Resource overexploitation may have been around from the earliest times. There is evidence that early 9th millennium BP villages collapsed around 8500 BP, while new settlements were founded in quite variable landscapes in the same period. One of the largest, over 12 ha in size, was Ain Ghazal in southern Jordan (Rollefson 1992; Redman 1999:107-110). There is evidence that this permanent farming village rose and then was abandoned between the 10th and the 6th millennium BP. Climate change, in the form of less precipitation, may have been one of the factors. However, it has been suggested that a combination of three factors might have caused disruption to varying degrees: plaster technology, animal husbandry and topographic variation. In particular the use of plaster – mud, gypsum, and lime – for housing and the associated use of timber for fuel in combination with goats, may also have contributed to the gradual abandonment of the villages. The preparation of lime plaster required an estimated four tons of wood as fuel per ton – and apparently the inhabitants of Ain Ghazal chose to plaster their houses with lime frequently. This might have led to several km2 of deforested area, of which regeneration was retarded or prevented by razing animals, particularly goats. Erosion would degrade the already fragile soils. Several villages in the region succumbed to the consequences of this environmental deterioration – Ain Ghazal could sustain its role as a major population centre for a longer period because it was located at a major ecotone of biological resources.

 

Text from: Vries, B. de, and J. Goudsblom (Eds.) (2001). Mappae Mundi – Humans and their habitats in a long-term socio-ecological perspective, Myths, Maps and Models. Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Tree-consumption-for-construction-at-Ain-Ghazal_tbl2_312532689