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During the Iron Age (ca. 1200-800 BCE), society in the Faynan region of southern Jordan experienced intertwined technological and cultural revolutions, transforming from opportunistic copper production by segmentary tribes of pastoral nomads to industrial-scale metallurgy connected to a regional polity. Previous research in Faynan identified a pinnacle in metallurgy in terms of scale and efficiency during the 10th-9th centuries BCE; yet these advancements were followed by an abrupt industry abandonment by the end of the 9th century BCE with no associated evidence of natural or human intervention such as drought or warfare. Furthermore, while Iron Age Faynan and its copper industry have been the subject of numerous studies and publications, most previous archaeometallurgical research has focused on slag (the waste byproduct of metal production), other components of the metallurgical chaîne opératoire, or only included limited investigations concerning the actual metal. This dissertation aims to fill these scholarly lacunae by investigating the final phases of copper smelting in Iron Age Faynan from the perspective of the metal produced to test if a failure in the metallurgical industry drove a societal collapse. To do so, a combination of theoretical perspectives from anthropology, ecology, and sociology is applied to an original dataset produced using methods from the social, natural, and computer sciences. At the core of this dissertation is the application of the adaptive cycle from Resilience Theory to construct a holistic model of the trajectory of society and copper production across the entire Iron Age sequence with particular emphasis on its “collapse” phase. Using archaeological excavation, scanning electron microscopy and mass spectrometry, this possible “collapse” was investigated with a robust dataset of elementally analyzed copper and iron metal from Khirbat al-Jariya and Khirbat en-Nahas, two of the largest Iron Age copper smelting centers in Faynan. To

During the Iron Age (ca. 1200-800 BCE), society in the Faynan region of southern Jordan experienced intertwined technological and cultural revolutions, transforming from opportunistic copper production by segmentary tribes of pastoral nomads to industrial-scale metallurgy connected to a regional polity. Previous research in Faynan identified a pinnacle in metallurgy in terms of scale and efficiency during the 10th-9th centuries BCE; yet these advancements were followed by an abrupt industry abandonment by the end of the 9th century BCE with no associated evidence of natural or human intervention such as drought or warfare. Furthermore, while Iron Age Faynan and its copper industry have been the subject of numerous studies and publications, most previous archaeometallurgical research has focused on slag (the waste byproduct of metal production), other components of the metallurgical chaîne opératoire, or only included limited investigations concerning the actual metal. This dissertation aims to fill these scholarly lacunae by investigating the final phases of copper smelting in Iron Age Faynan from the perspective of the metal produced to test if a failure in the metallurgical industry drove a societal collapse. To do so, a combination of theoretical perspectives from anthropology, ecology, and sociology is applied to an original dataset produced using methods from the social, natural, and computer sciences. At the core of this dissertation is the application of the adaptive cycle from Resilience Theory to construct a holistic model of the trajectory of society and copper production across the entire Iron Age sequence with particular emphasis on its “collapse” phase. Using archaeological excavation, scanning electron microscopy and mass spectrometry, this possible “collapse” was investigated with a robust dataset of elementally analyzed copper and iron metal from Khirbat al-Jariya and Khirbat en-Nahas, two of the largest Iron Age copper smelting centers in Faynan. To

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom’s northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom’s northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.

This article presents new archaeological observations and multidisciplinary research from Dor, Israel to establish a more reliable relative sea level for the Carmel Coast and Southern Levant between the Middle Bronze Age and the Roman period (ca. 3500-1800 y BP). Our record indicates a period of low relative sea level, around -2.5 m below present, from the Middle Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period (ca. 3500-2200 y BP). This was followed by a rapid rise to present levels, starting in the Hellenistic period and concluding during the Roman period (ca. 2200-1800 y BP). These Roman levels agree with other relative sea-level indications from Israel and other tectonically stable areas in the Mediterranean. Several relative sea-level reconstruction models carried out in the current study provide different predictions due to their parameters and do not model the changes observed from field data which points to a non-isostatic origin for the changes. Long-term low stable Iron Age relative sea level can be seen in Dor, where Iron Age harbor structures remain around the same elevation between ca. 3100-2700 y BP. A similar pattern occurs at Atlit, the Iron Age harbor to the north used continuously from ca. 2900 y BP to the beginning of the Hellenistic period (ca. 2200 y BP). An examination of historical and archaeological sources reveals decline and occasional disappearance of Hellenistic sites along the coast of Israel at ca. 2200 y BP (2nd century BCE), as in the case of Yavneh Yam, Ashdod Yam, Straton's Tower, and tel Taninim. In Akko-Ptolemais, the large harbor installations built in the Hellenistic period were never replaced by a substantial Roman harbor. The conclusions of this research are thus relevant for the sea-level research community and for the historical analyses of the Israeli and South Levantine coastline.

