The Architectural Bias in Current Biblical Archaeology

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erez Ben-Yosef
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
Biblical Archaeology ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Historical Reconstructions ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Core Issues

AbstractThis paper aims at highlighting a methodological flaw in current biblical archaeology, which became apparent as a result of recent research in the Aravah’s Iron Age copper production centers. In essence, this flaw, which cuts across all schools of biblical archaeology, is the prevailing, overly simplistic approach applied to the identification and interpretation of nomadic elements in biblical-era societies. These elements have typically been described as representing only one form of social organization, which is simple and almost negligible in historical reconstructions. However, the unique case of the Aravah demonstrates that the role of nomads in shaping the history of the southern Levant has been underestimated and downplayed in the research of the region, and that the total reliance on stone-built archaeological features in the identification of social complexity in the vast majority of recent studies has resulted in skewed historical reconstructions. Recognizing this “architectural bias” and understanding its sources have important implications on core issues in biblical archaeology today, as both “minimalists” and “maximalists” have been using stone-built architectural remains as the key to solving debated issues related to the geneses of Ancient Israel and neighboring polities (e.g., “high” vs. “low” Iron Age chronologies), in which— according to both biblical accounts and external sources—nomadic elements played a major role.

Biblical Israel in the Ninth Century?

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
PHILIP R. DAVIES
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Biblical Narrative ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Critical History ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
United Monarchy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Crucial Part

Most archaeologists of ancient Israel still operate with a pro-biblical ideology, while the role that archaeology has played in Zionist nation building is extensively documented. Terms such as ‘ninth century’ and ‘Iron Age’ represent an improvement on ‘United Monarchy’ and ‘Divided Monarchy’, but these latter terms remain implanted mentally as part of a larger portrait that may be called ‘biblical Israel’. This chapter argues that the question of ‘biblical Israel’ must be regarded as distinct from the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as a major historical problem rather than a given datum. ‘Biblical Israel’ can never be the subject of a modern critical history, but is rather a crucial part of that history, a ‘memory’, no doubt historically conditioned, that became crucial in creating Judaism. This realization will enable us not only to write a decent critical history of Iron Age central Palestine but also to bring that history and the biblical narrative into the kind of critical engagement that will lead to a better understanding of the Bible itself.

Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: from the Early Iron Age to the Kushan period

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLAUDE RAPIN
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Constant Factor ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Steppe Belt ◽  
History Of

This chapter examines the role of the nomads in shaping the history of Central Asia during the period from the early Iron Age to the rule of the Kushan Empire. This study is based on the archaeological and chronological framework provided for the middle Zerafshan Valley by the site of Koktepe. The findings suggest that the nomads are a constant factor in the history of the steppe belt and of all the adjacent southern lands, and that they may have played an important role in the renewal of cultures and in the development of international trade.

Ancient Raw Copper from Primary Smelting Sites in Cyprus

2002 ◽  
Vol 712 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Fasnacht ◽  
J.P. Northover
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Metallic Copper ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Copper Smelting ◽  
Mining District ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Analytical Work ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Complete History

ABSTRACTFinds of metallic copper from various primary smelting sites in the Sia valley in Cyprus have been analysed by ICP-OES for their composition and by optical and electron microscopy for metallography. Results show a characteristic pattern of impurities for each of the sites examined which allow an assignment to specific types of ore body and geological matrix. Different zones of the Cyprus Ophiolite Complex were exploited in different periods in antiquity, but these results show different types could be exploited contemporaneously within a specific period, especially during the first millennium BC. One location in this area, Agia Varvara-Almyras, an Iron Age copper smelting site with the only complete chain of operation recorded in ancient Cypriote metallurgy, is used to show how analytical work can guide future field surveys to find ancient furnaces, slag heaps and mines. The ultimate goal of the project is to extend it to reconstruct the complete history of copper production in a well-defined mining district over the last 4000 years.

