"Research since 1968 has come to focus on the cycles of intensification and abatement in settle ment and land use that appear to have occurred since prehistoric times (Geraty and LaBianca 1985). These cycles are evidenced not only in the on-again off-again occupation of Tell Hesb?n and its region (Ibach 1978), but also in the cyclic filling up and emptying out of the region surrounding Tell el-cUmeiri. While this cyclic pattern is not unique to this region or to Jordan or the Middle East as a whole (Sauer 1980; Johnson 1973; Adams 1978), these cycles embody theoretically significant problems to which this project can contribute insights, given its geographical loca- tion and a promising data base."