Search

Two different types of monumental architecture arise as part of the urban landscape of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages in the southern Levant: palaces and temples. While these architectural feats s...

This article describes and discusses a stamped sealing found at Middle Chalcolithic Tel Tsaf (5th millennium BCE). This is the earliest stamped sealing found in the southern Levant. The article des...

International audience; Gradually abandoned since the 1970s, the vernacular heritage of the interior region of Oman is experiencing its last fires and there is an urgent need to collect both ethnological and architectural data before they definitely fall into the domain of History and Archaeology.With this in mind, a survey aiming to identify water drainage installations in three traditional mud-brick neighbourhoods in the interior of Oman (Birkat al‑Mawz, Izkī and al‑Ḥamrā') was carried out in March 2020.This survey highlighted the techniques and facilities related to water drainage in traditional Omani neighbourhoods that had never been the subject of any particular attention, but also opened up ethnoarchaeological perspectives, a discipline that postulates that ethnography can enrich the interpretation of archaeological data, or even the absence of the latter.Out of 359 identified installations, gargoyles represent 99% of the sample. The absence of ground installations (e.g. sump, drain, sewer) showed that very simple solutions for water management within a brick architecture made it possible to overcome the dichotomy of absence/failure or presence/performance pairs generated by the bias of archaeological data.; Abandonné progressivement depuis les années 1970, le patrimoine vernaculaire de la région de l’intérieur de l’Oman vit ses derniers feux et il y a urgence à collecter des données tant ethnologiques qu’architecturales avant que celles-ci ne tombent définitivement dans le domaine de l’Histoire et de l’Archéologie.C’est dans cette optique qu’une prospection visant à relever les aménagements dédiés à l’évacuation de l’eau au sein de trois quartiers traditionnels de briques crues de l’intérieur de l’Oman (Birkat al‑Mawz, Izkī et al‑Ḥamrā’) a été réalisée en mars 2020.Cette prospection a permis de mettre en lumière les techniques et les aménagements liés à l’évacuation des eaux dans ces quartiers traditionnels omanais qui n’avaient jamais fait l’objet d’une attention particulière, mais également d’ouvrir des perspectives ethnoarchéologiques, une discipline qui postule que l’ethnographie permet d’enrichir l’interprétation de données archéologiques, voire l’absence de ces dernières.Sur 359 installations recensées, les gargouilles représentent 99 % de l’échantillon. L’absence d’installation au sol (puisard, canalisation, égout) a notamment montré que des solutions très simples en matière de gestion de l’eau au sein d’une architecture de briques, permettaient de dépasser la dichotomie des couples absence/défaillance ou présence/performance générée par la partialité des données archéologiques.

