Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley

This volume is one in a series of three which presents the results of the excavations of the multiperiod settlement of Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Central Transjordanian Jordan Valley (Volume II on the Middle and Late Bronze Ages was published in 2006; Volume III on the Iron Age is in preparation). The present publication is the first final publication of an Early Bronze Age town in the Transjordanian Jordan Valley. The site was excavated between 1989 and 2001 under the direction of the author. The Early Bronze Age town, which belongs to the conventional EB IB and II, was the largest of all settlements. Excavation and processing methods are described in Chapter 1. Stratigraphy, architecture and pottery are presented as an integrated entity in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 presents typo-chronological conclusions on locally produced and imported ceramic wares, the latter including metal ware from Lebanon and the rare finds of cylindrical jars from the Egyptian Naqada III culture. Chapter 4 deals with the lithics, and Chapters 5 to 7 with atomic-absorption spectroscopy of copper objects, the climate, the fauna and flora, and radiocarbon datings. In Chapter 8, Discussions and Conclusions, the general and specific environment, the settlement, the people and their administration, population statistics, economy and communication routes are discussed. This chapter also contains analyses of the architectural features and installations and the small finds. Problems related to synchronization and terminology are debated. The section which deals with relative chronology presents the correlation of the established local six sub-periods with the regional and interregional evidence. An absolute time frame between c. 3150 and 2950/2900 B.C. is suggested for the duration of the Early Bronze Age settlement at Tell Abu al-Kharaz. Finally, a number of hypotheses on the rise and fall of the Early Bronze Age societies of Tell Abu al-Kharaz are offered. Special studies are presented in four appendices: Appendix 1 describes various analytical methods applied to the beads of a complete necklace, Appendix 2 offers a typology and possible meaning of numerous potmarks from the site, and Appendices 3 and 4 deal with textiles and their production.