Complexity and Diversity in the Late Iron Age Southern Levant: The investigation of 'Edomite' archaeology and scholarly discourse

Description

This study highlights a range of theoretical problems concerning Levantine Iron Age archaeology. Following the introduction, Chapter 2 provides the background for the study as a whole, tracing the archaeological study of the Iron Age southern Levant from the early nineteenth century to the present day. This highlights how and why archaeologists have changed their ideas about the narrative in question through time whilst also retaining a number of key ideas. Chapter 3 traces the archaeological study of 'Edomite' archaeology in the southern Levant in particular. Chapter 4 begins the critique of the key ideas and assumptions that underpin 'Edomite' archaeology by demonstrating that the individual historical sources used as evidence when discussing the 'Edomites' are not simply sources of factual information about the Iron Age. Chapter 5 takes a similarly critical approach to the methods of archaeological excavation, interpretation, and analysis used in south Levantine Iron Age archaeology. Chapter 6 completes the critique of the central ideas that form the basis of 'Edomite' archaeology by discussing the central tenets of archaeological theory concerning the relationship between material culture and identity that are required to support this idea. Chapter 7 outlines the methodology used in this study, which was designed to test whether specific ceramic types do in fact support the present interpretation of the late Iron Age southern Levant. The results of the analysis using this methodology are presented in Chapter 8. In Chapter 9 the implications of the preceding chapters are discussed and an interpretation of the evidence which does not rely on traditional problematic assumptions will be presented. Final conclusions are drawn in Chapter 10. Front Cover Title Page Copyright CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CHAPTER 1: Introduction CHAPTER 2: Historiography of Iron Age Archaeology in Israel CHAPTER 3: The Development of ‘Edomite’ Archaeology CHAPTER 4: Reassessing the Use of Historical Sources in South Levantine Iron Age Archaeology CHAPTER 5: The Practice of Iron Age Archaeology in the Southern Levant: Excavation, Analysis, Interpretation, and Publication CHAPTER 6: Material Culture and Identity: Archaeological Theory and Ethnicity CHAPTER 7: Reassessing ‘Edomite’ Archaeology: Methodology and Background CHAPTER 8: Data Analysis CHAPTER 9: Diversity and Complexity in the Iron Age Southern Levant CHAPTER 10: Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX 1 FIGURES