Chapter 4 Course Notes for Biblical Archaeology - REL 433 - Dr. Rollinson's courses and resources

The Early Bronze Age - ca. 3,300 BC - 2,300 BC

What was going on elsewhere :
Egypt - the land was unified under Pharaoh Menes or Narmer, followed by the first dynasties - organized country and religion. The Potter's wheel and Writing were developed.
Mesopotamia - Sumerian culture develops at Ur. City states developed throughout Mesopotamia. Sargon founded the Akkadian Empire ca. 2,370 BC.
Syria - the city-state of Ebla, founded by a Semitic people who had a form of writing using cuneiform symbols pressed into clay. Thousands of clay tablets were stacked in "libraries" or palace archives.
Crete - the Minoan civilization was beginning. They were literate, probably peaceful - their palaces and towns were not fortified, they were mariners, with a religion which involved bulls and blood sacrifices.

In Israel/Palestine

Period	EB I	EB II	EB III
	3,300 - 3,050 BC	3,050 - 2,700 BC	2,700 - 3,300 BC
Cultures	diverse, varied from one region to another	becoming more homogeneous	continuation of EB II
Settlement Pattern	in fertile regions suitable for agriculture	continuation of EB I	continuation of EB II
Typical Settlement	unfortified villages	fortified urban centers	fortifications increased - walls thickened, or new walls built
Agriculture	new crops : grapes, figs Sinai - continues more like Chalcolithic	cereals - barley, wheat legumes - peas, beans, chick-peas Flax olives, dates, grapes, figs, pomegranates farmers were producing more than enough for local needs Animal-drawn plough	continuation of EB II
Buildings	rounded or elliptical houses temples	palaces, granaries, water systems rectangular houses - "broad houses"	multi-roomed houses granary complex at Beth Yerah
City Gates	no city walls	simple, straight through entrances
Burial Customs	cemeteries; family graves; grave goods; secondary burials	multiple burials in a cave; primary articulated burials grave goods
Pottery	great variety, local styles; decoration with red geometric patterns; new forms	wide variety of storage and cooking pots Arad and the Sinai exchanging pottery in the north, the pottery also includes flat platters	becoming more homogenous - localized mass production ? similarities with pottery from sites on the coast of Syria and Lebanon, indicating that the inhabitants shared the same culture Khirbet Kerak Ware - produced by immigrants from Anatolia ?
Weapons	copper axheads, tanged daggers, spearheads
Art Objects	clay, stone, ivory figures of animals Seals and seal-impressions - local Stamp Seals, Cylinder Seals - from Mesopotamia ?
relations with Egypt	invasion; military and/or trading outposts	Egypt withdraws trading contacts continue	Egypt develops maritime contact with Syria, ignores Israel

Glossary

p.91 - monumental architecture - large buildings such as palaces, temples, public granaries
p.92 - Anatolia - western coast of what is now Turkey
         sedentary agrarian - farming, with people staying in one place
p.96 - nawamis - round stone burial places in the Sinai. The oldest existing roofed structures in the world
p.97 - apsidal - shaped like an apse - three straight walls, fourth wall semicircular
p.98 - masseboth (plural), massebah (singular) - standing stones in cult centers or shrines
p.101 - slip - mixture of fine clay and water, consistency of heavy cream, used to put a finishing surface on pottery vessels before firing. can be colored to give a decorative finish
p.102 - omphalos - navel. An omphalos-depressed base has a central depression, like that of a wine bottle
p.103 - carinated - keeled, ridged
         a tanged dagger has a flat tongue of metal continuing from the blade, used to affix the handle
         basalt - black volcanic stone from the east side of the Jordan valley and from the vicinity of Capernaum
p.104 - tête-bêche - a pair of objects, where one is reversed and upside-down
         glyptic - carving, particularly on gem-stones
         glyph - carved work
         indigenous - refers to a people or culture which have grown up in a region, usually for several generations - as contrasted with immigrants
p.119 - postern - a small hidden gate in a defensive wall. The textbook uses the term improperly - a postern gate should lead to the outside
p.121 - cyclopeian walls - built with huge stones
p.122 - glacis - a steep slippery slope in front of a city's defensive wall. Its purpose is to stop enemies being able to rush at the walls or bring up siege equipment or battering rams
p.137 - anthopomorphic - shaped like a human being
p.144 - etiological - making up a story to explain the name of a place

Hebrew and Arabic Words

Hebrew	Arabic	English
	bab	mouth, gate, entrance
beth		house
en, ein	ain	spring of water
ha-	el-, ed-, en-	the, of the
har	jebel	mountain
hurvath	kirbeth	ruin
nahal	wadi	stream, wash, dry gully with flash floods when it rains
tel	tell	hill now used for a mound formed by successive occupation layers of a town
Useful phrases
boker tov	sabakhil kher	good morning
shalom alechem	salaam aleikum	peace to you (greeting)
v-alechem shalom	waleikum salaam	and to you, peace (response)
todah	shukran	thank you
	afwan	you're welcome

Dr. Shirley's Web Courses

REL 433 - Biblical Archaeology

Mazar - Chapter 4

The Emergence of Cities

The Early Bronze Age - ca. 3,300 BC - 2,300 BC

Glossary

Hebrew and Arabic Words