scholarly journals BRIDGING THE GAP EBIII-IBA: EARLY INTERMEDIATE BRONZE RADIOCARBON DATES FROM KHIRBAT EL-’ALYA NORTHEAST, ISRAEL

Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Ron Lev ◽  
Omer Shalev ◽  
Johanna Regev ◽  
Yitzhak Paz ◽  
Elisabetta Boaretto
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Urban Culture ◽  
Settlement Pattern ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Surrounding Area ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Related Research ◽  
The Mediterranean

ABSTRACT Recent radiocarbon (14C) research demonstrates that the urban culture of Early-Bronze III in the southern Levant ends around 2500 BC, and not around 2300 BC as was widely assumed. This should extend the Intermediate Bronze Age by 200 years. Charred olive pits from Intermediate Bronze Age contexts in the site of Khirbat el-‘Alya Northeast in the Judean Shephelah region (Israel) were 14C dated, resulting in calibrated dates around 2500 BC. The date range of Khirbat el-‘Alya Northeast samples is an indication that in the Mediterranean parts of the southern Levant, the Intermediate Bronze Age material culture appeared around the time of the decline of the preceding culture of Early-Bronze III—around 2500 BC or somewhat earlier. Possible Intermediate Bronze settlement pattern and the site’s relation to the nearby Early-Bronze city of Tel Yarmuth are discussed based on previous Intermediate Bronze and Early-Bronze related research in the surrounding area.

Mycenaean civilization

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Rutter
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Historical Reality ◽  
Mediterranean World ◽  
The Mediterranean

Mycenaean civilization takes its name from the hilltop citadel of Mycenae in the Argolid, celebrated in Homer’s epics as “rich in gold” and the capital of Agamemnon. In 1876, Heinrich Schliemann, fresh from his excavations at Troy, which in his view had established the historical reality of the Greeks’ legendary siege and sack of that city, unearthed five astonishingly rich tombs at Mycenae and claimed them to contain the burials of Agamemnon and his followers, thus inaugurating the study of Greece’s Late Bronze Age (LBA) past. One and a half centuries of subsequent fieldwork have exposed the remains of hundreds of settlements and thousands of tombs characterized by the distinctive material culture termed Mycenaean that flourished for over six centuries (c. 1700–1050 bce). This lengthy duration of the mainland Greek LBA (better known as the Late Helladic [LH] or Mycenaean era) is conventionally subdivided into three major stages of development: pre-palatial or early Mycenaean (LH I–IIB; c. 1700–1425/1400 bce); palatial (LH IIIA1–LH IIIB2; c. 1425/1400–1200/1190 bce); and post-palatial (LH IIIC; c. 1200/1190–1050 bce). The regions within which Mycenaean material culture was dominant changed significantly as a function of time, as did the culture’s external contacts within the Mediterranean world and continental Europe.

scholarly journals Southern Palestinian Chronology: Two Radiocarbon Dates for the Early Bronze Age at Tell El-Hesi (Israel)

Radiocarbon ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger W Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates

Several articles reporting radiocarbon dates of Early Bronze Age (EB) material from excavations in the southern Levant have been published over the last 30 yr. The excavations conducted at Tell el-Hesi have produced material from which 2 additional 14C dates have been extracted to date. The 2 samples confirm the EB dating of Field VI material and suggest EB III settlement at Hesi might be earlier than previously reported based on pottery typology.

scholarly journals Chronology of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant: New Analysis for a High Chronology

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 525-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Regev ◽  
Pierre De Miroschedji ◽  
Raphael Greenberg ◽  
Eliot Braun ◽  
Zvi Greenhut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Given

The chronology of the Early Bronze Age (EBA) in the southern Levant and the synchronization between the sites, considering seriation and radiocarbon dates, have shown large inconsistencies and disagreement. We have assembled 42014C dates, most of them previously published and a few provided directly by the excavators. The dates have been re-evaluated on the basis of their archaeological context and using analytical criteria. Bayesian modeling has been applied to the selected dates in relation to the given seriation of the EBA subperiods (EB I, II III, IV). Sites with 2 or more sequential sub-phases were individually modeled in order to define the transitions between the subperiods. The new chronology indicates that the EB I–II transition occurred site-dependently between 3200–2900 BC, with EB II–III around 2900 BC, and EB III–IV ∼2500 BC.

scholarly journals The Chalcolithic Radiocarbon Record and Its Use in Southern Levantine Archaeology

Radiocarbon ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 1223-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margie Burton ◽  
Thomas E Levy
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Early Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Chalcolithic Period ◽  
Chronological Sequence

