Multiple Middle Paleolithic lithic traditions in the southern Levant during MIS 6-5 and cultural variability in arid environments: insights from the site of Besor Dyka, Negev Desert

During the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, highly valuable ivory was continuously consumed in the Southern Levant, part of a Near Eastern interregional exchange sphere of prestigious commodities. The exquisite artistry of several ivory artefacts, their elite find contexts and the exotic origins of the raw material resulted in a specific art-historical approach to reconstructing ivory exchange and the cultural meanings of ivory artefacts. This paper offers another perspective on these phenomena, looking holistically at the spatial, chronological, taxonomic, typological and contextual properties of a large, systematically constructed database of artefacts. We show that both use and meaning of ivory fluctuated chronologically. It served to broadcast the authority of socio-political elites, as well as, at times, the economic success of individuals. We evaluate the diachronically changing consumption trends in light of recent theories emphasising the role of individual agents in ancient economies and underscore the material’s cultural appropriation in the Southern Levant. We highlight the significant, previously underestimated, Nilotic (Egyptian and Nubian) agency in this exchange. Methodologically, we demonstrate that reconstructing complex economic and social interactions requires a detailed contextual approach.

Contextualizing the Early Upper Paleolithic in the Negev Desert, southern Levant: Chronologies, lithic technologies, and paleoenvironments of the Boker sites.

The first evidence for the use of Lesbos marble in Jordan, at the Decapolis city of Abila, is introduced and the diffusion of this marble throughout the southern Levant is discussed. In addition to their identical macroscopic characteristics to Lesbos marble, the two columns uncovered in the basilica of Area G were identified using microscopic, mineralogical and isotopic (13C and 18O) analysis. The most likely source of the two columns, according to the analytical data, is the Karyni quarry on Lesbos Island, Greece. The findings present new evidence about the wide diffusion, reuse and distribution of Lesbos marble during the Roman and Byzantine periods in the southern Levant. Likely, the low cost, white-grey colour and high demand for marble were the main reasons for the diffusion of this particular marble during the Roman period.

Abstract The article provides a comprehensive analysis of how the term “Canaan” and its variations are used in Egyptian sources from the New Kingdom period. It explores the appearances of “Canaan” and “Canaanite” in various contexts, such as military campaigns, topographical lists, monumental inscriptions, and administrative records. Through a detailed examination of these sources, the study aims to clarify whether these terms refer to the entire region known as Canaan or to specific localities within it, such as Gaza. When the ethnicon “Canaanite” is used, it is possible to determine that the individuals came from the land of Canaan, and that the term does not mean “Gazan.” The findings highlight that “Pa-Canaan” should be translated as “that which belongs to Canaan,” and that the article “ pꜢ ” should not be understood as the definite article, but as the possessive article/prefix “ pꜢ- ( n ).” The toponym “Canaan” in topographical lists appears in specific geographical contexts, namely together with Sharuhen and Raphiah on the coastal plain of the southern Levant, and once next to Ashtarot and Rehob in the Beth Shean Valley, and seems to refer to a specific place rather than a region or land, namely Gaza and its environs.

Sociological landscape and evolutionary phenomena: a technological approach to the Neolithic southern Levant ceramic assemblages

ABSTRACT This article discusses geoarchaeological processes that affected coastal habitation patterns in two sites, barely 15 km apart on the extremes of the Haifa/Akko Bay during the Late Bronze Age. Both sites depended on rivers: the Na’aman (Belos) and the Qishon. Akko is mentioned as a harbor in the Amarna Letters, but there is no clear identification for Tell Abu Hawam. Tel Abu Hawam was abandoned around 1230 BCE, while Akko remained a maritime center. Abandonment and change in settlement patterns in the Late Bronze Age southern Levant are often attributed to the Egyptians or the “Sea Peoples”; however, other reasons should be considered, among them environmental vicissitudes. This study argues that gradual silting of the Na’aman River affected habitation patterns on Tel Akko in the second–first millennia BCE, while the Qishon estuary’s gradual silting affected maritime trade and the subsequent demise of Late Bronze IIB Tell Abu Hawam entrepôt.

