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SYRO-PALESTINIAN ARCHAEOLOGY (ARKY 3170A)

Summer 2014 - UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

TIME: Mondays and Wednesdays 1:00-3:50 pm
LOCATION: University Hall D634 (tentative)

INSTRUCTOR: Darren M. Joblonkay
OFFICE: C855
OFFICE HOURS: Wednesdays, 11:00 am-1:00 pm or by appointment
TELEPHONE: 403-329-2081
EMAIL: darren.joblonkay@uleth.ca

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The growth and development of the discipline of Syro-Palestinian Archaeology in a general survey of
exploration, excavation and scholarly research; and an examination of the archaeological evidence from
prehistoric times to the end of the Iron Age.
Prerequisite(s): One of Archaeology 1000 or a previous course (3.0 credit hours) in Archaeology

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E. New York: Doubleday.

SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTBOOKS
Adams, R.B. (2008). Jordan: An Archaeological Reader. London: Equinox Publishing Ltd.

Akkermans, P.M.M.G. and Shwartz, G.M. (2003). The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-
Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (ca. 16,000-300 BC). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Levy, T.E. (1995). The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land. London: Leicester University Press.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE MATERIAL
Bryce, T. (2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near
East from the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire. New York: Routledge.

Ehrich, R.W. (1992). Chronologies in Old World Archaeology. 2 Volumes. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.

Gilboa, A., Aviram, J., and Stern, E. (1993). The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the
Holy Land. Jerusalem: Carta.

Meyers, E.M. (1997). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Negev, A. and Gibson, S. (2005). Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum.

Potts, D.T. (2012). A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Wiley-Blackwell.

Steiner, M.L. and Killebrew A.E. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant, ca. 8000-
332 BCE. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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COURSE PRCIS
This course is designed to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the archaeology of the Levant (Israel,
Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and south-eastern Turkey) from prehistory to the end of the Iron Age.
Through an examination of the material representations expressed across space and through time,
students will become familiar with the diverse complex societies of the Levant; their material culture,
past social formations, and historical discourses. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of
complex society in the region and interactions with the neighboring civilizations of Egypt, Syro-Anatolia,
and Mesopotamia. Attention will be given to the history of archaeological research in the region and
juxtaposed by discussions of contemporary field techniques and methods of archaeological analysis and
interpretation. Students will explore themes ranging the gamut from gender and identity to
international exchange and interaction to urbanism and the household representing the current state of
archaeological and anthropological research in the Levant. This course will provide students with a
robust understanding of the archaeology of the Levant and the unique problems inherent in
archaeological efforts to represent and interpret the past societies of this region.

COURSE DESIGN
Lectures
Students are expected to attend and participate in all lecture sessions. Students will be tested
primarily from material discussed in the lectures, which is not found in the required textbook. As such,
attending the lectures is necessary for the successful completion of the course.

Readings
The required readings are an integral part of the course and contain supplementary material that
will complement the lectures and will be included in all examinations. These readings are almost
exclusively from your course textbook, Mazars The Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, and it is
expected that they will be completed on a weekly basis.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS
1. Participation
Students are expected to attend all lectures and are encouraged to participate in class
discussions. Attendance will be noted after the interim break of each class and will be worth 5% of
the final grade.

2. Site Report
Each student is responsible to submit a written site report by June 18
th
, 2014, which will be
worth 25% of the final grade. The assignment will be approximately 10 pages in length (including
bibliography), be type-written, double-spaced, in 12-point font with 1-inch margins. The report
must include proper citations and a bibliography. Citations can be in any of the most commonly
used styles (e.g. APA, MLA, and Chicago). Students who are unfamiliar with citation standards are
encouraged to view the online guides available through the University of Lethbridge Library website:
http://libguides.uleth.ca/citation.
For the site report, students will focus on a particular Levantine archaeological site. Students
may choose any Levantine site as long as it falls within the chronological periods covered in the class
(i.e. Paleolithic-Iron Age). That being said, students are encouraged to choose a site that is covered
in the class, since each of the major sites covered will have an extensive and thorough publication
record, which will help facilitate the students own research. While this assignment is titled a site
report, students are discouraged from simply summarizing past excavation reports. In other words,
students should not simply re-iterate everything found at a site. Instead, the site should be used as
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a case study to discuss a relevant research problem or thesis. The issue being addressed should be
clearly stated at the beginning of your paper, and your writing should focus on that issue. The
format and content of the site report (along with examples) will be discussed in greater depth in
class, and students are encouraged to discuss their ideas and gather feedback from the instructor
before writing and submitting the final draft. Students are reminded to research the site thoroughly,
evaluate and/or critique the various arguments, and use these to frame their own points and
arguments.
Students who may be unfamiliar with the conventional format and content of a research paper
are also encouraged to refer to the various help guides available through the University of
Lethbridge Library website: http://libguides.uleth.ca/content.php?pid=469156&sid=3951415.
Students who may need further assistance with writing their papers are also encouraged to take
advantage of the amazing resources available at the University of Lethbridge, such as the Academic
Writing Centre: http://www.uleth.ca/artsci/academic-writing/writing-centre.
The site report must be submitted in printed form to the instructor. Please make sure to keep
all notes and preliminary drafts of the assignment until it has been returned to you, along with a
back-up copy on your computer after printing it.
Late assignments will be penalized with a 5% deduction per calendar day (including weekends
and holidays) for 1 week beyond the scheduled due date, to a maximum of 35% of their value.
Failure to hand in an assignment within 1 week of the scheduled due date will result in a 0. Late
assignments may be submitted electronically to halt further deductions, but an identical paper copy
must be submitted as soon as possible. Students unable to meet the deadlines are encouraged to
email the instructor as soon as possible. Please note that documentation of medical conditions or
serious personal issues must be provided for a deadline extension to be considered.

