Tel Aviv University The Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities The Chaim Rosenberg School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology The Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures The Intermediate Bronze Age (c. 2500–1950 BCE) in the Negev Highlands: The Geoarchaeological Perspective Thesis submitted for the degree “Doctor of Philosophy” (Ph.D.) by Zachary Clark Dunseth This work was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Israel Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University) and Prof. Ruth Shahack-Gross (University of Haifa) Submitted to the Senate of Tel Aviv University 2019 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 6 Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 9 List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... 11 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... 14 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 15 2 Background: Geology and Environment of the Negev Highlands ................................. 22 2.1 General Geology of the Negev Highlands ..................................................................... 22 2.2 Modern Environmental Conditions ................................................................................ 22 2.3 Paleoenvironment .......................................................................................................... 24 3 Settlement history of the Negev Highlands ....................................................................... 25 3.1 Results of archaeological surveys in the Negev Highlands ........................................... 25 3.2 Origin and nature of IBA Negev settlement .................................................................. 27 3.2.1 Kochavi (1967, 2009) ............................................................................................. 27 3.2.2 Dever (1970, 1971, 1973, 1980, 1985, 1992, 1995, 2014): .................................... 28 3.2.3 Cohen (1983, 1986, 1992, 1999): ........................................................................... 29 3.2.4 Finkelstein (1989, 1991a, 1995a,b) ......................................................................... 30 3.2.5 Haiman (1996) ........................................................................................................ 30 3.2.6 Rosen (2011a,b, 2016, among others) .................................................................... 32 3.2.7 Gidding (Gidding 2016; also Ben-Yosef et al. 2016) ............................................. 32 3.3 Types of archaeological sites in this study .................................................................... 33 2 3.4 Chronology of the Intermediate Bronze Age ................................................................. 35 3.4.1 Traditional chronology of the Intermediate Bronze Age ........................................ 35 3.4.2 Radiocarbon investigations at IBA sites in the Negev and surrounding regions .... 35 4 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 47 4.1 Geo-ethnoarchaeology and reconstructing ancient subsistence practices ..................... 47 4.1.1 Dung spherulites ..................................................................................................... 48 4.1.2 Phytoliths ................................................................................................................ 49 4.1.3 Ash pseudomorphs .................................................................................................. 51 5 Materials and methods ....................................................................................................... 52 5.1 Description of sites, their microenvironments and previous excavations ...................... 52 5.1.1 Mashabe Sade ......................................................................................................... 52 5.1.2 Ein Ziq .................................................................................................................... 55 5.1.3 Nahal Boqer 66 ....................................................................................................... 57 5.1.4 Nahal Nizzana 332 .................................................................................................. 59 5.2 Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 60 5.2.1 Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy .................................................... 60 5.2.2 X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) ..................................................................................... 61 5.2.3 Microremains: phytoliths, dung spherulites and ash pseudomorphs ...................... 61 5.2.4 Spatial analysis and statistics .................................................................................. 65 6 General description of the articles and their contribution .............................................. 66 6.1 Methodological contribution .......................................................................................... 66 3 6.2 Chronology of IBA settlement in the Negev ................................................................. 66 6.3 Subsistence economies and trading systems of IBA Negev settlement ......................... 67 6.4 Preliminary results from Nizzana 332 ........................................................................... 68 7. Articles and preliminary results from Nahal Nizzana .................................................... 68 7.1 Methodological contribution (Dunseth and Shahack-Gross 2018) ................................ 69 7.2 Chronology of IBA settlement in the Negev (Dunseth et al. 2017) ............................... 77 7.3 Subsistence economies and trading systems of IBA Negev settlement (Dunseth et al. 2016, 2018) .......................................................................................................................... 92 7.4 Preliminary results from Nizzana 332 ......................................................................... 153 7.4.1 Excavation Summary ............................................................................................ 154 7.4.2 Field Observations ................................................................................................ 157 7.4.3 Macroarchaeological data ..................................................................................... 158 7.4.4 Chronometric data: radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence ............. 169 7.4.5 Microarchaeological data ...................................................................................... 171 7.4.6 Summary of Nahal Nizzana .................................................................................. 179 8 Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 181 8.1 Methodological contributions ...................................................................................... 181 8.2 Subsistence strategies at IBA Negev sites: updated model ......................................... 182 8.2.1 Small sites: Microarchaeological data as direct indicators of pastoral nomadism183 8.2.2 Large sites: Microarchaeological data as direct indicators of fire activities ......... 183 8.2.3 Pottery assemblages of nomadic pastoralists ........................................................ 184 8.2.4 Pottery assemblages of large sites as indicators of trade ...................................... 185 4 8.2.5 Site layout, activity areas and use of space at small and large sites ..................... 185 8.2.6 Trade: Copper and desert goods ........................................................................... 187 8.2.7 A note on copper exchange vectors ...................................................................... 190 8.2.8 Lithic assemblages as indirect indicators of subsistence ...................................... 191 8.3 Chronology and settlement history of the Negev Highlands ....................................... 192 9 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 194 10 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 196 11 Appendix A: Mineralogical and microremain data from Nahal Nizzana 332.1. ...... 223 קתציר...................................................................................................................................... 225 5 Acknowledgements Long acknowledgements are boring. So here’s a short one. Above all, special thanks to my supervisors and mentors Israel Finkelstein and Ruth Shahack- Gross for their unwavering support, education and guidance for the last eight (!) years. I owe you everything. Generous scholarships from the Israel Institute (2012-2014), Tel Aviv University (2014-2015) and the Dan David Foundation (Archaeology and the Natural Sciences, 2017-2018) supported my studies, for which I am grateful. Grants