The late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB) east of the Jordan Valley marked an unprecedented expansion in settlement size and architectural density, and also witnessed the emergence of new subsistence modes focused on the herding of domesticated sheep and goats. Here, we examine animal exploitation at es-Sifiya, a substantial LPPNB settlement located in the Wadi Mujib, Jordan. Goat and sheep husbandry played a central role in animal-based subsistence at es-Sifiya, mirroring animal exploitation systems used at other contemporaneous settlements located in southern Jordan. Harvesting strategies at es-Sifiya focused on the slaughter of older lambs for tender meat and also moderate harvesting of yearling for more optimal meat production. While female goats were retained into adulthood, evidence for dairy exploitation in harvesting profiles is ambiguous. The delayed kill-off of sheep compared to goats at es-Sifiya, also practised at other LPPNB settlements east of the Jordan Valley, may reflect meat storage “live on the hoof” or preservation of valuable animals newly introduced to the region. The very low frequencies of gazelle at es-Sifiya compared to other LPPNB settlements may reflect increased predation pressure by human hunters or a population depression caused by increased competition for graze and browse with domesticates. Altogether, the zooarchaeological data from es-Sifiya further demonstrate rapid intensification of caprine herding associated with the initial translocation of domesticated sheep and goats to regions east of the Jordan Valley hypothesised for the late 8th-early 7th millennium BC. Résumé. Le Néolithique précéramique B récent (LPPNB) à l’est de la vallée du Jourdain est marqué par une augmentation sans précédent de la densité de peuplement et par l’émergence de nouvelles stratégies de subsistance centrées sur l’élevage de moutons et de chèvres. Toutefois, l’éventail de la diversité des stratégies d’exploitation animale en général et plus spécifiquement de l’élevage de caprinés reste encore à définir pour la période et la région. Nous examinons ici l’exploitation animale à es-Sifiya, une importante implantation datée du PPNB récent et située dans le Wadi Mujib, en Jordanie. L'élevage des chèvres et des moutons a joué un rôle prépondérant dans l’économie de subsistance, accompagné, dans une moindre mesure, par la chasse aux gazelles et aux chèvres sauvages, tandis que les suidés et les bovins n’ont été que très peu exploités, conformément aux tendances habituellement observées dans d’autres sites contemporains situés au sud de la Jordanie. L’abattage tardif des moutons d’es-Sifiya, tel qu’il est pratiqué aussi dans d’autres sites PPNB récent à l’est de la vallée du Jourdain, en comparaison de ce qui est observé pour les chèvres, pourrait refléter un objectif de stockage de viande « sur pied » ou la conservation d’animaux de valeur nouvellement introduits dans la région. Les indices d’une production laitière à partir de l’étude de profils d’abattage sont ambigus. La faible proportion relative des gazelles à es-Sifiya peut résulter d’une pression excessive de la prédation humaine ou refléter une diminution des populations locales de gazelles causée par une concurrence accrue des pâturages avec les troupeaux de moutons et de chèvres domestiques. Dans l’ensemble, les données archéozoologiques d’es-Sifiya démontrent également une intensification rapide de l’élevage des caprinés associée à l’introduction initiale de moutons et de chèvres domestiques dans les régions à l’est de la vallée du Jourdain à la fin du VIIIe et au début du VIIe millénaire av. J.-C.

Recent radiocarbon (14C) research demonstrates that the urban culture of Early-Bronze III in the southern Levant ends around 2500 BC, and not around 2300 BC as was widely assumed. This should extend the Intermediate Bronze Age by 200 years. Charred olive pits from Intermediate Bronze Age contexts in the site of Khirbat el-‘Alya Northeast in the Judean Shephelah region (Israel) were 14C dated, resulting in calibrated dates around 2500 BC. The date range of Khirbat el-‘Alya Northeast samples is an indication that in the Mediterranean parts of the southern Levant, the Intermediate Bronze Age material culture appeared around the time of the decline of the preceding culture of Early-Bronze III—around 2500 BC or somewhat earlier. Possible Intermediate Bronze settlement pattern and the site’s relation to the nearby Early-Bronze city of Tel Yarmuth are discussed based on previous Intermediate Bronze and Early-Bronze related research in the surrounding area.

We present two new Bayesian14C models using IntCal20 that incorporate 17 new calibrated AMS ages for Early Bronze IV Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Middle Bronze Age Tell el-Hayyat, located in the northern Jordan Valley, Jordan. These freshly augmented suites of carbonized seed dates now include 25 AMS dates from Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and 31 AMS dates from Tell el-Hayyat. The modeled founding date for Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj strengthens an emerging high chronology for Early Bronze IV starting by 2500 cal BC, while the end of its habitation by 2200 cal BC may exemplify a regional pattern of increasingly pervasive abandonment among late Early Bronze IV settlements in the Southern Levant. In turn, our modeled date for the Early Bronze IV/Middle Bronze Age transition at Tell el-Hayyat around 1900 cal BC pushes this interface about a century later than surmised traditionally, and its abandonment in Middle Bronze III marks an unexpectedly early end date before 1600 cal BC. These inferences, which coordinate Bayesian AMS models and typological ceramic sequences for Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat, contribute to an ongoing revision of Early and Middle Bronze Age Levantine chronologies and uncoupling of their attendant interpretive links between the Southern Levant and Egypt.