3. Examinations
There will be two examinations: a Midterm (May 28
th
, 2014) and a Final (June 25, 2014). The
examinations will cover material from both the lectures and the required readings. The layout of
each exam will be disclosed in class prior to the date of the exam.
A Midterm examination will be held in class on May 28
th
, 2014 and will be worth 30% of the final
grade. The midterm examination will cover only material from the lectures and required readings up
to that date.
The final examination will be held during the Summer Session I examination period (June 25,
2014) and will be worth 40% of the final grade. The final examination is non-cumulative and will
cover only the material from the lectures and required readings from the second half of the
semester.

GRADING SCHEME

Attendance/Participation: 5%
Midterm Examination (May 28): 30%
Site Report (June 18): 25%
Final Examination (non-cumulative; June 25): 40%
Final Grade 100%





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GRADING SYSTEM

A+ 91-100 C+ 67-69
A 84-90 C 64-66
A- 80-83 C- 60-63
B+ 77-79 D+ 57-59
B 74-76 D 50-56
B- 70-73 F 0-49

COURSE SCHEDULE (Summer Session I May 7 - June 26)
WEEK ONE:
May 7 First day of courses for Summer Session I.
SESSION 1: Introduction and the History of the Discipline
Themes: Chronology; Method and Theory; Nomenclature; Women in Levantine Archaeology
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 10-33.

May 9 Last day to register and add/drop for Summer Session I, for all students.

WEEK TWO:
May 12 Registration for Audit Students for Summer Session I.
SESSION 2a: The Geographic Setting
Themes: Archaeologies of Landscape, Space and Place Making in the Ancient Levant
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 1-10.

SESSION 2b: Pleistocene and Early Holocene Hunters and Gatherers: the Paleolithic and Epi-Paleolithic
Themes: Evolutive Processes; Hunters and Gatherers; Technological Innovations
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 35-37.
- Simmons, A.H. (2012). Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Hunters and Gatherers: The Levant.
In In D.T. Potts (Ed.). A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, pp. 127-143.
(this article will be provided to you).

May 14
SESSION 3a: The Neolithic Demographic Transition (PPNA Late Neolithic)
Themes: Agriculture and Horticulture; Sedentism; Nascent Pottery
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 38-58.

SESSION 3b: Early Village Life: the Chalcolithic Period
Themes: Evaluating Social Complexity; Nomadism; Specialization
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 38-58.
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WEEK THREE:
May 19 - Victoria Day no class scheduled.

May 21
SESSION 5a: From Early Village Life to the Corporate Village: the Early Bronze Age I
Themes: Ceramic Regionalism; Egyptian Relations; Urbanism and the Household
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 91-108.

SESSION 5b: The Triumph of the Urban Environment: the Early Bronze Age II-III
Themes: Migrating Populations; The Urbanized Landscape
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 108-150.

WEEK FOUR:
May 26
SESSION 6a: The Waxing and Waning of Urban Development in the Southern Levant: the Early Bronze
Age IV (Middle Bronze Age I
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)
Themes: Decentralization; Ruralisation; Oscillating Settlement Patterns
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 151-173.

SESSION 6b: The Complex Polities of the Northern Levant: the Early Bronze Age IV
Themes: City-States, Territorial States, and Empires(?); The Historical Turn (Writing)
Supplementary Reading:
- Akkermans, P.M.M.G and Schwartz, G.M. (2003). The Archaeology of Syria, pp. 233-287 (Chapter
8).

May 28
SESSION 7a: MIDTERM

SESSION 7b: The New Urbanism: The Middle Bronze Age IIA
Themes: Technological Innovation
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 174-191.

WEEK FIVE:
June 2
SESSION 8a: Political Consolidation and Canaanite City-State Culture in the Southern Levant: The
Middle Bronze Age IIB-C
Themes: Canaanite Ritual and Religion; Urban Planning and Fortifications; Warfare
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 191-231.