Tens of thousands of tons of copper were produced in Southern Jordan’s Faynan region during the Iron Age (ca. 1200 - 600 BCE). Despite this, the long-distance exchange of copper and its effect on the development of social complexity in the region are not well-understood, due to a limited corpus of copper artifacts sourced to the Iron Age mines of Faynan, recycling of metal objects, and a lack of research specifically focused on the exchange of copper. However, trade and social complexity can be explored through examination of material culture beyond metallurgical evidence. This work applies a range of methods in order to study whether elites at the Iron Age copper producing site Khirbat al-Jariya exploited trade networks in which copper and ceramics were exchanged in order to develop and reinforce their own power. The approaches used here to address these issues are aerial regional survey, excavation at Khirbat al-Jariya, and comprehensive ceramic analysis. The aerial survey, consisting of low-altitude aerial photography and three-dimensional image-based modeling, facilitated the remapping of important Iron Age sites such as Khirbat en-Nahas and Khirbat al-Jariya, among others, providing an updated understanding of the distribution of material remains and scale of copper production at these sites. Excavation at Khirbat al-Jariya in 2014 provided data allowing for the study of the social organization of the site and its role in a regional network, as well as a refinement of chronology of the site. This excavation also recovered the ceramics, studied through 3D modeling, typological analysis, and ceramic petrography, that allow for the examination of technology and provenance. This ceramic study demonstrates the presence of elites at Khirbat al-Jariya and illustrates their participation in Iron Age regional exchange networks. This analysis also shows that social complexity at Khirbat al-Jariya was driven by elites’ exploitation of long-distance exchange networks.

Tens of thousands of tons of copper were produced in Southern Jordan’s Faynan region during the Iron Age (ca. 1200 - 600 BCE). Despite this, the long-distance exchange of copper and its effect on the development of social complexity in the region are not well-understood, due to a limited corpus of copper artifacts sourced to the Iron Age mines of Faynan, recycling of metal objects, and a lack of research specifically focused on the exchange of copper. However, trade and social complexity can be explored through examination of material culture beyond metallurgical evidence. This work applies a range of methods in order to study whether elites at the Iron Age copper producing site Khirbat al-Jariya exploited trade networks in which copper and ceramics were exchanged in order to develop and reinforce their own power. The approaches used here to address these issues are aerial regional survey, excavation at Khirbat al-Jariya, and comprehensive ceramic analysis. The aerial survey, consisting of low-altitude aerial photography and three-dimensional image-based modeling, facilitated the remapping of important Iron Age sites such as Khirbat en-Nahas and Khirbat al-Jariya, among others, providing an updated understanding of the distribution of material remains and scale of copper production at these sites. Excavation at Khirbat al-Jariya in 2014 provided data allowing for the study of the social organization of the site and its role in a regional network, as well as a refinement of chronology of the site. This excavation also recovered the ceramics, studied through 3D modeling, typological analysis, and ceramic petrography, that allow for the examination of technology and provenance. This ceramic study demonstrates the presence of elites at Khirbat al-Jariya and illustrates their participation in Iron Age regional exchange networks. This analysis also shows that social complexity at Khirbat al-Jariya was driven by elites’ exploitation of long-distance exchange networks.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1) and tryptophane 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) are two heme-containing enzymes which catalyze the conversion of tryptophan to N-formylkynurenine. Both enzymes are well establish therapeutic targets as important factors in the tumor immune evasion mechanism. A number of analogues of the marine pyrroloquinoline alkaloids tsitsikammamines or wakayin have been synthesized, two of them were synthesized using an original method to build the bispyrroloquinone framework. All the derivatives were evaluated in a cellular assay for their capacity to inhibit the enzymes. Six compounds have shown a significant potency on HEK 293-EBNA cell lines expressing hIDO1 or hTDO.