Los cambios sociales que se produjeron en el noroeste de Arabia y en el sur del Levante árido entre mediados del segundo y principios del primer milenio a.n.e. fueron tan profundos que pueden caracterizarse, tomando prestada la terminología de Steven Rosen, como una “revolución en el desierto”. Este artículo explorará las evidencias arqueológicas y epigráficas de la Edad del Bronce Tardío y de la Edad del Hierro Temprano en el Hejaz, el Negev, el noreste del Sinaí y el sur de Jordania. Este período de ca. 500 años vio grandes transformaciones sociales, económicas y políticas en las sociedades locales: el desarrollo de sociedades jerárquicas no estatales; la emergencia del urbanismo de oasis en el noroeste de Arabia y de sitios industriales en Edom; la aparición de una tecnología metalúrgica de avanzada en el Valle de Arabá; la construcción de las primeras obras hidráulicas en el norte de Arabia; las evidencias más antiguas de agricultura beduina en el Negev; la domesticación del dromedario y su utilización como animal de carga; la aparición de redes de comercio de larga distancia; la aparición y expansión de tradiciones de cerámica industrial autóctona; y la materialización de un nuevo mundo religioso con deidades locales y tribales. Ya no se puede considerar que las confederaciones y estados tribales del norte de Arabia y del sur de Levante del primer milenio a.n.e. emergieron de un vacío, sino que fueron el resultado de transformaciones de largo plazo que habían comenzado siglos antes.

Thousands of dolmens are scattered throughout the southern Levant, mainly in Syria, Israel, and Jordan. These megalithic burials, dated to the early stages of the Bronze Age, are an understudied and little understood phenomenon of Levantine archaeology. Unlike in Europe and other parts of the world, rock art has rarely been reported from Levantine dolmens, despite more than 150 years of research and hundreds of excavated dolmens of the thousands of megalithic structures recorded. A fortunate discovery, in 2012, of engraved features on the ceiling of the central burial chamber of a giant dolmen in the Shamir Dolmen Field has markedly altered our current body of knowledge. Since this finding, rock art has been discovered at three additional dolmen sites. These latest discoveries are presented in the context of their significance to the broader phenomenon of the mysterious megalithic burials of the Levant.

Birds and the exploitation of birds by humans are typically overlooked in archaeofaunal collections. While the frequency of avian remains does not rival those of domestic livestock, that does not r...

Hazor was unquestionably the largest Bronze Age Canaanite site, standing as an anomaly in the southern Levant in terms of its size, elaborate public architecture, special geopolitical stature and f...

Previously identified periods of aridity in the palaeoclimate record for the Near East have been argued to have greatly impacted ancient societies, causing widespread changes to food production and the collapse of multiple ancient civilizations. This study employs a meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age of the southern Levant and upper Mesopotamia to determine the impact of climatic oscillations upon animal food production systems. Comparisons of animal production strategies for sites across a range of zones of water availability demonstrates patterns of animal production contrary to what would be expected in response to increased aridity. These patterns indicate instead the resilience of production systems to periods of drought in the maintenance of desired levels of animal production.

There is extensive evidence for extraction of grease and fat from bones of ungulates at Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites in the Southern Levant. Excavations at Shubayqa 6 identified an area where extensive processing of carcasses took place during the transition between the Late Natufian to Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA). Large quantities of fire-cracked basalt, highly fragmented faunal remains and burnt bones indicate that grease and fat were extracted on a large scale. Spatial analysis demonstrates that bird remains were discarded in the same location where this fat rendering took place. Waterfowl dominate the assemblage and would have been present mainly in the winter. Body-part representation of the bird remains suggests that this abundance of avifauna resulted in people selectively processing the carcasses of the wetland birds they hunted. Gazelles would have been in peak condition at this time of year with higher concentrations of fat stored in their bodies. This seasonal glut of resources contrasts with the summer, especially late summer, when most of the commonly hunted bird species were absent and the gazelle in relatively poor condition. People, aware of seasonal cycles in resource abundance, may have preserved foods when available. Storing fat conserves resources for leaner times. Compared to the Natufian site of Shubayqa 1, fewer young gazelle in the faunal remains at Shubayqa 6 is an indication that hunting either targeted mature animals or was more intense in the winter when fewer young animals are present. Carcasses from juvenile animals are comprised of less fat and the association of the adult gazelle carcasses with the bird remains suggests that the two resources were processed alongside one another. Preservation of foodstuffs for leaner months of the year may have been one potential outcome of this activity.

