Potential Use of the Small-Eyed Needle from Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic Baʿja in Jordan

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in Jordan represent important stages in the evolution of human social structures in the Middle East. These sites reveal a remarkably complex social differentiation, as well as cultural and technological advances that paved the way for stratified socioeconomic structures in the Transjordanian Highlands. One important Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic site is Baʿja (ca. 7200–6800 BCE). Dr. Hans K. Gebel and his team from the Free University of Berlin first excavated Baʿja in 1984. Excavations resumed in 1997 and continue today. This article examines a particular bone tool: a very thin, cylindrical eyed needle, recovered in the lowermost layer of Baʿja stratigraphy. The object is notable for its dimensional smallness. In order to gather more information about its possible production technique and use, the researchers conducted a scientific experiment to produce a replica similar to the original Baʿja eyed needle.