Seeds of Civilization: Bronze Age Rural

Economy and Ecology in the

Southern Levant
Patricia L. Fall,* Lee Lines,** and Steven E. Falconer***

*Department of Geography, Arizona State University

**Department of Environmental Studies, Rollins College

***Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University

This paper considers the economic and environmental impacts of emerging regional commerce that
accompanied the rise and collapse of early Near Eastern urbanism. We integrate regional data on
settlement and vegetation with detailed evidence of rural agriculture from two Bronze Age villages
in the Jordan Valley. This approach is explicitly rural, in light of the largely rural character of
Levantine civilization, and in response to more orthodox analytical perspectives focused on the first
cities. Long-standing interest in the advent of agriculture now reveals that intensive localized
depletion of woodland resources followed the aggregation of sedentary agrarian communities in the
eighth through sixth millennia B.C., while the development of specialized pastoralism established
one potential source of more extensive, subsequent defoliation. We argue, however, that regional
human impacts on Levantine vegetation were triggered only with the genesis of Bronze Age cities
and urbanized economies in the third and second millennia B.C. Thereafter, these regional impacts
molded an ever-shifting mosaic of anthropogenic and natural landscapes. Rank-size analysis
illustrates the modestly integrated, largely rural nature of Bronze Age settlement in the southern
Levant. In this context, Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat provide appropriate examples of the
resilient agrarian villages that persisted through the dramatic collapse and rebirth of early Levantine
cities. Excavated plant remains and animal bones show that their inhabitants responded to the
development of Bronze Age urbanism with a shift toward increased management of taxa with greater
market potential, tempered by some retention of local economic autonomy. Shifts to greater sheep
husbandry and, most significantly, cultivation of orchard crops like olives, figs, and grapes, signal a
second wave of economic innovation that fundamentally altered the agricultural strategies of village
farmers and their exploitation of the surrounding countryside. Thus the mixed cultural and natural
landscapes that have supported long-term agriculture in the Levant reflect a legacy of discontinuous
changes in rural economy and ecology in response to the waxing and waning of urbanized society
and regional mercantile exchange. Key Words: agricultural intensification, Bronze Age, environmental
impacts, Near East, orchard cultivation, southern Levant, urbanism.

S
outhwestern Asia is particularly noteworthy
as a heartland of early urbanized civiliza-
tion. From the ancient Near East comes
much of our understanding of the rise of the first
cities and state-level governments, monumental
architecture, formal religious institutions, writ-
ing, and mathematics. Despite the fact that the
vast majority (80–90 percent) of preindustrialized
populations, in the Near East and elsewhere, led
agrarian lifestyles and lived in rural communities
(Mann 1986), only minimal attention has been
directed to detailed studies of rural communities
within the fabric of urbanized societies (Eickel-
mann 1989:55; Schwartz and Falconer 1994:1;
Butzer 1996). The traditional analytical orienta-
tion toward early urbanism is “from the top
down,” captured most bluntly by Oswald
Spengler’s generalization that “world history is
the history of city people” (1923:106). A common
working assumption of this perspective holds that
relatively homogeneous farming communities in
the countryside compliantly supplied tax reve-
nues, conscripted labor, and surplus foodstuffs for
more dynamic and centrally important cities in-
habited by merchants, craftsmen, bureaucrats,
and urban elites (e.g., Redman 1978:215–16).

Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88(1), 1998, pp. 107–125

©1998 by Association of American Geographers
Published by Blackwell Publishers, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, and 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK.
108 Fall, Lines, and Falconer
As a result of this urban bias, we are equipped
currently with only a rudimentary comprehen-
sion of village economies and their fundamental
roles in the coalescence or collapse of early civi-
lizations (Schwartz and Falconer 1994). Many
early civilizations, like those of the southern Le-
vant (i.e., the region of modern Israel, Palestine,
and Jordan), reveal greater long-term continuity
in rural settlement and land use than in urban
development (Falconer 1994). In such contexts
marked by dramatically discontinuous urbanism,
villages may provide our best evidence of long-
term economic organization. In fact, geographical
research has a strong tradition focused on rural
agrarian systems within larger political economies
(Bassett 1988; Zimmerer 1991, 1993). Agricul-
tural systems incorporating both subsistence
farming and surplus-oriented production have
been documented in a number of comparable
settings, most notably in the New World tropics
(Whitmore and Turner 1992; Denevan 1996).
Thus rural investigations of early civilization pro-
vide an avenue of inquiry that is both particularly
appropriate for the ancient southern Levant and
more widely applicable to a variety of geographic
research settings in both the past and present.
Our research revolves around the question of
how field studies of agrarian economy and ecology
can illuminate the roles of rural communities in
larger trajectories of urban growth and collapse.
