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Abstract
An archaeobotanical study of plant remains from the Near Eastern archaeological site of Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj, Jordan ascertains a possible cause for the abandonment of towns during Early Bronze IV. This study assesses the hypothesis that the collapse was caused primarily by a rapid climate change event which led to aridification and made the sedentary agrarian lifestyle more strenuous. To test this, macrofloral remains were identified and counted from seven phases of habitation at the Early Bronze IV village of Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj to measure the amount of change between phases. We also consider previous archaeological, botanical and climatological studies in the Near East to assess what factors may have influenced urban abandonment. Our findings suggest climate may have played a significant part in this abandonment. Our main point of evidence comes from a large reliance on barley, rather than wheat, a trend which increases through time at the archaeological site. More work needs to be done comparing the floral trends between sites to assess the full effect of climate on ancient societies in antiquity.