Abstract The hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), once widespread across all of Africa and the Levant, was extirpated in Northern Africa in the early 20th century and from the Levant in the first millennium CE. To this day, the biogeographical origins of the Levantine hartebeest are poorly understood, as are the taxon-specific ecology and reason for its extirpation at the northern edge of its global range. The aim of this study was to fill this gap by generating the first high-coverage mitogenomes of Levantine and North African hartebeest, conducting phylogenetic analyses to determine their relationship to extant Alcelaphus subspecies, and estimating divergence times. Additionally, we have applied ecological niche models to assess climatic suitability of the southern Levant to hartebeest populations over time. Our findings confirm that Levantine hartebeest belonged to the North African Bubal (A. b. buselaphus) lineage. Furthermore, we suggest that human pressure, rather than climate change, drove their regional extinction in the Levant, as in North Africa. Ecological niche model projections indicate that reintroducing hartebeest to the Levant remains feasible under current and future climatic scenarios.

ABSTRACT Understanding the impact of erosion and postdepositional processes is essential for reconstructing site formation in ancient tells. At Tel 1 Burna, a multiperiod stratified site in the Shephelah region of central Israel, we integrate portable X‐ray fluorescence (pXRF), portable optically stimulated luminescence (pOSL), and organic residue analysis (ORA). Our aim is to assess how postdepositional processes shaped the archaeological record in Tel Burna, Israel. The results demonstrate that elemental patterns—particularly phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and potassium (K)—can reveal occupation surfaces and destruction layers not visible macroscopically. High Ca corresponds to chalk‐based floors, elevated K to degraded mudbrick architecture, and enriched P to domestic activity or burning. A fire‐related destruction horizon in Stratum IV is suggested by the presence of high P in the decomposed mudbrick destruction layer, elevated K in both this layer and the underlying intact mudbrick, low Ca, strong luminescence signals, and the near absence of lipids, suggesting thermal alteration of architectural materials. pOSL photon counts increase with depth and provide strong support for the stratigraphic integrity of the profile. Spatial variability, including the absence of Stratum III in downslope areas, highlights differential preservation across the site. Comparative data from regional soils reinforce the interpretation that carbonate‐rich, alkaline soils tend to retain P but allow greater K mobility. The study highlights how the integration of pXRF, pOSL, and biomolecular analysis can improve stratigraphic resolution in complex or eroded contexts, offering a rapid, non‐destructive toolkit for rescue archaeology and for identifying buried destruction events and mudbrick constructions in the southern Levant.

ABSTRACT Increased avian exploitation is a hallmark of broad‐spectrum subsistence strategies in the Levantine Natufian culture (15,000–11,700 cal. BP). However, detailed publications of bird remains from the Natufian are scant, especially regarding the Early Natufian, and the available evidence shows high inter‐site variability that begs explanation. In this study, we examine the avian remains from the Natufian sequence of el‐Wad Terrace, a large hamlet overlooking the Mediterranean coastal plain in Israel, to assess patterns of bird exploitation and their environmental context. Our results show that the majority of bird remains represent human activities, with negligible contributions from nonhuman predators and natural mortality. Waterbirds and game birds attest to butchery and consumption, while many of these taxa, along with some birds of prey, were also exploited for raw materials in bead production and for other cultural purposes. The Early Natufian stages differ little from one another and indicate consistent seasonal harvesting of a highly diverse waterfowl community, while in the Late Natufian, the proportion of game birds and birds of prey increased. This is the first evidence of exploitation of significant freshwater bodies that must have existed at some distance from the site, along the wider coastal plain of the terminal Pleistocene. Comparative analysis of a transect of Natufian sites in the southern Levant, from eastern Jordan to the Mediterranean shore, emphasizes differences in avian resource use between sites directly located on wetlands and sites that were not, indicating that local environmental conditions strongly shaped avian hunting strategies in the Natufian.