This paper presents a small assemblage of “violin-shaped” anthropomorphic figurines from Tel Tsaf, dated to the Middle Chalcolithic period (5300-4500 BC). Analysis of the technology, iconography and spatial context of the assemblage, as well as comparable figurines from other sites, helped in understanding the assemblage and its place within the evolutionary sequence of ancient Near Eastern artistic imagery. In addition, the possible use and symbolic significance of the figurines are briefly discussed. Résumé. Cet article présente un petit assemblage de figurines anthropomorphes en forme de "violon" provenant de Tel Tsaf, daté du Chalcolithique moyen (5300-4500 av. J.-C.). L'analyse de la technologie, de l'iconographie et du contexte spatial de l'assemblage, ainsi que de figurines comparables provenant d'autres sites, a permis de comprendre l'assemblage et sa place dans la séquence évolutive de l'imagerie artistique du Proche-Orient ancien. En outre, l'utilisation possible et la signification symbolique des figurines sont brièvement discutées.

Three-dimensional models of buildings, made of clay or stone, are very rarely attested in the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, or Early Bronze Age southern Levant. The assemblage of nine clay models found at Tel Tsaf, radiometrically dated to 5200-4800 BC, is unique, helping to fill a gap in our understanding of this phenomenon in late prehistory. This paper presents the assemblage, discusses its symbolic value, and shows how it provides a glimpse of the superstructure and roof of late prehistoric buildings. The analysis of the fragments, as well as their spatial distribution and numerous parallels found in different parts of the Old World, brought us to the conclusion that these architectural models were visual representations of part of the local religious cosmology. These models should probably be related to beliefs pertaining to the netherworld, and may be regarded as precursors of the Late Chalcolithic ossuaries in both their form and their meaning in the eyes of their makers. Résumé. Les modèles tridimensionnels de bâtiments, en argile ou en pierre, sont très rarement attestés au Néolithique, au Chalcolithique ou au début de l'âge du Bronze dans le Levant sud. L'assemblage de neuf modèles en argile découvert à Tel Tsaf, daté par le 14C de 5200-4800 av. J.-C., est unique et contribue à combler une lacune dans notre compréhension de ce phénomène à la fin de la Préhistoire. Cet article présente l'assemblage, discute de sa valeur symbolique et montre comment il donne un aperçu de la superstructure et du toît des bâtiments de la fin de la Préhistoire. L'analyse des fragments, ainsi que leur répartition spatiale et les nombreux parallèles trouvés dans différentes parties de l'Ancien Monde, nous ont amenés à la conclusion que ces modèles architecturaux étaient des représentations visuelles d'une partie de la cosmologie religieuse locale. Ils sont probablement liés aux croyances relatives au monde souterrain et peuvent être considérés comme les précurseurs des ossuaires du Chalcolithique supérieur, tant par leur forme que par leur signification aux yeux de leurs auteurs.

The Late Chalcolithic period of the Southern Levant is marked by increased regional behaviour. Despite this, there is an increased production and distribution of finely made basalt vessels. These were frequently adorned with a single row of incised triangles along the rim. This motif is widely distributed throughout the Southern Levant and was formed according to specific morphometric guidelines and standardisation. These include a preference for symmetrical acute triangles filled with hatches. This standardisation attests to a somewhat specialised production and perhaps a shared significance behind the design, tied directly to the value of basalt or the basalt vessels. The triangle design then acts as a commentary on the Chalcolithic socio-economic system. La période du Chalcolithique ancien au Levant Sud est marquée par un plus grand développement régional. En addition à cela, une augmentation de la production et de la distribution de fines vaisselles faites de basalte est attestée. Elles sont souvent décorées avec une rangée de triangles incisés le long du rebord du col. Le motif est largement distribué au Levant Sud et est formé selon des lignes directrices typomorphologiques spécifiques. Ces directives comprennent une préférence pour des triangles aigus symétriques remplies de hachures. Cela peut indiquer que leur production était dictée par des conventions portant une signification sociale pour les communautés chalcolithiques. C’est pourquoi l’utilisation courante de ce motif triangulaire nous porte à croire que les villages chalcolithiques ont partagés un système d’utilisation et de production commun des bols de basalte décorés dépassant les limites régionales.

