populations.^[24]^[6] The northern limit of PPNB distribution is represented by sites in southeastern Anatolia, such as Çayönü Tepesi in Turkey, while the southern boundary extended into the marginal arid environments of the Negev Desert in southern Israel and further to the Sinai Peninsula and temporary encampments in the Nefud Desert of Saudi Arabia. To the east, the culture reached northern Mesopotamia, including sites in Iraq like Nemrik 9, marking the eastern periphery where adaptations to steppe-like conditions are evident. These boundaries delineate a vast yet cohesive cultural complex, bounded by environmental gradients from humid woodlands to desert fringes.^[25]^[26]^[23]^[2]

Key Sites and Regions

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period is exemplified by several key archaeological sites in the Levant, where settlements reflect the transition to more sedentary communities with rectangular architecture and intensive resource use. In the southern Levant, 'Ain Ghazal in central Jordan stands out as one of the largest known early villages, covering approximately 15 hectares and featuring multi-phase occupations with densely packed rectangular houses arranged in rows.^[27] Excavations at 'Ain Ghazal, conducted from 1982 to 1989, reveal a community that supported up to 2,500 inhabitants at its peak, highlighting its role as a major highland settlement.^[28] Further south, Beidha in southern Jordan provides foundational evidence for PPNB village organization, with excavations uncovering clusters of rectangular houses built in parallel rows, indicative of planned communal layouts spanning multiple phases from the early to middle PPNB. Beidha's architecture, including lime-plastered floors and stone foundations, underscores the site's development as an early agrarian center in a marginal arid zone.^[29] In the central-southern Levant, Jericho in the West Bank represents a long-occupied urban precursor, with PPNB layers featuring rectangular mud-brick houses and lime-plastered interiors, suggesting organized labor and population aggregation around 7500–7000 BCE. Jericho's sustained habitation over millennia positions it as a pivotal site for understanding PPNB social complexity in the Jordan Valley.^[10] Extending into Anatolia and Mesopotamia, PPNB influences appear in transitional sites that bridge earlier hunter-gatherer traditions with farming communities. Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey, while primarily a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) monument, includes middle PPNB layers (Layer II) with rectangular enclosures and T-shaped pillars, indicating continuity in ritual and architectural practices into the PPNB.^[30] This site's location on a hilltop near Şanlıurfa reveals interactions between northern Levantine and Anatolian groups during the PPNA-PPNB transition around 9000–8000 BCE.^[31] These Anatolian sites demonstrate PPNB expansion into upland regions, with Göbekli Tepe showing symbolic continuity and scalable village growth.^[32] Regional variations in PPNB settlements highlight adaptations to local environments, with the southern Levant featuring smaller, dispersed villages like Beidha and 'Ain Ghazal that emphasized highland farming and pastoralism in semi-arid settings.^[6] In contrast, northern Levantine and Anatolian regions supported larger settlements, such as elements at Göbekli Tepe, where greater resource availability and trade networks fostered denser populations and more complex enclosures.^[33] These differences reflect ecological gradients, with southern sites averaging 1–5 hectares and northern ones exceeding 10 hectares, influencing settlement permanence and inter-site connectivity.^[34]

