11,300-Year-Old MEGASTRUCTURE: WF16 & The Birth of Civilisation

Hello everybody and welcome to Ancient Architects. Please subscribe now to get the latest ancient history news and independent research from around the world. Just when I thought I had presented all of the most incredible pre-pottery Neolithic sites of Western Asia, I stumble across another hidden gem. A 12,000 year old site that was only discovered in 1996 and it's amazing architecture is worthy to be mentioned alongside the likes of Gobekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe and Jericho. This site is known to archaeologists as WF-16, which stands for Wadi Fainan 16, an extraordinary site in the Southern Levant, in Southern Jordan, the most southerly early Neolithic settlement I've covered on the Ancient Architects channel and it's one you'll want to remember. This site is truly ancient, it's pre-pottery Neolithic A. Generally speaking, there are three clusters of pre-pottery Neolithic A sites, those in the Euphrates Basin, including Nivali Chori, Gobekli Tepe, Tel Karamel and Marebet, those in the Tigris Basin, such as Kortik Tepe, Gusir Hoyuk and Bonchoklutala, and those in the Southern Levant, such as Jericho, Gesher and WF-16. Although different archaeologists have applied different date ranges to the period in question, generally speaking, the pre-pottery Neolithic A begins at the end of the Younger Dryas, around 11,650 years ago. At this time the climate had drastically improved. If they hadn't already, hunter-gatherers were moving into a sedentary lifestyle and people started to engage in the cultivation of wild plants. Architecture was becoming more substantial than ever before, camps evolved into organised settlements and these had designated workshops, food storage areas and separate communal and domestic buildings. Sedentism looks to have predated the emergence of fully domesticated plants and animals. The pre-pottery Neolithic A was the true transition phase in the human story, between the epipaleolithic hunter-gatherers and the pre-pottery Neolithic B farmers. A time when the worldview for so many was changing, and you could argue that this time marks the true birth of civilisation. That's exactly why sites like Gobekli Tepe, Jericho and now WF-16 are so important. Hunting and gathering was still the main method of getting food, but it's the social changes, the cultural evolution and the building of settlements that makes this such an important period of time. Until the discovery of WF-16, the pre-pottery Neolithic A sites of the Southern Levant were far less spectacular than what we find in the North. There was no southern equivalent of Gobekli Tepe or Marebet, with most settlements being more like small hamlets or camps, as opposed to major population centres. When WF-16 was first discovered, it was thought to be just a seasonal camp. A few sub-circular structures between 3 and 7 metres in diameter were discovered, there were a handful of burials, domestic finds and a few decorative artefacts. But with more excavation, this opinion would soon change. The number, density and diversity of structures would become apparent, and it was clear that this was no small hamlet or seasonal camp. For the pre-pottery Neolithic A in the Southern Levant, it was a truly extraordinary site and the number of archaeological finds really is astonishing. I have to mention Professor Stephen Mithun, an archaeologist at the University of Reading, because he and his colleagues have put a 738 page book on WF-16 on the internet for free. I also have to thank him for a paper he released two years ago, and this is a lot shorter and it does give a great background to the site. These two sources, as well as the Fainan Heritage website, are the main sources used to make this video, and I've left links in the description below. WF-16 is located in the Fainan region of Southern Jordan, a beautiful calm and quiet location. It really has a timeless quality, isolated from the modern world with a dramatic landscape behind it. It is known that humans were in this region half a million years ago, so we know it does have truly ancient origins, but in terms of the archaeology, it's the pre-pottery Neolithic A site that is arguably the most enigmatic and important. It was first identified by surface scatterings of flint tools and stone mortars, found on a knoll just before the steep slope of the Jordanian plateau. As stated, early excavations revealed what was thought to be a small, generally insignificant settlement, but it turned out to be so much bigger and far more important, displaying some of the earliest development of the Neolithic, including the first steps away from hunting and gathering and towards the production of food. This was a well-organised settlement with at least 30 structures, likely more, including storehouses, workshops and a public space for communal activities. The cluster of semi-subterranean structures found at the site date between 12,000 and 10,200 years ago, with the peak of activity around 11,200 years ago. The oval enclosures varied in size, they were semi-subterranean and were lined with a substance called pisae, which is a mud and plant mixture. This mixture was also used to make walls and these supported timber frames for flat roofs. The objects found inside suggest that each structure did have a different use, whether domestic activities, storehouses for food or workshops for making beads. Also to note, over time buildings would change from being semi-subterranean to being built on the ground surface. The fact that specific storage buildings have been identified, together with the many pestles and mortars found, along with grains from wild plants including barley and the use of chaff in the making of pisae, suggest that wild plants were being cultivated and we know that trees such as figs and pistachio were also being exploited. Animal bones include many wild varieties including wild goats, and the age profile of the goat remains suggest they were hunted in a selective manner to manage the herds. Foxes were also hunted for their fur, and the bones of raptors suggest their feathers and talons were being used for ornamentation. These people, 10 to 12,000 years ago, were also working local malachite copper ore into greenstone beads. Shells were collected from the Red Sea and Mediterranean for beads, and there is evidence that WF-16 was used for annual gatherings for the wider landscape. Artistic objects were made and or discarded at the site, and we find many small slabs of stone incised with geometric patterns. Human burials have also been found, often placed below the floors of structures or cut into the walls of earlier structures. The bodies were placed on their side