International audience

International audience

The present work illustrates a multi-analytical study of ceramic fragments that represent a distinctive class of pottery dating to the Early Bronze II (3050–2850 BC) from the archaeological site of Tell el-Far'ah North (West Bank). Optical Microscopy, coupled with SEM-EDS and XRPD, allowed to identify it as a ‘metallic ware’ industry produced with a low calcareous clay where quartz is dominant, along with feldspars, fragments of sedimentary and siliceous rocks, and nodules of iron oxides. This mineralogical assemblage is consistent with the geological formations in proximity to the site. The high quality of this ceramic industry was contemporarily achieved by a judicious selection of supplies and a firing temperature in a range between 800 and 900 °C. The metallic ware identified at the Tell el-Far'ah North most likely represents a ceramic industry of the central hill country. Tell el-Far'ah North, or another site in the area, may have been the production location of this pottery, according to the pattern of regional production centres, and regional specialised industries, which characterizes the Southern Levant in the Early Bronze II.

The “Assyrian Century,” the period of Assyrian rule in the Levant, is usually regarded as an era of prosperity and economic progress. As far as the southern Levant is concerned, this reconstruction more or less reflects the reality on the southern edge of the region—in the areas of Philistia, Judah, and Edom. But what was the situation in the northern part of the country, in the territories of the former kingdom of Israel and adjacent territories, regions that had become Assyrian provinces? It is the aim of this paper to scrutinize the archaeological data from these regions in order to shed light on the settlement and demographic reality in those provinces, and furthermore to reassess Assyrian policy in the west. After summarizing previous research, the article will present the available archaeological data, which will then be compared with that from the southern part of the country in order to enable a reexamination of the Assyrian empire’s policy in the west.

In the forward to this varied and stimulating collection of essays on the archaeology of the southern Levant from the Palaeolithic to the present day, Thomas Levy (p. xvii) recalls how his 1998 edi...

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. Finally, local and regional data is used to describe a new model for the development and dissolution of specialized copper production during the EBA.

Caves possess a continuum of ecological zones that differ in their microhabitat conditions, resulting in a gradient of nutrients, climate, and illumination. These conditions engender relatively rapid speciation and diverse assemblages of highly specialised spider fauna. It is unclear, however, how zonation of these caves affects spider assemblage composition and structure. Surveys of 35 Levantine caves were conducted to compare the assemblages of spiders between their different ecological zones. The diverse spider assemblages of these caves differed between the entrance, twilight, and dark zones, with troglophiles and accidental species occupying the cave entrance, endemic troglobites occupying the dark zones, and hybrid assemblages existing in the twilight zones. The progression of assemblage composition and divergence throughout cave zones is suggestive of processes of ecological specialisation, speciation, and adaptation of cave-endemic troglobites in the deepest zones of caves, while cave entrance assemblages are composed of relatively common species that can also be found in epigean habitats. Moreover, the cave entrance zone assemblages in our study were similar in the different caves, while the cave dark zone assemblages were relatively distinct between caves. Cave entrance assemblages are a subset of the regional species pool filtered by the cave conditions, while dark zone assemblages are likely a result of adaptations leading to local speciation events.