We ask more specifically how small farming vil-
lages in the southern Levant contributed and
responded to the rise and fall of cities during the
Bronze Age, this region’s first major period of
urbanism. We argue that our perspective “from
the bottom up” is especially well suited to the
southern Levant amid its long legacy of sedentary
agriculture, urban-rural dynamics, and their eco-
logical consequences. The extent to which we
offer new insights on rural economy and ecology
may stem from this study’s Levantine focus. The
larger value of such investigations, however, also
lies in their potential applicability to other regions
or time periods.
Our alternative approach to the development
of early civilizations begins with an overview of
early agriculture, human settlement, and their
ecological impacts on the ancient Near Eastern
landscape. Rank-size analyses then contrast the
central importance of dramatically large Mesopo-
tamian cities that were intimately linked to their
surrounding hinterlands, with the less integrated,
more commonly rural settlement of the southern
Levant. Our rank-size depictions also highlight
the persistent foundation of villages that underlay
the waxing and waning of early Levantine urban-
ism. Most important, we offer a unique compari-
son of rural agrarian behavior during the
pervasive abandonment and sudden rejuvena-
tion of this region’s Bronze Age cities (ca.
2300–1500 B.C.).
Unlike prior studies of the ancient Near East,
we draw from broad rank-size perspectives on
early urbanism (Falconer and Savage 1995) to
identify the hierarchical characteristics of Levan-
tine settlement systems, thereby providing a re-
gional backdrop for a case study of Tell Abu
en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat, two Bronze Age vil-
lages in the Jordan Valley. Ni‘aj, occupied during
the abandonment of cities throughout the south-
ern Levant in Early Bronze IV, and Hayyat, inhab-
ited during the subsequent development of
Middle Bronze Age cities and urbanized society,
provide data that span the dramatic rebirth of
Levantine cities and permit an assessment of rural
responses to the highly variable fortunes and in-
fluences of early city life.
Our central hypothesis derives from the tradi-
tional expectation that cities dictated urban-rural
relations in most, if not all, early urbanized civili-
zations. Accordingly, traditional approaches ex-
pect that rural economy and ecology will reflect
the oscillating influences of urban communities
through time. If these expectations hold for early
civilization in the southern Levant, we should
generate several interrelated results: (1) rank-size
patterns of Bronze Age settlement should be
comparable to those for the other best-known
cases of initial urbanism in the Near East (e.g.,
Mesopotamia) from which most traditional inter-
pretations of this region’s early urban societies
have been drawn (e.g., Adams 1981); (2) evi-
dence from Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj, which was occu-
pied during an interval of city abandonment, and
Tell el-Hayyat, inhabited during the subsequent
apex of early urbanism, should reveal fundamen-
tally disjunct patterns of crop and herd manage-
ment; (3) data from both villages spanning the
collapse and redevelopment of Levantine urban-
ism should document increasing rural participa-
tion in regional economies and ecological
impacts.
This exploration of Bronze Age rural life uses
rank-size analysis to assess the first expectation of
the null hypothesis presented above by describing
the interregional settlement distinctions between
the largely rural southern Levant and ancient
Mesopotamia, a heartland of cities. Rank-size
 Seeds of Civilization
analysis subsequently reflects structural changes
in Levantine coastal settlement between the ur-
ban nadir of the Early Bronze IV Period (ca.
2300–2000 B.C.) and its later apex in the Middle
Bronze Age (ca. 2000–1500 B.C.)
Our investigation then focuses on plant and
animal management as they are reflected in
evidence excavated from Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and
Tell el-Hayyat. Although previous discussions
of Tell el-Hayyat have considered evidence of
ritual behavior (Magness-Gardiner and Fal-
coner 1994) and selected aspects of household
subsistence (Falconer 1995), this paper marks
the first detailed synthesis of rural economy and
ecology at both communities, which were in-
habited during a remarkable process of regional
reurbanization.
Our analyses of regional settlement and rural
economy do not readily conform to the expecta-
tions of our central hypothesis. The results that
depart from these expectations, especially the
larger implications of crop production (especially
orchard cultivation; see Lines 1995) and animal
management, allow us to contribute a more so-
phisticated appreciation of how small agrarian
communities responded to the rise and collapse
of early urbanized civilization in the southern
Levant and elsewhere.
Setting the Stage: Agrarian
Settlement and Society in the
Southern Levant
Near Eastern agrarian life developed on a land-
scape molded by a long legacy of human impact.
Table 1. Archaeological Chronology for the Southern Levant, Incorporating the Settlement Sequence at
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat
Approx. Duration
Cultural Period (yrs. B.C.)
