scholarly journals Archaeology and Religion in Late Bronze Age Canaan

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 258
Author(s):  
Aaron Greener
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Ancient Israel ◽  
The Rich ◽  
City States

Dozens of temples were excavated in the Canaanite city-states of the Late Bronze Age. These temples were the focal points for the Canaanites’ cultic activities, mainly sacrifices and ceremonial feasting. Numerous poetic and ritual texts from the contemporary city of Ugarit reveal the rich pantheon of Canaanite gods and goddesses which were worshiped by the Canaanites. Archaeological remains of these rites include burnt animal bones and many other cultic items, such as figurines and votive vessels, which were discovered within the temples and sanctuaries. These demonstrate the diverse and receptive character of the Canaanite religion and ritual practices. It seems that the increased Egyptian presence in Canaan towards the end of the period had an influence on the local belief system and rituals in some areas, a fact which is demonstrated by the syncretic architectural plans of several of the temples, as well as by glyptic and votive items. Late Bronze Age religious and cultic practices have attracted much attention from Biblical scholars and researchers of the religion of Ancient Israel who are searching for the similarities and influences between the Late Bronze Age and the following Iron Age.

Canaanite Roots, Proto-Phoenicia, and the Early Phoenician Period

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Ann E. Killebrew
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Sea Peoples ◽  
Culture Centered ◽  
City States ◽  
Cultural Entity ◽  
Dynamic Interplay

The origins and ethnogenesis of a cultural entity, people, and territory referred to as “Phoenician” in later biblical and Classical sources and modern scholarship remain a topic of debate. This chapter examines the textual and archaeological sources relevant to the northern and central Levantine littoral during the Proto- (Late Bronze) and Early (Iron I) Phoenician periods (ca. fourteenth–eleventh centuries bce). What emerges out of the ruins of the Late Bronze Age is a resilient Early Iron Age coastal culture centered on the commercial interactions of maritime city-states, which survived the demise of the Hittite and Egyptian empires, as well as the collapse of international trade at around 1200 bce. Autochthonous Canaanite traditions dominate Iron I Phoenician cultural assemblages, but intrusive Aegean-style “Sea Peoples” and Cypriot influences are also present. Together they reflect the dynamic interplay of maritime cultural and commercial exchanges characteristic of the northern and central Levantine littoral during the final centuries of the second millennium bce.

Iron Age Enclosed Settlements in West Wales

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 263-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Murphy ◽  
H. Mytum ◽  
L. Austin ◽  
A.E. Caseldine ◽  
C.J. Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Age Dating ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
The Core ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Core Study

This paper presents the results of several years' research on late Iron Age enclosed settlements in west Wales. Geophysical survey was conducted on 21 sites and three of these, Troedyrhiw, Ffynnonwen, and Berry Hill, were part-excavated. Most sites examined were heavily plough-damaged, but results of the surveys and excavations demonstrated that substantial archaeological remains survive. Approximately 60 enclosed settlements lay in the core study area of southern Ceredigion (Cardiganshire), half of which were oval in shape and half rectangular. Both types contain suites of buildings seen in much of the British Iron Age – round-houses and 4-/6-post structures. Evidence from the excavations supports data from elsewhere in the region indicating that small oval enclosures appear in the landscape in the 2nd–1st centuriesbc, with rectangular enclosures constructed right at the end of the Iron Age. Dating is based almost entirely on radiocarbon determinations as, in common with other similar-aged sites in west Wales, artefacts are almost completely absent. It was not possible during excavation at Troedyrhiw to conclusively demonstrate late prehistoric use of the rectangular enclosed settlement, but a Roman pottery assemblage in the upper fills of the enclosure ditch coupled with a two phase entrance is interpreted as indicating Late Iron Age construction. More complex remains were revealed during excavations at Ffynnonwen, a circular enclosed settlement within a larger oval enclosure. Here, three round-houses, a 4- and 6-post structure and other remains were investigated and radiocarbon dated to the 8th–6th centuriesbcthrough to the early Romano-British period. Berry Hill, an inland promontory fort, appeared to be unfinished and abandoned. Radiocarbon determinations indicated a Late Bronze Age construction (10th–8th centuriesbc). The paper concludes with a consideration of a number of interpretive issues regarding settlement, enclosure, identity, and ways of living.