Tens of thousands of tons of copper were produced in Southern Jordan’s Faynan region during the Iron Age (ca. 1200 - 600 BCE). Despite this, the long-distance exchange of copper and its effect on the development of social complexity in the region are not well-understood, due to a limited corpus of copper artifacts sourced to the Iron Age mines of Faynan, recycling of metal objects, and a lack of research specifically focused on the exchange of copper. However, trade and social complexity can be explored through examination of material culture beyond metallurgical evidence. This work applies a range of methods in order to study whether elites at the Iron Age copper producing site Khirbat al-Jariya exploited trade networks in which copper and ceramics were exchanged in order to develop and reinforce their own power. The approaches used here to address these issues are aerial regional survey, excavation at Khirbat al-Jariya, and comprehensive ceramic analysis. The aerial survey, consisting of low-altitude aerial photography and three-dimensional image-based modeling, facilitated the remapping of important Iron Age sites such as Khirbat en-Nahas and Khirbat al-Jariya, among others, providing an updated understanding of the distribution of material remains and scale of copper production at these sites. Excavation at Khirbat al-Jariya in 2014 provided data allowing for the study of the social organization of the site and its role in a regional network, as well as a refinement of chronology of the site. This excavation also recovered the ceramics, studied through 3D modeling, typological analysis, and ceramic petrography, that allow for the examination of technology and provenance. This ceramic study demonstrates the presence of elites at Khirbat al-Jariya and illustrates their participation in Iron Age regional exchange networks. This analysis also shows that social complexity at Khirbat al-Jariya was driven by elites’ exploitation of long-distance exchange networks.

This article presents new archaeological observations and multidisciplinary research from Dor, Israel to establish a more reliable relative sea level for the Carmel Coast and Southern Levant between the Middle Bronze Age and the Roman period (ca. 3500-1800 y BP). Our record indicates a period of low relative sea level, around -2.5 m below present, from the Middle Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period (ca. 3500-2200 y BP). This was followed by a rapid rise to present levels, starting in the Hellenistic period and concluding during the Roman period (ca. 2200-1800 y BP). These Roman levels agree with other relative sea-level indications from Israel and other tectonically stable areas in the Mediterranean. Several relative sea-level reconstruction models carried out in the current study provide different predictions due to their parameters and do not model the changes observed from field data which points to a non-isostatic origin for the changes. Long-term low stable Iron Age relative sea level can be seen in Dor, where Iron Age harbor structures remain around the same elevation between ca. 3100-2700 y BP. A similar pattern occurs at Atlit, the Iron Age harbor to the north used continuously from ca. 2900 y BP to the beginning of the Hellenistic period (ca. 2200 y BP). An examination of historical and archaeological sources reveals decline and occasional disappearance of Hellenistic sites along the coast of Israel at ca. 2200 y BP (2nd century BCE), as in the case of Yavneh Yam, Ashdod Yam, Straton's Tower, and tel Taninim. In Akko-Ptolemais, the large harbor installations built in the Hellenistic period were never replaced by a substantial Roman harbor. The conclusions of this research are thus relevant for the sea-level research community and for the historical analyses of the Israeli and South Levantine coastline.

Constraining secular variation of the Earth's magnetic field strength in the past is fundamental to understanding short-term processes of the geodynamo. Such records also constitute a powerful and independent dating tool for archaeological sites and geological formations. In this study, we present 11 robust archaeointensity results from Pre-Pottery to Pottery Neolithic Jordan that are based on both clay and flint (chert) artifacts. Two of these results constitute the oldest archaeointensity data for the entire Levant, ancient Egypt, Turkey, and Mesopotamia, extending the archaeomagnetic reference curve for the Holocene. Virtual Axial Dipole Moments (VADMs) show that the Earth's magnetic field in the Southern Levant was weak (about two-thirds the present field) at around 7600 BCE, recovering its strength to greater than the present field around 7000 BCE, and gradually weakening again around 5200 BCE. In addition, successful results obtained from burnt flint demonstrate the potential of this very common, and yet rarely used, material in archaeomagnetic research, in particular for prehistoric periods from the first use of fire to the invention of pottery.

