Qdeir
Encyclopedia
Qdeir is a prehistoric, Neolithic
Tell
and plateau in the El Kowm oasis, a 20 km (12.4 mi) gap in the Syrian mountains that houses a series of archaeological sites. It is located northeast of Palmyra
in Syria
, near Al-Sukhnah
.
that are ongoing under Frédéric Abbès
. Rectangular buildings with plastered floors and White Ware
were found along with various arrowheads, sickle
blades and a "desert burin". The collection found at the site has been referred to as a special "desert facies" of PPNB flints.
tradition in comparison to the agriculturalist inhabitants of the village sites of El Kowm. Evidence suggests the location was used as a campsite with only short term occupations deduced from scatters of surface finds. The relationship between the two contemporaneous groups of inhabitants of the area and their behaviors have been discussed by the excavators, who highlight similar construction techniques, use of plaster and basket making. Obsidian
, rare stones, stoneware vessels and shells used by both groups also originate from the same places.
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
Tell
Tell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
and plateau in the El Kowm oasis, a 20 km (12.4 mi) gap in the Syrian mountains that houses a series of archaeological sites. It is located northeast of Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, near Al-Sukhnah
Al-Sukhnah
Al-Sukhnah is a town in eastern Syria under the administration of the Homs Governorate, located between Palmyra and ar-Raqqah. Together with its satellite villages of al-Kawm and Tayyibah, al-Sukhnah had a population of 15,000 in 1989...
.
Excavation
The site was tested in 1980 by Oliver Aurenche and Marie-Claire Cauvin, with further excavations between 1989 and 1993 by Danielle StordeurDanielle Stordeur
Danielle Stordeur is a French Archaeologist and Directeur de Recherche at the CNRS. She is also Director of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs permanent mission to El Kowm-Mureybet , replacing Jacques Cauvin in 1993 until 2010, when Frédéric Abbès is due to take over this position.-Positions...
that are ongoing under Frédéric Abbès
Frédéric Abbès
Frédéric Abbès is a French Archaeologist working on postdoctoral research, specialising in the stone or lithic industry of the Near East and Mediterranean...
. Rectangular buildings with plastered floors and White Ware
White Ware
White Ware or "Vaisselle Blanche" is the first precursor to clay pottery developed in the Levant that appeared in the 9th millennium BC, during the pre-pottery neolithic period....
were found along with various arrowheads, sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
blades and a "desert burin". The collection found at the site has been referred to as a special "desert facies" of PPNB flints.
Culture
The inhabitants of Qdeir are thought to be nomadic pastoralists who were only part-time farmers from a later NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
tradition in comparison to the agriculturalist inhabitants of the village sites of El Kowm. Evidence suggests the location was used as a campsite with only short term occupations deduced from scatters of surface finds. The relationship between the two contemporaneous groups of inhabitants of the area and their behaviors have been discussed by the excavators, who highlight similar construction techniques, use of plaster and basket making. Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
, rare stones, stoneware vessels and shells used by both groups also originate from the same places.
Literature
- Aurenche, O. and MC Cauvin., Qdeir 1, campagne 1980: Une installation neolithique du Vile millenaire, 1982.
- Cauvin, Jacques., El Khabra un poste de chasse néolithique du PPNB final de faciès Qdeir (Oasis d'El Kowm, Syrie). Cahiers de l'Euphrate 5-6 47-53. Pans ERC., 1991.