Diffusion and Expansion

The diffusion of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) culture involved population movements from the southern Levant northward and westward, reaching southeastern Anatolia and Cyprus around 8000 BCE through organized migrations and seafaring expeditions. These movements facilitated the transmission of agricultural practices, domesticated animals, and architectural innovations, with evidence from sites like Tell Qarassa in the northern Levant showing early integration of rectilinear structures and tool technologies derived from southern origins.^[6] Concurrently, extensive trade networks emerged, exchanging Anatolian obsidian for Levantine marine shells and other prestige items, as indicated by obsidian artifacts at Levantine sites such as Kharaysin and Tell Qarassa, comprising up to 0.35% of assemblages and pointing to recurrent maritime and overland exchanges via the Syro-Cilician coast.^[6]^[35] Evidence for this expansion is marked by the widespread adoption of hallmark PPNB traits in peripheral regions by approximately 7500 BCE, including the shift to rectangular houses with lime-plastered floors and shared walls, which appeared in Anatolian settlements like Aşıklı Höyük and Cypriot sites such as Shillourokambos. These architectural forms, initially developed in the Levant during the early PPNB (ca. 8600–8200 cal. BCE), signify cultural transmission rather than isolated development, as seen in the continuity of bidirectional blade technologies and domestic crop remains across these areas.^[6]^[36] Trade artifacts further corroborate this, with obsidian from central Anatolian sources like Bingöl reaching Cypriot and Levantine communities in organized caches, underscoring interconnected interaction spheres.^[35] Key factors driving PPNB expansion included climatic amelioration following the Younger Dryas cold phase (ending ca. 9600 BCE), which brought wetter conditions and higher lake levels across the Eastern Mediterranean, supporting sedentism and resource availability for dispersing groups. This environmental stability, evidenced by pollen records from sites like Tenaghi Philippon and speleothem data from Soreq Cave, enabled the intensification of farming and prompted movements into new territories. Additionally, resource-seeking behaviors, such as pursuit of marine resources and arable land, motivated the colonization of Cyprus around 8500 BCE, where early PPNB settlers introduced cereals, livestock, and fishing technologies via planned voyages from the Levantine coast, as demonstrated by faunal and botanical remains at Kissonerga-Mylouthkia.^[37]

Economy and Subsistence

Crop Cultivation

In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), crop cultivation marked a significant evolution in subsistence strategies across the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, with communities transitioning to intensive management of domesticated plants around 8800–7000 BCE.^[38] This period saw the establishment of farming as a core economic activity, supported by archaeobotanical evidence from sites such as Abu Hureyra and Tell Halula, where charred remains and impressions reveal the processing of cereals and legumes.^[38] The adoption of these crops reflected adaptations to local environments, emphasizing cereals and pulses that could thrive in the region's Mediterranean and semi-arid climates.^[39] The principal domesticated crops in PPNB assemblages included emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), lentils (Lens culinaris), and peas (Pisum sativum), forming the core of the Neolithic founder package.^[38] Domestication traits, such as non-shattering rachises in cereals and larger seed sizes in pulses, are documented through macroremains at sites like Yiftahel and 'Ain Ghazal, indicating selective cultivation over preceding wild gathering phases.^[38] Phytolith analysis from barley grains at Abu Hureyra further corroborates the presence of domesticated forms, with silica bodies showing morphological changes associated with intensive farming. Sickle blades, often exhibiting silicified gloss from cereal harvesting, provide functional evidence of crop reaping at multiple PPNB sites, including those in the Jordan Valley.^[40] Cultivation techniques during the PPNB relied predominantly on dry farming in rain-fed highlands and plains, where elevated moisture levels—evidenced by stable carbon isotope ratios (Δ¹³C) in grains indicating two- to fourfold higher water availability than modern conditions—supported cereal growth without artificial watering.^[39] In fertile river valleys like the middle Euphrates, early practices may have incorporated rudimentary irrigation, as suggested by settlement proximity to alluvial soils and wells at sites such as Sha'ar Hagolan, enhancing yields in seasonally dry areas.^[41] Tillage with digging sticks or hoes, inferred from tool assemblages, promoted soil preparation and weed control, fostering the gradual evolution of crop traits under primitive agronomic conditions.^[39] The economic role of PPNB crop cultivation lay in its facilitation of a shift from opportunistic gathering to reliable production, generating surpluses that underpinned sedentism and population growth in villages like Jericho and Beidha.^[38] This surplus, derived from high-yielding domesticated varieties, enabled year-round settlement stability and social complexity, with storage facilities preserving harvests for extended periods.^[38]