This report summarises findings on wind integration from the 17 countries or sponsors participating in the International Energy Agency Wind Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA Wind TCP) Task 25 from 2006–2020. Both real experience and studies are reported. Many wind integration studies incorporate solar energy, and most of the results discussed here are valid for other variable renewables in addition to wind. The national case studies address several impacts of wind power on electric power systems. In this report, they are grouped under long-term planning issues and short-term operational impacts. Long-term planning issues include grid planning and capacity adequacy. Short-term operational impacts include reliability, stability, reserves, and maximising the value of wind in operational timescales (balancing related issues). The first section presents the variability and uncertainty of power system-wide wind power, and the last section presents recent studies toward 100% shares of renewables. The appendix provides a summary of ongoing research in the national projects contributing to Task 25 for 2021–2024. The design and operation of power and energy systems is an evolving field. As ambitious targets toward net-zero carbon energy systems are announced globally, many scenarios are being made regarding how to reach these future decarbonized energy systems, most of them involving large amounts of variable renewables, mainly wind and solar energy. The secure operation of power systems is increasingly challenging, and the impacts of variable renewables, new electrification loads together with increased distribution system resources will lead to somewhat different challenges for different systems. Tools and methods to study future power and energy systems also need to evolve, and both shortterm operational aspects (such as power system stability) and long-term aspects (such as resource adequacy) will probably see new paradigms of operation and design.

Murex-purple dye production and the production of salsamenta (salted fish) and garum (fish sauce) are two of the most common coastal industries of the Roman period. The western Mediterranean has a long history of archaeological investigation into fish-processing and dyeing facilities, with the most well-known sites concentrated around the Strait of Gibraltar. The same cannot be said for sites in the eastern Mediterranean, however, and the dearth of archaeological data on fish-processing in this region is surprising considering the importance of murex-dye, salsamenta, and garum to the Romans. In this thesis, I use an argument by analogy to test the hypothesis that a Roman coastal industrial complex at Tel Dor (Israel), currently known as the “Purple Dye Factory,” is actually a fish-processing facility. I form a positive analogy by comparing the features of the Dor complex with features at Roman fish-processing facilities (cetariae) in Baelo Claudia (Spain) and Cotta (Morocco). Next, I develop two chaîne opératoire models – for purple dye production and fish-processing – to determine what features are expected for each technological process. Finally, I demonstrate that the archaeological features at Dor match the archaeological correlates of the fish-processing chaîne opératoire and are analogous to the features found at Roman cetariae.

Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91-9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least ~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Submerged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby "Dor-complex" as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70-9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas younger, late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25-8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25-7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast.

Erosion of soils due to human activities such as deforestation, pastoralism, and agriculture is a problem that has been recognized since Antiquity. Greece, like much of the of the Mediterranean world, is particularly susceptible to soil loss due to the arid climate and steep, rocky terrain, and many previous studies have sought to date and attribute the aggradation of soil to human activity, climatic changes, or a combination of the two. This study uses near-shore sediment cores from Antikyra Bay in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece, to understand the sources and timing of erosional events in the study area of the Kastrouli–Antikyra Bay Land and Sea Project. Sedimentological analysis and radiocarbon dating of foraminifera and twigs show that there are two major periods of soil aggradation in this record: the first occurred in the Hellenistic and/or Roman period (ca. 1900 – 2100 BP), and the second starts in the Ottoman Period (ca. 350 BP) and persists until present day. In addition to documentation of soil aggradation, two paleo-shorelines were identified during the geophysical survey. A local relative sea level curve constructed for this study suggests the shallower of the two is between ~7.7 and 8.7 thousand years old, while the deeper feature formed around 8.9 to 9.7 thousand years ago.

Murex-purple dye production and the production of salsamenta (salted fish) and garum (fish sauce) are two of the most common coastal industries of the Roman period. The western Mediterranean has a long history of archaeological investigation into fish-processing and dyeing facilities, with the most well-known sites concentrated around the Strait of Gibraltar. The same cannot be said for sites in the eastern Mediterranean, however, and the dearth of archaeological data on fish-processing in this region is surprising considering the importance of murex-dye, salsamenta, and garum to the Romans. In this thesis, I use an argument by analogy to test the hypothesis that a Roman coastal industrial complex at Tel Dor (Israel), currently known as the “Purple Dye Factory,” is actually a fish-processing facility. I form a positive analogy by comparing the features of the Dor complex with features at Roman fish-processing facilities (cetariae) in Baelo Claudia (Spain) and Cotta (Morocco). Next, I develop two chaîne opératoire models – for purple dye production and fish-processing – to determine what features are expected for each technological process. Finally, I demonstrate that the archaeological features at Dor match the archaeological correlates of the fish-processing chaîne opératoire and are analogous to the features found at Roman cetariae.

Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91-9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least ~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Submerged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby "Dor-complex" as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70-9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas younger, late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25-8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25-7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast.

