Acting Locally: Rethinking the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I From a Village Perspective

FAIN: FA-56075-11

J.P. Dessel
University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Knoxville, TN 37916-3801)

This project will explore a long neglected topic in the archaeology of the Southern Levant, the nature of village life in the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age I (1,550-1,000 BCE). Much of what is known about the Late Bronze Age is derived from the excavation of urban settlements, from ancient archives, and the Hebrew Bible. Based on these sources, the Late Bronze Age is traditionally portrayed as a period of sophisticated internationalism, bustling international trade, and a hierarchical city-state organization. Missing from all these interpretations is a consideration of multi-period village sites. Recent excavations have confirmed the existence of these villages, which will provide a corrective to the urban bias in the current archaeological and historical interpretations of these periods. This "bottom up" approach will allow us to recognize that many forms of social, political and economic change and vibrancy often take place at the local level.