NOVEMBER 20–23 | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA Welcome to ASOR’s 2019 Annual Meeting 2–6 History of ASOR 7 Program-at-a-Glance 10–12 Business Meetings and Special Events 14–15 Meeting Highlights 16 Members’ Meeting Agenda 16 Academic Program 20–49 Contents Projects on Parade Poster Session 50–51 of 2019 Sponsors and Exhibitors 52–57 2018 Honors and Awards 58 Looking Ahead to the 2020 Annual Meeting 59 Honorific and Memorial Gifts 60–61 Fiscal Year 2019 Honor Roll 62–64 Table Table ASOR’s Legacy Circle 65 2019 ACOR Jordanian Travel Scholarship Recipients 65 2019 Fellowship Recipients 66 ASOR Board of Trustees 67 ASOR Committees 68–70 Institutional Members 71 Overseas Centers 72 ASOR Staff 73 Paper Abstracts 74–194 Projects on Parade Poster Abstracts 195–204 Index of Sessions 205–207 Index of Presenters 208–214 Hotel Information 215 Meeting Mobile App and Wifi Information 216 Cover photo credit: courtesy of Joanne DiBona and Visit San Diego ISBN 978-0-89757-114-2 ASOR PROGRAM GUIDE 2019 | 1 AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH | 2019 ANNUAL MEETING Welcome from the ASOR President, Susan Ackerman Welcome to ASOR’s 2019 Annual Meeting! We are delighted to be back at the Westin San Diego—the site of ASOR’s very successful 2014 meeting— and even more delighted to report that, in 2019, we have an even richer and more dynamic program to present to you than we did five years ago, with 60 additional papers and posters, featuring our members’ cutting-edge research about all of the major regions of the Near East and wider Mediterranean, from earliest times through the Islamic period. As always, several sessions will be geographically focused, such as ASOR’s long-established sessions on the archaeology of Arabia, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Syria, as well as somewhat newer (and happily thriving!) sessions on the archaeology of Iran, the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and the Black Sea and the Caucasus. Other sessions address different chronological periods, with topics ranging from “Prehistoric Archaeology,” to “Early Bronze Age Urban Society,” to the “Archaeology of the Byzantine Near East,” to the “Archaeology of Islamic Society.” Especially striking, though, is how many thematic sessions have come to appear on our program, including new member-organized sessions this year such as “Addressing the Practical and Symbolic Role of Boats in Antiquity” and “Thinking, Speaking, and Representing Animals in the Ancient Near East.” The program has also come to feature more and more sessions on the practice of archaeology—for example, “Experimental and Experiential Archaeology”; “Digital Archaeology and History”; and “Technology in Archaeology.” This year, there are in addition sessions on the opportunities and challenges participants can experience during fieldwork—“Archaeology as a Tool for Enhancing Participant Welfare, Social Cohesion, and Education”; “Talking About: Jobs, Fieldwork, and Family”—as well as sessions on opportunities for and the challenges of site conservation. Speaking of conservation, ASOR is delighted to be able to partner with our friends in southern California, the Getty Conservation Institute, to host a one-day workshop on conservation and archaeology. The workshop will be held at the Westin San Diego on Sunday, November 24, just after the Annual Meeting, and will feature cutting-edge advice regarding best conservation practices, presented by Getty Conservation Institute experts. As always, moreover, our meeting will begin with a plenary address, on Wednesday, November 20, at 7:00 pm, to be given this year by one of ASOR’s most renowned experts, Professor Eric H. Cline of The George Washington University. Many of us know Eric as the winner of ASOR’s Nancy Lapp Popular Book Award for both 2014 and 2018; his plenary address will reflect on this award’s focus, as he ponders “Dirt, Digging, Dreams, and Drama: Why Presenting Proper Archaeology to the Public is Crucial for the Future of Our Field.” I hope all of you will join us for this talk, and the reception to follow, and also for our annual Members’ Meeting on Friday, November 22, from 12:45–2:00pm. Eric H. Cline’s Plenary Address and the 2019 Members’ Meeting will be the last time I will preside over these events as ASOR President; my term comes to an end December 31, 2019. Ironically enough, the first Annual Meeting I hosted was also at the Westin San Diego, in 2014. Yet while this may mean that I, personally, have come full circle, I am awed by how much we have done together since 2014 to move ASOR forward. I thank each and every one of you for the opportunity to be a part of that work and for the trust that you have placed in me. It has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve. With gratitude, Susan Ackerman ASOR President 2 | ASOR PROGRAM GUIDE 2019 NOVEMBER 