Agropastoral practices and woodland management shaped the Irano-Turanian steppe-forest vegetation during the Transitional PPNA/B–Early PPNB (8895–8210 cal bce) at Kharaysin, Jordan

Abstract The present study reconstructs vegetation change and human–environment interactions from the Transitional Pre-Pottery Neolithic A/B (8895–8415 cal bce ) to the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (8465–8210 cal bce ) at the Kharaysin archaeological site (Zarqa, Jordan). For the first time at this site, integrated pollen, wood charcoal and phytolith analyses have been carried out in combination with a detailed archaeostratigraphic and Bayesian-modelled chronological framework. The results obtained suggest the presence of open steppe–forest communities dominated by Quercus ithaburensis -type– Pistacia near the archaeological site, as well as riparian woodlands used for structural purposes and for firewood. Furthermore, herbaceous communities have been identified, which include grazing-resistant and nitrophilous taxa, as well as steppe herb elements, suggesting likely agropastoral impacts. Conversely, the low but continuous presence of Fabaceae and Cerealia-type pollen, as evidenced by phytolith data, could indicate their small-scale local exploitation and processing but also their role as part of the herbaceous component of an increasingly open landscape. These findings imply that sedentary societies brought about a moderate yet sustained long-term transformation of the plant landscape, favoured by a regionally stable climate background.