Our research examines the extent of animal husbandry between the Early and the Late Pottery Neolithic period in the southern Levant. Based on the faunal analysis of several assemblages from sites dated to the Jericho IX/Lodian (7800–7500 Bp) and Wadi Raba cultures (7500–6500 Bp), located in diverse geographic zones, it expands upon the current knowledge regarding the status of livestock exploitation and the extent of hunting. We expected some measure of exploitation of secondary products, as previous studies show that intense use of livestock for milk had already emerged in several places in Europe and the Near East by the 8th millennium BC. Our examination of the species abundance, herd demography, and changes in body size of the main livestock animals and wild species in multiple sites showed that livestock were utilized mainly for meat, and not for their secondary products. Additionally, while the animal economy in all sites relied on a combination of livestock and wild species, the extent of reliance on each source varied greatly between sites, especially in the Late Pottery Neolithic. Finally, our findings demonstrate that the economy of the Late Pottery Neolithic (Wadi Raba) of the southern Levant is more similar to the Early Pottery Neolithic (Jericho IX/Lodian) than to the later Chalcolithic Ghassulian.

In this book, which is an edited version of Paolo Cimadomo’s doctoral dissertation (University of Naples “Federico II”, 2017), the author seeks to examine the Southern Levant during the two first centuries of Roman domination. The Southern Levant, which for most authors extends from the border between Lebanon and Israel, in the North, and to Gaza, in the South, is narrowed down by the author, without explanation, to a much smaller region. In this manner, this work actually deals with a well-d...

In this paper, we present the results of recent research on the potential movement of ani-mals and other goods between Old Kingdom Egypt and the southern Levant during the Early Bronze III (c.2850–2550 BCE). Several types of goods found at the site within a domestic residen-tial neighbourhood (possibly of merchants) sug-gest that the inhabitants had extensive trade con-nections with the surrounding regions. A variety of durable goods derived from a variety of non-local sources, some of which are potentially locat-ed in Egypt. Other objects may have had a raw material origin in Egypt, but were modified in the northern Levant, and end up in the southern Levant. Scientific analysis of the normally assumed items, such as domestic livestock, dem-onstrate that donkey caravans were coming from Egypt during a period when trade supposedly has ceased between Egypt and the southern Levant. Isotopic analysis of donkey and other domestic animals are the first bioarchaeological evidence for the movement of livestock between the two regions – that the animals were born and raised in Egypt, brought to Canaan, and slaughtered soon after their arrival at the site. These results can challenge our traditional assumptions about evi-dence for direct trade between regions. We should be cautious in our labeling of raw material of artefacts that are non-local before a full scientific analysis is conducted.

Objectives The Early Bronze Age (EBA; ca. 3,600-2000 BCE) of the southern Levant underwent considerable transformation as agro-pastoral communities began to utilize their land more intensively, constructing larger, fortified towns prior to site abandonment at the end of the third millennium. At the site of Bab adh-Dhra' in Jordan, the dead of the Early Bronze (EB) II-III (ca. 3,100-2,500 BCE) period were communally interred within charnel houses, but important disparities between these structures and their contents may be reflective of ownership and use by particular extended kin groups whose activity patterns, subsistence strategies, and even social status may have differed from one another. Subsequently, we hypothesized that differences in mobility and dietary intake may differentiate tomb groups from one another. Materials and methods Dental enamel from 31 individuals interred in three different Early Bronze Age charnel houses (A56, A22, A55) at Bab adh-Dhra', Jordan were analyzed for strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotope values. Results Strontium isotope ratios (range: 0.70793-0.70842) possessed medians that did not differ statistically from one another, but had ranges that exhibited significant differences in variance. Carbon isotope values ( x ¯ = -13.2 ± 0.5‰, 1σ) were not significantly different. Discussion General similarities in human isotopic signatures between EB II-III charnel houses A22 and A55 suggest that their activities were likely similar to one another and agree with findings from excavated domestic spaces with little archaeological evidence for economic, social, or political differentiation. More variable strontium isotope ratios and lower carbon isotope values from A22 could reflect a greater involvement with pastoralist practices or regional trade, including the consumption of more 13 C-depleted foods, while those in A55 may have led a more sedentary lifestyle with greater involvement in cultivating orchard crops. All charnel houses contained nonlocal individuals likely originating from other Dead Sea Plain sites with no EB II-III cemeteries of their own, supporting the idea that extended kin groups throughout the region returned to Bab adh-Dhra' to bury their dead.