Erosion of soils due to human activities such as deforestation, pastoralism, and agriculture is a problem that has been recognized since Antiquity. Greece, like much of the of the Mediterranean world, is particularly susceptible to soil loss due to the arid climate and steep, rocky terrain, and many previous studies have sought to date and attribute the aggradation of soil to human activity, climatic changes, or a combination of the two. This study uses near-shore sediment cores from Antikyra Bay in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece, to understand the sources and timing of erosional events in the study area of the Kastrouli–Antikyra Bay Land and Sea Project. Sedimentological analysis and radiocarbon dating of foraminifera and twigs show that there are two major periods of soil aggradation in this record: the first occurred in the Hellenistic and/or Roman period (ca. 1900 – 2100 BP), and the second starts in the Ottoman Period (ca. 350 BP) and persists until present day. In addition to documentation of soil aggradation, two paleo-shorelines were identified during the geophysical survey. A local relative sea level curve constructed for this study suggests the shallower of the two is between ~7.7 and 8.7 thousand years old, while the deeper feature formed around 8.9 to 9.7 thousand years ago.

While the punctuated equilibrium model has been employed in paleontological and archaeological research, it has rarely been applied for technological and social evolution in the Holocene. Using metallurgical technologies from the Wadi Arabah (Jordan/Israel) as a case study, we demonstrate a gradual technological development (13th-10th c. BCE) followed by a human agency-triggered punctuated "leap" (late-10th c. BCE) simultaneously across the entire region (an area of ~2000 km2). Here, we present an unparalleled, diachronic archaeometallurgical dataset focusing on elemental analysis of dozens of well-dated slag samples. Based on the results, we suggest punctuated equilibrium provides an innovative theoretical model for exploring ancient technological changes in relation to larger sociopolitical conditions-in the case at hand the emergence of biblical Edom-, exemplifying its potential for more general cross-cultural applications.

While the punctuated equilibrium model has been employed in paleontological and archaeological research, it has rarely been applied for technological and social evolution in the Holocene. Using metallurgical technologies from the Wadi Arabah (Jordan/Israel) as a case study, we demonstrate a gradual technological development (13th-10th c. BCE) followed by a human agency-triggered punctuated "leap" (late-10th c. BCE) simultaneously across the entire region (an area of ~2000 km2). Here, we present an unparalleled, diachronic archaeometallurgical dataset focusing on elemental analysis of dozens of well-dated slag samples. Based on the results, we suggest punctuated equilibrium provides an innovative theoretical model for exploring ancient technological changes in relation to larger sociopolitical conditions-in the case at hand the emergence of biblical Edom-, exemplifying its potential for more general cross-cultural applications.

The first industrial revolution in the southern Levant crystallized during the Iron Age when copper production reached scales never before seen in this part of the Middle East. Ever since copper ore was first smelted during the Chalcolithic period, the Arabah valley, and its widespread distribution of copper mineralization, was the main source for copper ore in the region. The main ore deposits are located in Timna (Israel) in the southern part of the valley, and some 105 km to the north, in the Faynan region (Jordan). Faynan is the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant. Excavations at the Iron Age Faynan site of Khirbat en-Nahas and the recent final publication of that project have revealed peaks in industrial-scale production during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. However, the role of ground stone tools in the Iron Age copper industry in Faynan has not been systematically presented. This paper presents a preliminary study of the ground stone assemblage from one excavation season at Khirbat en-Nahas, thereby highlighting the great potential for ground stone tools research at the site. Using the chaîne opératoire method of technological study, this paper takes a quantitative approach to the typological, material, and spatial distribution of ground stone artefacts at Khirbat en-Nahas to understand their role in copper production. Ethnoarchaeological study of hereditary bronze casting workshops in southern India provides a compelling model of how ground stone tools played a critical role in one of the most important dimensions of metal production in all periods - recycling - in an Iron Age copper factory.

The first industrial revolution in the southern Levant crystallized during the Iron Age when copper production reached scales never before seen in this part of the Middle East. Ever since copper ore was first smelted during the Chalcolithic period, the Arabah valley, and its widespread distribution of copper mineralization, was the main source for copper ore in the region. The main ore deposits are located in Timna (Israel) in the southern part of the valley, and some 105 km to the north, in the Faynan region (Jordan). Faynan is the largest copper ore resource zone in the southern Levant. Excavations at the Iron Age Faynan site of Khirbat en-Nahas and the recent final publication of that project have revealed peaks in industrial-scale production during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. However, the role of ground stone tools in the Iron Age copper industry in Faynan has not been systematically presented. This paper presents a preliminary study of the ground stone assemblage from one excavation season at Khirbat en-Nahas, thereby highlighting the great potential for ground stone tools research at the site. Using the chaîne opératoire method of technological study, this paper takes a quantitative approach to the typological, material, and spatial distribution of ground stone artefacts at Khirbat en-Nahas to understand their role in copper production. Ethnoarchaeological study of hereditary bronze casting workshops in southern India provides a compelling model of how ground stone tools played a critical role in one of the most important dimensions of metal production in all periods - recycling - in an Iron Age copper factory.