Late Bronze 1500–1200
Middle Bronze IIC 1650–1500
Middle Bronze IIB 1800–1650
Middle Bronze IIA 1900–1800
Middle Bronze II A 2000–1900
Early Bronze IV 2300–2000
Early Bronze II–III 2900–2300
Early Bronze I 3200–2900
Chalcolithic 4500–3200
Pottery Neolithic 6000–4500
Pre-Pottery Neolithic 8000–6000
109
Much of its environmental degradation has been
ascribed to the gradually increasing aggregation
of town and city populations, and their corre-
spondingly enhanced reliance on agriculture and
pastoralism (Miller 1991). Repeated cycles of sta-
bility and perturbation, however, have led to the
coevolution of productive agricultural systems
and sustainable anthropogenic environments
that have supported rural and urban societies for
thousands of years (Butzer 1996). Near Eastern
urbanism, notable for its early genesis and grand
scale, is equally notorious for its repeated episodes
of dramatic rise and collapse. When dissected in
greater detail, the course of human impact ac-
cordingly has been neither continuous nor direc-
tional. Lengthy spans of stability for the
Mediterranean landscape were punctuated by
shorter episodes of mismanagement, often fol-
lowed by ecological recovery (Butzer 1996). The
following chronological overview summarizes the
long-term economic and political circumstances
that fueled the advent, collapse, and rebirth of
Bronze Age Levantine urbanism, which this study
appraises from a rural vantage point.
Although the first cities in the Near East were
not established until the late fourth and early
third millennia B.C. (Postgate 1994:22–35), the
first aggregated communities arose in the Pre-
Pottery Neolithic period shortly before 7000 B.C.
(Rollefson et al. 1992) (Table 1). These early
communities laid the foundation for the rise of
social, political, and economic centers in the re-
gion. Aggregated communities, such as ‘Ain
Ghazal and Jericho (Figure 1), grew rapidly to
large size with thousands of inhabitants, and then
collapsed dramatically around 6000 B.C.
(Rollefson et al. 1992).
Regional Settlement at
Settlement Ni‘aj and Hayyat
Urban recession
Height of urbanism Hayyat Phase 2
Height of urbanism Hayyat Phase 3
Cities redevelop Hayyat Phase 4
Cities reappear Hayyat Phase 5
Urban collapse Ni‘aj Upper Phase
First cities
Village-level farming
Village-level farming
Village-level farming
First farming towns
110 Fall, Lines, and Falconer

The inhabitants of these Neolithic communi-
ties implemented new economic strategies, espe-
cially the cultivation of cereals and legumes (van
Zeist 1988), and the domestication of goats and
sheep (Helmer 1989; Rodrigue 1992). As the
population of Neolithic towns expanded and
their croplands grew, seasonal and permanent
herding camps were established in their ever more
distant pasturage, setting the stage for specialized
mobile pastoralism (Köhler-Rollefson 1992). Lo-
calized resource depletion due to harvesting of
fuelwood and construction timbers, as well as
repeated house plastering, generated resource de-
mands for these early towns that rapidly could
have exceeded the productive capacity of their
immediate environments (Köhler-Rollefson
1988; Köhler-Rollefson and Rollefson 1990;
Rollefson et al. 1992). Archaeological data from
‘Ain Ghazal suggest that this Neolithic town, and
perhaps many of its contemporaries, eventually
were abandoned in the wake of interrelated en-
vironmental impacts that began with intense lo-
calized deforestation (Köhler-Rollefson and
Rollefson 1990), and subsequently became am-
plified by extensive herding (Köhler-Rollefson
1992). Strikingly, aggregated towns did not reap-
pear on the Near Eastern landscape for almost
three millennia.
Following the abandonment of Pre-Pottery
Neolithic aggregated towns, more modest village-
level settlements characterized the southern Le-
vant through the Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic,
and Early Bronze I periods (ca. 6000–2900 B.C.)
(Joffe 1993; Levy 1995). The subsequent devel-
opment of urbanized society during the Early and
Middle Bronze ages marked the florescence of
civilization, associated with the Canaanites of the
Old Testament. The success of Canaanite urban-

Figure 1. Prehistoric sites in the southern Levant. (a) Location of lake basins, which provide paleoecological records
of past vegetation, and of prehistoric communities, which provide data on ancient agrarian economy. (b) Enlargement
of inset details the locations of Tell el-Hayyat, Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj, and other Bronze Age settlements in the Jordan
Valley.
 Seeds of Civilization
ism oscillated dramatically, however, through the
third and second millennia B.C. (Table 1).
The initial urbanism of Early Bronze II–III (ca.
2900–2300 B.C.) paralleled the rise of the Egyp-
tian state during Dynasties I–VI (Kantor
1992:17–21; Stager 1992:40–41). Shortly there-
after, Egypt entered the First Intermediate Period,
during which centralized authority collapsed and
regional economic ties were attenuated (Stager
1992:41). The southern Levant simultaneously
experienced near-wholesale abandonment of
towns and cities during Early Bronze IV (ca.
