This website contains the
excavation reports of the fieldwork and research projects carried out at 'Ain
Ghazal, a Neolithic settlement located near Amman, Jordan. The settlement
has yielded several artefacts suggesting a particular importance of symbolism
within that ancient community and the reports mostly focus on this aspect. The
reports are organised in chapters and present an overview of the site and
symbolic items such as tokens of many shapes, animal and human figurines,
modelled human skulls, "monumental" statues and motifs painted on walls and
floors of buildings. This website also includes catalogues of human figurines
and statues as well as a few papers exploring the significance of the recognised
symbols. The reports are illustrated with colour pictures, graphics, drawings
and plans and include bibliographies. The publication of a few more reports has
been announced. 'Ain
Ghazal was first settled during the Pre-Pottery
Neolithic B (about 7250 BC) and thereafter expanded to include 30 acres of land.
It was abandoned during the Yarmoukian Pottery Neolithic (about 5000 BC). A
paper concentrates on a single stone statuette with flat breasts and no
genitalia, which has been found in what has been interpreted as an open
sanctuary. The figure is possibly connected to a fertility cult, interpreted as
a reaction to increasing problems in farming. This and other reports within this
website suggest that the changing environment had a paramount effect in the life
on the settlement, a theme which is perhaps overemphasised.
http://www.intute.ac.uk/cgi-bin/redir.pl?url=http://menic.utexas.edu/ghazal/&handle=humbul16825
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Type: Papers/reports/articles/texts; Arts Projects; Research
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Eight examples of
the oldest human-form statues ever found in the Near East were on display from
28 July 1996 to 6 April 1997 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington DC in an exhibition entitled 'Preserving ancient statues
from Jordan'. This website provides information about the discovery,
construction, conservation and display of the statues found at the Neolithic
site of 'Ain
Ghazal and explores them as works of art and ritual objects.
The site also includes a short bibliography.
http://www.intute.ac.uk/cgi-bin/redir.pl?url=http://www.asia.si.edu/jordan/html/jordan.htm&handle=artifact1729
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Type: Events; Papers/reports/articles/texts; Images Format:
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