Ba’ja, a small village in Jordan, is unlike any other archaeological site in the world. Dating back over 9,000 years, it was one of the first known settlements and has produced some of the most extraordinary artefacts of the Stone Age. At the heart of the village lies the richly furnished tomb of Jamila, the young girl whose necklace – made of 2,500 elaborately crafted beads – has become the symbol of human’s decision to abandon the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. But how did Jamila come to have such a magnificent necklace?
The answers to these questions and many more will be explored in an upcoming documentary about Ba’ja. Through interviews with the excavation team, historians, and locals, viewers will journey back in time to uncover what prompted our Neolithic ancestors to settle down, and how they were able to invest time in aesthetics and jewellery because of their secure food supply. With never-before-seen footage of the Ba’ja site, and a deep dive into the discoveries and theories that have come about from this unique excavation, this documentary will challenge everything we thought we knew about the Stone Age.