2300–2000 B.C.) (Dever 1995). In striking con-
trast to those in preceding and subsequent peri-
ods, Early Bronze IV settlements were small, often
inhabited seasonally, and located at the arid mar-
gins of the southern Levant. The most influential
explanatory model for Early Bronze IV society
posits a largely pastoralized economy involving
nonsedentary populations who moved seasonally
between lowland winter camps around the desert
fringes of the southern Levant and upland sum-
mer pasturage in the hills of Palestine and
Transjordan (Dever 1995). But recent excava-
tions of Early Bronze IV villages (e.g., Khirbet
Iskander [Richard 1986] and Tell Umm Hammad
[Helms 1986]) show that a significant sedentary
rural population also persisted through the aban-
donment of Levantine towns and cities. Tell Abu
en-Ni‘aj, which was first inhabited at the begin-
ning of the Early Bronze IV Period and abandoned
at its end, provides our most substantial body of
evidence for a year-round farming community
during this interval most commonly interpreted
in terms of nonsedentary pastoralized society.
Canaanite cities were rapidly reestablished,
and expanded in size and number during the
subsequent Middle Bronze Age (Falconer 1994;
Ilan 1995). The beginning of this urban heyday
coincided with the reemergence of state-level
authority and far-flung economic influence of
Middle Kingdom Egypt. Middle Bronze IIA
stands as a developmental prelude to the height
of Canaanite urbanism in Middle Bronze II B and
IIC. The Egyptian Execration Texts reflect the
emergence of vaguely defined Levantine “city-
states” with a modicum of political authority dur-
ing these periods (Posener 1971:541, 555). The
hamlet of Tell el-Hayyat was founded at the be-
ginning of Middle Bronze II A and occupied con-
tinuously for approximately five hundred years
until the end of Middle Bronze II C, when it was
abandoned. Farming villages like Hayyat typically
populated the hinterlands around the Levant’s
111
towns and cities. Following political and military
upheavals at the end of the Middle Bronze Age,
Canaanite cities declined in number and size
during the urban recession of the Late Bronze
Age (Gonen 1984). Middle Bronze Age urbanism
is particularly noteworthy because during Middle
Bronze II B and C, the southern Levant’s cities
and regional population grew to levels unsur-
passed until the Roman and Byzantine periods
more than a millennium later (i.e., first century
B.C.–seventh century A.D.; Broshi 1979).
Despite the severity of local forest-resource
exploitation by Neolithic villagers, the Levantine
hill country probably still featured large tracts of
oak/pistachio woodland at the advent of Bronze
Age cities in the third millennium B.C. (Gophna
et al. 1986; Liphschitz et al. 1989). Roughly five
thousand years after the Neolithic domestication
of cereals and legumes, a second wave of agricul-
tural innovation, featuring intensive orchard cul-
tivation, became pronounced during the third
and second millennia B.C. (Miller 1991). As a
consequence, lowlands and river valleys, like the
lands around Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-
Hayyat, became checkered with annual subsis-
tence crops, while perennial fruit-bearing trees
and vines encroached on the rockier slopes of
neighboring uplands (Stager 1985). Despite the
potential for localized Neolithic deforestation, pa-
lynological analysis of lake cores from the Sea of
Galilee and the Dead Sea show that regional im-
pacts on forests and woodlands emerged clearly
only in the wake of Bronze Age urbanism (e.g.,
Baruch 1990). Thus the major impetus for the
anthropogenic vegetation so characteristic of the
Eastern Mediterranean stems from Bronze Age
agricultural intensification—especially for the
export of wine, olive oil, and dried fruit—to serve
emerging urban markets, including Egypt and its
trading partners (Stager 1985; Ben-Tor 1986).
Rank-Size Perspectives on
Early Urbanism
The earliest Near Eastern cities depended, to
varying extents, on agricultural surpluses pro-
vided by farmers and herders in the countryside.
Agrarian populations, in turn, received the mixed
blessings provided by ruling elites, religious insti-
tutions, professional bureaucrats, and mercantile
specialists (Wirth 1938; Childe 1950; Redfield
1953; Weber 1958). Urban-rural relations tended
to be hierarchical, such that more institutional
112 Fall, Lines, and Falconer
decisions and directives were issued from larger
communities. Therefore, relative settlement sizes
often reflect the nature of interactions between
communities in ancient regional economic sys-
tems (e.g., Johnson 1977, 1980).
