Measuring Local Diversity in Early Iron Age Animal Economies: A View from Khirbat al-Mudayna al-‘Aliya (Jordan)

We use faunal evidence from Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya, an agropastoral settlementlocated in west-central Jordan, to examine early Iron Age subsistence regimes.Analysis of faunal evidence reveals a low-intensity, nonspecialized animal economy dependenton both domesticated and wild species, including freshwater crabs. The subsistenceeconomy of the settlement, we argue, was structured so as to take maximumadvantage of its location overlooking the Wadi al-Nukhayla, a perennial water sourcesupporting a relatively verdant floral and faunal array. This diverse and flexible organizationmade subsistence in this resource-scarce environment more sustainable. Whenthis profile is compared with other early Iron Age southern Levantine communities, thediversity of ways that animal economies were organized during this period is apparent,signaling the need to investigate the local strategies that communities used to adapt totheir immediate environmental circumstances, not only ecologically but also socially