Aammiq
Encyclopedia
Aamiq or Aammiq II is an archaeological site southwest of Zahle
in the Aammiq Wetland
, Beqaa Valley
, Lebanon
.
It was first excavated by Jacques Cauvin
in 1963, then again by M. Cavalier in 1964, 1965 by Lorraine Copeland
and Peter Wescombe and Jacques Besançon & Francis Hours
in 1971.
Two periods of inhabitation were found, the first period between 12000-10200 cal. BC
was Natufian or perhaps preceramic neolithic
where a skeleton
was found covered with red ochre
. Ceramics with agricultural purpose included mortars, grinders and stoneware basalt pestles. Other brown flint
lithics recovered include a triangle, blades, scrapers and picks, tools suggested pre-natufian occupation. A late neolithic period was also detected at around 5000-4500 cal BC
(Ubaid period) similar to late neolithic Byblos
. Ceramics found inclued some Chalcolithic sherds and lithics included Canaanite
blades, axes
and adzes, a long, polished plano-convex flint hatchet; many large flakes and blades and sickle
elements. A fragment of a stalked arrow is the only trace of occupation between the periods, Chalcolithic occupation followed the older occupation at the edge of the marsh at Mallaha
.
The results of a pollen core
from Aamiq was published in 2008 suggesting the area was used for grazing in the neolithic while the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon
mountains were being deforested. This is supported by Heavy Neolithic
tools manufactured in specialized workshops such as Kamed el Loz I, Souwan and Wadi Msı'l el Hadd and a special design of flint called an Orange slice
found at sites like Majdel Anjar I, Dakwe I and IIHabarjer III, Qaraoun I and II, Kefraya
, and Beı'dar Chamou't.
Zahlé
Zahlé is the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 50,000 inhabitants, it is the fourth largest city in Lebanon, after Beirut, Tripoli and Jounieh...
in the Aammiq Wetland
Aammiq Wetland
The Aammiq Wetland is the largest remaining freshwater wetland in Lebanon, a remnant of much more extensive marshes and lakes that once existed in the Bekaa Valley...
, Beqaa Valley
Beqaa Valley
The Beqaa Valley is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. For the Romans, the Beqaa Valley was a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
It was first excavated by Jacques Cauvin
Jacques Cauvin
Professor Jacques Cauvin was a French archaeologist who specialised in the prehistory of the Levant and Near East.-Biography:...
in 1963, then again by M. Cavalier in 1964, 1965 by Lorraine Copeland
Lorraine Copeland
Lorraine Copeland is an archaeologist specialising in the Palaeolithic period of the Near East. Her husband was Miles Axe Copeland Jr, and they had four children, all of whom have gone on to have notable careers: Miles Copeland III, Ian, Lorraine and Stewart Copeland.Lorraine Copeland was born in...
and Peter Wescombe and Jacques Besançon & Francis Hours
Francis Hours
Reverend Father Francis Hours, born 1921 in France and died 1987 was a French Jesuit archaeologist known for his work on prehistory in the Levant....
in 1971.
Two periods of inhabitation were found, the first period between 12000-10200 cal. BC
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
was Natufian or perhaps preceramic neolithic
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...
where a skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
was found covered with red ochre
Ochre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
. Ceramics with agricultural purpose included mortars, grinders and stoneware basalt pestles. Other brown flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
lithics recovered include a triangle, blades, scrapers and picks, tools suggested pre-natufian occupation. A late neolithic period was also detected at around 5000-4500 cal BC
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
(Ubaid period) similar to late neolithic Byblos
Byblos
Byblos is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal . It is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of present-day Lebanon under the current Arabic name of Jubayl and was also referred to as Gibelet during the Crusades...
. Ceramics found inclued some Chalcolithic sherds and lithics included Canaanite
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
blades, axes
Axes
Axes may refer to:* Axes, woodworking hand tools* The plural of axis* Axes , a 2005 rock album by the British band Electrelane* X and Y axes, or X, Y, and Z axes, perpendicular lines used in the Cartesian coordinate system...
and adzes, a long, polished plano-convex flint hatchet; many large flakes and blades and 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...
elements. A fragment of a stalked arrow is the only trace of occupation between the periods, Chalcolithic occupation followed the older occupation at the edge of the marsh at Mallaha
Mallaha
Mallaha was a Palestinian Arab village, located northeast of Safed, on the highway between the latter and Tiberias. 'Ain Mallaha is the local Arabic name for a spring that served as the water source for the village inhabitants throughout the ages...
.
The results of a pollen core
Pollen core
A pollen core is a core sample of a medium containing a stratigraphic sequence of pollen. Analysis of the type and frequency of the pollen in each layer is used to study changes in climate or land use using regional vegetation as a proxy...
from Aamiq was published in 2008 suggesting the area was used for grazing in the neolithic while the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon
Anti-Lebanon
The Anti-Lebanon mountains is the Western name for the Eastern Lebanon Mountain Range , which are a southwest-northeast-trending mountain range between Syria and Lebanon. Its Western name comes from the Greek word for ‘opposite’. The majority of the mountain range lies in Syria. The border between...
mountains were being deforested. This is supported by Heavy Neolithic
Heavy Neolithic
Heavy Neolithic is a style of large stone and flint tools associated primarily with the Qaraoun culture in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon, dating to the Epipaleolithic or early Pre-pottery Neolithic at the end of the Stone Age...
tools manufactured in specialized workshops such as Kamed el Loz I, Souwan and Wadi Msı'l el Hadd and a special design of flint called an Orange slice
Orange slice
Orange slice is an early sickle blade element made out of flint. The flints are so called due to their shape, which resembles a segment of an Orange. This sickle industry has no evidence of developed denticulation...
found at sites like Majdel Anjar I, Dakwe I and IIHabarjer III, Qaraoun I and II, Kefraya
Kefraya
Kefraya is a village in the Western Beqaa District of the Beqaa Governorate in the Republic of Lebanon, approximately northwest of Joub Jannine....
, and Beı'dar Chamou't.