Rank-size analyses provide empirically-based
descriptive portraits of settlement hierarchies
that are most informative when settlement sys-
tems are compared between regions or over time
within a single region. According to the “rank-
size rule,” the size of any nth-ranked place in a
settlement system may be predicted by dividing
the size of the largest place by n, such that the
rank and population of these cities describe a
log-normal distribution when plotted logarithmi-
cally (Zipf 1949). Applying the “Principle of Least
Effort,” Zipf attributed the rank-size rule to the
interaction of the opposing economic forces of
“diversification” and “unification” (1949:352). In
this study, and in most other analyses of prehis-
toric data, these forces are undocumented and
elude reliable quantification. In such circum-
stances, a special case of the rank-size equation
commonly is applied, in which these forces are
assumed to have been equal (see critical discus-
sions in Moore 1959; Dziewonski 1972; Richard-
son 1973; Kowalewski 1982).
Log-normal distributions in accordance with
the rank-size rule “appear to be typical of larger
countries with a long tradition of urbanism, which
are politically and economically complex” (Berry
1961:582). Since preindustrial settlement sys-
tems rarely follow the predictions of the rank-size
rule, however, their economic interpretation
commonly derives from the manner and degree
to which rank-size distributions depart from log-
normal (e.g., Johnson 1977, 1980; Adams 1981;
Paynter 1983; Falconer and Savage 1995). These
departures are molded by a variety of factors
regarding community interactions within the sys-
tem under analysis. These factors include the
“closure” of the settlement system (i.e., the de-
gree to which interactions are bounded within a
system) and the “interdependence” or “integra-
tion” of communities (i.e., the relative frequency
of interaction between communities in a system)
(Vapnarsky 1968; Johnson 1980).
We apply rank-size analysis to assess the gen-
eral structure of ancient settlement in lower
Mesopotamia and the southern Levant, includ-
ing the Jordan Valley, where Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj
and Tell el-Hayyat are located. We contrast
these two regions because (1) they encompass
the arenas of early Near Eastern urbanism that
have been surveyed most comprehensively, and
(2) reconstructions of early urbanism derived
from the greaterNearEast(especiallyMesopota-
mia) heavily influence many interpretations of
Bronze Age society in the southern Levant. The
Mesopotamian settlement data analyzed here
are drawn from the Warka and Nippur-Adab
surveys directed by Robert Adams, which cov-
ered approximately 6250 km2 in southern Iraq
(Adams and Nissen 1972; Adams 1981). We
focus on the sizes reported for sites occupied
during the Early Dynastic I Period (ca.
2900–2600 B.C.), the first peak of urban devel-
opment in lower Mesopotamia.
Levantine settlement data are gleaned from
a variety of surveys in Israel and western Jordan
that encompass an aggregate area of 15,000
km2 (see Ibrahim et al. 1976, 1988; Broshi and
Gophna 1986; Gophna and Portugali 1988).
Likewise, we feature site sizes for the southern
Levant’s urban apex, Middle Bronze II B–C, as
well as evidence from the urban collapse of
Early Bronze IV. Site locations, sizes, and peri-
ods of occupation were determined using pe-
d e s t r ia n a n d v e hic u l a r r e c onna is s a nce
methods (see discussion in Falconer and Sav-
age 1995). For both regions we consider the
entire inventory of sites reported for the periods
of interest.
During the late fourth and early third millen-
nia B.C., the world’s first large fortified cities
emerged on the plains of southern Mesopota-
mia as an apparent prototype for subsequent
development of urbanism elsewhere in the
Near East. Regional surveys directed by Adams
(Figure 2) show that by the Early Dynastic I
Period (ca. 2900–2600 B.C.), the city of ancient
Uruk emerged as an anomalously large me-
tropolis with a population of “no less than
40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants” (Adams
1981:85) that was almost an order of magni-
tude larger than the region’s second-ranked
city (Figure 3).
Rank-size distributions featuring such a dis-
tinct “primate city” (following Jefferson 1939;
Morse 1962; Mehta 1964; Linsky 1965), asso-
ciated with smaller settlements that adhere
roughly to the rank-size rule, may be attributed
to conditions of low system closure and high
interdependence between communities (Vap-
narsky 1968). Indeed, Uruk stood at the center
of a far-flung network of economic and political
interaction with neighboring regions (Algaze
1989). Uruk’s primate size was achieved
 Seeds of Civilization 113

through the rapid absorption of rural popula-
tions from its immediate hinterlands, reflecting
thepronouncedintegrationofUrukwithanarray
of supporting cities, towns, and villages in lower
Mesopotamia(Adams1981:60–94).
Interestingly, the Levant’s urban zenith
stands in stark contrast to that of Mesopotamia.