Animal Domestication

In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period, animal domestication marked a significant shift toward managed husbandry, beginning with goats (Capra aegagrus) around 8000 BCE in the southern Levant and northern Mesopotamia. Archaeological evidence from sites such as 'Ain Ghazal and Tell Aswad indicates that early herding involved selective management of wild goat populations, transitioning to full domestication characterized by controlled breeding and reduced mobility. This process is evidenced by age-at-death profiles in faunal assemblages, which show a predominance of immature males slaughtered for meat while females were retained longer for milk production and reproduction, suggesting intentional herd management rather than opportunistic hunting.^[42]^[4] Morphological changes in goat bones further support domestication during the early to middle PPNB (ca. 8500–7500 BCE), including a gradual decrease in body size, slenderization of limb bones, and alterations in horn core shape, such as increased spiraling and sexual dimorphism reduction. These traits, observed in remains from Levantine sites like Yiftahel and Jericho, reflect genetic selection under human control, distinguishing domestic herds from wild populations. Genetic studies of ancient DNA from PPNB contexts confirm multiple domestication events in the Fertile Crescent, with herded goats showing admixture between wild and proto-domestic lineages by 9000 BCE.^[43]^[44] Sheep (Ovis orientalis) followed goats in domestication timelines, with evidence of management emerging around 8000 BCE in central Anatolia and the northern Levant, as seen at sites like Aşıklı Höyük and Çayönü. Faunal analyses reveal similar kill-off patterns, with higher proportions of sub-adult sheep in middens, indicating exploitation for meat and wool, alongside morphological shifts like smaller metacarpals and altered horn bases. By the late PPNB (ca. 7000 BCE), sheep herding was widespread, integrated with goat management to diversify protein sources.^[45]^[46]^[47] Cattle (Bos taurus) and pigs (Sus scrofa) were domesticated during the early PPNB phase, around 8500–8000 BCE, with initial evidence concentrated in northern Mesopotamia and Anatolia.^[48] At sites such as Çatalhöyük and Göbekli Tepe, cattle remains exhibit early size reduction and age profiles favoring prime adults for traction and milk, while pig assemblages show increased juvenile mortality suggestive of penning and fattening for meat. These species complemented goat and sheep herding by providing secondary products like dairy and labor, though hunting of wild ungulates persisted, blending managed and wild economies. Domestication of these animals synergized with crop cultivation, enabling mixed agro-pastoral systems that enhanced subsistence stability.^[49]^[50]^[48]

Storage and Granaries

In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), communities in the Southern Levant developed sophisticated storage systems to manage agricultural surpluses, primarily using mudbrick silos and pits for grain preservation. At key sites like 'Ain Ghazal in the Jordan Valley, these structures were integrated into domestic architecture, with mudbrick silos often placed inside or adjacent to houses and pits dug into room corners or floors. Capacities of such facilities could reach up to 1000 kg of foodstuffs, based on ethnographic analogies and archaeological estimates of similar Neolithic silos, enabling households to store significant volumes of emmer wheat, barley, and legumes.^[51]^[52] These storage methods served critical purposes in the PPNB economy, allowing for the accumulation of surplus harvests to buffer against seasonal dry periods and resource shortages. By preventing famine and ensuring food security, such practices facilitated population growth and the maintenance of larger sedentary settlements, as surpluses supported extended family units and possibly communal sharing. Evidence from 'Ain Ghazal indicates that indoor pits in Middle PPNB houses held processed crops like lentils, peas, and barley, underscoring storage's role in stabilizing subsistence amid variable rainfall.^[51]^[52] Innovations in PPNB storage included elevated granaries constructed on poles or with suspended floors, designed to promote air circulation and deter rodents and insects from infesting stored goods. These features, observed in Jordan Valley contexts, highlight a shift toward a planned economy, where deliberate engineering addressed environmental challenges and optimized resource management over time. Storage volumes expanded dramatically during the PPNB—up to 50 times greater than in preceding Natufian phases—reflecting intensified agriculture and social organization.^[51]^[53]

