Kharaneh IV (referred to as Kharaneh 4 in some sources) is an archaeological site in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. The site contains evidence of human activity dating to the Late Pleistocene. Its main period of occupation was 18,900 to 16,600 BC.

Description

Kharaneh IV is located in the Wadi Kharaneh near the town of

Azraq, Jordan Azraq ( ar, الأزرق meaning "blue") is a small town in Zarqa Governorate in central-eastern Jordan, east of Amman. The population of Azraq was 9,021 in 2004. The Muwaffaq Salti Air Base is located in Azraq. History Prehistory Archaeo ...

. It was first recorded by F. E. Zeuner in 1955. Excavations at the site began under M. Muheisen in the 1980s and were resumed in 2008 under the direction of

Lisa Maher Lisa Maher is Professor and head of Viral Hepatitis Epidemiology, at the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity, at the University of New South Wales and was made Member of the Order of Australia in 2015. She was awarded an Elizabeth Black ...

and

Danielle Macdonald Danielle Louise Macdonald (born 19 May 1991) is an Australian actress, known for her lead roles as Patricia "Patti" Dombrowski in the drama film ''Patti Cake$'' (2017), and Willowdean Dickson in ''Dumplin (2018). She is also known for her ro ...

. In the 2010 field season, Maher's and Macdonald's team discovered two hut structures thought to be among the oldest habitation structures in the Levant. The site covers 21,000 square meters, and is the largest known Late Pleistocene site in the area. Notably, the remains of brushwood structures dating to the Early Epipalaeolithic period have been found at Kharaneh IV. Tools and large concentrations of ochre and marine shells have also been found at the site. In addition, woman's remains dated back to 19,200 years ago were discovered at Kharaneh IV in 2016, which might have been

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

, after being placed on top of a

hut A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, ice, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, hid ...

References

{{Epipalaeolithic Southwest Asia 1955 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites in Jordan Megasites