Canaanite cities, which very rarely exceeded a
few thousand inhabitants (Falconer 1994), de-
scribe “convex” rank-size distributions in which
large settlements are smaller, and small settle-
ments are larger, than predicted by the rank-
size rule (Johnson 1977:497). Such
distributions, which are increasingly difficult to
observe in the modern world, tend to charac-
terize underdeveloped regions with high clo-
sure and low interdependence (Vapnarsky
1968; Johnson 1980). Ancient Levantine set-
tlement patterns repeatedly produce convex
rank-size distributions, even during the urban
zenith of Middle Bronze II B–C, implying only
modest regional interdependence through the
Bronze Age (Falconer and Savage 1995) (Figure
3).
Some coastal settlement patterns provide
more specific insights on the structure of
Bronze Age urban and rural settlement. For
example, the modest collection of small seden-
tary Early Bronze IV settlements along the Le-
vantine coastal plain exhibits a vaguely convex
rank-size distribution that implies a lack of in-
terdependence among its local communities,
which is not surprising for this period of urban
collapse (Figure 4). Intriguingly, Middle Bronze
Age data suggest the superimposition of a few
cities and towns on a convex lower rank-size
curve that closely resembles the distribution of
Early Bronze IV villages. The similarities be-
tween these lower curves imply the persistence
of rural settlement through the collapse and

Figure 2. Settlement survey regions. (a) The Warka and Nippur-Adab surveys in Lower Mesopotamia. (b) A variety
of surveys in the southern Levant. See Adams (1981:figures 12, 13), Adams and Nissen (1972:maps 1A–4B), Ibrahim,
et al. (1976, 1988); Broshi and Gophna (1986); Gophna and Portugali (1988); Falconer and Savage (1995).
114 Fall, Lines, and Falconer
Figure 3. Rank-size settlement distributions for major
urban periods in Mesopotamia and the southern Le-
vant. Data for the Early Dynastic I Period (ca.
2900–2600 B.C.) of Mesopotamia shows a primate
rank-size distribution typical of “hyper-urbanized” set-
tlement systems, based on a sample of 98 surveyed sites.
Data for the Levantine Middle Bronze II B–C Period
(ca. 1800–1500 B.C.) produces a convex distribution
of 219 site sizes, which is characteristic of a less inte-
grated, more rural settlement system. Each represents
the apex of early urban development in their respective
region. Sources: data from Adams (1981:table 7) Ibra-
him et al. (1976, 1988); Broshi and Gophna (1986);
Gophna and Portugali (1988).
rejuvenation of Levantine urbanism (Falconer
and Savage 1995). The coastal cities atop the
Middle Bronze II B–C curve apparently devel-
oped in response to the external stimulus of
Mediterranean maritime commerce (e.g., be-
tween Egypt and the cities of coastal Syria),
which had disappeared during Early Bronze IV
but recovered during the Middle Bronze Age
(Gerstenblith 1983; Falconer 1994; Falconer
and Savage 1995).
These rank-size analyses do not adhere to
the first expectation of our general working
hypothesis. Instead, they effectively contrast
the rapid growth of massive cities and primate
settlement systems on the broad lower Mesopo-
tamian Plain with the development of urbanism
in the Southern Levant on a more tightly de-
fined stage, a much smaller scale, and with less
Figure 4. Rank-size distributions for Bronze Age set-
tlement on the Levantine coastal plain. Early Bronze
IV is marked by urban collapse, while Middle Bronze II
B–C signals its subsequent redevelopment. The Middle
Bronze II B–C curve includes 59 sites, which describe
a primate distribution of cities and towns superimposed
on a convex lower element of rural villages. This lower
element is similar to the Early Bronze IV distribution
comprised of 16 sites. Sources: data from Broshi and
Gophna (1986); Gophna and Portugali (1988).
apparent integration between central and pe-
ripheral communities.
Field Investigations in the
Jordan Valley
The rural basis for early civilization in the
southern Levant is illustrated in a detailed case
study of economy and ecology at the Bronze Age
villages of Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat,
located in the Jordan Valley, Jordan. These sites
were chosen for investigation for two reasons.
First, they span a dramatic transition from perva-
sively nonurbanized society to the rapid rebirth
and florescence of Canaanite urbanism. Tell Abu
en-Ni‘aj was occupied ca. 2300–2000 B.C. during
the pervasive abandonment of Levantine towns
 Seeds of Civilization
and cities in the Early Bronze IV period. Sub-
sequently, Tell el-Hayyat was inhabited ca.
2000–1500 B.C. during the heyday of Middle
Bronze Age urbanism. Despite the pronounced
waxing and waning of Canaanite cities, village life
persisted across this transition, as exemplified at
Ni‘aj and Hayyat. Given their persistence in the
face of urban collapse, villages like these provide
the most appropriate venues for inferring the
long-term economic and ecological foundations
for the development of Levantine civilization.
Second, Ni‘aj and Hayyat are located in prime
agricultural land in which permanent agriculture
and seasonal sheep and goat herding still flourish
today. This criterion is crucial here since most
Early Bronze IV settlements are located around
the arid fringes of the Levant where Middle
Bronze II sites are virtually absent, and therefore
unavailable for comparison.