with a hand below their head in a sleeping position. Interestingly, in some cases selective bones were either removed or added to the burials. Sometimes, the collection of bones had been painted and wrapped in bundles using plaster. These people clearly had complicated mortuary practices before and after burial. For me, everything mentioned so far is truly amazing, but there is one specific structure that really is the most incredible. The large communal enclosure at the heart of the settlement, which looks to be a place for social gatherings, maybe even performances, special occasions, feasts and so on. The structure is actually two structures, one built later onto the footprint of the other after it went out of use. The original building is known as 075 and is located at the northern end of the settlement. It's semi-subterranean with pisae surfaces, built over a boulder or stone foundation. It really is enormous, being 20m by 18m in size with a mud plaster floor and a bench around the perimeter. This bench is 50cm high and 1m deep. The face of the bench is decorated with a wave-like pattern and in places we also have a second tier with similar dimensions. It has an amphitheatre-like form and reminds me of the large enclosure AD at Karahantepe. It is somewhat symmetrical in form with a trough down the middle and radiating gullies, and these form a herringbone-like pattern. There are two cup-holed mortars embedded into slightly raised platforms on the floor. We also find a series of massive post holes in the centre of each gully and stake holes in the floor suggest wooden posts, likely to support a large superstructure. It's estimated that 075 was first constructed between 11,320 and 11,240 years ago and it was in use for a whopping 800 years. The trough through the centre is 75cm wide and 1.2m in depth and as you can see it runs to the outside of the structure. It was lined with mud plaster and a number of water-laid deposits including charcoal and shell were found, residues of materials that had been washed into the trough from the floor of the structure. The trough was therefore likely a drain. The entire structure was subject to numerous repairs and remodelling phases, just like we see with structure AD at Karahan Tepe, and that is no surprise being in use for 800 years. Over time many features were plastered over, a number of basins and post holes were covered up and the perimeter wall and the entire structure were remodelled more than once. During its life, a sequence of basins and hearths have been made in the centre of the structure, some of them breaking up the mud plaster of the main floor. Although remodelled many times, structure 075 was eventually decommissioned and structure 0100 as shown here was built inside its footprint, a smaller and less impressive structure but still the focal point of WF-16. Structure 075 was the largest building at the site, a major building effort with real architectural planning. The post and stake hole show it did have a roof, at least in part, and it would have been a complex design because of the size of the building. Here are some examples for how the roof could have looked. The building would have required the efforts of many people working together, and it really is a glowing symbol of the pre-pottery Neolithic age. How the structure functioned, well, we can only speculate. It could have had a more industrial function and evidence suggests it could have been a place for grinding pigments for decorative objects, and maybe also the processing of plants. It may have had multiple uses all at once or over time and it could have been like an industrial centre. It could have also had a number of partitions. But the tiered perimeter benches and amphitheatre like form does make the mind wonder. It makes me think that this was a place where people gathered, whether for a village meeting, a festival, feast, dancing, singing and so on. Bones from large birds including eagles, vultures and buzzards were found inside, and the cut marks suggest their skin and wings were removed. It's therefore easy to imagine that elaborate costumes were made from the feathers. There was also a large quantity of stone and shell beads, indicating that personal adornment was important for these people. Structure 075 is like no other pre-pottery Neolithic A semi-subterranean structure in the Southern Levant. No other building has been found at this size, with such a complex design, and yes they could be there lying in wait under the ground waiting for archaeologists. I believe the discovery of pre-pottery Neolithic A sites is still in its infancy. We have only excavated a handful and our understanding of this era of history will no doubt continue to evolve and develop. We're talking about life at the end of the Younger Dryas and into the Holocene, and although the term civilisation is debated, in my opinion this is the birth of civilisation, and it coincides with when the climate improved. After many archaeological excavations over the past 50 years, the story of humanity has already changed so much, and that's compared to what we thought we knew in the early 20th century. Without the discovery of the Tower of Jericho, without the finding of Gobekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe, Structure 075 would be an enormous outlier, a structure that would change history all by itself. But today, with what we know, it does fit in with the achievements and capabilities of the people of the pre-pottery Neolithic A. These people were living together in permanent settlements, they were organised and cooperating on large-scale projects, and this central structure could well be a place for entertainment, even theatre, as opposed to the age-old ritual explanation for so many things in the ancient world. We have to say the function of special purpose buildings is still unknown. At certain times of the year, people from small camps and hamlets from miles around, may have descended on the major population centres like Jericho, Gobekli Tepe and WF-16. And with the outsiders encountering the mind-blowing monumental architecture on display, and as they learn about new ideas like cultivation and domestication, well, such large population centres may well have been the catalyst for the spread and neolithicisation of the Fertile Crescent. For me personally, the pre-pottery Neolithic A is the most fascinating and important era of history. It's the beginning of everything, the birth of civilisation, and I love the fact we still have so much more to learn. Thank you very much for watching this episode of Ancient Architects. If you enjoyed the video, please subscribe to the channel, please like the video and please leave a comment below. Thank you very much.