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Tradition and Innovation in Ancient Jordan: Ceramic Horizons and Technical Know-How from the Formation to the Crisis of Early Urban Communities

CIOFFI, Carolina

The history of the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3800-1950 BCE) is marked by progressive urbanization and a rich variety of material culture. The urban dynamics of this region have sparked extensive debate over conceptual and chronological issues concerning urban development, phases of crisis, and transitions between periods. These issues are further highlighted by overlapping ceramic horizons, requiring the introduction of transitional categories for a nuanced understanding of socio-cultural dynamics, particularly between EB I/II, EB II/III, and EB III/IV.

This study focuses on the area encompassing the modern regions of Madaba, Amman, and Karak, including sites such as Khirbat Iskandar, Tall Madaba, Khirbat al-Mukhayat, Tall al-Umayri, Al-Lahun, Bab adh-Dhra‘, Numayra, Khirbat Hamra Ifdan, and Barqa al-Hatiya.

This research aims to reconstruct the ceramic horizons and trace the evolution of production techniques in the 4th-3rd millennium BCE, reexamining the socio-economic development and assessing the technical knowledge of communities in the central plateau of Jordan during phases of formation, crisis, and reorganization of complex societies.

Session 4. Crafting Identity and Clusters through Material Culture, Iconography and Texts [info]