A fragment of a silver ingot recovered from the Phoenician settlement of La Rebanadilla, near Malaga, in south-east Iberia has been investigated using lead isotope and compositional analyses. The ingot, which was found at the lowest levels of the site, potentially dates from 11th-9th century BC, placing it alongside the hoards of hacksilver found in the southern Levant in terms of chronology. The Pb crustal age (from lead isotope data) and compositional data support that the ingot derives from Hercynian-age ores with high bismuth concentrations. This signature is consistent with the Pyritic belt of south-west Iberia, particularly around the ancient mining areas of Riotinto. It is proposed that the silver for this ingot was extracted from jarosite ores at Riotinto, where it was coarsely refined through cupellation into an ingot still retaining high levels of lead, before being transported to La Rebanadilla, which was a potential point of departure back to the Phoenician homeland. The significance of transporting silver in a form which would have required further refining is discussed in relation to the movement of silver by the Phoenicians in the Iron Age Mediterranean. A new mechanism is proposed to explain the elusive nature of Iberian silver in the archaeological record., Un fragmento de lingote de plata descubierto recientemente en el yacimiento fenicio de La Rebanadilla (Málaga) ha sido investigado mediante isotopos de plomo y análisis elemental.El lingote recuperado en los niveles inferiores del yacimiento, se fecha potencialmente entre fines del siglo XI y el IX a.C., situándose en cronología similar a algunos depósitos de hacksilver del área del levante mediterráneo.La edad de la corteza calculada a partir de los isotopos de plomo y la composición señalan que el lingote fue obtenido de minerales de Edad Hercínica con concentraciones altas de bismuto.Esta signatura es compatible con la de la Faja Pirítica del suroeste de la península ibérica, en particular con la de las antiguas minas de la zona de Riotinto.Se propone que la plata de este lingote fue obtenida de las jarositas argentíferas de Riotinto, donde sufrió solo un primer refinado mediante copelación, conservando un alto contenido en plomo antes de ser comercializado hacia La Rebanadilla, que pudo ser un lugar potencial para su transporte hacia los territorios fenicios en el Mediterráneo oriental. Las implicaciones del transporte de plata sin refinar son discutidas en relación al comercio de la plata por los fenicios durante la Edad del Hierro en el Mediterráneo y la dificultad de identificar la plata ibérica en el registro arqueológico.

La naturaleza de las relaciones entre Egipto y el Levante meridional en el IV milenio a.C. ha estado en el centro de un amplio debate, principalmente a partir de mediados del siglo XX. El registro arqueológico que evidencia estos vínculos se remonta al Calcolítico tardío y se acentúa considerablemente durante el Bronce Antiguo I. Estos hallazgos permiten dar cuenta de diferentes tipos de bienes que han circulado entre ambas regiones y que conforman una compleja red de interacción desde momentos tempranos. El objetivo central de este estudio es identificar y analizar cuáles fueron los mecanismos involucrados en las redes de circulación de bienes entre Egipto y el Levante meridional y las dinámicas implicadas en esta trama de relaciones. Para ello, el foco del análisis se ha colocado en dos sitios que permiten, por medio de diferentes indicadores arqueológicos, establecer concretos paralelos y arrojar luz sobre estas relaciones: Tell el-Farkha (en el área oriental del Delta del Nilo) y Tel Erani (en la zona centro-sur del Levante meridional).

The Early Bronze Age (EBA) of the southern Levant was the first period in which many sites became fortified. This process reached its climax during the latter part of the period (namely Early Bronze III). Until recently, most scholars saw this phenomenon as an indication that the period was characterized by a high level of organized conflict. The following article analyses the fortifications of eight EBA sites, as well as other markers of warfare, and argues that the period's fortifications were not as tactically efficient as they seem. Furthermore, other markers of war are generally missing. It seems that the period's fortifications were built mainly to demonstrate a town's might and power while deterring potential attackers. Taking into account the rise of social complexity during the period, they were also used to consolidate the society through the construction process and possibly to control movement and serve as a boundary marker. Incipient leaders, who planned and coordinated the construction, used possible threats and the construction process to aggrandize themselves as being the ‘protectors’ of the settlement.