Both archaeological sites are located about 240
m below sea level in the ghor, the broad agricul-
tural terrace above the active stream channel of
the Jordan River (Figure 1). Tell el-Hayyat, a low
mound (ca. 4 m high), rises from the Holocene
alluvium of the ghor, which provides the most
fertile soil in the Levant (Zohary 1982) and has
been intensively cultivated throughout the his-
tory of the region. Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj lies on Pleis-
tocene lacustrine sediments at the terrace edge,
overlooking the zor, the active floodplain of the
Jordan River. The climate of the southern Levant
is decidedly Mediterranean with mild, rainy win-
ters and long, hot summers. Modern precipitation
in the Jordan Valley averages 250 mm per year
(Horowitz 1979: fig. 2.31), an amount sufficient
for dry farming. A mean annual temperature
greater than 20° C (Horowitz 1979:22) permits
year-round horticulture.
Today, wheat fields generally are rain fed, while
other fields and orchards in the vicinity of Hayyat
and Ni‘aj are irrigated from the East Ghor Canal,
which diverts water from the Yarmouk River, a
tributary of the Jordan River (20–30 km north of
these sites). Although there is no direct evidence
for local Bronze Age canals, irrigation water could
have been obtained from the Jordan River (1–2
km to the west) or from a permanent spring at the
foot of the ancient town of Pella, 7 km to the
northeast (see Figure 1).
Three seasons of excavation at Tell el-Hayyat
in 1982, 1983, and 1985 exposed 400 m2 of the
tell’s surface (8 percent of the site’s area), while
excavations in 1985 at Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj covered
200 m2 (< 1 percent of the site’s area). The
115
excavated portion of Hayyat is quite substantial
by Near Eastern standards, whereas the exposure
at Ni‘aj reflects a single season of fieldwork and
will be expanded in the future. Archaeological
deposits at both sites were excavated in 5 × 5 m
squares to permit careful documentation and re-
covery of refuse discarded by villagers, and its
spatial patterning in households, alleyways, and
work areas. This fragmentary material includes
broken ceramics, stone tools, and the most infor-
mative vestiges of village ecology: plant fragments
and animal bones. These otherwise mundane
remnants provide very eloquent, direct indica-
tions of the commodities and foodstuffs produced
and consumed routinely by Bronze Age villagers.
All sediments excavated at Hayyat and Ni‘aj
were sieved for animal bones and sampled for
plant fragments. In open sites such as these, bone
preservation is usually good, but floral remains are
preserved very rarely unless they have been car-
bonized in antiquity. Thus sediment samples were
collected nonrandomly from localities that
clearly contained carbonized seeds and wood or
showed evidence of burning (Fall 1983). Samples
from Hayyat (n = 151) and Ni‘aj (n = 30), drawn
from earthen floors, hearths, tabuns (cooking
ovens), a kiln, storage pits, and trash deposits,
were analyzed for plant remains.
Simple water flotation (Pearsall 1989) was used
to extract more than 10,000 identifiable floral
specimens, including seeds, fruits, and rachis seg-
ments, from 852 liters of sediment from Hayyat
and 204 liters of sediment from Ni‘aj (mean sam-
ple volume for both sites is 5.9 liters). Because
sample volumes differed (ranging between 1 and
20 liters each), density ratios (i.e., number of
fragments/kiloliter of sediment) were computed
to standardize the floral data (after Miller 1988;
Pearsall 1989). These values do not necessarily
reflect the relative importance of each crop at any
given time, but they are extremely valuable for
inferring differences in plant use through time or
between the two villages (Pearsall 1989; Miller
1988).
All excavated sediments were screened
through 0.5 cm mesh screen, permitting the re-
covery of more than 36,000 animal bone frag-
ments from every excavated context at both sites
(Metzger 1984, 1985). Our faunal data are pre-
sented as numbers of identified specimens
(NISP), which reflect the frequency of bones for
each of several, primarily domesticated, animal
taxa. Variable bone frequencies reflect changing
animal management through the Bronze Age at
116 Fall, Lines, and Falconer
Hayyat and Ni‘aj. Because the volumes of some
excavated sediments are not available, bone den-
sities are not presented here.