Some recent Discoveries of Millet (Panicum MiliaceumL. andSetaria italica(L.) P. Beauv.) at Excavations in Turkey and Iran

1988 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 85-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Nesbitt ◽  
G. D. Summers
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Near East ◽  
Foxtail Millet ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Grass Family ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
Full Discussion ◽  
Northwestern Iran ◽  
The Rich

Although a relatively unimportant crop in the Near East, millet has an especially interesting history that may throw some light on the cultural relationships of the Middle–Late Bronze Ages and the Iron Age. Thus the prompt, separate, publication of a large deposit of foxtail millet (Setaria italica(L.) P. Beauv.), recently identified from an Iron Age level at Tille Höyük, seems justified. This is the first find of the cereal in such large quantities—definitely as a crop—from the Near East or Greece. The rest of the plant remains from this level will be published in conjunction with the rich samples that are expected to be found in the massive Late Bronze Age burnt level at Tille. The opportunity is also taken in this paper to present other previously unpublished millet samples, from second millennium B.C. levels at Haftavan Tepe, northwestern Iran, and from Hellenistic, Roman and Medieval levels at Aşvan Kale, eastern Turkey.A full discussion of these criteria will be included in the first author's forthcoming publication of the Aşvan plant remains. Knörzer (1971) has published a useful key to millet seeds. Three genera of millets (all belonging to the tribePaniceaeof the grass family) have grains of the relatively wide, large embryoed type discussed here.

Settlement and Competition in Iron Age I Canaan

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor H. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
The People ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
Iron Age I ◽  
City States ◽  
Complete Transformation

This chapter examines the forces (environmental, economic, and political) that contributed to the nearly complete transformation of the eastern Levant at the end of the Late Bronze Age, including the super-power struggles between the Egyptians and the Hittite empire for control of Syria-Palestine that consumed much of their energy during the twelfth century BCE. Of equal importance is the invasion of the region by the people collectively known as the Sea Peoples. The ripple effect of that invasion, which resulted in the establishment of Philistine city-states along the Coastal Plain, transforms Canaan and provides the opportunities for new peoples, including the Proto-Israelites, to settle in the Central Highlands. Focus here will be on the challenges faced by these new peoples as they adapt to their environmental conditions with attention given to the stories in the Book of Judges. Subsequent economic and military rivalries between the Philistine city-states and the highland peoples set the stage for the development of the Israelite monarchy.

Bogs, Bodies and Burnt Mounds: Visits to the Soar Wetlands in the Neolithic and Bronze Age

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 173-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Ripper ◽  
Matthew Beamish ◽  
A. Bayliss ◽  
C. Bronk Ramsey ◽  
A. Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Violent Death ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Early Medieval Period ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
The Bronze Age

The recording and analysis of a burnt mound and adjacent palaeochannel deposits on the floodplain of the River Soar in Leicestershire revealed that the burnt mound was in use, possibly for a number of different purposes, at the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. An extensive radiocarbon dating programme indicated that the site was revisited. Human remains from the palaeochannel comprised the remains of three individuals, two of whom pre-dated the burnt mound by several centuries while the partial remains of a third, dating from the Late Bronze Age, provided evidence that this individual had met a violent death. These finds, along with animal bones dating to the Iron Age, and the remains of a bridge from the early medieval period, suggest that people were drawn to this location over a long period of time.

scholarly journals A Later Prehistoric Settlement and Metalworking Site at Seafield West, near Inverness, Highland

2011 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cressey ◽  
Sue Anderson ◽  
Ann Clarke ◽  
Trevor Cowie ◽  
Fraser Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Copper Alloy ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Burial Site ◽  
Retail Development ◽  
Development Site ◽  
The Subject

Construction in 1996 at a major retail development site close to Inverness, Highland resulted in the destruction of two known cropmark sites. One set of cropmarks was found to be associated with a Bronze Age log-boat burial site and the results of the ensuing excavation are published elsewhere (Cressey & Sheridan 2003). The excavation of a second area of cropmarks forms the subject of this publication. The archaeological remains consisted of a series of negative features, post-holes and annular ditches which form parts of at least nine separate structures of a later prehistoric unenclosed settlement. A mould fragment indicated Late Bronze Age sword production in the vicinity. A palisaded enclosure produced a copper-alloy brooch that is a rare find for the region. Evidence of copper-alloy objects and metalworking from a smelting hearth and slags show that the occupants were of some status. Some of the structural and artefactual evidence compellingly points to an in situ ironworking workshop. A large cache of smithing charcoal found in association with a smelting hearth was radiocarbon dated to 180BC-AD70 and represents one of the few dated in situ Iron Age ironworking episodes in Scotland.