Society and Daily Life

Social organization in Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) communities appears to have been largely egalitarian, characterized by limited evidence of social hierarchies or significant inequality, with resources likely shared among group members. However, scholarly debate exists regarding the gradual emergence of social complexity in the Late PPNB, including household autonomy and ritual specialization at larger sites.^[54]^[55] Archaeological data from sites across the southern Levant and beyond indicate that villages typically housed 100 to 500 individuals, fostering cooperative structures rather than stratified ones. This egalitarianism is inferred from the absence of marked differences in house sizes or grave goods, suggesting a resistance to emerging social differentiation during the transition to sedentism and agriculture. Recent studies on shell beads and isotopic analyses reveal complex inter-community networks and mobility, indicating long-distance social ties that supported connectivity across the Levant as of findings published in 2023–2025.^[56]^[57]^[58]^[54] House sizes in PPNB settlements varied from approximately 20 to 100 m², often consisting of rectangular or square structures that point to kin-based household units rather than elite residences. These dwellings, typically clustered in compact villages, imply extended family groups managing daily production and resource distribution collectively. The presence of communal ritual buildings, such as those identified at sites like 'Ain Ghazal and Basta, further supports a model of shared leadership and community-oriented decision-making, where large-scale rituals reinforced social cohesion without evident centralized authority.^[59]^[17]^[60]^[61] Gender roles in PPNB society likely followed a division of labor aligned with emerging subsistence practices, with women primarily involved in crop cultivation and food processing, as suggested by bioarchaeological evidence of skeletal markers indicating repetitive grinding and planting activities. Men, in contrast, appear to have focused on hunting and early animal herding, based on associations with tools for butchery and pursuit in artifact assemblages. This division supported the mixed economy of farming and foraging but remained flexible within the broader egalitarian framework, without strong indicators of gender-based inequality in access to resources.^[62]^[63]^[64]

Settlements and Architecture

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period is characterized by clustered village settlements, typically comprising 50 to 200 houses arranged in dense, contiguous layouts that reflect increasing sedentism and community organization.^[65] These villages often occupied terraced hillsides or flat terrain, with structures built in close proximity to facilitate social interaction and resource sharing, as evidenced by sites across the Levant. A representative example is Tell Aswad in the Damascus region of Syria, where excavations reveal a compact village with diverse mudbrick architecture indicative of a densely packed community focused on early agricultural life.^[66] PPNB architecture predominantly featured rectangular houses constructed from mudbricks, which were molded from local clay, sun-dried, and laid in walls up to 50 cm thick, often reinforced with wooden posts or sockets for stability.^[67] These houses typically had flat roofs supported by timber beams and reed matting, allowing for multi-story use or outdoor activities, and measured 20 to 60 square meters in floor area. Interiors included lime plaster floors, applied in layers 2 to 14 cm thick and burnished for durability and waterproofing, which were a hallmark of PPNB construction to combat humidity and pests in agricultural settings.^[68] Many houses contained multiple rooms, with central living spaces featuring hearths and platforms, flanked by smaller compartments dedicated to storage of grains and tools, suggesting organized household economies.^[67] By the Late PPNB (LPPNB), some settlements evolved into proto-urban centers, exemplified by 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan, which expanded to over 7 hectares and supported more than 2,000 inhabitants through agglomeration of residential clusters and specialized structures.^[69] At 'Ain Ghazal, mudbrick pier houses with lime-plastered interiors formed terraced neighborhoods, incorporating corridors and annexes that enhanced compartmentalization for living and storage functions.^[67] This architectural sophistication underscores the transition toward larger, more complex communities, though many villages remained smaller-scale clusters without such extensive growth.