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The complex chronological nomenclature of the Early Bronze Middle Bronze transition will be discussed in class.
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SESSION 8b: Political Fragmentation: Amorites, Hurrians, Mittannians, and the Hittites in the Northern
Levant: The Middle Bronze Age II and the Late Bronze Age I
Themes: Socio-Historical and Political Geography
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 191-231 (same as
above).

June 4
SESSION 9: Re-negotiating Political Sovereignty and Establishing Socio-Economic Networks: The Late
Bronze Age I
Themes: Establishing Networks of Communication and Exchange; Egyptian Imperialism
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 232-257.

WEEK SIX:
June 9
SESSION 10a: The Cosmopolitan Mediterranean: the Late Bronze Age II
Themes: Aegean-Levantine Relations; City-State Culture; Foreign Exchange and Diplomacy;
Internationalism
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 257-294.

SESSION 10b: The Crisis Years: The Late Bronze Age Early Iron Age Transition
Themes: Collapse; Population Movements

June 11
SESSION 11a: Renegotiating Identities: The Iron Age I (South)
Themes: Engendering Space; Ethnicity; Settlement Archaeology
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 295-367.

SESSION 11b: Renegotiating Identities: The Iron Age I (North)
Themes: Continuity vs. Change; Hybridization

WEEK SEVEN:
June 16
SESSION 12a: Emerging Complex Polities of the Southern Levant: The Iron Age IIA
Themes: Biblical Archaeology; Historicity; Minimalists vs. Maximalists
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 368-402.

SESSION 12b: Autonomous Polities of the Northern Levant: The Iron Age IIA
Themes: Archaeology of Performance

June 18 SITE REPORT DUE
SESSION 13a: The Balkanization of the Levant: The Iron Age IIB (South)
Themes: Historical Documentation and Archaeology; Monarchy and Kingship
Required Reading:
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- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 403-462.

SESSION 13b: The Balkanization of the Levant: The Iron Age IIB (North)
Themes: Power and Political Authority

WEEK EIGHT:
June 23
SESSION 14a: On the Edge of Empires: The Iron Age IIC
Themes: Art-Historical Approaches and Iconography; Imperialism
Required Reading:
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 403-462 (same as
previous week).
- Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible: 10,000-586 B.C.E., pp. 531-550.

SESSION 14b: REVIEW

June 25 Summer Session I final examinations for Monday-Wednesday courses.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
According to Section A of the Student Discipline Policy Academic Offences (University of Lethbridge
Calendar 2014-15, pp. 78) the integrity of the University and of the degrees the University confers is
dependent upon the honesty and the soundness of the teacher-student relationship, as well as the
integrity of the evaluation process. Thus, it is critical both to maintain our community which honours
the values of honesty, trust, respect, fairness and responsibility and to protect you, the students within
this community, and the value of the degree towards which you are all diligently working.

Students are responsible to familiarize themselves, and conduct their academic discourse within the
guidelines of academic integrity stipulated in Section 4 of the Academic Regulations, Policies, and
Program Requirements in the University of Lethbridge Academic Calendar 2014-15. As a guideline, it is
an offense for students:
To represent the words, ideas, images, or data of another person as his or her own.
In the course of an examination, to obtain or attempt to obtain information from another
student or other unauthorized source, or give or attempt to give information to another
student.
To submit in any course or program of the student, without both the knowledge and approval of
the person or persons to whom it is submitted, all or a substantial portion of any academic
assignment for which credit has previously been obtained or which has been or is being
submitted in another course or program of study at the University or elsewhere.
Knowingly to procure, distribute or receive any confidential academic material such as pending
examinations or laboratory notebooks.
Knowingly to misrepresent material facts to another for the purpose of obtaining academic
advantage or credit.

There are other offences covered under the academic regulations and policies of the University of
Lethbridge, but the above are by far the most common. Please respect these rules and the values which
they protect.

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All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following the procedures outlined in
sections h through m of Section 4 of Part 4 of the University of Lethbridge 2014-15 Academic Calendar.
If you have questions or concerns regarding what constitutes appropriate academic behavior or
appropriate research or citation methods, you are expected to seek out additional information on
academic integrity from your instructor or from other institutional resources
(e.g. libguides.uleth.ca/plagiarism).

ACCESSABILITY SERVICES
As per the University of Lethbridge 2014-15 Academic Calendar (pp. 88), students are encouraged to
act responsibly by striving to be as self-reliant and as independent as possible, and by fully engaging in
their academic endeavours. However, it is understood that students may have unique needs, and a
response to such needs must be made on an individual basis. Therefore, students with disabilities that
are in need of assistance are encouraged to contact the Accommodated Learning Centre (B760; 403-
329-2766). Further information regarding the University of Lethbridges disability policies can be found
online at www.uleth.ca/policy/students-disabilities-policy, or by visiting the Accommodated Learning
Centres website at www.uleth.ca/ross/accommodated-learning-centre/.