oi.uchicago.edu STUDIES IN ANCIENT ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION • No. 50 THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO THOMAS A. HOLLAND, Editor With the assistance of Richard M. Schoen oi.uchicago.edu oi.uchicago.edu SUBSISTENCE, TRADE, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN EARLY BRONZE AGE PALESTINE DOUGLAS L. ESSE THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO STUDIES IN ANCIENT ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION • No. 50 CHICAGO • ILLINOIS oi.uchicago.edu Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-62583 ISBN: 0-918986-66-4 ISSN: 0081-7554 The Oriental Institute ©1991 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published 1991. Printed in the United States of America. COVER ILLUSTRATION: AN EARLY BRONZE AGE III RED POLISHED WARE JAR FROM BETH YERAH (PLATE 3:G). oi.uchicago.edu To Ann oi.uchicago.edu oi.uchicago.edu TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix LIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC ABBREVIATIONS xi LIST OF FIGURES xiii LIST OF PLATES xv LIST OF TABLES xvii 1.THE ENVIRONMENT 1 The Physical Landscape: Constraints and Potential 1 Geomorphology 1 Soils 5 Phyto-Geography 7 Rainfall 11 Hydrology 12 Topography 14 Man in His Environment 14 Trade Routes 14 Pre-Modern Land Use 19 Sixteenth-Century Records from the Ottoman Period 19 Nineteenth-Century Eyewitness Accounts 23 Transition: The Central Jordan Valley in the Early Twentieth Century 27 Summary 29 2. BETH YERAH: HISTORY AND MATERIAL CULTURE 33 Site Identification 34 Site Topography 36 Archaeological Investigations at Beth Yerah 37 The Kinneret Tomb 41 Oriental Institute Excavations 42 Analysis of the Ceramics from Beth Yerah 45 EBII Pottery from Beth Yerah 45 EB III Pottery from Beth Yerah 48 Summary 52 3. CONTEXT AND CONTACTS 63 Terminology 63 EB II 63 EB III 64 vii oi.uchicago.edu viii SUBSISTENCE, TRADE, AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN EARLY BRONZE AGE PALESTINE Stratigraphic and Ceramic Context in Northern Palestine 67 Introduction 67 Megiddo 67 <Affulah 90 Tel Qashish 91 Ta'anach 92 Beth Shan 93 Hazor 94 Tel Reqet (Kh. Quneitra) 95 Rosh HaNiqra (Kh. Musherifa) 96 Tell Qishyon 96 Qadesh Naphtali 97 Tell esh-Shuneh 97 Summary 98 Cultural Context 98 Regional Subsistence and Intraregional Trade 98 Interregional Trade 100 International Trade: Context and Contacts 103 Red Polished Ware 104 Light Faced Painted Ware 107 Combed Ware 109 Combed Ware in Palestine 110 Combed Ware in Syria 111 Combed Ware in Egypt 114 Combed Ware Vats and the Olive Oil Industry 119 Northern Palestine 119 Southern Palestine 120 Syria 121 The Olive Oil Factory at Beth Yerah 122 4. SETTLEMENT PATTERNS IN NORTHERN PALESTINE 127 Site Density 129 Demography 130 Integration 135 Distribution and Growth Rates 143 The Chalcolithic Period (4500-3500 B.C.) 143 The Early Bronze Age (Early Bronze Age I [3500-3100 B.C.], Early Bronze Age II-III [3100-2200 B.C.]) 146 Early Bronze Age IV/Middle Bronze Age I (2200-2000 B.C.) 152 Function 156 Agricultural/Pastoral Continuum 162 5. CONCLUSIONS 171 APPENDK: SITE LIST 177 BIBLIOGRAPHY 197 oi.uchicago.edu ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are at least three levels of support that are necessary for the successful completion of a long term piece of scholarship. First, I would like to thank a number of institutions who gave me financial support and encouragement. Most of my field research was conducted while I was the George Barton fellow at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem in 1979/1980. My research fellowship at the Albright Institute allowed me to examine the unpublished results of a number of excavations in northern Israel, as well as to conduct my own site survey of the Jezreel and Beth Shan Valleys in the month of November 1979. That year of study abroad was also made possible by a Ryerson travel grant from The University of Chicago. These two institutions were generous in their support of the beginning stages of my project. The final year of my work was made possible by a fellowship from the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, and it was this grant that allowed me to bring my research to a successful conclusion. This book began as a doctoral dissertation for the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at The University of Chicago, and I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee. McGuire Gibson was remarkable for his ability to instill enthusiasm and for his editorial skills. I owe a debt of gratitude to Helene Kantor for giving me complete access to the materials excavated from the site of Beth Yerah by The Oriental Institute in 1963 and 1964. She was always willing to take lime from her busy schedule to discuss the material from the site, and I credit her with sharpening my artistic skills and my ceramic "eye for form." The excavations were directed by Professor Pinhas