TY - JOUR
T1 - Tel Beth Shean during the EB IB period
T2 - Evidence for social complexity in the late 4th millennium BC
AU - Mazar, Amihai
AU - Rotem, Yael
PY - 2009/11/1
Y1 - 2009/11/1
N2 - The Early Bronze I (henceforth EB I) is a formative era in the Southern Levant. Modern research has thrown light on many aspects of this period: its long duration, its spatial and temporal subdivisions, its settlement pattern, its socio-economic characterizations, and the phenomenon of Egyptian colonization in southern Palestine (e.g. Stager 1992, 28-34; Joffe 1993, 39-62; Braun 1996). Among the prominent discoveries related to the later part of EB I (denoted here EB IB) are the monumental temple at Megiddo and the notion that certain sites were fortified. These features may require us to change the way in which we conceive of socio-political developments during the late 4th millennium BC, in particular in northern Palestine. In the present paper, we present two phases of an unusual EB IB building excavated at Tel Beth Shean. The stratigraphy, architecture and finds from this building raise intriguing questions concerning architectural traditions, function, economy, social complexity and regionalism in material culture. The evidence also bears on matters of chronology, and the way in which we define the transition from EB I to EB II in the region. While a full account will appear in the final excavation report (Mazar (ed.) forthcoming), some of these issues were felt to warrant more immediate consideration.
AB - The Early Bronze I (henceforth EB I) is a formative era in the Southern Levant. Modern research has thrown light on many aspects of this period: its long duration, its spatial and temporal subdivisions, its settlement pattern, its socio-economic characterizations, and the phenomenon of Egyptian colonization in southern Palestine (e.g. Stager 1992, 28-34; Joffe 1993, 39-62; Braun 1996). Among the prominent discoveries related to the later part of EB I (denoted here EB IB) are the monumental temple at Megiddo and the notion that certain sites were fortified. These features may require us to change the way in which we conceive of socio-political developments during the late 4th millennium BC, in particular in northern Palestine. In the present paper, we present two phases of an unusual EB IB building excavated at Tel Beth Shean. The stratigraphy, architecture and finds from this building raise intriguing questions concerning architectural traditions, function, economy, social complexity and regionalism in material culture. The evidence also bears on matters of chronology, and the way in which we define the transition from EB I to EB II in the region. While a full account will appear in the final excavation report (Mazar (ed.) forthcoming), some of these issues were felt to warrant more immediate consideration.
KW - Archaeology
KW - Beth Shean
KW - Early Bronze Age
KW - Israel
KW - Palestine
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=76549089609&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1179/007589109X12484491671059
DO - 10.1179/007589109X12484491671059
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AN - SCOPUS:76549089609
SN - 0075-8914
VL - 41
SP - 131
EP - 153
JO - Levant
JF - Levant
IS - 2
ER -