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(Before And) After The Flood: A Multiproxy Approach To Past Floodplain Usage In The Middle Wadi El-Hasa, Jordan, Daniel A. Contreras, Vincent Robin, Regina Gonda, Rachel Hodara, Marta Dal Corso, Cheryl Makarewicz

Daniel A. Contreras

Floodplains are an important feature of arid landscapes, enabling intensive agricultural activity by providing a locale with a consistent and largely predictable water source that is accessible without costly infrastructural modifications. Floodplain agriculture, although likely an important part of ancient agri- cultural systems in the Near East, is notoriously difficult to detect, as the dynamic environments in which floodplains are situated means that these geomorphic features are rarely preserved. However, recent survey in the Wadi el-Hasa, Jordan has revealed a preserved fragment of floodplain surface indicating past floodplain usage during the 7the8th century cal AD. A multi-proxy analysis that incorporates …