20–23 | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA Welcome from the Executive Director, Andrew Vaughn Welcome to our Annual Meeting in sunny San Diego, California! We are pleased to host ASOR’s 2019 Annual Meeting at such a welcoming venue located in San Diego’s vibrant downtown. San Diego is the historic home of the Kumeyaay people, and today it is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the United States. It is known for its ideal climate, impressive beaches, and many cultural attractions like Balboa Park, which is home to 17 museums and the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Within a short walk of the ASOR hotel you can enjoy outstanding restaurants and shops in Little Italy, the Gaslamp Quarter, and the Harbor District. With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, there are so many individuals to whom thanks are due for giving their time to make this extraordinary program possible. This ambitious and wide-ranging meeting was overseen by one hard-working and talented committee in particular—the Annual Meeting Program Committee, led by co-chairs Helen Dixon and Geoff Emberling, and we would especially like to thank Geoff for six years or two terms of exemplary service as this meeting marks the end of his tenure on the Program Committee, These co-chairs, supported by Arlene Press, Director of Meetings and Events, and the Program Committee members with whom they work are dedicated, diligent, enthusiastic, and committed to putting together an exciting educational program of 104 sessions and workshops and more than 550 paper and poster presentations. Many thanks are also due to the session chairs and presenters who will bring the program to life. I wish to thank several groups for their generous financial support of receptions and coffee breaks at this Annual Meeting. Notably, our affiliated overseas research center, CAARI, is hosting a reception on Friday evening, and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, is hosting a reception on Saturday night. The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona is sponsoring the coffee break on Friday. The Foundation for Biblical Archaeology and its director, Sheila Bishop, are providing crucial support for student scholarships. The Madaba Plains Project has planned a luncheon to honor past ASOR President Lawrence T. Geraty and the establishment of the ASOR Lawrence T. Geraty Community Archaeology Endowment. ASOR is also grateful to partner with the Getty Conservation Institute on the Workshop on Conservation and Archaeology that will take place on Sunday, following the Annual Meeting. In addition, I would like to thank all of our exhibitors and encourage you to stop by and visit their displays. We would like to give our special thanks to this year’s Platinum Sponsors, ISD and The University of Chicago Press, as well as our Gold Sponsor, Penn State University Press. Last, but not least, I would like to extend special thanks and recognition to the ASOR staff. Their hard work and dedication throughout the year make our Annual Meeting possible. Please mark your calendars for our 2020 Annual Meeting, which will be held at The Westin Boston Waterfront from November 18–21, 2020. Please visit the meeting website at www.asor.org/am for details. We once again anticipate a full hotel, so I encourage you to make your reservations early. Please let me, or any member of the ASOR staff, know if there is anything we can do to make your experience in San Diego a pleasant and rewarding one. I hope you enjoy this year’s Annual Meeting. With warm regards, Andrew G. Vaughn ASOR Executive Director ASOR PROGRAM GUIDE 2019 | 3 AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH | 2019 ANNUAL MEETING Welcome from the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Richard Coffman Welcome to San Diego, the eighth largest city in the United States, where it’s still illegal to shoot jackrabbits from the back of a streetcar. San Diego is also the oldest city in California—which is appropriate considering we are here to learn about old stuff. San Diego is one of America’s truly unique cities. From the spectacular harbor to Balboa Park to the San Diego Zoo to Coronado Island to the Gaslamp Quarter to shopping in La Jolla to the multiple institutions of higher learning to the museums, galleries, and restaurants, San Diego is a veritable cornucopia of historic, educational, culinary, and cultural riches. Speaking of a cornucopia of riches, we have one right here at the ASOR Annual Meeting. There are over 100 scheduled sessions and workshops with over 550 papers and posters to be presented by an armada of road-weary and sunburned archaeologists, biblical and Islamic scholars, anthropologists, conservators, curators, historians, and other interdisciplinary specialists working in the Near Eastern and Mediterranean regions.