ABSTRACT The southern Levant Basin, Eastern Mediterranean, has a complex geological history. The separation of Africa from Arabia, and the collision of the latter with Eurasia during the Oligocene–Miocene had significant implications for the tectono‐stratigraphy of the region, as recorded in the thick, siliciclastic‐dominated sequence preserved in the southern Levant Basin. Previous studies mostly focused on either onshore or relatively local offshore areas, with a synthesis of the interplay between plate motions and sedimentation still lacking. Using multiple high‐resolution, 3D seismic reflection surveys, we generated sediment thickness maps, spectral decomposition, and ISO‐proportional slices that document the structural and sedimentological elements shaping the basin during the Oligocene–Miocene. More specifically, our results show that during the Early Oligocene, sedimentation was dominated by an easterly (Arabian) source, whereas the Late Oligocene to Aquitanian witnessed a shift to a southerly (African) source through the evolution of the Nile River. The Burdigalian period marked a significant tectono‐stratigraphic transition period during which large‐scale folding, regional faulting and renewed incision had occurred. The Langhian–Serravallian was followed by widespread carbonate deposition. The Early Tortonian is marked by a thick, extensive, seismically chaotic interval that underlies deposits associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis. This interval is identified across the basin, being associated with the collision of Cyprus and Eratosthenes, a major tectonic event that affected the entire Southern Levant Basin. The Late Tortonian–Messinian was largely characterised by widespread submarine incision across the southern Levant Basin. Our study reveals how sedimentary systems record important clues as to complex tectonic reorganisations involving rifting, subduction and strike‐slip motion.

A thousand years of Nubian supply of sub-Saharan ivory to the Southern Levant, ca. 1600–600 BCE

Abstract The Mamluks extended their Medieval period control from the water-rich Nile Valley to the dry southern Levant. We try to elucidate the Mamluk way of utilizing water energy for sugar production at the Bet She’an Valley. The studied hewn tunnels served some industrial installation. We dated the tunnels to the Mamluks period, suggesting that they fed water to sugar mills, a particularly dominant industry during this period in the region. The tunnels reveal how Mamluks adapted their water technologies to local conditions. Rather than using traditional open aqueducts, which would have been difficult to construct, they carved tunnels through soft tufa rock—showing both engineering ingenuity and pragmatic problem-solving to support a lucrative export industry. This connects local archaeological findings to the broader medieval international trade networks. We show how the brackish water resources were repurposed over centuries—from Mamluk sugar mills to Ottoman flour mills - demonstrating the enduring value of reliable water sources. We demonstrate the importance of looking beyond the obvious remains of aqueducts and dams to find less visible but equally important infrastructure like these tunnels.

This paper presents the results of the 2010–23 excavations of the southeastern sector of the Iron II temple at Khirbat Ataruz, Jordan, revealing a purpose-built kitchen complex and a rock-cut libation and animal slaughter feature. Abundant animal bones were collected from the eastern section of the area. Zooarchaeological analysis reveals that faunal remains are dominated by sheep and goats—species central to sacrificial rites—with smaller yet consistent contributions from deer and cattle, and a notable absence of pig bones. Together, these exceptionally well-preserved remains provide rare evidence of integrated cultic architecture, encompassing culinary, sacrificial, and communal feasting, and shed new light on the design of sacred space, religious practices, and temple meals in the southern Levant during the 9th–8th centuries BCE.

Assessing socio-economic changes between the Northern and Southern Levant through the function of projectile points from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Kharaysin (Jordan) and Dja’de (Syria)

Reimagining Urban Origins: Social and Religious Landscapes at Bāb edh-Dhrāʿ in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant

