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Ethnicity in Archaeology a Case for Khirbet Kerak Ware in the Southern Levant

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Ethnicity in Archaeology a Case for Khirbet Kerak Ware in the Southern Levant Ethnicity in Archaeology A case for Khirbet Kerak Ware in the Southern Levant Sareeta Zaid Honours Thesis 2016 The University of Sydney Abstract Archaeological studies of ethnicity and identity have gained increasing momentum in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This thesis is a critical examination of differing approaches to the interpretation of material culture in the detection of sociocultural identities. Theorisation in this field has often occurred in lieu of developing practical frameworks of analysis that are applicable to the material record. The lack of clarity arising from recurrent use of subjective concepts such as „ethnic identity‟ and „archaeological subject‟ without adequately defining these terms further hinders such studies. Instead, transparency and holism are paramount in considering archaeological identities due to the influential nature of the contexts in which the researcher and research subject are situated. This approach is particularly pertinent in the study of Khirbet Kerak Ware, a handmade and highly burnished red/ black ceramic occurring in a core morphological range in the Early Bronze III Southern Levant. Khirbet Kerak Ware differs in typology, decoration and manufacturing technique from other Southern Levantine pottery and does not demonstrate ceramic development in this region, indicating its foreign nature. Accordingly, trade, diffusion and migration have been proposed as possible mechanisms for the dissemination of Khirbet Kerak Ware. In particular, strong parallels have been noted between Khirbet Kerak Ware and the Kura-Araxes cultural complex of Anatolia and the Transcaucasus. This thesis provides insight into the Khirbet Kerak Ware phenomenon by investigating its origins and role within Southern Levantine society in a situational approach that aims to overcome many of the shortcomings of previous studies into archaeological ethnicity. i Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ i List of Figures & Tables .........................................................................................iv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................vi Abbreviations ...........................................................................................................vii Definitions ................................................................................................................viii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................1 2. Literature Review ..................................................................................................4 2.1. An introduction to identity............................................................................... 4 2.2. Defining ethnicity.............................................................................................. 5 2.3. Identity in archaeology..................................................................................... 6 2.4. Archaeological origins of ethnicity ................................................................ 7 2.5. The role of material culture ............................................................................. 9 2.5.1. Culture-History ............................................................................................. 9 2.5.2. New Archaeology....................................................................................... 10 2.5.3. Post-Processualism ................................................................................... 11 2.6. Artefacts as active participants in social systems ..................................... 13 2.7. Detecting ethnicity in the archaeological record........................................ 14 2.7.1. Object Biography Theory ........................................................................... 14 2.7.2. Material correlates ..................................................................................... 15 2.8. The importance of context............................................................................. 18 2.9. New frameworks of analysis ......................................................................... 19 3. Methodology ....................................................................................................... 21 3.1. Theoretical analysis ....................................................................................... 21 3.2. Case study ....................................................................................................... 21 3.3. Limitations and biases ................................................................................... 22 4. Khirbet Kerak Ware in the Southern Levant............................................... 25 4.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 25 4.2. Chronology ...................................................................................................... 25 4.3. Typology .......................................................................................................... 28 4.4. Decoration ....................................................................................................... 30 ii 4.5. Manufacture..................................................................................................... 31 4.6. Other ceramic forms in the Southern Levant .............................................. 33 4.6.1. Metallic Ware ............................................................................................. 34 4.6.2. Red Slipped Burnished Ware .................................................................... 36 4.7. Conclusion....................................................................................................... 40 5. Distribution of Khirbet Kerak Ware............................................................... 41 5.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 41 5.2. Key sites in the Southern Levant.................................................................. 43 5.3. Tell Beth Yerah ................................................................................................ 46 5.4. Tell Beth Shean ............................................................................................... 53 5.5. Contexts of discovery .................................................................................... 56 5.6. Conclusion....................................................................................................... 57 6. Origins of Khirbet Kerak Ware ....................................................................... 59 6.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 59 6.2. Kura-Araxes of Anatolia & the Transcaucasus ........................................... 61 6.2.1. Ceramic Typology & Decoration................................................................ 61 6.2.2. Ceramic Manufacture ................................................................................ 62 6.2.3. Associated Evidence ................................................................................. 64 6.3. Distribution through trade or diffusion ........................................................ 66 6.4. Distribution through migration ..................................................................... 68 6.4.1. Evidence in Anatolia and the Transcaucasus ........................................... 70 6.4.2. Evidence in the Northern Levant ............................................................... 72 6.4.3. Evidence in the Southern Levant .............................................................. 74 6.4.4. Migration theories ...................................................................................... 76 6.5. Conclusion....................................................................................................... 80 7. Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 82 7.1. Conclusions .................................................................................................... 82 7.2. Future Directions ............................................................................................ 83 Appendix .................................................................................................................. 86 References ............................................................................................................. 109 iii List of Figures & Tables Table 1 – KKW Typology ........................................................................................... 29 Table 2 – RSBW Types.............................................................................................. 38 Map 1 – Key sites in Southern Levant ...................................................................... 42 Table 3 – KKW Distribution Zones ............................................................................ 43 Table 4 – KKW Distribution at Key Sites .................................................................. 44 Map 2 – Key sites in Anatolia, the Transcaucasus and the Northern Levant ....... 60 Table 5 – RBBW Distribution in Anatolia and the Transcaucasus ......................... 70
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