Temples in the Ghassulian Culture: Terminology and social implications

Archaeological discussions on prehistoric ritual are largely concerned with their material remains, including architectural debris. The first step in interpretation of such remains is their precise identification and categorization. There are numerous terms for objects and architectural remains that are widely utilized in the archaeological jargon, including, but not limited to, the terms temple, sanctuary and shrine. During almost a century of studying the Chalcolithic Ghassulian culture of the southern Levant, various architectural structures excavated at the sites of Teleilat Ghassul, Gilat and En Gedi have all been interpreted as temples, sanctuaries, or shrines – terms that in case of the Ghassulian culture are used as synonymous of temples. However, the actual architectural remains from these sites differ significantly and explicit definitions on what is meant by the terms used are rare. Apart from demonstrating the importance of properly defining a term in a context in which it is used, the aim of the present paper is to compare these various architectural remains, as well as various interpretations of Ghassulian society and the role the presumed temples played in them. This will be the basis for evaluating how classifying archaeological structures as temples has influenced interpretations of Ghassulian social organization.

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Heated mud bricks in submerged and coastal Southern Levant Pre-Pottery Neolithic C and Late Pottery Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic settlements: Diachronic changes in technology and their social implications

Journal of Archaeological Science Reports ◽

10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 ◽

pp. 102220

Author(s):

Isaac Ogloblin Ramírez ◽

Ehud Galili ◽

Ron Be'eri ◽

Dor Golan ◽

Masha Krakovsky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Implications ◽

Southern Levant ◽

Mud Bricks ◽

Diachronic Changes

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A Large Copper Artefacts Assemblage of Fazael, Jordan Valley

Documenta Praehistorica ◽

10.4312/dp.47.14 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 246-261

Author(s):

Danny Rosenberg ◽

Eli Buchman ◽

Sariel Shalev ◽

Shay Bar

Keyword(s):

Social Organization ◽

Social Institutions ◽

Current Paper ◽

Copper Industry ◽

Southern Levant ◽

Jordan Valley ◽

Late Chalcolithic ◽

Chalcolithic Period ◽

First Time ◽

Comprehensive Study

Late Chalcolithic metallurgy developed in the southern Levant simultaneously with other crafts and new social institutions, reflecting advances in social organization, cults and technology. Until recently, copper items were mostly found in the Negev and Judean Desert, while other areas, specifically the Jordan Valley, were considered poor, with limited copper finds. Recent excavations at Late Chalcolithic Fazael in the Jordan Valley yielded dozens of copper items that allow for the first time a comprehensive study of copper items from this area. The assemblage is one of the largest of any site in the Late Chalcolithic period and includes most of the known components of the Late Chalcolithic copper industry. The current paper presents the new metallurgical discoveries from the Fazael Basin and discusses their significance to our understanding of the Late Chalcolithic copper industry.

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The Age of Increased Precarious Employment: Origins and Implications

Working in the Context of Austerity ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781529208672.003.0002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 29-48

Author(s):

Wayne Lewchuk

Keyword(s):

Social Organization ◽

Labour Market ◽

Research Group ◽

Employment Relationship ◽

Social Implications ◽

Southern Ontario ◽

Precarious Employment ◽

The Social ◽

The Impact ◽

Standard Employment Relationship

This chapter explores why employment rules and norms took the form they did, the prevalence of precarious employment in the labour market today, and the social implications of the era of Increased Precarious Employment. The employment norms associated with the era of Increased Precarious Employment represent one component of a broader shift to a neoliberal form of social organization. The chapter begins by reviewing the factors that led to the transition from the Standard Employment Relationship and the forces that shaped the employment relationship in the era of Increased Precarious Employment. It then examines debates over how to measure the prevalence of the precarious workforce, before considering the impact of precarious employment on households, families, and communities. The chapter looks at the findings of the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario research group.

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Rethinking the Social Complexity of Early Iron Age Nomads

Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology ◽

10.52486/01.00001.6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 155-179

Author(s):

Erez Ben-Yosef

Keyword(s):

Social Organization ◽

State Formation ◽

Iron Age ◽

Social Complexity ◽

Early Iron Age ◽

Formation Processes ◽

Southern Levant ◽

Near Eastern ◽

Extended Spectrum ◽

The Social

Recent evidence from the Aravah Valley challenges the prevailing assumption that Bedouin ethnography and inferences from ancient Near Eastern archives can adequately compensate for the archaeological lacuna in the study of biblical-era nomads. The evidence indicates that nomadic social organization at the turn of the 1st millennium BCE could have been – and in at least one case was – far more complex than ever considered before. This paper discusses the implications of the now extended spectrum of possible interpretations of nomads to the archaeological discourse on early Iron Age state formation processes in the Southern Levant.

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Interaction before Agriculture: Exchanging Material and Sharing Knowledge in the Final Pleistocene Levant

Cambridge Archaeological Journal ◽

10.1017/s0959774311000060 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 95-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Tobias Richter ◽

Andrew N. Garrard ◽

Samantha Allock ◽

Lisa A. Maher

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Social Organization ◽

Social Relationships ◽

Southwest Asia ◽

Southern Levant ◽

Hunter Gatherers ◽

Azraq Basin

This article discusses social interaction in the Epipalaeolithic of southwest Asia. Discussions of contact, social relationships and social organization have primarily focused on the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and are often considered to represent typical hallmarks of emergent farming societies. The hunter-gatherers of the final Pleistocene, in particular those of the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic, have more rarely been the focus of such discussions. In this article we consider evidence for interaction from the Azraq Basin of eastern Jordan, to question the uniqueness of the Neolithic evidence for interaction. We argue that interaction between differently-constituted groups can be traced within the Early Epipalaeolithic of the southern Levant, suggesting that it is of far greater antiquity than previously considered.

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Teachers' Stereotypes of Children Who Wear Hearing Aids

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.1203.139 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 139-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Cletus G. Fisher ◽

Kenneth Brooks

Keyword(s):

Elementary School ◽

School Child ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Social Implications ◽

Elementary School Child ◽

Classroom Teachers ◽

Frequency Of Occurrence ◽

Service Training

Classroom teachers were asked to list the traits they felt were characteristic of the elementary school child who wears a hearing aid. These listings were evaluated according to the desirability of the traits and were studied regarding frequency of occurrence, desirability, and educational, emotional, and social implications. The results of the groupings are discussed in terms of pre-service and in-service training.

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