Mediterranean Resilience - Collapse and Adaptation in Antique Maritime Societies - Assaf Yasur-Landau

Mediterranean Resilience - Collapse and Adaptation in Antique Maritime Societies - Assaf Yasur-Landau

The Early Bronze I Coastal Settlements of Israel: A New Phenomenon or Part of a Long-Lived Settlement Tradition?

Mediterranean Resilience - Collapse and Adaptation in Antique Maritime Societies - Assaf Yasur-Landau

Roey Nickelsberg [+-]
University of Haifa (PhD candidate)
Roey Nickelsberg is a PhD candidate at the Department of Maritime Civilizations, University of Haifa. His research focuses on maritime archaeology in the eastern Mediterranean, exploring ancient coastal settlement patterns, resource management, and trade networks through the combined examination of traditional archaeological finds and microarchaeological indicators. Roey has earned a master’s degree, also in Maritime Civilizations, and a bachelor’s degree in Archaeology with a minor in Government and Politics from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He has led several archaeological projects in Israel both on land and underwater.
Ruth Shahack-Gross [+-]
University of Haifa
Ruth Shahack-Gross is Professor and geoarchaeologist at the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, and directs the Laboratory for Sedimentary Archaeology at the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa. Trained in both geology (BSc and MSc, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and anthropological archaeology (MA and PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri), her research focuses on questions related to human behavior, subsistence practices, human-environment interactions, and archaeological site formation processes. Shahack-Gross conducts research in coastal and marine archaeology through small-scale geoarchaeologically focused excavations at Tel Dor (Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age) and Dor South (Early Bronze Age).
Assaf Yasur-Landau [+-]
University of Haifa
Assaf Yasur-Landau is Professor of Mediterranean Archaeology, Head of the Recanati Institute of Maritime Studies, founder of the Laboratory for Coastal Archaeology and Underwater Survey, and cofounder of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa. He studies mobility, ancient economy, and human adaptation in the Mediterranean during the Bronze and Iron Ages. Currently, he codirects the excavations of the Canaanite palace at Tel Kabri and the underwater excavations at Tel Dor. Yasur-Landau has penned about a hundred articles and is the author or editor of eight books and volumes, including The Philistines and Aegean Migration in the Late Bronze Age (Cambridge University Press 2010, 2014).

Description

Settlement patterns along Israel’s Mediterranean coast during the Chalcolithic period and Early Bronze Age (EB) I have been heavily debated over the years. The collapse that ended the Chalcolithic period is evidenced by the abandonment of settlements in the central Coastal Plain, followed by resettlement of the southern coast during EB I. The new settlement pattern was largely attributed to the rise of Predynastic Egypt that emerged during this time. This work examines a contrasting hypothesis, that settlement patterns along the entire Israeli coast from the Early Chalcolithic to EB IB represent a long-lasting phenomenon of resilient coastal villages. In order to examine this hypothesis, we created a database documenting every site within 10 km inland from the coast, from the Gaza Strip in the south to Rosh Ha-Niqra in the north, that was surveyed and/or excavated (between 1972 and 2020), looking into presence (or lack thereof) of Chalcolithic and EB I phases, occupation intensity (where possible), and types of remains. The results reveal a continuous settlement along the entire Coastal Plain rather than a breakage and a subsequent new pattern. They portray a long-lasting coastal village tradition rather than the emergence of new coastal settlements in EB I, testifying to the resilience of coastal villages and their ability to adapt to changes in the region.

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Citation

Nickelsberg, Roey; Shahack-Gross, Ruth; Yasur-Landau, Assaf. The Early Bronze I Coastal Settlements of Israel: A New Phenomenon or Part of a Long-Lived Settlement Tradition?. Mediterranean Resilience - Collapse and Adaptation in Antique Maritime Societies. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 66-91 Feb 2024. ISBN 9781800503694. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=41500. Date accessed: 20 Apr 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.41500. Feb 2024

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