Lifestyle and Practices

The lifestyle of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) communities revolved around a mixed subsistence strategy that integrated early agriculture with foraging and herding, shaping daily routines centered on food preparation and resource processing. Diets primarily consisted of domesticated grains such as emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), barley (Hordeum sp.), and legumes like peas (Pisum sativum), supplemented by wild plants including Cheno-am seeds, plantain (Plantago psyllium), and starchy tubers or roots. Animal protein came from domesticated goats (Capra sp.), which dominated faunal assemblages (up to 78% of identified specimens), alongside hunted wild species such as gazelle, aurochs (Bos primigenius), wild boar (Sus scrofa), equids, and birds. This blend reflects a transition from intensified foraging to managed resources, with evidence from sites like Ghwair I in Jordan indicating balanced exploitation of both cultivated and gathered foods.^[70] Food preparation involved grinding stones—flat querns and handheld rubbers—for processing grains and starchy plants into meal or flour, a labor-intensive task likely performed in household settings near rectangular structures. Hearths, often lined with stones and located within dwellings, served as central cooking features, where bones show signs of burning post-defleshing, suggesting roasting or boiling over open fires fueled by local woods like juniper and pistachio. These practices highlight the centrality of communal food processing in daily life, with starch residues on tools confirming the emphasis on plant-based staples that required repetitive grinding. Health impacts included severe dental wear, such as chipping and notches on 47% of analyzed teeth from adults and juveniles at Bestansur in Iraqi Kurdistan, attributed to gritty inclusions from stone-ground grains contaminating meals.^[70]^[71] Non-economic activities encompassed crafting and social gatherings that reinforced community bonds. Tool-making was a routine practice, particularly with bone implements at sites like Ba'Ja in Jordan, where awls, needles, and spatulas crafted from sheep/goat long bones and ribs were used for leatherworking, weaving preparation, and smoothing tasks; these tools, shaped by sawing and polishing, indicate specialized daily labor divided possibly by age or gender. Weaving and basketry emerged as key fiber technologies, with indirect evidence from spindle whorls, loom weights, and impressions on plaster floors at PPNB settlements like Nahal Hemar in Israel, pointing to the production of mats, storage baskets, and possibly clothing from local reeds or flax. Communal feasting, marked by large-scale deposition of cattle bones and special firepits, occurred at sites such as Beidha and Kfar HaHoresh, serving integrative roles during agricultural cycles or rituals, with scale increasing in the Middle and Late PPNB phases.^[72]^[73]^[74] Leisure and ritual elements are suggested by early gaming artifacts, including modified astragali (knuckle bones) from caprines at PPNB layers in the Levant, interpreted as dice or counters for social games based on their smoothed surfaces and contextual clustering. Music may have played a role in communal activities, inferred from perforated bone objects resembling simple flutes at transitional Natufian-PPN sites in Israel, though direct PPNB examples remain elusive; such items, dated around 12,000–10,000 years ago, could have produced sounds mimicking natural calls for hunting or gatherings. These practices, embedded within mud-brick dwellings, underscore a lifestyle adapting to sedentism while maintaining social cohesion through shared labor and occasional festivities.^[75]^[76]