The period between the fragmentation of the ‘Abbāsid empire in the 10th century AD and the formation of the Mamlūk state in the 13th century was one of considerable social, economic, and political change in the Levant. The period is marked by competition and shifting alliances among centralizing polities and autonomous local elites, a situation that makes archaeological investigation both difficult and rewarding. This dissertation examines the tension between autonomy and centralization within the Ayyūbid polity (ca. 1186-1263 AD) through the lens of industry, focusing specifically on copper production. The Ayyūbid copper production system in southern Jordan is reconstructed using data from systematic archaeological excavations and surveys in the arid lowlands of Faynān, including new excavations at two early 13th century copper production sites: Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir (KNA) and Khirbat Faynān. The analysis takes a Braudelian approach, situating the 13th century copper industry within long-term (primarily economic), medium-term (primarily political), and short-term (primarily social) changes in the Faynān region, and southern Jordan more broadly. The primary conclusion of this work is that the short-lived revival of copper production was part of a broader reorganization of the southern Levantine agricultural regime toward industrial-scale production of cane sugar. This reorganization took place, first, under the rule of the Ayyūbid princes of al-Karak in central Jordan, who adopted a local provisioning strategy that provided them considerable autonomy from the regional centers of Cairo and Damascus. Copper production in Faynān ended in the late 13th century, as the region came under the control of the Mamlūk state, and the Levantine sugar industry was integrated into a production system more dependent on Cairo.

As a medium of nationalism in colonial and postcolonial contexts, heritage has been explored by many scholars (Guha-Thakurta 1992; Mathur 2007; McGowan 2009; Mitter 1994), and yet, the impact of such discourses on the lives of living art practitioners and artisans has been rarely examined. This dissertation concerns a pan- Indian artisan caste called Vishwakarma, who practice a traditional art and straddle global markets, national ideologies, and rural lives. Exploring hegemonic discourses that circulate through nationalistic ideology, neoliberal markets, and caste politics, and based on two years of ethnographic research in Swamimalai and Chennai in South India, archival research at government and museum archives, and a detailed survey of Hindu aesthetic philosophy, this project contributes an interdisciplinary and vernacular reframing of the politics of heritage.Following the efforts of the Indian national movement during the rule of the British Raj, the Government of India constructed a discourse on the state’s heritage based upon the traditional arts and crafts of South Asia. Handicrafts have, since then, been a neoliberal expression of nationalism, and artisans are the living repositories of such knowledge and practice. Vishwakarma sculptors in the Tamil town of Swamimalai have historically made bronze Hindu idols for temples, but now also produce these icons for the handicrafts market. While government bureaucracy discourages caste identity, governmental museums and the handicrafts market valorize “authenticity” defined through religious traditions. Furthermore, the smuggling of temple antiques has attracted unfavorable attention from the police and media, and brought increased scrutiny to the sculptors, who are suspected of complicity. This dissertation examines how Vishwakarma and other caste sculptors navigate what they see as contradictory discourses from the government and society, which spotlight them alternatively as “authentic” but also untrustworthy.

The period between the fragmentation of the ‘Abbāsid empire in the 10th century AD and the formation of the Mamlūk state in the 13th century was one of considerable social, economic, and political change in the Levant. The period is marked by competition and shifting alliances among centralizing polities and autonomous local elites, a situation that makes archaeological investigation both difficult and rewarding. This dissertation examines the tension between autonomy and centralization within the Ayyūbid polity (ca. 1186-1263 AD) through the lens of industry, focusing specifically on copper production. The Ayyūbid copper production system in southern Jordan is reconstructed using data from systematic archaeological excavations and surveys in the arid lowlands of Faynān, including new excavations at two early 13th century copper production sites: Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir (KNA) and Khirbat Faynān. The analysis takes a Braudelian approach, situating the 13th century copper industry within long-term (primarily economic), medium-term (primarily political), and short-term (primarily social) changes in the Faynān region, and southern Jordan more broadly. The primary conclusion of this work is that the short-lived revival of copper production was part of a broader reorganization of the southern Levantine agricultural regime toward industrial-scale production of cane sugar. This reorganization took place, first, under the rule of the Ayyūbid princes of al-Karak in central Jordan, who adopted a local provisioning strategy that provided them considerable autonomy from the regional centers of Cairo and Damascus. Copper production in Faynān ended in the late 13th century, as the region came under the control of the Mamlūk state, and the Levantine sugar industry was integrated into a production system more dependent on Cairo.

