"Examines the relationship between politics and material culture during the transition from the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age in the southern Levant by studying architectural and ceramic changes"--

Do shifts in material culture instigate administrative change, or is it the shifting political winds that affect material culture? This is the central question that Shlomit Bechar addresses in this book, taking the transition from the Middle to Late Bronze Age (seventeenth–fourteenth centuries BCE) in northern Canaan as a test case. Combining archaeological and historical analysis, Bechar identifies the most significant changes evident in architectural and ceramic remains from this period and then explores how and why contemporary political shifts may have influenced, or been influenced by, these developments. Bechar persuasively argues that the Egyptian conquest of the southern Levant—enabled by local economic decline following the expulsion of the Hyksos and the fall of northern Syrian cities—was the impetus for these changes in ceramics and architecture. Using a macro-typological approach to examine the ceramic assemblages, she also discusses the impact of the influx of Aegean imports, suggesting that while “attached specialists” were primarily responsible for ceramic production in the Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age ceramics were increasingly made by “independent specialists,” another important result of the new administrative system created following Thutmose III’s campaign. An important contribution to our understanding of the transition between the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, this original and insightful book will appeal to specialists in the Bronze Age Levant, especially those interested in using ceramic assemblages to examine social and political change.

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

Culinary Technology of the Ancient Near East discusses the technical aspects of meal preparation, cooking, and baking in the ancient Near East, exploring a wide range of topics including kitchens, cooking equipment, cooking and baking vessels, and serving and eating utensils. Chapters explore and describe the culinary technologies and techniques employed by the peoples of the ancient Near East from the Neolithic to the Early Roman period, considering their unique and pioneering contributions to the development and evolution of gastronomic devices and apparatus and highlighting some of the foods prepared by them, recognizing their application and influence in contemporary cooking and baking. Baker brings together in a single volume what is known about the culinary technology of the ancient Near East based on the archaeological, textual, historic, and scientific data drawn from a wide range of studies and discusses this data in terms of its cultural, historic, and socio-economic context. She emphasizes these technologies as the foundation upon which modern culinary technology is based and applies relevant ancient techniques to modern systems. Overall, the volume acknowledges the ingenuity of the ancient mind in order to understand their culinary technology, which in turn helps us better understand our own and apply these, and new, ideas to the present and future. This is a fascinating study suitable for students and scholars working on food and households in the ancient Near East, as well as those working on the history of food, cooking and dining, and the history of technology more broadly.

It's the cradle of civilization, the wellspring of three of the world's most powerful faiths, a place where vestiges of the ancient past remain vibrantly alive today—but what do we really know about the day-to-day lives and defining culture of the people of Israel and Canaan? Ancient Canaan and Israel takes readers beyond the scriptural portrayals of the region and into the everyday lives of Canaanites and Israelites. It draws on recently discovered archaeological evidence and fresh interpretations of biblical and extrabiblical texts to show how archaeologists and other researchers reconstruct the many facets of these civilizations—political, geographic, social, economic, religious, technological, and aesthetic. For experienced scholars or enthusiastic newcomers, it is an enlightening portrayal of the people and the land of Canaan and Israel, which traces many well-known spiritual and cultural traditions back to their ancient roots. It is also an objective introduction to a number of much-debated topics, such as the fate of the Canaanite cultures, the origins of the Israelites, and the historical accuracy of the Bible.

This volume provides a series of contributions on the crucial aspects relating to the Bible and the Late Bronze Age period. The volume is introduced with a background essay surveying the main areas of history and current scholarship relating to Late Bronze Age Palestine and to the Egyptian New Kingdom (Dynasties 18-20) domination of the region, as well as the question of the biblical account of the same geographical area and historical period. Specific chapters address a range of key concerns: the history of Egypt's dealing with Canaan is surveyed in chapters by Grabbe and Dijkstra. The Amarna texts are also dealt with by Lemche, Mayes and Grabbe. The archaeology is surveyed by van der Steen. The Merenptah Stela mentioning Israel is of considerable interest and is discussed especially by Dijkstra. This leads on to the burning question of the origins of Israel which several of the contributors address. Another issue is whether the first Israelite communities practised egalitarianism, an issue taken up by Guillaume, with a response by Kletter.

The Middle Bronze Age (MB IIA) in Canaan set the stage for many of the cultural, political, and economic institutions in the ancient Near East. Theoretical models for the analysis of complex societies examine textual, pictorial, and archaeological evidence.

This volume marks a departure from earlier descriptive archaeological summaries of the Holy Land. Taking an anthropological and socio-economic perspective, many of the leading archaeologists who work in Israel and Jordan today present timely and concise summaries of the archaeology of this region. Chronologically organized, each chapter outlines the major cultural transitions which occurred in a given archaeological period. To explain the processes which were responsible for culture change, a review is made of the most recent research concerning settlement patterns, innovations and technology, religion and ideology, and social organization. The material culture of every period of human history in the Holy Land is explored from the earliest prehistoric hominids, through the Biblical and historical periods and up to modern (20th century) times. Each chapter is accompanied by settlement pattern maps and a plate highlighting the major artifacts which archaeologists use to identify the material culture of the period. In addition, windows are presented which focus on major social issues and controversies such as "The Agricultural Revolution", the "Israelite Conquest of Canaan" and "Ancient Metal Working and Social Change". This volume should provide students and the general reader with a useful reference volume concerning the archaeology of societies which lived and live in the Holy Land.

Ancient Israel did not emerge within a vacuum but rather came to exist alongside various peoples, including Canaanites, Egyptians, and Philistines. Indeed, Israel’s very proximity to these groups has made it difficult—until now—to distinguish the archaeological traces of early Israel and other contemporary groups. Through an analysis of the results from recent excavations in light of relevant historical and later biblical texts, this book proposes that it is possible to identify these peoples and trace culturally or ethnically defined boundaries in the archaeological record. Features of late second-millennium B.C.E. culture are critically examined in their historical and biblical contexts in order to define the complex social boundaries of the early Iron Age and reconstruct the diverse material world of these four peoples. Of particular value to scholars, archaeologists, and historians, this volume will also be a standard reference and resource for students and other readers interested in the emergence of early Israel.

Ancient Israel did not emerge within a vacuum but rather came to exist alongside various peoples, including Canaanites, Egyptians, and Philistines. Indeed, Israel’s very proximity to these groups has made it difficult—until now—to distinguish the archaeological traces of early Israel and other contemporary groups. Through an analysis of the results from recent excavations in light of relevant historical and later biblical texts, this book proposes that it is possible to identify these peoples and trace culturally or ethnically defined boundaries in the archaeological record. Features of late second-millennium B.C.E. culture are critically examined in their historical and biblical contexts in order to define the complex social boundaries of the early Iron Age and reconstruct the diverse material world of these four peoples. Of particular value to scholars, archaeologists, and historians, this volume will also be a standard reference and resource for students and other readers interested in the emergence of early Israel.