Living on the Edge of Empire: Edomite Households in the First Millennium B.C.E. By Stephanie Hope Brown A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Benjamin Porter, Chair Professor Christine Hastorf Professor Ronald Hendel Doctor Laurie Pearce Summer 2018 Copyright © 2018 Stephanie Hope Brown All rights reserved Abstract Living on the Edge of Empire: Edomite Households in the First Millennium B.C.E. by Stephanie Hope Brown Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Benjamin Porter, Chair This dissertation explores the relationship between ancient empires and their peripheries. Due to the uneven distribution of written sources in the ancient world, the narratives describing this relationship are almost always written from the perspective of the imperial core. By ignoring the perspectives of groups living within imperial peripheries, this dissertation argues that these narratives omit a crucial element of the core-periphery relationship. Two such core-periphery relationships existed during the first millennium B.C.E. between the Neo-Assyrian and Neo- Babylonian Empires and the polity of Edom (located in present-day southwest Jordan). As with other core-periphery relationships in the ancient world, scholars have largely relied on sources produced by the imperial cores of the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires in order to understand their respective relationships with Edom, ignoring the perspectives and agency of conquered groups living in Edom. This dissertation uses a tripartite approach to explore the core-periphery relationships between Edom and the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. This approach gives equal weight to sources produced by the imperial core, the Edomite elite, and the Edomite populace in order to correct the imbalance evident in previous scholarship on Edom. The dissertation employs theories and methods associated with household archaeology and foodways practices in order to discern the actions of the Edomite populace—arguably the least historically-visible people involved in these core-periphery relationships. Because evidence produced through household-archaeological and foodways-based approaches do not rely on logocentric means of communication, they are effective means of elucidating the actions and preferences of individuals and groups about whom there is no written evidence. The evidence explored in this dissertation found that during the period of Neo-Assyrian and Neo- Babylonian rule over Edom, life in southwest Jordan changed considerably. Neo-Assyrian political and economic policies throughout the Levant altered large-scale trade networks and forced tribute requirements on conquered peoples. This dissertation argues, however, that while both the Edomite elites and the Edomite populace took advantage of these changing regional systems, there is very little evidence of direct Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Babylonian influence found within the sources produced by both groups of Edomites (until the reign of Nabonidus); rather, the evidence suggests that these groups were closely integrated into local and Levantine social, economic, and political systems. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. v CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 The First Millennium Mesopotamian Empires ........................................................................... 2 Where was Edom and Who was an Edomite?............................................................................. 4 Research Design .......................................................................................................................... 7 Household Archaeology ............................................................................................................ 10 The Busayra Cultural Heritage Project (BCHP) ....................................................................... 12 Dissertation Framework ............................................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER TWO – EMPIRES AND COLONIALISM ............................................................... 15 Core-Periphery: Beyond World-Systems .................................................................................. 21 Culture Contact in Colonial Contexts ....................................................................................... 24 Postcolonial Theory in Ancient Near Eastern Scholarship ....................................................... 29 Understanding Imperialism in Southwest Jordan during the First Millennium B.C.E. ............ 33 CHAPTER THREE - THE NEO-ASSYRIAN EMPIRE AND EDOM ....................................... 39 Neo-Assyrian Provinces and Vassal Kingdoms ........................................................................ 41 The Neo-Assyrian Empire and Edom ....................................................................................... 43 Neo-Assyrian Imperial Involvement in Philistia and Northwestern Arabia ............................. 46 Conclusion: Neo-Assyrian Political Administration in Edom .................................................. 50 CHAPTER FOUR – THE NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRE AND EDOM .................................. 52 Peripheral Administration in the Southern Levant and Edom under Nebuchadnezzar II ......... 53 Peripheral Administration in the Southern Levant and Edom under Nabonidus ...................... 58 Conclusion: Neo-Babylonian Political Administration in the Southern Levant and Edom ...... 61 CHAPTER FIVE - THE EDOMITE ELITE ................................................................................ 64 Elite Expressions of Power in Edom ......................................................................................... 66 Revisiting Cultural Hybridity .................................................................................................... 76 Conclusion: Edomite Elite Intention ......................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER SIX – HOUSEHOLD ARCHAEOLOGY IN SOUTHWEST JORDAN .................. 81 Spatial Analysis of Domestic Architecture on the Southern Jordanian Plateau ....................... 83 The Busayra Cultural Heritage Project ..................................................................................... 94 i 2014 Excavations in Area DD at Busayra ................................................................................. 95 Geophysical Survey of Busayra ................................................................................................ 96 Discussion of Domestic Architecture at Busayra ...................................................................... 98 Conclusion: The Use of Space in Edomite Domestic Architecture ........................................ 101 CHAPTER SEVEN – FOOD AND IDENTITY IN EDOM ...................................................... 104 Eating and Cooking in Multicultural Environments ............................................................... 105 Edomite Plant Economies ....................................................................................................... 108 Botanical Remains Collected by the BCHP at Busayra .......................................................... 110 Edomite Animal Economies.................................................................................................... 113 Animal Remains Collected by the BCHP at Busayra ............................................................. 116 Edomite Ceramic Vessel Evidence ......................................................................................... 121 Ceramic Evidence Excavated by the BCHP at Busayra ......................................................... 123 Conclusion: Edomite Political Attachment at Busayra ........................................................... 125 CHAPTER EIGHT – CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 128 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 136 APPENDIX 1 – FIGURES ......................................................................................................... 166 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 – Map of Southern Jordan and Israel ......................................................................... 166 Figure 1.2 – Map of Southern Jordan and the Negev ................................................................. 167 Figure 1.3 – Topographical Map of Busayra .............................................................................. 168 Figure 2.1 – Parker’s expanded version of D’Altroy’s territorial-hegemonic continuum .......... 169 Figure 2.2 – Parker’s model of Neo-Assyrian Provincial Administration.................................. 169 Figure 3.1 – Image of the Transportation of Lumber from the Phoenician Coast