As a medium of nationalism in colonial and postcolonial contexts, heritage has been explored by many scholars (Guha-Thakurta 1992; Mathur 2007; McGowan 2009; Mitter 1994), and yet, the impact of such discourses on the lives of living art practitioners and artisans has been rarely examined. This dissertation concerns a pan- Indian artisan caste called Vishwakarma, who practice a traditional art and straddle global markets, national ideologies, and rural lives. Exploring hegemonic discourses that circulate through nationalistic ideology, neoliberal markets, and caste politics, and based on two years of ethnographic research in Swamimalai and Chennai in South India, archival research at government and museum archives, and a detailed survey of Hindu aesthetic philosophy, this project contributes an interdisciplinary and vernacular reframing of the politics of heritage.Following the efforts of the Indian national movement during the rule of the British Raj, the Government of India constructed a discourse on the state’s heritage based upon the traditional arts and crafts of South Asia. Handicrafts have, since then, been a neoliberal expression of nationalism, and artisans are the living repositories of such knowledge and practice. Vishwakarma sculptors in the Tamil town of Swamimalai have historically made bronze Hindu idols for temples, but now also produce these icons for the handicrafts market. While government bureaucracy discourages caste identity, governmental museums and the handicrafts market valorize “authenticity” defined through religious traditions. Furthermore, the smuggling of temple antiques has attracted unfavorable attention from the police and media, and brought increased scrutiny to the sculptors, who are suspected of complicity. This dissertation examines how Vishwakarma and other caste sculptors navigate what they see as contradictory discourses from the government and society, which spotlight them alternatively as “authentic” but also untrustworthy.

Situated south of the Dead Sea, near the famous Nabataean capital of Petra, the Faynan region in Jordan contains the largest deposits of copper ore in the southern Levant. The Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project (ELRAP) takes an anthropological archaeology approach to the deep-time study of culture change in one of the Old World’s most important locales for studying technological development. Using innovative digital tools for data recording, curation, analyses and dissemination, the researchers focused on ancient mining and metallurgy as the subject of surveys and excavations related to the Iron Age (ca. 1200–500 BCE), when the first local, historical state-level societies appeared in this part of the eastern Mediterranean basin.This comprehensive and important volume challenges the current scholarly consensus concerning the emergence and historicity of the Iron Age polity of biblical Edom and some of its neighbors, such as ancient Israel. Excavations and radiometric dating establish a new chronology for Edom, adding almost 500 more years to the Iron Age, including key periods of biblical history when David, Solomon, and the Egyptian pharaoh Shoshenq I are alleged to have interacted with Edom.Series: Monumenta Archaeologica 35

Situated south of the Dead Sea, near the famous Nabataean capital of Petra, the Faynan region in Jordan contains the largest deposits of copper ore in the southern Levant. The Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project (ELRAP) takes an anthropological archaeology approach to the deep-time study of culture change in one of the Old World’s most important locales for studying technological development. Using innovative digital tools for data recording, curation, analyses and dissemination, the researchers focused on ancient mining and metallurgy as the subject of surveys and excavations related to the Iron Age (ca. 1200–500 BCE), when the first local, historical state-level societies appeared in this part of the eastern Mediterranean basin.This comprehensive and important volume challenges the current scholarly consensus concerning the emergence and historicity of the Iron Age polity of biblical Edom and some of its neighbors, such as ancient Israel. Excavations and radiometric dating establish a new chronology for Edom, adding almost 500 more years to the Iron Age, including key periods of biblical history when David, Solomon, and the Egyptian pharaoh Shoshenq I are alleged to have interacted with Edom.Series: Monumenta Archaeologica 35

Digital media and learning initiatives for virtual collaborative environments are contributing to the definition of new (sub-)disciplines in archaeological and heritage sciences. New nomenclature and terminology is emerging such as cyber archaeology, cyber archaeometry, virtual worlds and augmented and immersive realities; and all of them are related to museums and cultural heritage—tangible, intangible or natural (Forte 2010; Liritziset al. 2015).