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Chalcolithic period (5th–4th millennium BCE) in the southern Levant was a time of significant settlement expansion and increasing social complexity. Important technological and social developments during this era set the stage for the later rise of fortified sites and nascence of urbanization in the Early Bronze Age. Controversy surrounding the chronology of Chalcolithic settlement and the reconstruction of social trajectories has stimulated an interest in building a database of radiocarbon dates to measure the tempo of change and help resolve these issues. To facilitate social evolutionary research, this paper reviews and updates published 14C data for the southern Levantine Chalcolithic. The now-substantial database supports the generally accepted time frame for this archaeological period and allows synchronic comparisons across diverse geographic subregions in the southern Levant. In addition, it helps to temporally place the emergence of sophisticated technologies and the development of complex social institutions within the Chalcolithic period. However, radiometrically based attempts at pan-regional internal periodization of the Chalcolithic and fine-tuning of protohistoric events such as site establishment and abandonment are frustrated by the lack of precision in 14C dates, which limits their ability to resolve chronological sequence. Improved delineation of Chalcolithic social trajectories can be achieved most effectively by focussing research efforts on stratigraphic and typological investigations of deeply-stratified settlement sites such as Teleilat Ghassul and Shiqmim within their local contexts.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon Dating Shows an Early Appearance of Philistine Material Culture in Tell es-Safi/Gath, Philistia

Radiocarbon ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 825-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yotam Asscher ◽  
Dan Cabanes ◽  
Louise A Hitchcock ◽  
Aren M Maeir ◽  
Steve Weiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
12Th Century ◽  
Archaeological Artifacts

The Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in the coastal southern Levant involves a major cultural change, which is characterized, among other things, by the appearance of Philistine pottery locally produced in styles derived from outside the Levant. This transition in the coastal southern Levant is conventionally dated to the 12th century BC, based on historical and archaeological artifacts associated with the Philistine pottery. Radiocarbon dating can provide a more precise independent absolute chronology for this transition, but dating for the period under discussion is complicated by the wiggles and relatively flat slope in the calibration curve, which significantly reduce precision. An additional complication is that the stratigraphic record below and above the transition at this site, as well as at most other sites in the region, is far from complete. We thus used a variety of microarchaeological techniques to improve our understanding of the stratigraphy, and to ensure that the locations with datable short-lived materials were only derived from primary contexts, which could be related directly to the associated material culture. The 14C dates were modeled using Bayesian statistics that incorporate the stratigraphic information. Using this integrative approach, we date the appearance of the Philistine pottery in Tell es-Safi/Gath in the 13th century BC.

scholarly journals The Iron Age I in the Northern Levant: New perspectives from Lebanon

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan Charaf
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Smooth Transition ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Local Characteristics ◽  
Iron Age I ◽  
Tell Tayinat

The beginning of the Iron Age in the Levant has been for the past three decades the focus of intense studies and debates. The main reason that had triggered this interest is the turmoil characterizing the end of the Late Bronze Age coupled with the migration of newcomers dubbed the “Sea People” to the coastal Levant. This phenomenon has been studied to a length in the southern Levant where evidence of destructions followed by a new culture is attested on many coastal sites. However, in neighboring Lebanon, few studies focused on this period mainly due to the paucity of archaeological sites dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age/beginning of the Iron Age. In recent years, remains uncovered at major sites such as Tell Arqa (Irqata of the Amarna Tablets), Sarepta, Tyre, or Kamid el-Loz (Kumidi of the Amarna Tablets) gave no evidence for destructions at the end of the Late Bronze Age in this country. On the contrary, the architectural and material culture found at sites such as Tell Arqa and Sarepta points to a smooth transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age. While the exposed architecture is usually flimsy and is characterized by a widespread use of pits and silos (a phenomenon equally observed on other neighboring sites such as Tell Afis in Syria or Tell Tayinat in Turkey), the pottery still retains old characteristics; yet integrated into a few new shapes and fabrics. The patterns of archaism observed in the material cultural in Lebanon challenges the established understanding of the Iron Age I in the southern Levant where it is characterized as a period of turmoil and transformation.This presentation analyses the architectural and material characteristics of the end of the Late Bronze Age I/beginning of the Iron Age I in Lebanon with the aim at isolating both local characteristics and regional influences.

