Jordan is a key area of migration within the Levantine corridor that links the continents of Africa and Asia. 'Crossing Jordan' examines the peoples and cultures that have travelled across Jordan from antiquity to the present. The book offers a critical analysis of recent discoveries and archaeological models in Jordan and highlights the significant contribution of North American archaeologists to the field. Leading archaeologists explore the theory and methodology of archaeology in Jordan in essays which range across prehistory, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Nabatean civilization, the Byzantine period, and Islamic civilization. The volume provides an up-to-date guide to the archaeological heritage of Jordan, being an important resource for scholars and students of Jordan's history, as well as citizens, non-governmental organizations and tourists.

Table of Contents:
Preface - His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan Bin Talal Foreword - Fawwaz al-Khraysheh, Director General, Department of Antiquities of Jordan Introduction - Barbara A. Porter, Director, ACOR Theory 1. Thinking Globally and Acting Locally: Anthropology, History and Archaeology in the Study of Jordan's Past Oystein S. LaBianca, Andrews University, Michigan History 2. American and Canadian History and Archaeology in Jordan Nancy Lapp, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Methodologies and Problem Solving 3. Archaeological Survey Work in Jordan: The North American Contribution Burton MacDonald, St. Francis Xavier University Nova Scotia 4. The Once and Future GIS Database: The History, Current Condition, and Future Development of JADIS Stephen Savage, Arizona State University 5. On-Site Digital Archaeology: GIS-Based Excavation Recording in Southern Jordan Thomas E. Levy and Neil G. Smith, University of California, San Diego 6. High Precision Radiocarbon Dating in Jordan Thomas Higham, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit 7. The Evolving Landscapes East of the Jordan: The Contributions of Geoarchaeology and Paleoecology Carlos E. Cordova, Oklahoma State University 8. Past Environments of the Jordan Plateau from the Paleolakes of the Eastern Desert Caroline Davies, University of Missouri-Kansas City 9. Conservation and Preservation of Archaeological Sites in Jordan: Initiatives of the American Center of Oriental Research Pierre Bikai, American Center of Oriental Research, Amman Regional Archaeology - Deep-time studies across Jordan 10. Ancient Metal Production and Social Change in Southern Jordan : The Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project - Thomas E. Levy, University of California, San Diego and Mohammad Najjar, Department of Antiquities of Jordan 11. How Crossing Jordan Made the Difference: The Case of the Madaba Plains Project, 1967 - 2007 Lawrence T. Geraty, La Sierra University 12. Tell Hesban: Palimpsest of Great and Little Traditions of Transjordan and the Ancient Near East - Oystein S. LaBianca, Andrews University and Bethany J. Walker, Grand Valley State University, Michigan 13. Tall al-`Umayri through the Ages Larry G. Herr, Canadian University College and Douglas R. Clark, La Sierra University 14. Highlights from the Heights of Jalul Randall W. Younker, Andrews University 15. Investigating 5,000 Years of Urban History: The Tall M dab Archaeological Project Timothy P. Harrison, Debra Foran, and Andrew Graham, University of Toronto 16. Crossing Jordan - By Way of the Karak Plateau Gerald L. Mattingly, Johnson Bible College, Knoxville, Tennessee) and James H. Pace, Elon University, Elon, North Carolina 17. The Iraq al-Amir and Dhiban Plateau Regional Surveys Chang-Ho Ji, La Sierra University 18. Four Archaeological Surveys in Southern Jordan Burton MacDonald, St. Francis Xavier University Nova Scotia Prehistoric Perspectives 19. Looking For Neanderthals and Finding Ourselves: Research at Tor Faraj Donald O. Henry, University of Tulsa, Oklahoma 20. Neanderthals at the Crossroads: Middle Paleolithic Sites on the Madaba Plateau, Jordan Michael S. Bisson, McGill University, April Nowell, University of Victoria, Carlos Cordova, Oklahoma State University, and Regina Kalchgruber, Oklahoma State University 21. Midnight at the Oasis: The End of the Pleistocene in the Wadi al-Hasa - Nancy R. Coinman, Department of Anthropology, Iowa State University and Deborah I. Olszewski, University of Pennsylvania Museum, University of Pennsylvania 22. Microliths and Mortuary Practices: New Perspectives on the Epipaleolithic in Northern and Eastern Jordan - Lisa Maher, Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge 23. Crossing the Boundary to Domestication Economies: A Case Study from West-Central Jordan - Michael Neeley, Montana State University and Jane Peterson, Marquette University 24. The Rediscovery of the Neolithic Period in Jordan Gary O. Rollefson, Whitman College and Zeidan Kafafi, Yarmouk University, Jordan 25. Late Prehistory in Wadi Ziqlab, al-Kura, Jordan: From Sedentism to Olive-oil Factories - Ted Banning, University of Toronto 26. Archaeology and Environment of the Dead Sea Plain Steven Falconer, Patricia Fall, Arizona State University and Philip Edwards, La Trobe University, Australia 27. Is Big Really Better? Life in the resort corridor--Ghwair I, an elaborate small Neolithic community in southern Jordan - Alan H. Simmons, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Mohammad Najjar, Department of Antiquities of Jordan Bronze Age - Earliest Urbanism 28. Life in the earliest walled towns on the Dead Sea Plain: Numeira and Bab edh-Dhra' R. Thomas Schaub, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Meredith S. Chesson, University of Notre Dame 29. Death and Dying on the Dead Sea Plain (Feifah, Khanazir and Bab edh-Dhra' Cemeteries Meredith S. Chesson, University of Notre Dame and R. Thomas Schaub, Indiana University of Pennsylvania 30. Life at the Foundation of Bronze Age Civilization: Agrarian Villages in the Jordan Valley Steven Falconer, Patricia Fall, Arizona State University, and Jennifer Jones, University of Minnesota Duluth 31. Khirbet Iskander: A City in Collapse at the End of the Early Bronze Age Suzanne Richard, Gannon University and Jesse C. Long, Jr., Lubbock Christian University 32. A Landscape Approach to Craft and Agricultural Production: Tracking the Location of Early Bronze Age Manufacturing at el-Lejjun, Jordan Jennifer E. Jones, University of Minnesota Duluth 33. The Early Bronze Age City States of the Southern Levant: Neither Cities nor States Stephen Savage, Steven Falconer, Arizona State University and Timothy P. Harrison, University of Toronto Early States and the Iron Age 34. Independent and Well-Connected: The Ammonites of Central Jordan P. M. Michele Daviau and Paul-Eugene Dion, Wilfrid Laurier University 35. Shepherds and Weavers in a "Global" Economy: Moab in Late Iron Age II P. M. Michele Daviau and Robert Chadwick, Wilfrid Laurier University 36. The Power of Place: The Dhiban Community through the Ages Benjamin Porter, University of Pennsylvania, Bruce Routledge, University of Liverpool, Danielle Steen, Stanford University, and Firas al-Kawamlha, Dhiban Community 37. A Place In-Between: Khirbat al-Mudayna al-'Aliya in the Early Iron Age Bruce Routledge, University of Liverpool and Benjamin Porter, University of Pennsylvania The Edge of Empire - Hellenistic and Roman Periods 38. In Search of Hellenistic Petra - Excavations in the City Center David F. Graf, University of Miami 39. Shifting Places, Changing Faces: The Civic Statuary of Roman Jordan Elise A. Friedland, Rollins College Nabatean Civilization and its Jordanian Heartland 40. Gods and Vineyards at Beidha Patricia M. Bikai, ACOR; Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos, ACOR; and Shari Saunders, American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) 41. Nabataean Landscape & power: Evidence from the Petra Garden & Pool Complex Leigh-Ann Bedal , Penn State University - Erie and James G. Schryver, University of Minnesota, Morris 42. Surprises at the Petra Great Temple Martha S. Joukowsky, Brown University 43. Beyond the Nabataean and Roman City: Surveying the Central and Southern Wadi Araba Andrew M. Smith II, Dowling College, Long Island 44. Luxury in the desert: A Nabataean Palatial Residence at Wadi Ramm Dennine Dudley, University of Victoria and M. Barbara Reeves, Queen's University 45. Torn Asunder: Earthquakes at Qasr et-Telah Tina M. Niemi, University of Missouri-Kansas City The