Recent current events have dramatically highlighted the vulnerability of the world's material cultural heritage. The 3-D Digital Preservation of At-Risk Global Cultural Heritage project, led by Thomas Levy at UC San Diego, catalyzes a collaborative research effort by four University of California campuses (San Diego, Berkeley, Los Angeles and Merced) to use cyberarchaeology and computer graphics for cultural heritage to document and safeguard virtually some of the most at-risk heritage objects and places. Faculty and students involved in this project are conducting path-breaking archaeological research - covering more than 10,000 years of culture and architecture - in Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, and the United States. This project uses the 3-D archaeological data collected in numerous at-risk heritage places to study, forecast, and model the effects of human conflict, climate change, natural disasters and technological and cultural changes on these sites and landscapes. The greater challenge undertaken by this project is to integrate archaeological heritage data and digital heritage data using the recently-announced Pacific Research Platform (PRP) and its 10-100Gb/s network as well as virtual reality kiosks installed in each participating UC campus. Our aim is to link UC San Diego and the San Diego Supercomputer Center to other labs, libraries and museums at the other UC campuses to form a highly-networked collaborative platform for curation, analysis, and visualization of 3D archaeological heritage data.

The Early Bronze Age (3500 BCE – 2000 BCE) signals the start of complex societies across the Middle East. Compared to Egypt and Mesopotamia, sites in the southern Levant developed on a smaller scale. The difference in scale has led to debate about whether it is appropriate to call the settlements of the Early Bronze Age “urban” or “complex” by focusing on ranking, social differentiation, and unequal access to resources to indicate the development of elite structures. This study examines the site of Khirbat Hamra Ifdan (KHI) in the Faynan district of southern Jordan to assess the role of the production of copper on both local and regional social structures. As a significant prestige good, copper could act as a tool of ancient elites to finance and maintain their position of power. Any site involved in the production of that good becomes an excellent candidate to examine the role of elites in production and unequal access to material wealth. However, the Faynan district is an arid region where dry farming is impossible, making the support of an urban elite difficult. In order to place production at KHI within the dialogue of urbanism in the Levantine EBA, it is necessary to highlight characteristics locally and regionally that indicate aspects of a production and exchange system that suggest ranking, social differentiation, and unequal access to resources. A hybrid approach is used to examine the social structure of KHI and the neighboring region. The ceramic assemblage, comprising over 6.5 tons of sherds is examined in detail according to types and functional equivalents to highlight whether there is evidence of division of activity within the site and tested. To do this a new web application and data infrastructure called ArchaeoSTOR was created. Next, a map of the diachronic changes in the constellation of copper producing and trading sites is developed using paleomagnetic and radiometric dating techniques to indicate contemporaneity along with ceramic correlates.

The current study investigates the evolution of southern Levantine societies during the Early Bronze Age (ca 3600 - 2000 BCE). This study contributes to the reinvestigation of the food systems concept, a concept that addresses the interconnectivity of subsistence strategies and the larger natural and social environment. Investigating complex social processes within a food systems approach is not a new concept, but few systematic frameworks have modeled the scope and structure of varying levels of systems -- food, social and environmental -- as an integrated whole. The theoretical foundations of the food systems concept draws on systems theory to model social organization, procedures, activities, and technologies that human groups use to extract matter and energy from their environment. Agents and cultural transmission are key components to social evolution. This model draws attention to the agents responsible for making choices within their social structure. Many of these choices and decisions are epiphenomenal, but some are incorporated into their everyday practices, are transmitted over time and space, and result in change. Finally, the model incorporates data from the Wadi Faynan region in southern Jordan with site faunal data from the Early Bronze I (ca. 3600 - 3300 BCE) village of Wadi Fidan 4 and the Early Bronze III/IV (ca. 2700 - 2000 BCE) village of Khirbat Hamra Ifdan. Analytical methods applied to each case study assemblage clarify the relationship between humans and the animals used for food and secondary products within their social and natural environment. Archaeological and faunal investigations reveal the beginnings of specialized food production occurred at the village settlement of Wadi Fidan 4 in the EBIa. While archaeological evidence for the EBII period is lacking in this region, the EB III site of Khirbat Hamra Ifdan represents the largest copper manufactory in the Near East. The intensification of production at this site was accompanied by an