Absolute Time Ranges in the Plateau of the Late Bronze to Iron Age Transition and the Appearance of Bichrome Pottery in Canaan, Southern Levant

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-37
Author(s):  
Yotam Asscher ◽  
Elisabetta Boaretto
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
Absolute Time ◽  
The North ◽  
New Material ◽  
A Site

ABSTRACTThe Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in the Levant includes the appearance of new material culture that is similar in styles to the Aegean world. In the southern Levant, the distribution of early styles of Aegean-like pottery, locally produced, is limited to the coastal areas of Canaan, making synchronization with the rest of the region difficult. Radiocarbon (14C) dating provides a high-resolution absolute chronological framework for synchronizing ceramic phases. Here, absolute14C chronologies of the Late Bronze to Iron Age transition in the sites Tel Beth Shean, Tel Rehov, Tel Lachish, and Tel Miqne-Ekron are determined. Results show that the ranges of transitions vary in an absolute time frame by 50–100 years between different sites and that the range of the Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in Canaan spans the 13th–11th centuries BC plateau. These chronologies, based on a site-by-site approach for dating, show that the change between early types of Aegean-like pottery (Monochrome) to developed types (Bichrome), occurred over 100 years in Canaan and that the transition occurred in southern sites prior to sites in the north. These ranges show that not only is the Late Bronze to Iron Age not contemporaneous, but also synchronization between sites based on their ceramic assemblages is problematic.

scholarly journals Semiyarka IV burial complex of the Middle Bronze Age (Eastern Kazakhstan)

2021 ◽  
pp. 52-65
Author(s):  
S.P. Grushin ◽  
I.V. Merts ◽  
V.K. Merts ◽  
V.V. Ilyushina ◽  
A.V. Fribus
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Building Stone ◽  
The Body ◽  
Burial Ground ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
River Region ◽  
Middle Bronze Age

The paper is aimed at the analysis of the Middle Bronze Age materials from the Semiyarka IV burial ground in East Kazakhstan. In 2016–2018, two stone fences on the site were investigated by a joint expedition of the Altai and Pavlodar State Universities. The two fences contained human burials, inhumed in a wooden structure and in a composite stone cist box. The purpose of this work is to determine regional features and chronology of the Semiyarka IV funerary complex, as well as details of the ethnocultural development of the local population in the Middle Bronze Age. The research methodology includes analyses of the planigraphy and stratigraphy, compara-tive and typological study of the artifacts, anthropological investigation, examination of the pottery manufacturing technology, and radiocarbon dating. The technical and technological analysis of the pottery production was car-ried out using the method of A.A. Bobrinsky. Radiocarbon dates from wood and human bone samples were ob-tained by the liquid scintillation method in the archaeological technology laboratory of the Institute for the History of the Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The dates were then calibrated using CALIB 8.2 program and IntCal 20 calibration curve. The body of collected data allows us to conclude that the Andronovo burial ground of Semiyarka IV is distinguished by its syncretism which is manifested in two different cultural com-ponents. The first component, ‘Central Kazakhstan’, is represented by the architectural traditions of building stone fences and graves cemented with a clay mortar, as well as by the presence of chamotte in the pottery containing additives traditional for the population of Central Kazakhstan. The second component, ‘Siberian’, is represented by the tradition of building wooden crypts, and in the ceramics complex, by some peculiar ornamental patterns typical of the eastern Ob River valley. The site is dated to the turn of the 18th/17th –16th c. BC. The architectural similarities of the Semiyarka IV burial ground structures with the Yenisei sites suggest that their origin is associ-ated with the Irtysh River region. The migration period of the mobile Andronovo communities to the northeast is dated to the 17th c. BC.

scholarly journals The Petrovka Bronze Age Sites: Issues in Taxonomy and Chronology

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Krause ◽  
A. V. Epimakhov ◽  
E. V. Kupriyanova ◽  
I. K. Novikov ◽  
E. Stolarczyk
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Short Interval ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Dynamic Scenario ◽  
High Degree

This article introduces a series of AMS radiocarbon dates for the Bronze Age Petrovka cemeteries in the Trans-Urals. The results of the AMS14C-dating of animal and human bones indicate a very high degree of concordance in the 19th and 18th centuries cal BC time range. The previously obtained AMS datings clearly fi t into the same chronological interval. Specifi cally, 17 of 36 analyses of the Petrovka series yielded very similar results. In other cases, where dating was based on wood and charcoal, the results are highly inconsistent, even within the same burial. Before the verifi cation of these results, the short interval based on AMS dates should be preferred. Its comparison with intervals for other cultures of the Trans-Urals demonstrates marked similarity: in fact, complete coincidence of some of them. At the same time, stratigraphic and typological evidence suggests that the Sintashta, Petrovka, and Alakul traditions are stages of a sequence. Additional arguments are features of continuity in the material culture and the practice of using the burial mounds of a previous culture for new graves, without destroying the older ones. In our view, the only explanation is provided by a dynamic scenario of cultural change spanning two centuries, from the migration of the Sintashta people to Southern Urals until the formation of the Alakul culture. The resolution of the radiocarbon method does not suffi ce to detect such rapid changes. If this explanation is correct, the Petrovka sites should be considered an early stage of the Alakul culture, rather than a separate culture.

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