scholarly journals THE BEGINNING OF THE IRON AGE AT ARSLANTEPE: A 14C PERSPECTIVE

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Federico Manuelli ◽  
Cristiano Vignola ◽  
Fabio Marzaioli ◽  
Isabella Passariello ◽  
Filippo Terrasi
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
High Precision ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
13Th Century ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Archaeological Data

ABSTRACT The Iron Age chronology at Arslantepe is the result of the interpretation of Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions and archaeological data coming from the site and its surrounding region. A new round of investigations of the Iron Age levels has been conducted at the site over the last 10 years. Preliminary results allowed the combination of the archaeological sequence with the historical events that extended from the collapse of the Late Bronze Age empires to the formation and development of the new Iron Age kingdoms. The integration into this picture of a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates is aimed at establishing a more solid local chronology. High precision 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and its correlation with archaeobotanical analysis and stratigraphic data are presented here with the purpose of improving our knowledge of the site’s history and to build a reliable absolute chronology of the Iron Age. The results show that the earliest level of the sequence dates to ca. the mid-13th century BC, implying that the site started developing a new set of relationships with the Levant already before the breakdown of the Hittite empire, entailing important historical implications for the Syro-Anatolian region at the end of the 2nd millennium BC.

Cremated animal remains and shattered pottery. Rare ritual deposits from the Middle to Late Bronze Age at Aalst – Siesegemkouter (Belgium)

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Verbrugge ◽  
Maaike Groot ◽  
Koen Deforce ◽  
Guy De Mulder ◽  
Wouter Van der Meer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
Low Countries ◽  
Early Date ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Maintenance Practice ◽  
Organic Remains

Abstract Archaeological research at Aalst – Siesegemkouter revealed several pits within a Middle to Late Bronze Age settlement. Most of them hardly contained any artefacts, but one exception showed a structured stratigraphy with an abundance of finds, including a large amount of shattered pottery, charcoal and calcined animal bone. The study of this assemblage, and comparison with two other pits showing similarities, provides strong indications of a closing deposit or another type of ‘site maintenance practice’. In the Low Countries, comparable contexts generally date from the Iron Age, suggesting that the finds from Aalst – Siesegemkouter represent early forerunners of this ritual practice. On top of this early date, the large volume of cremated animal bone represents an almost unique characteristic for which, until now, parallels from the Metal Ages have hardly been found, even on a Northwestern European scale. In general, the role played by organic remains in ritual contexts from these periods and regions is poorly understood, often due to bad preservation conditions or the lack of a multidisciplinary approach.

Dogs that Ate Plants: Changes in the Canine Diet During the Late Bronze Age and the First Iron Age in the Northeast Iberian Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Albizuri ◽  
Aurora Grandal-d’Anglade ◽  
Julià Maroto ◽  
Mònica Oliva ◽  
Alba Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Late Bronze Age

Neolithic Pits, a Bronze Age Cremation and an Early Iron Age Ring-Ditch at Newton Farm, Cambuslang, Lanarkshire

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Leonora O'Brien ◽  
Victoria Clements ◽  
Mike Roy ◽  
Neil Macnab
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Housing Development ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Small Ring ◽  
Late Bronze Age ◽  
River Terraces

Fieldwork at Newton Farm, Cambuslang (NGR NS 672 610) was undertaken in advance of housing development in 2005–6. A cluster of six shallow Neolithic pits were excavated, and a collection of 157 round-based, carinated bowl sherds and a quern fragment were recovered from them. The pits produced a date range of 3700 to 3360 cal BC. Most of the pits yielded burnt material, and one of the pits showed evidence of in situ burning. The pottery may form ‘structured deposits’. A Bronze Age adult cremation placed in a Food Vessel dated to 3610±30 BP (2040–1880 cal BC) was set in a wider landscape of single and multiple cremations and inhumations on the river terraces overlooking the Clyde. A possible unurned cremation was also identified. This was cut by the course of a small ring-ditch dated to the very late Bronze Age or early Iron Age 2520±30 BP (800–530cal BC).

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