Identity, trade or exchange — communities on the arid edge at the start of the Neolithic

Journal article

Since Andy Garrard's pioneering work in the 1980s, an increasing volume of research has been conducted on today's arid margins in Jordan and in Northern Arabia. Despite a huge increase in the data now available, many of the research questions asked by Andy remain as valid as they did when he commenced fieldwork. Who were these people who lived in this area beyond the conventional fertile crescent? What was their relationship with the more settled populations to the West? And what role did this vast area play in the developments of new forms of subsistence, the spread of ideas, and the establishment of networks of exchange? This paper will attempt to provide new answers, or at least new lines for research, to tackle some of these questions.

Authors: Finlayson, B

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Journal: Levant
• Acceptance date: 2026-09-18
• EISSN: 1756-3801
• ISSN: 0075-8914
• Language: English