Dead Sea Levels during the Bronze and Iron Ages

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Joy Kagan ◽  
Dafna Langgut ◽  
Elisabetta Boaretto ◽  
Frank Herald Neumann ◽  
Mordechai Stein
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
The Past ◽  
Organic Debris ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Dead

The history of lake-level changes at the Dead Sea during the Holocene was determined mainly by radiocarbon dating of terrestrial organic debris. This article reviews the various studies that have been devoted over the past 2 decades to defining the Dead Sea levels during the Bronze and Iron Ages (≃5.5 to 2.5 ka cal BP) and adds new data and interpretation. In particular, we focus on research efforts devoted to refining the chronology of the sedimentary sequence in the Ze'elim Gully, a key site of paleoclimate investigation in the European Research Council project titled Reconstructing Ancient Israel. The Bronze and Iron Ages are characterized by significant changes in human culture, reflected in archaeological records in which sharp settlement oscillations over relatively short periods of time are evident. During the Early Bronze, Intermediate Bronze, Middle Bronze, and Late Bronze Ages, the Dead Sea saw significant level fluctuations, reaching in the Middle Bronze an elevation of ≃370 m below mean sea level (bmsl), and declining in the Late Bronze to below 414 m bmsl. At the end of the Late Bronze Age and upon the transition to the Iron Age, the lake recovered slightly and rose to ≃408 m bmsl. This recovery reflected the resumption of freshwater activity in the Judean Hills, which was likely accompanied by more favorable hydrological-environmental conditions that seem to have facilitated the wave of Iron Age settlement in the region.

scholarly journals Vegetation dynamics and Fire History in Färnebofjärden National Park, Central Sweden

The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
Gina E Hannon ◽  
Karen Halsall ◽  
Chiara Molinari ◽  
Erin Stoll ◽  
Diana Lilley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Natural Fire ◽  
Disturbance Factor ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Flooding Events

Palaeoecological studies can identify past trends in vegetation communities and processes over long time scales. Pollen, plant macrofossils and charcoal analyses are used to reconstruct vegetation over the last 6400 years and provide information about former human impact and disturbance regimes in Färnebofjärden National Park, Central Sweden. Three specific conservation planning topics were addressed: (1) the changing ratio of conifers to broadleaved trees; (2) the origin and history of the river meadows and the biodiverse Populus tremula meadows; (3) the role of fire in the maintenance of biological values. Early diverse mixed broadleaved forest assemblages with pine were followed by significant declines of the more thermophilic forest elements prior to the expansion of spruce in the Iron Age. The rise to dominance of spruce was a ‘natural’ process that has been exaggerated by anthropogenic disturbance to artificially high levels today. The initial river meadow communities were facilitated by fire and frequent flooding events, but subsequent dynamics have more definitely been supported by human activities. Rural abandonment during the last 100 years has led to woody successions. Fire has been a continual disturbance factor with an influence on conservation issues such as Picea abies dominance and the maintenance of diverse, non-forest communities. Present occurrence of fire is unusually low, but natural fire frequencies are increasing in the region.

The History of Ancient Israel: What Directions Should we Take?

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
HANS M. BARSTAD
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Population Movements ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Present Context ◽  
Economic Trends ◽  
History Of ◽  
Scientific Nature

There can be little doubt about the enormous importance of the work of Fernand Braudel and the French Annales tradition for the academic study of history. Together with its many ramifications, the Annales ‘school’ constitutes what is known today as the (French) ‘New History’. In France, the scientific nature of history was never really doubted. History formed (as it does today) a part of the social sciences. For this reason, Braudel stressed the necessity of using empirical data, often quantifiable, to be able to identify the structures underlying social and cultural phenomena. Later, this was referred to as histoire sérielle. The reason why Annales should be considered in some detail in the present context is that some biblical researchers have claimed that the Braudel heritage may be useful for the study of the history of ancient Israel. Knowledge of climate, biology, geography, population movements, and economic trends in Palestine during the Iron Age is relevant to the student of the history of ancient Israel.

Reassessing the Nazi War Economy and the Origins of the Second World War

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 281-297
Author(s):  
Alexander Anievas
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
World War ◽  
War Economy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Second World ◽  
Core Issues

