An Olive Press (Al-Badd) in Sinfha Village, Jordan: An Ethnoarchaeological Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/jjha.v19i1.734Keywords:
Ethnoarchaeology, Olive Press, Jordan, Sinfha VillageAbstract
This study examines the cultural, social and economic relations of the architectural unit of an olive press (al-badd) built in most of the houses of traditional Jordanian villages, using as a case study the olive press found in a house in Sinfha village in the Tafilah governorate in southern Jordan. The study was based on the ethnoarchaeological approach: understanding the social and cultural relations of any society by observing human behavior in the present and then comparing it with material culture, so that we can generate ideas and information that help archaeologists and anthropologists to understand and analyze archaeological material at the site. The olive press has gone through many stages of development since Neolithic times and the Bronze Age to the Roman period, up to the middle of the nineteenth century AD, as it was modified and developed in each periods to become the one we see today. The study showed that the presence of the olive press in the house is considered evidence of high economic status and reflects the patterns of social interaction in the household, by distribution of shares and roles. The olive press in the village was for local production, and not for trade.
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