Material Culture and Artifacts

Tools and Technology

In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), bifacial sickles emerged as key tools for harvesting wild cereals, featuring finely retouched edges designed for efficient cutting of plant stems.^[77] These sickles, often hafted onto handles, represent an adaptation to intensified plant gathering and early agriculture in the Levant. Grinding querns, typically made from local basalt, were essential for processing grains into flour, with flat or saddle-shaped surfaces used in conjunction with handheld rubbers to grind wild barley and wheat.^[78] Obsidian blades, prized for their sharpness, were produced from imported raw material and employed in cutting tasks, indicating specialized knapping techniques at PPNB sites.^[79] Technological advancements in the PPNB included the production of lime plaster, achieved by heating limestone to around 800°C in kilns to create a versatile material for flooring, wall coatings, and sealing storage facilities.^[68] This pyrotechnological process required careful control of temperature and involved slaking the burnt lime with water to form a workable paste, marking a significant innovation in construction and resource management.^[80] By the Late PPNB (LPPNB), experimental copper smelting began, with small-scale processing of native copper ores to produce simple artifacts like awls and beads, possibly linked to the high-temperature techniques developed for lime production.^[81] Material sourcing in PPNB communities relied on local flint from quarries in regions like Jordan and the Levant, where high-quality chert nodules were extracted and knapped into tools using naviform core reduction methods.^[82] Imported marine shells, primarily from the Red Sea and Mediterranean, were sourced through exchange networks and crafted into beads, demonstrating long-distance trade connections that supplemented local resources.^[83] These practices highlight the PPNB's integration of regional procurement with broader interaction spheres to support tool production and daily activities.^[84]

Art and Symbolism

One of the most prominent art forms in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) is the anthropomorphic lime-plaster statues discovered at 'Ain Ghazal in Jordan, dating to the Middle PPNB (ca. 8500–7500 BCE). These statues, reaching heights of up to 104 cm for full figures and averaging 86 cm for large busts, were constructed by modeling plaster over reed bundle armatures bound with cordage, featuring incised facial details, recessed brows, and bitumen-inset eyes.^[85] Excavated from caches beneath the floors of abandoned houses, the 26 statues and busts from two deposits exhibit stylized human forms, with rectangular torsos and minimal limbs, suggesting they served as symbolic representations rather than realistic portraits.^[86] Their enigmatic features, including possible provisions for added wigs or clothing on unsmoothed surfaces, indicate skilled craftsmanship tied to non-utilitarian purposes.^[85] Symbolic expressions in PPNB also include geometric engravings on bone fragments, primarily consisting of simple parallel incised lines, though such markings are rare and limited in scope compared to other media.^[86] Animal motifs appear frequently in artistic contexts, such as the 151 clay zoomorphic figurines from 'Ain Ghazal depicting species like goats, bulls, and gazelles in miniature standing poses, often found in domestic refuse.^[87] Wall decorations featuring bucrania (bull skulls) and mixed human-animal imagery occur at sites in central Anatolia and the Levant, while engravings of animals like snakes and aurochs adorn portable chlorite vessels at locations such as Körtik Tepe.^[88] These motifs, alongside phallomorphic and female figurines, are interpreted as possible fertility symbols, emphasizing themes of reproduction and prosperity in a period of agricultural transition.^[88] Such artistic elements likely played a central role in rituals, functioning as conduits for magical practices or communication with supernatural entities, as evidenced by the deposition of statues and figurines in structured caches and the use of pigments on human and animal forms.^[86] At sites like Nevalı Çori, stone sculptures blending human and animal features in cult buildings further suggest these representations reinforced community ideologies and social cohesion through shared symbolic acts.^[87] Earlier in the PPNB (ca. 9600–8000 BCE), elaborate T-shaped pillars at Göbekli Tepe—adorned with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic reliefs—marked a shift toward monumental public expressions in stone enclosures.^[89]^[87] In the Late PPNB (ca. 7500–7000 BCE), artistic developments reflect growing ideological complexity, including standardized motifs and increased focus on human forms, coinciding with expanding settlements and new architectural forms, indicating enhanced ritual elaboration.^[88]

