Abstract
This paper examines the spatial structure of a Late Neolithic farmstead at the site of Tabaqat al-Bûma in Wadi Ziqlab, northern Jordan. The excavations at the site recovered at least ten rectangular stone-walled buildings, only some of which were occupied contemporaneously during one of the five occupational phases that were defined by the stratigraphic analyses and radiocarbon dates. Focussing on one of the building phases (Phase 3), that was occupied during the mid-6th millennium cal. BC, this paper analyses the spatial arrangement of architectural remains and the use of space in the settlement. The results suggest that at least two households inhabited the site during Phase 3, and that patterning in the use of space is characterized by a high frequency of domestic activities in outdoor areas. These activities are located between the two different building clusters indicating that the two households had opportunities for social interaction through the daily practice of domestic activities. Although the validity of this interpretation depends on the strict contemporaneity between the two households, a similar social interaction among households is suggested by the emergence of courtyard structures and the frequent use of outdoor spaces for food-processing activities at some other Late Neolithic sites. A close relationship among neighbouring households, or the formation of extended households, appears to partly characterize the domestic social relations during the Late Neolithic period, that seems somewhat different from the households during the preceding Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period.