Various researchers have demonstrated periods of instability in the cultivation of olives and grapes in the eastern Mediterranean, dating back at least to the Early Bronze Age. So far, pollen-based studies have focused primarily on olive cultivation in the southern Levant. Our research extends these studies to include both cash crops throughout the Levant and northern Mesopotamia, including several different climatic zones, to better understand the diversity of human strategies for maintaining agricultural stability. We analysed 1,514 charred olive (Olea europaea) and grape (Vitis vinfera) seed and wood samples from archaeological sites for their stable carbon isotope ratios to reconstruct Bronze and Iron Age growing conditions. The results, with generally 3.7‰ higher Δ13C values in grapevine than in olive, are consistent with the physiological characteristics of the two species, i.e., their water use efficiency, and with their different agronomic needs. Furthermore, higher values in charcoals than in fruits indicate the natural differences in the budgets of water availability associated with the period of formation of the measured plant tissue. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of the complete data set shows clear correlation of the mean Δ13C values with reconstructed average precipitation (RAP) and the general north-south and west-east decline in precipitation of the region, as well as with chronology, including a gradual drying trend through time. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on these variables shows a highly diversified relationship between mean and maximum stress levels and RAP at different sites over time. An important trend is the significant accumulation of Iron Age sites in olive-growing and wine-producing regions above 500 mm RAP. However, there are considerable diachronic differences in the stress signals for the two tree crops. Interpolations of the mean Δ13C values of the crop species are in good agreement with the layout of the isohyets and visualize the PCA patterns of stable carbon isotope and precipitation relationships thereby confirming the major trends such as a better water availability in the Iron Age. The well-known major climatic fluctuations at 4.2 and 3.2 kyr BP correlate with likely irrigation of olive trees, while there are also drought patterns indicated in the Δ13C values at the end of the Middle Bronze Age. In general, the greater commitment to the establishment of agricultural niches and successful production for viticulture compared to oleiculture, which has already been observed in historical times, is confirmed, at least since the Middle Bronze Age and especially in the Iron Age.

Abstract “Nation,” “national identity” and related terms appear repeatedly in recent exegetical works on the Hebrew Bible and ancient Israel. Two examples, the monographs War, Memory, and National Identity in the Hebrew Bible by Jacob Wright (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020; pp. xii + 283) and Nation and Empire as Two Trends of Political Organization in the Iron Age Levant by Mei Hualong (Leiden: Brill, 2024; pp. xvi + 495), are reviewed here against the background of research on the socio-political structure of Iron Age territorial kingdoms of the southern Levant. The present article argues that, in a historical perspective, this research places us in a better position to consider the ways in which ancient Israel and Judah were different from a modern nation. However, the current resurgence of the term “nation” raises the question as to why ancient Israel and its representation in the Hebrew Bible prove so attractive for those who inquire into the origins of the idea of a nation.

This study explores knowledge transmission between communities of practice in the Late Bronze Age southern Levant, with particular attention to the pottery-making communities of the Judean Shephelah. The analysis focuses on bowls, employing petrography, techno-stylistic analysis and typology on a total of 66 complete specimens. Tel Azekah serves as the central case study, and the results are compared to assemblages from Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath, Lachish, Beth Shemesh and Tel Batash. The findings revealed shared pottery-making technologies alongside site-specific practices. While the general technique of wheel-coiling was identified across all sites, two chaîne opératoires were distinguished, which differ in the application of the base. The method employed by the potters of Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath and Lachish, where vessels were cut off the turning device with a string, points to the presence of Egyptian technological elements in the practice of these communities. This technology served as a boundary object that passed between the interrelated Canaanite and Egyptian potters’ communities. The evidence indicates that knowledge transmission occurred through direct interactions, such as apprenticeship or inter-marriage, rather than mere observation. The findings reflect the complex relationships between the Canaanite city-states and the Egyptian imperial system during the Late Bronze Age and complement current understanding, which mainly focuses on the elite caste of society.

ABSTRACT This article explores the distribution of Cypriot Red-on-Black and Red-on-Red (RoB/RoR) ware in the southern Levant during the Middle Bronze I to Late Bronze I. While traditionally associated with Middle Bronze II through Late Bronze I, the study presents evidence suggesting an even earlier appearance of RoB/RoR in the southern Levant, specifically in Tel Kabri Phase DW V, corresponding to the transitional Middle Bronze I–II. The findings challenge previous assumptions about the timeline and trade routes of this distinctive pottery. In examining the earliest occurrences of RoB/RoR in the southern Levant, potential characteristics of Bronze Age sailing mobility between Cyprus and the southern Levant are also presented, indicating that open-sea crossings would have been possible, especially to the major coastal sites in the area of Tel Kabri, such as Achziv and Akko.