Burial Practices

In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), burial practices primarily involved interring the dead beneath the floors of domestic structures, integrating the deceased into the daily lives of the living community.^[6] These sub-floor burials, often in shallow pits, featured bodies in flexed positions, with evidence of primary inhumations that were later disturbed for secondary treatments.^[90] Skull removal was a widespread practice, occurring after initial decomposition, allowing for the extraction and manipulation of crania while long bones and other elements remained in place.^[91] Secondary treatments emphasized the head, with removed skulls frequently coated in lime plaster to preserve facial features, sometimes enhanced with shell eyes and painted details to create modeled skulls.^[91] These plastered skulls, found in caches or embedded in walls, symbolized ancestor veneration, serving as ritual heirlooms that linked generations and reinforced social continuity.^[91] Grave goods were rare and modest, typically including beads made from marine shells or stone, flint tools, and occasional animal remains, suggesting limited emphasis on individual status in favor of communal rituals.^[90] Variations emerged in the Late PPNB (LPPNB), where communal ossuaries containing disarticulated remains of multiple individuals became more common, indicating a shift toward collective secondary burial and possibly evolving beliefs in shared ancestry.^[92] At sites like Baʻja, exceptional single burials with richer grave goods, such as turquoise and carnelian beads alongside exotic ornaments, hint at emerging social differentiation while still tied to broader ancestor-focused practices.^[92] These changes reflect adaptations in mortuary customs that may parallel developments in social organization, such as incipient leadership roles.^[92]

Scientific Studies

Radiocarbon Dating

Radiocarbon dating has been instrumental in establishing the chronology of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) sites across the Levant, relying primarily on accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques applied to short-lived organic materials such as seeds and small charcoal fragments to minimize temporal offsets. These samples are calibrated against standard curves like IntCal20 or later iterations to convert radiocarbon years before present (BP) into calendar years BCE, accounting for atmospheric variations in carbon-14 levels. This approach has refined the temporal framework of PPNB phases, distinguishing the Early PPNB (EPPNB) from the Late PPNB (LPPNB) through stratified sequences at key settlements. At Motza, a key EPPNB site in the southern Levant, AMS dates from short-lived seeds and charcoal in EPPNB layers indicate occupation from approximately 8600–8000 cal BCE, marking the initial spread of rectangular architecture and domesticated plants in the region.^[93] Similarly, at 'Ain Ghazal in central Jordan, expanded AMS dating of LPPNB contexts—yielding over 20 measurements from seeds and charcoal—places the phase between 7000–6000 cal BCE, aligning with evidence of intensified sedentism and lime plaster use. These calibrated ranges, derived from Bayesian modeling of stratigraphic sequences, highlight a gradual cultural evolution across the 9th to 7th millennia BCE, with the EPPNB representing an expansion from Pre-Pottery Neolithic A traditions.^[15] Despite these advances, challenges persist in PPNB radiocarbon interpretation, notably the old wood effect, where long-lived tree charcoal can yield dates 100–300 years older than the associated archaeological event due to inbuilt age from the tree's growth rings.^[15] Additionally, reservoir offsets complicate dating of lime plaster samples, a hallmark PPNB material, as the burning of limestone incorporates "dead" carbon from geological sources, potentially biasing results by several centuries.^[15] To mitigate these issues, researchers prioritize short-lived seeds and apply site-specific corrections, ensuring more reliable chronological models for PPNB dispersal and transitions.^[94]

Genetic Analysis

Genetic analysis of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) populations has illuminated their maternal genetic heritage through mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies of Levantine samples. These reveal the presence of haplogroups such as N1a and J, which demonstrate continuity with preceding Natufian hunter-gatherers in the region.^[95] This maternal lineage persistence underscores a degree of local population stability during the transition to sedentism and early farming practices.^[96] Autosomal DNA investigations further characterize PPNB genetic structure as a mixture dominated by local Levantine hunter-gatherer ancestry (approximately two-thirds) with a smaller contribution (about one-third) from Anatolian-related farmers.^[95] These populations exhibited notably low genetic diversity, comparable to that of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, pointing to small founding populations and limited gene flow during the early phases of the PPNB.^[97] Post-2020 ancient DNA studies, including analyses from the 'Ain Ghazal site in Jordan, have confirmed substantial basal Eurasian ancestry in PPNB individuals, a component that distinguishes Levantine Neolithic groups and forms a foundational element in the genetic makeup of later European Neolithic populations through dispersals from the Near East.^[98] A 2023 study integrating ancient DNA and isotopic analyses from sites across Southeastern Anatolia and the Southern Levant revealed multiscale mobility and migration patterns during the PPNB, with evidence of a diverse gene pool and connections to surrounding regions in the early phase, followed by a decline in mobility as reliance on domestication increased.^[30]

