(Before and) After the Flood: A multiproxy approach to past floodplain usage in the middle Wadi el-Hasa, Jordan

Abstract Floodplains are an important feature of arid landscapes, enabling intensive agricultural activity by providing a locale with a consistent and largely predictable water source that is accessible without costly infrastructural modifications. Floodplain agriculture, although likely an important part of ancient agricultural systems in the Near East, is notoriously difficult to detect, as the dynamic environments in which floodplains are situated means that these geomorphic features are rarely preserved. However, recent survey in the Wadi el-Hasa, Jordan has revealed a preserved fragment of floodplain surface indicating past floodplain usage during the 7th–8th century cal AD. A multi-proxy analysis that incorporates geomorphic, geochemical, and paleobotanical analyses of this exposure has revealed a process of floodplain aggradation and incision modified by human activities and anthropogenic deposition. Analysis of the anthropogenic sediments suggests that the Wadi el-Hasa floodplain has not been adequately considered as a component of economic and subsistence activity during the early Islamic period.