PPND - the Platform for Neolithic Radiocarbon Dates

 

36°43' N    42°51' E   Download OxCal File

Nemrik 9 is one of the most important sites for the early Neolithic in the eastern arm of the Fertile Crescent. The round building structures found at this site resemble those of Qermez Dere, but there are also many cultural parallels with sites further north like Hallan Çemi, Körtik Tepe, and the early layers of Jerf el Ahmar.

In order to define the chronological and cultural dynamics in this region, it is very important to compare the chronology of Nemrik 9 to that of the other sites. This task is complicated by many difficulties, of which three are:

1)   The site of Nemrik 9 has been dated by only one laboratory, and thus a verification of the results is not possible.

2)   The excavator dismissed 27 of the 60 dates as inconsistent with his subdivision of phases (cf. Watkins et al. 1989:23).[1]

3)   Twenty dates of the remaining 33 have deviations larger than +/- 150, which leaves only 13 of the original 60 dates for calibration.

The dates the excavator considered too young or too old (marked with a plus behind the lab number), have been retained for the present analysis, unless they differed too much from the other dates.

The calibration shows that the dates of nearly all the phases overlap in the 10th, 9th and 8th millenium. Thus a good correlation with the relative succession is not given. Only the dates of Phase IV tend to be younger; but because the dates of the 8th millennium were all considered too young by the excavator, there would be no chronological difference from Phase IV to III. Obviously, building activities on the site have caused massive dislocations of the strata.

On the basis of the radiocarbon dates, an early occupational phase between 9800-9400 BC can be postulated. There are also five earlier dates indicating to a time horizon between 11100-10000 BC. A second phase can be dated to about 9200-8600 BC and a third to 8500-8270 BC.[2] The el-Khiam points of House 1A indicate that it probably dates to the first or second occupational phases and therefore is older than the PPNB.[3]

It remains an open question whether House 1B should be dated to the Younger Dryas and in consequence to an Epipalaeolithic context or – if one assumes a fast succession of building phases – to a period after the Younger Dryas. The absence of El-Khiam points is no argument for an Epipalaeolithic context, as only two examples of this type of point were found. In addition, the small number of microliths, as well as the few changes in the lithic tools would, favour a date at the end of, or after, the Younger Dryas (Kozlowski, Szymaczak 1992:77-79).



[1]Gd 4207: 8700 +/- 100 BP of the fill of House 1A and Gd 5110: 7470 +/- 60 BP for the youngest layer are now rejected by the excavator (vgl. Kozlowski 1989:9-10; 1994).

[2]There is only one date, Gd 4365: 8610-8220 BC, that ends after 8270 BC.

[3]The danger of such a chrono-typological argument is that, if single elements are isolated for the chronological attribution, it becomes a case of circular reasoning. For example, if by definition PPNB sites are those without El-Khiam points, then it is impossible to find a PPNB site that has El-Khiam points. This danger can only be avoided by absolute dates. The absence of El-Khiam points in House 1B is therefore no reason to date it to the Natufian instead of the Khiamian. However, some of the radiocarbon dates in fact clearly point to a Younger Dryas context.

14C Dates

 Code  BP Dev. Δ13C Location material References
Gd 2637+ 8440 130 Phase 4, stone pavement Are 96 SH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2714+ 10900 140 Phase 2 SH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2766 9570 130 Phase 3 collapsed roof of house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2773 9480 170 Phase 3, collapsed roof of house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2778+ 9010 170 Phase 3, collapsed roof of house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2936 9170 130 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2937+ 9740 150 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2963 9780 130 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2966 9440 160 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2970 10070 120 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2971+ 10330 150 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2972 9490 170 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 2973 10400 190 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4193 9500 130 Phase 3 collapsed roof of house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4204+ 7980 140 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4205+ 9000 150 Phase 2, middle cultural layer; near house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4208+ 10100 130 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4209+ 10040 130 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4210 10180 190 Phase 3/4 collapsed roof of house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4211 10260 170 Phase 3 collapsed roof of house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4212 10480 180 Phase 3 collapsed roof Haus 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4213 9410 550 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4224 9930 230 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4364 9030 400 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4365 9140 150 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4371 9770 520 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4372 9770 240 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4453 9639 160 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4463 8910 220 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4469 11090 190 Phase 1/2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4473 12240 340 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4474 9640 300 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4475 10370 330 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4477 11150 560 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 4478 10700 190 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5186 9170 90 Phase 4, house 4, 8m NE of House 1 SH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5240+ 9130 60 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5249+ 11180 90 Phase 3, pit 18, house 1A CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5257 10020 180 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5421 9250 70 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5422+ 8750 80 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5424+ 9140 90 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5425+ 9140 90 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5443+ 9420 90 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5451+ 10700 120 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 5595+ 9950 100 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6108+ 8300 130 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6110 9970 170 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6111 10130 180 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6113+ 8570 150 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6119+ 8300 150 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6120 9530 140 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6121 9780 180 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6127 9800 160 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6128 9870 160 Phase 1 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6129 9510 150 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6130 9230 160 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6131 9370 120 Phase 3 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6143 9900 140 Phase 2 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.
Gd 6152+ 9800 130 Phase 4 CH Kozlowski 1994:261f.

 

 

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