Bab edh-Dhra Research Articles

Daily life and cultural appropriation in Early Bronze Age Canaan: Games and gaming in a domestic neighbourhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel

ABSTRACT Discussions on daily life in Early Bronze Age society in the southern Levant often focus on subsistence or ritual phenomena, while aspects relating to entertainment and leisure are rarely discussed. This paper presents evidence for gaming behaviour, in the form of game boards and game pieces, that were recovered in the excavations of the Early Bronze Age (early to mid-3rd millennium bce) residential neighbourhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel. All the objects discussed are considered to be part of games (playing pieces, casting pieces, and boards) based on their resemblance to game boards and pieces published from various Early Bronze sites in the southern Levant (e.g., Arad, Megiddo, and Bab edh-Dhra), serve as the backdrop for: 1) a perspective on the social and cultural relationships reflected in these games; 2) an examination of the origins of the 'Senet/30 Houses' game; and 3) the appropriation of foreign cultural facets in Early Bronze Age Canaan.

Remembering the Dead in the Ancient Near East: Recent Contributions from Bioarchaeology and Mortuary Archaeology

Remembering the Dead in the Ancient Near East: Recent Contributions from Bioarchaeology and Mortuary Archaeology

Cry Havoc: Interpersonal Violence at Early Bronze Age Bab edh-Dhra’

In this article, we utilize a bioarchaeological approach to assess the pervasiveness of violence during a dynamic period of social change at Early Bronze Age (EBA) Bab edh-Dhra’, Jordan. The human remains studied are from EBIA (3500–3300 B.C.E.) shaft tombs used by the inhabitants of ephemeral settlements and from EBII–III (3100–2300 B.C.E.) charnel house A22, which dates to the urban occupation of the site. Adult crania, ulnae, and radii were examined for fracture. There were no significant differences by period, except when ulnae and radii were considered together. Bab edh-Dhra’ was then compared to published studies of violence and showed a relatively high rate of cranial fracture during both periods, with a moderate rate of forearm fracture during EBII–III. The EBIA radii and ulnae exhibited no evidence of trauma. Accidents along rough terrain, falls among terraced housing, construction and agricultural activities, and violence were probable causes of forearm injury. The archaeological record suggests a diachronic increase in conflict, catalyzed by growing population density, social stratification, regional hostilities, and environmental degradation. Although the causes of EBA violence remain speculative, cranial fracture patterns indicate a notable prevalence of conflict-related trauma across the period.

Select Archaeological Discoveries from Transjordan with Significance for Biblical Studies

When one thinks of archaeological sites related to biblical studies, one usually thinks immediately of sites in the modern nation of Israel, sites west of the Jordan River. Yet there are also many significant sites related to biblical studies east of the Jordan. This article focuses on ten such sites in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The sites range chronologically from the Early Bronze site of Bab edh-Dhra‘ to the modern capital of Amman which also has Iron Age and Hellenistic-Roman-Byzantine and later Islamic remains. The sites cross Jordan from the Nabatean Petra in the south to the Cities of the Decapolis near the Syrian border in the north. They include the well-known and famous, Petra, “half as old as time itself,” and the unfamiliar and relatively unknown Umm ar-Resas, Khirbat an-Nahas, and Khirbat as-Sil. Also included are the ancient Moabite capital of Dibon/Dhiban, Madaba, and Tell Deir”Alla.

Libraries of the Dead: Early Bronze Age Charnel Houses and Social Identity at Urban Bab edh-Dhra', Jordan

Extensive ethnographic and archaeological research demonstrates that primary and secondary mortuary rituals provide people with a richly textured context to reweave the social fabric of the community following the death of one of its members. The nature, timing, and communal participation in secondary mortuary ceremonies, in particular, allow individuals and groups to reiterate the broader moral and social ethos of the community, while reaffirming, renegotiating, or even severing bonds of social, political, and economic life. Drawing on this anthropological foundation, this study explores the powerful changes in household structures and systems of kinship during the first period of urbanization in Syro-Palestine by examining the skeletal, architectural, and artifactual evidence from the cemeteries at the Early Bronze Age settlement of Bab edh-Dhra', Jordan. Dynamic changes in mortuary practices through time at Bab edh-Dhra', specifically the shift from shaft tomb burials to charnel houses, were associated with the transition from a non-sedentary lifestyle to settled life in a fortified town and a subsequent return to non-urban living. This research demonstrates that each of these profound shifts in lifestyle involved fundamental changes in the societal bonds of the community, particularly structures of kinship.

Masking and misinterpreting cotton fibers: dangers associated with the fiber analysis of archaeological textiles

AbstractSeveral years ago an investigation of fiber analysis was undertaken on archaeological fabrics from a site at Bab edh Dhra along the south-eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The Early Bronze Age fragments (c. 3000 BC) were consolidated with poly(vinyl acetate) resin (PV A) in the field. The disengagement of fiber from resin proved to be extremely difficult. Subsequent experimental work on the removal of fresh PVA resins from modern cotton cloth has produced results which suggest that even reversible solventlconsolidant systems can permanently affect – and compromise – fiber-related investigations.

