University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Papers

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of this Version

2007

Publication Source

Varia Anatolica

Volume

19

Issue

1

Start Page

179

Last Page

203

Abstract

This article presents a reading of the data of Umm el-Marra (plain Jabbul, western Syria), relating to the transition from the Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age may contribute to the identification of a crisis during this period. Results of analyzes archaeobotanical, published for the first time, are also discussed. In Umm el-Marra, social, economic and cultural changes coincide with a change in material culture during the transition BA - BM; in some cases, it seems plausible to associate these changes to a crisis by crossing the complex local companies, but other interpretations are also possible. Among these, it is possible that around 2000 BC. AD Umm el Marra was abandoned temporarily and V that the earliest occupation of Middle Bronze is relatively small extension. The ideological and political change is illustrated by the abandonment of mortuary complex Bronze final of the Acropolis ancient site, for an elite, and by changes in mortuary practices between the Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age. Economic innovations are evident in the Middle Bronze Age in the significant increase in the hunting of wild animals, especially horses, a practice that can be interpreted as a response to a natural or social environment experiencing high stress. Alongside this development, archaeobotanical data indicate a change in feed-related practices. The decline in occupancy in the semi-arid part of the Eastern Jabbul during the transition BA - BM could be interpreted as indicative of a crisis; this, however, like the other mentioned here needs to be deepened by further research.

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Date Posted: 10 November 2016

This document has been peer reviewed.