The chronology of the Ghassulian Chalcolithic period in the southern Levant: New 14C determinations from Teleilat Ghassul, Jordan

Abstract

This article reports on ten new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates from the Chalcolithic period (fifth millennium BC) archaeological type-site of Teleilat Ghassul in Jordan. Early radiocarbon assays from the site proved difficult to integrate with current relative chronological formulations. The ten new AMS dates and follow-up enquiries connected with the early assays suggest that the original dates were up to 500 years too early. A necessary reformulation of regional relative chronologies now views the Ghassul sequence falling between Late Neolithic Jericho and the Beersheban Chalcolithic.