Bab edh-Dhra: excavations in the cemetery directed by Paul W. Lapp (1965-67)

Bab edh-Dhra: excavations in the cemetery directed by Paul W. Lapp (1965-67)

Tempering Types and Sources for Early Bronze Age Ceramics from Bab edh-Dhra' and Numeira, Jordan

Results of a petrographic analysis of inclusions in ceramics have shed new light on the cultural selection and processing of temper in different types of pottery from two Early Bronze Age sites in Jordan: Bab edh-Dhra' and Numeira. Wadi sand was used in fine and common ware bowls, jars, and juglets from EB (Early Bronze Age) I through EB IV times at both sites. Quartz sand, weathered from outcrops of Nubian Sandstone, was used in fine creamware bowls, jars, and platter bowls produced at Numeira during EB III. Larger crushed fragments of limestone were used as temper in cooking pots and coarse hole-mouth jars at Bab edh-Dhra' during EB III and EB IV. Larger fragments of crushed basalt were used for production of bowls and platter bowls of burnished ware during EB III time at both sites. Since the early 1980s, there has been an increasing interaction between archaeology and the physical sciences. In this example, a geological analysis of tempering material has been extremely helpful in supplementing an objective classification of ceramic assemblages and in helping us understand the cultural implications of their manufacture.

Tempering Types and Sources for Early Bronze Age Ceramics from Bab edh-Dhra' and Numeira, Jordan

Tempering Types and Sources for Early Bronze Age Ceramics from Bab edh-Dhra' and Numeira, Jordan

Geologic Reconstruction of Numeira

D uring the 1977 and 1979 field seasons of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, the geologic survey was mainly concerned with deciphering topographic changes that had occurred prior to, during, and after the Early Bronze occupational sequence at Bab edh-Dhra^ (Donahue 1980, 1981). Bab edh-Dhra' is a relatively complicated site with a long occupational sequence, a rugged topography within the site, and a diversity of preoccupational, occupational, and postoccupational sediment types. By contrast, Numeira is a relatively simple site. The occupational sequence is short and apparently restricted to EB III (Rast and Schaub 1981: 35-44). With the exception of a 48 m drop to the present Wadi Numeira stream, the topography is quite flat. Both natural and occupational sediments are relatively uniform, consisting of wadi sand, gravel, and boulders. During the 1981 field season, excavations at Numeira exposed several critical data points. With the background of two intensive field seasons at Bab edh-Dhrac and the above data

Disease and mortality in the early bronze age people of Bab edh‐Dhra, Jordan

During the 1977 field season at the Early Bronze Age site of Bab edh-Dhra 92 individuals were recovered from underground shaft tomb chambers. Morbid conditions found in these skeletons include trauma, possibly two cases of tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, post-menopausal osteoporosis and congenital anomalies. Of the 92 skeletons recovered 56 (61%) were 18 years of age or older, 28 (30%) were between 1 and 18 years of age and 8 (9%) were less than one year of age.

Radiocarbon Dating of Palestine in the Early Bronze Age

Early Bronze Age in Palestine rests upon three relatively independent considerations. First, there is the archeological stratigraphy of the period itself, structured into a comparative sequence whose nomenclature varies, but upon whose substance there is general agreement (Wright: 1937, 1958,. 1961; De Vaux: 1971). Second, datable foreign synchronisms are established through literary sources, art, imported objects, architectural parallels, and pottery analysis (Kantor: 1965; Albright: 1965; Hennessy: 1967). Egyptian synchronisms are most important in the present chronologies, but there are supporting connections with Syrian and Anatolian sites. And third, an increasing number of radiocarbon dates has become available in recent years, presenting us with the potential for an absolute independent of foreign synchronisms. Until recently the most controversial issue was that of a or in dating the beginning of Dynasty 1 in Egypt. Most Egyptologists favor the high chronology, beginning the Ist Dynasty ca. 3100 B.C. (Hayes 1970: 174-80). On the other hand, Palestinian archeologists have generally followed the low of Albright, beginning the Ist Dynasty ca. 2900 B.C. (Albright 1965: 50). A major factor influencing widespread adoption of the low was the apparent lack of enough stratified historical evidence to fill in EB I and III, the two problem periods. Two developments within the last decade alter the rather settled status of Early Bronze Age and require a review of present evidence. First, excavations at Jericho, Ai, and Bab edh-Dhra have produced considerably more stratified historical evidence to fill in the time-span of the period, making the low an option rather than a necessity. Accordingly, while Lapp (1970: 123-24) follows a moderately low chronology of Albright, Hennessy (1967: 85-90) prefers a higher by 100 years and Callaway (1972: 116) adopts a mediating position, JAMES M. WEINSTEIN The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19174

Preliminary Excavation Reports: Bab edh-Dhra, Sardis, Meiron, Tell el-Hesi, Carthage (Punic)

Preliminary Excavation Reports: Bab edh-Dhra, Sardis, Meiron, Tell el-Hesi, Carthage (Punic)