Early Urbanizations in the Levant examines the first cycle of urbanization, collapse and reurbanization in the 4th-2nd millennium BCE Levant. The core of the study is a detailed analysis of settlement fluctuations and material culture development in the Hula Valley, at the crossroads between modern Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Focusing on field data and a close reading of the material text, the book emphasizes the variety exhibited in patterns of cultural and social change when small, densely settled regions are carefully scrutinized. Using the concepts of time-space edges and shifting loci of power, the study suggests new scenarios to explain changes in the regional archaeological record, and considers the implications these have for existing reconstructions of social evolution in the larger region. The Levant is shown to be composed of a fluid mosaic of polities that moved along multiple, if often parallel, paths towards and away from complexity. This book should be of interest to anyone studying the archaeology of early state formation in the Near East, particularly in areas of secondary urbanization - Palestine, Syria and Anatolia. With its detailed consideration of settlement patterns and ceramic production, it is also indispensable for the study of the early history of the two major sites in the area, Tel Dan and Tel Hazor, being the first attempt to integrate the results of excavations at these sites with the information obtained in archaeological surveys of the valley which sustained them.

Early Urbanizations in the Levant examines the first cycle of urbanization, collapse and reurbanization in the 4th-2nd millennium BCE Levant. The core of the study is a detailed analysis of settlement fluctuations and material culture development in the Hula Valley, at the crossroads between modern Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Focusing on field data and a close reading of the material text, the book emphasizes the variety exhibited in patterns of cultural and social change when small, densely settled regions are carefully scrutinized. Using the concepts of time-space edges and shifting loci of power, the study suggests new scenarios to explain changes in the regional archaeological record, and considers the implications these have for existing reconstructions of social evolution in the larger region. The Levant is shown to be composed of a fluid mosaic of polities that moved along multiple, if often parallel, paths towards and away from complexity. This book should be of interest to anyone studying the archaeology of early state formation in the Near East, particularly in areas of secondary urbanization - Palestine, Syria and Anatolia. With its detailed consideration of settlement patterns and ceramic production, it is also indispensable for the study of the early history of the two major sites in the area, Tel Dan and Tel Hazor, being the first attempt to integrate the results of excavations at these sites with the information obtained in archaeological surveys of the valley which sustained them.

An up-to-date, systematic depiction of Bronze Age societies of the Levant, their evolution, and their interactions and entanglements with neighboring regions.

A collection of twenty-three essays on the northern and southern Levant in the third millennium BCE, providing scholarly reevaluations of topics including urbanism, heterarchy, nomadism, ruralism, terminology, and cultural continuity/discontinuity.

This Handbook aims to serve as a research guide to the archaeology of the Levant, an area situated at the crossroads of the ancient world that linked the eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The Levant as used here is a historical geographical term referring to a large area which today comprises the modern states of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, western Syria, and Cyprus, as well as the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. Unique in its treatment of the entire region, it offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the current state of the archaeology of the Levant within its larger cultural, historical, and socio-economic contexts. The Handbook also attempts to bridge the modern scholarly and political divide between archaeologists working in this highly contested region. Written by leading international scholars in the field, it focuses chronologically on the Neolithic through Persian periods - a time span during which the Levant was often in close contact with the imperial powers of Egypt, Anatolia, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. This volume will serve as an invaluable reference work for those interested in a contextualised archaeological account of this region, beginning with the 'agricultural revolution' until the conquest of Alexander the Great that marked the end of the Persian period.

This volume emerges from a session honoring Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub held during the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Atlanta, Georgia and includes expanded versions of many of the papers presented in that session. By gathering in Atlanta, and by participating in this volume, the contributors honor the careers and scholarly passions of Walt and Tom, whose work in southern Levantine archaeology began in the 1960s when they were young scholars working with Paul Lapp. The breadth and depth of experience of the contributors’ disciplinary and theoretical interests reflects the shared influence of and esteem for Walt’s and Tom’s own scholarly gifts as archaeologists, mentors, collaborators, and intellectual innovators. The primary disciplinary “homes” for the scholars contributing to this volume encompass a broad range of methods and approaches to learning about the past: anthropological archaeology, Near Eastern archaeology, biblical archaeology, and physical anthropology. Their institutional “homes” include universities and institutes in Canada, Denmark, Israel, Jordan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States; their theoretical “homes” include the broadly-conceived archaeological frameworks of culture-history, processualism, and post-processualism. Collectively, these papers reflect the enormous breadth of influence that Tom’s and Walt’s scholarly contributions have made to EB studies. Walt and Tom shared a gift that many have benefited from: gentle listening, questioning, and pushing for more sophisticated analyses of Early Bronze Age life. Their eager engagement of younger scholars, as well as their involvement with their peers, arises from their dedication to listening well, devoting time to others’ ideas and perspectives, and a generous willingness to give freely to others out of the rich depths of their lifelong scholarly pursuits and profound understanding of the Early Bronze Age, archaeology, and life in general. Many of the contributors to this volume have gained greater understanding because of Walt’s and Tom’s gift of listening, keen insights, and bottomless enthusiasm for learning more about the past and the present in the southern Levant. The 18 essays presented here are to honor both men for these gifts both to the discipline of archaeology and to so many of us engaged in that intellectual endeavor.

The volume offers a comprehensive introduction to the archaeology of the southern Levant (modern day Israel, Palestine and Jordan) from the Paleolithic period to the Islamic era, presenting the past with chronological changes from hunter-gatherers to empires. Written by an international team of scholars in the fields of archaeology, epigraphy, and bioanthropology, the volume presents central debates around a range of archaeological issues, including gender, ritual, the creation of alphabets and early writing, biblical periods, archaeometallurgy, looting, and maritime trade. Collectively, the essays also engage diverse theoretical approaches to demonstrate the multi-vocal nature of studying the past. Significantly, The Social Archaeology of the Levant updates and contextualizes major shifts in archaeological interpretation.