Peripheral Concerns; Urban Development in the Broze Age Southern Levant; Susan Cohen

Susan Cohen [+–]

Montana State University

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Susan L. Cohen received her Ph.D. in Syro-Palestinian Archaeology and Hebrew Bible from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University in 2000. Her research focuses on the archaeology, history, and international interconnections of the Bronze Age in the southern Levant, with emphasis on rural settlement and subsistence, rural-urban relations, and synchronisms and interactions with ancient Egypt. She was Director of the excavations at the Middle Bronze Age mortuary site of Gesher, and the small rural multi-period site of Tel Zahara, both in the Jordan Valley, and is Co-Director of the Tell Abu Shusha excavations beginning in summer 2019. She is currently Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy at Montana State University, and Chair of the Fellowships Committee of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem.

While many studies examine urban development in both the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age, few compare this phenomenon in the two periods. Likewise, there are few studies of urban development in the southern Levant that compare contemporary Egyptian policies in that region to those in Nubia, despite the fact that Egyptian activities linked the eastern Mediterranean, the Nile Valley, and Nubia into one interactive system. The broad chronological and geographic framework utilized in this study therefore allows for a new approach to urban development in the southern Levant.

Series: New Directions in Anthropological Archaeology

Prelims

List of Figures [+–] x

Peripheral Concerns examines the influence of one “core” region of the ancient Near Eastern world—Egypt—on urban development in the southern Levant in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, with emphasis on the relative stability and sustainability of this development in each era. The study utilizes a very broad scale “macro” approach to examine urban development using core-periphery theories, specifically in regard to southern Levantine-Egyptian interactions. While many studies examine urban development in both the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age, few compare this phenomenon in the two periods. Likewise, there are few studies of urban development in the southern Levant that compare contemporary Egyptian policies in that region to those in Nubia, despite the fact that Egyptian activities linked the eastern Mediterranean, the Nile Valley, and Nubia into one interactive system. The broad chronological and geographic framework utilized in this study therefore allows for a new approach to urban development in the southern Levant.

List of Tables [+–] xi

Preface and Acknowledgements [+–] xii-xiv

Introduction and Overview [+–] 1-9

Although both the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age in the southern Levant are described as “urban” eras, beyond broad superficial similarities, the urban character of each period differs widely. Rather than assume that this precludes examining the two eras together, these differences instead raise questions about the variables and factors that influenced urban development in the Bronze Age. This chapter introduces and outlines the theoretical approach used throughout this study to examine urban development in the Bronze Age southern Levant. This includes the implementation of a broad scale analysis of settlement patterns over long periods of time, the evaluation of the role of outside influence from one core culture—ancient Egypt—on these processes, and the importance of situating these developments within a perspective that views the southern Levant as but one small peripheral region of the ancient world.

Urban Development: Models and Frameworks [+–] 10-21

Multiple models exist for examining urban development, the growth of complex society, and interactions between cultures in the ancient world. This chapter outlines and evaluates many of these different theoretical approaches and examines the factors that influence the development, stability, and sustainability of urban development. This includes analysis and discussion of exogenous and indigenous influences on urban development, core-periphery relationships, and the patterns that indicate these processes as they relate to urban development in the Bronze Age southern Levant.

The Early Bronze Age [+–] 22-38

This chapter outlines the data relating to settlement and urban development in the Early Bronze Age in the southern Levant, with attention to long term and broad scale patterns. This analysis includes an examination and discussion of the evidence for Egyptian activity in the southern Levant throughout the different phases of the Early Bronze Age, followed by an evaluation of the ways in which the changing relationship with an initially intrusive core region affected the nature and course of urban development in the Early Bronze Age southern Levant.

The Middle Bronze Age [+–] 39-51

This chapter outlines the data relating to settlement and urban development in the Middle Bronze Age in the southern Levant, with attention to long term and broad scale patterns. This analysis includes an examination and discussion of the evidence for Egyptian activity in the southern Levant during the Middle Bronze Age, followed by an evaluation of the ways in which the relationship with a non-intrusive core region affected the nature and course of urban development in the Middle Bronze Age southern Levant.

Egypt and Nubia [+–] 52-68

Despite the fact that the southern Levant and Nubia did not experience direct contact with one another, in a core-periphery analytical framework, both regions were linked together systemically through their relationship with the common core of ancient Egypt. To situate the urban development and the core-periphery relationship between Egypt and the southern Levant in a broader perspective, this chapter presents an examination and discussion of Egyptian interaction and relationships with Nubia from the Protodynastic period through the end of the Middle Kingdom. In particular, this chapter notes the degree, type, and intensity of the Egyptian activity in Nubia in comparison to the contemporary activity in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the southern Levant.

Bronze Age Urban Development in the Southern Levant [+–] 69-91

As the premise and approach throughout this study focuses on a diachronic study of urban development in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, this chapter then examines and analyzes the settlement patterns in both eras as they illustrate these varying processes of growth and development. Using evidence from both excavation and surveys with attention to site size and distribution, this chapter compares the data for settlement patterns for the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age in light of the theoretical approaches regarding growth, stability, sustainability, and development. Finally, this diachronic comparison is then again evaluated in a broad perspective that expands to include Nubia as a means for viewing urban development in the southern Levantine periphery in greater context.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Early and Middle Bronze Age site list [+–] 92-128

Appendix 2: Egyptian material from the Protodynastic Period through the Middle Kingdom found in the southern Levant, Sinai, Nubia, and the Deserts and Oases [+–] 129-140

Appendix 3: List of Egyptian Middle Kingdom Fortresses in Nubia [+–] 141-142

End Matter

References [+–] 143-164

Index [+–] 165-173

Reviews

A lovely survey of a lot of material which is very helpful and informative for the EBA/MBA period. Cohen offers a new perspective on the importance of Egypt in the southern Levant which is valuable for scholars to mull over.
Professor Suzanne Richard, Department of History and Archaeology, Gannon University, Pennsylvania

A useful introduction to the current state of the study of urban development in the southern Levant. Provides a thought provoking model ... and furnishes a helpful starting point for future studies.
Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections

Cohen’s Peripheral Concerns will undoubtedly be much consulted by Egyptologists and Near Eastern archaeologists alike and should not be missed in academic libraries.
BASOR

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Peripheral Concerns

Urban Development in the Bronze Age Southern Levant

Susan Cohen [+–]

Montana State University

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