Isotopic and Environmental Evidence

Stable isotope analyses of human and animal bone collagen from Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) sites, such as Nevalı Çori in southeast Anatolia, reveal a diet dominated by C3 plants, including domesticated cereals like einkorn wheat and protein-rich pulses. Carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) in human remains typically range from -19.5‰ to -18.5‰, consistent with terrestrial C3 resource consumption rather than C4 plants or marine foods, while nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N) average around 8-10‰, indicating a mixed plant-based diet with limited animal protein intake.^[99] These values suggest that early agricultural practices emphasized plant cultivation, with pulses playing a key role in providing nitrogen without elevating trophic levels significantly. In domesticated animals like sheep and goats at the same site, δ13C values mirror those of humans (-20‰ to -19‰), pointing to similar C3 fodder sources, whereas δ15N levels (7-9‰) are slightly lower than in wild counterparts, implying managed herding with supplemented plant feeds rather than extensive open grazing.^[99] Elevated δ15N in some herding contexts elsewhere in the Levant may reflect increased aridity or manure fertilization of fields, intensifying nitrogen cycling in early agro-pastoral systems. Overall, these isotopic signatures underscore a transition to sedentary farming and herding, with C3 plant dominance establishing the nutritional foundation of PPNB communities. Pollen cores from sites like Beidha in southern Jordan indicate relative climate stability during the PPNB (ca. 8000–7000 BCE), characterized by wetter conditions that supported oak-pistachio woodlands and steppe vegetation suitable for early cultivation. Pollen assemblages show a predominance of arboreal taxa (up to 40-50%) with increasing herbaceous elements, suggesting gradual deforestation linked to field clearance for wheat and barley, though without widespread aridification. Oxygen isotope data (δ18O) from associated carbonate sediments average -6‰ to -5‰, reflecting higher precipitation and stable moisture availability that facilitated human occupation without major disruptions.^[100] Human impacts on the landscape during PPNB farming are evident in accelerated soil erosion, particularly around large settlements like 'Ain Ghazal, where overgrazing and plot clearance reduced vegetation cover, leading to colluvial deposition and soil depth declines of up to 0.5-1% annually in modeled scenarios. Simulations using the MedLanD Modeling Laboratory predict net sediment losses of 200,000–360,000 m³ over 700 years in agricultural variants, with erosion concentrated on slopes greater than 4%, burying smaller sites under aggradational layers. In the Hula Valley, δ18O records from ostracod valves (-4.8‰ ± 0.9‰) confirm environmental stability with minimal hydroclimate variability, implying that early water management practices, such as spring harnessing, were sufficient to mitigate erosion-induced water scarcity in semi-arid settings.^[101]^[102]

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[95]
A genomic snapshot of demographic and cultural dynamism in ...
Here, we described the formation of Upper Mesopotamian PPN populations, represented by PPNB Çayönü, as an admixture event between western and eastern ...Missing: limit | Show results with:limit
[96]
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at Beidha, southern Jordan (c ...
years BP) and Pre-Pottery B Neolithic periods (c. 10,300–8,600 cal. years BP). This chapter reconstructs the palaeoenvironments at Beidha during these ...
[97]
[PDF] The Consequences of Human land-use Strategies During the PPNB ...
This dissertation investigates the long-term consequences of human land- use practices in general, and in early agricultural villages in specific. This.
[98]
Relative environmental stability in the Hula Valley (northern Israel ...
Oct 1, 2025 · To examine the degree to which source water δ18O variation is expressed in the JRD record we have calculated the difference ( Δ δ18Osea-land) ...