Adam Tooze’sThe Wages of Destructionhas received a fair amount of scholarly attention since its publication in 2006, particularly among historians. What has received much less attention, however, are the many theoretical insights to be gleaned from Tooze’s history of the inner-workings of the Nazi war economy in the lead-up to the Second World War. This is particularly true of the numerous theoretical subjects and themes covered by Tooze of direct relevance to Marxist theories and understandings of Nazism. From his analysis of the relationship between Nazi economic policies and Hitler’s geopolitical objectives to the relations between capital and state to the specificities of Nazism as a distinct ideological and cultural apparatus to the role of the Nazi regime in triggering the 1939 cataclysm – in all these ways, Tooze’s work speaks to a number of core issues at the heart of Marxist debates on Nazism, fascism, and the causes of the Second World War. This introduction outlines a number of these themes and more in Tooze’s work, contextualising them within extant Marxist debates on Nazism, before then going on to highlight some of the main arguments and criticisms advanced in the symposium.

scholarly journals The Emergence of Early Phoenicia

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 272-324
Author(s):  
Gunnar Lehmann
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Political History ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Profound Impact ◽  
Integral Component ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
Iron Age I ◽  
History Of

The transition from the Iron Age I to the Iron Age IIA during the 10th century BCE was a period of profound political and socio-economic transformations in the Levant. One of these developments was the emergence of early Phoenicia. In its course, Phoenicia emanated as an interface of international exchange connecting Mediterranean and continental economies of the Levant. This had a profound impact on the societies of the Southern Levant in general and ancient Israel in particular. Phoenician influence was not just marginal for the history of ancient Israel but developed into an integral component of Israelite economic and political history.

scholarly journals Copper technology in the Arabah during the Iron Age and the role of the indigenous population in the industry

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260518
Author(s):  
David Luria
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
Production Optimization ◽  
Copper Production ◽  
Copper Industry ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Commercial Success ◽  
External Intervention

Following the Egyptian withdrawal in the mid-12th century BCE from their involvement in the Arabah copper production, and after an additional period of organization, the degree of copper efficiency and production at Timna and Faynan increased in the Early Iron Age (11th–9th centuries), rendering the region the largest and most advanced smelting centre in the Levant. The existing paradigm offered as an explanation for this technical and commercial success is based on extraneous influence, namely, the campaign of Pharaoh Sheshonq I near the end of the 10th century BCE that spurred a renewed Egyptian involvement in the Arabah copper industry. An alternative paradigm is suggested here, viewing the advances in Arabah copper technology and production as a linear development and the outcome of continuous and gradual indigenous improvements on the part of local craftsmen, with no external intervention. Behind these outstanding technical achievements stood excellent managerial personnel, supported by an innovative technical team. They employed two techniques for copper-production optimization that can be defined based on concepts taken from the world of modern industrial engineering: (i) "trial and error", in which the effect of each production variable was tested individually and separately, and (ii) "scaling-up", in which the size of some production elements (i.e., tuyère) was increased by using existing techniques which required minimum developmental costs and experimental risks.

THE ROLE OF AMIR KHUSRAV DEHLAVI AND ALISHER NAVOI IN SPIRITUAL PERFECTION OF MANKIND

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-31
Author(s):  
M.S. Imomnazarov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Primitive Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
City States ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

The article deals with the issue of the spiritual development of mankind as an orientalist-literary critic, and the subject is covered on the basis of new approaches that have not been seen in the scientific literature to date. For example, the history of the ancient world was divided into 3 stages - 1) primitive society, 2) city-states, 3) great kingdoms (empires), coordinated by archaeologists as "Stone Age", "Bronze Age", "Iron Age". These new interpretations have been proven based on the views of oriental thinkers. It has been proved, based on the research of world scientists, that the spiritual development of this period developed on the basis of mythical thinking. The history of the Middle Ages is considered within the framework of the Muslim cultural region, and the spiritual development of the peoples of the region is considered as a development of monotheistic thinking and its 4 stages - 1) Sunnah, 2) Muslim enlightenment, 3) Sufi teachings and irfan, 4) “Majoz tariqi” - are briefly explained. In the works of the great poets of the East, Amir Khusrav Dehlavi and Alisher Navoi, the stage of the "Majoz tariqi", which is theoretically substantiated as an independent spiritual essence of fiction, is in fact has been proved in detail by the author that the development of monotheistic thinking is the highest stage in the spiritual development of not only the peoples of the region, but of all mankind. The theoretical considerations summarized in the article are the author's books: "Stages of perfection of our national spirituality", "Fundamentals of our national spirituality", "Introduction to Navoi studies" and a number of scientific articles which are published in different years. They are reflected in one form or another, and in this text they are enriched to some extent with new interpretations

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