Dclougaz, and although they were limited soundings, I am confident they provide us with the stratigraphic key that will help unlock the secrets of the Early Bronze Age in northern Palestine. Lawrence Stager served as the chairman of my thesis committee. He has broadened my intellectual horizons and has had a major impact on the way I view things archaeologically. He has taught me to look for the larger picture in a way that does justice to both the potentials and limitations of archaeology. I hope I have learned the lesson well. I would like to thank a number of friends and colleagues in Jerusalem who have aided me in my research. First, I am indebted to Amnon Ben-Tor who initially sparked my interest in the Early Bronze Age. He willingly shared the newly excavated material from Tel Qashish, which has provided valuable comparisons to that from Beth Yerah. I would also like to thank Pierre de Miroschedji, Shulamit Geva, Avncr Raban, Dan Bahat, Albert Glock, Albert Leonard, Jr., and Pesah Bar-Adon for discussing with me and showing me their excavated material. I am also grateful to Daniella Saltz and Dani Katsir for providing my wife and me with a "home away from home" whenever we were in Jerusalem. In Chicago, I thank Larry Brown who gave me access to his vast array of computer equipment and his advice. The maps were drawn by Carlene Friedman who worked through countless details and showed an inexhaustible supply of patience. I also thank Paula Woods who edited the manuscript with thoroughness and good cheer and Rick Schoen who did an excellent job in proofreading and in formatting the text on the Macintosh computer for final camera-ready pages for the press. The financial support of the above mentioned institutions and the advice and encouragement of my friends and colleagues in the profession have greatly facilitated my research and helped me define my goals. I sincerely wish to thank my family for their enthusiasm and words of encouragement when they were most needed. I thank my children, Joe and Allie, who gave up much of "their" time to allow me to finish this research. I particularly want to express my gratitude to my wife, Ann, who not only stood by me for almost a decade of scholarship, but also gave me the confidence and strength to complete this project. ix oi.uchicago.edu oi.uchicago.edu LIST OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC ABBREVIATIONS AAS Annales archeologiques de Syrie AASOR Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research ADAJ Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan AJA American Journal of Archa eology ASOR American Schools of Oriental Research BA Biblical Archa eologist BAR British Archaeological Reports BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BBSAJ Bulletin of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem BJPES Bulletin of the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society BMB Bulletin du Musde de Beyrouth EAEHL Encyclopedia of Archaeological Exca vations in the Holy Land EI Eretz Israel ESI Exca vations and Surveys in Israel Had. Arkh. Hadashot Arkheologiot IEJ Israel Exploration Journal JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies JPOS Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society LAAA Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology OIP Oriental Institute Publications PEFQS Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly RB Revue biblique S AOC Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization TA Tel Aviv ZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen Pal&stina -Vereins xi oi.uchicago.edu oi.uchicago.edu LIST OF FIGURES 1. Topography of Northern Palestine 2 2. Geology of Northern Palestine 3 3. Phy to-Geographic Zones of Northern Palestine 8 4. Rainfall in Northern Palestine 10 5. Beth Yerah — Areas of Excavation 44 6. Megiddo, Photograph of Temple 4050, Stratum XIX. View to the Southwest 70 7. Megiddo, Photograph of Sherds from E-4008A (Field Negative 4338; Courtesy of The Oriental Institute), Stratum XIX. Scale 1:2 71 8. Megiddo, Photograph of Sherds from E-4008A (Field Negative 4375; Courtesy of The Oriental Institute), Stratum XIX. Scale 1:2 72 9. Megiddo, Photograph of Wall 4045, Stratum XVIII (after Loud 1948, fig. 152). View to the Southeast 73 10. Megiddo, Photograph of Building 4033 and Slope, Stratum XVIII (after Loud 1948, fig. 154). View to the Southeast 75 11. Megiddo, Photograph of Sherds from Locus W=4058 (Field Negative 4350; Courtesy of The Oriental Institute), Stratum XVIII. Scale 1:2 77 12. Megiddo, Photograph of Sherds from Locus E=4033 (Field Negative 4365; Courtesy of The Oriental Institute), Stratum XVIII. Scale 1:2 78 13. Megiddo, Photograph of Sherds from Locus E=4033 (Field Negative 4366; Courtesy of The Oriental Institute), Stratum XVIII. Scale 1:2 79 14. Megiddo, Photograph of Sherds from Locus W=4045 (Field Negative 4349; Courtesy of The Oriental Institute), Stratum XVIII. Scale 1:2 80 15.