Reconstructing Bronze Age
Agriculture and Environment
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj embodies a village measuring
2.5 ha that revealed 2.5 m of cultural deposits
with three major strata of mudbrick architecture,
all dating to Early Bronze IV. Traditional Middle
Eastern village population densities suggest that
Ni‘aj’s population measured between 500 and
600 (see Kramer 1982). Tell el-Hayyat contains
the stratified remains of a Middle Bronze Age
hamlet measuring 0.5 ha, which housed no more
than 150 inhabitants. It produced 6 strata of
village architecture to a total depth of 4.5 m at
the center of the mound (Falconer and Magness-
Gardiner 1989). Habitation at Hayyat began very
late in Early Bronze IV and continued without
interruption through the end of the Middle
Bronze Age. Phases 5–2 provide robust data for
village life through Middle Bronze II A, II B, and
II C. At Ni‘aj, the latest Early Bronze IV stratum
contributes the most substantial data recovered
thus far. In the following discussions, we combine
excavated data from Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell
el-Hayyat that span five major strata and approxi-
mately five centuries through the Early Bronze
IV–Middle Bronze II sequence (see Table 1).
Prevailing interpretations of Bronze Age soci-
ety inspire fundamentally different expectations
for the faunal and floral evidence from Tell Abu
en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat. We anticipated fau-
nal data from Ni’aj to be dominated by sheep and
especially goat, the mainstays of Early Bronze IV
mobile herding. Floral remains would feature
abundant annual crops, especially cereal grains
Table 2. Relative Animal Bone Frequencies from
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat
Bone Frequencies as Percentage
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj Tell el-Hayyat
Species (n = 1056) (n = 35,000)
Sheep/goat
(Ovis aries/
Capra hircus) 60 63
Pig (Sus scrofa) 28 21
Cattle (Bos taurus) 11 11
Weed taxa 1 5
and legumes, suggesting the opportunistic sea-
sonal agriculture that often accompanies pastor-
alism. On the other hand, we expected Tell
el-Hayyat to reflect sedentary farming strategies
incorporated within an increasingly urbanized re-
gional economy (e.g., see Chernoff 1988). Among
animal taxa, we expected increased deposition of
sheep, important producers of marketable wool,
and cattle, major sources of high-status meat,
hides, and traction for pulling plows and carts.
Floral evidence should document not only local
food consumption, but a greater emphasis on
cultivation of perennial orchard crops that could
be rendered into transportable secondary prod-
ucts. In many significant respects, the agricultural
data from both sites run contrary to our expecta-
tions and thereby open new insights on Bronze
Age rural ecology.
Animal Husbandry and Consumption
When summarized, the faunal assemblages
from Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat show
many more similarities than differences (Table 2).
As with most agrarian communities in the Near
East, the majority of bones represent sheep (Ovis
aries) and goat (Capra hircus), which provide very
similar bone frequencies between these two vil-
lages. The relative abundance of cattle (Bos tau-
rus) bones is identical at each village, while the
frequency of pig (Sus scrofa) is slightly higher at
the presumed “pastoral” settlement of Ni‘aj.
The pig bone frequencies at both sites are
unexpectedly high and significantly greater than
those for other Near Eastern Bronze Age commu-
nities, which commonly produce frequencies
around 10 percent (e.g., Wapnish and Hesse
1988; Horwitz 1989). Low pig frequencies at
other sites reflect their relatively high water needs
and poor suitability for mobile pastoralism (Hor-
witz 1989). In addition to the general faunal
similarities between Ni‘aj and Hayyat, high pig-
bone frequencies provide strong circumstantial
evidence that both settlements were sedentary
agrarian communities. The general agricultural
orientation of both villages is underscored by the
near absence of wild taxa, despite the availability
of migratory birds along the Jordan Valley and fish
in the nearby Jordan River.
Although the summary faunal evidence from
these two villages is very similar, there are several
significant trends through the Middle Bronze Age
sequence at Tell el-Hayyat that document the
 Seeds of Civilization
influences of developing urbanism. In most cases,
sheep and goat bones cannot be distinguished,
and must be analyzed collectively. However, for
those cases in which sheep and goat can be seg-
regated, the ratio of sheep to goat shows an
increase through time (Table 3). Goat bones from
Hayyat Phase 5 are slightly more numerous, but
by Phase 3, sheep bones are almost three times
more abundant (Falconer 1995). This trend im-
plies increasingly market-oriented animal hus-
bandry, since sheep carry more meat and produce
more abundant secondary products (especially
wool), which are suitable for transport and ex-
change (Sherratt 1981; Davis 1984), whereas
hardier goats are more indicative of mobile pas-
toralism.
In contrast, the other major animal taxa at Tell
el-Hayyat reveal a diminishing potential for mar-
ket-oriented husbandry, as the relative abun-
dance of pig bones increases, while that of cattle
decreases (Figure 5). Diminished use of cattle
follows naturally from the shift toward sheep
herding noted above. Although cattle may pro-
vide marketable goods and serve as important
draft animals, they are grazers that compete more
with sheep (which both graze and browse), than
with goats (which prefer browsing) (Redding
1984).
Increased pig and diminished cattle husbandry
reflect a growing emphasis on household-based
subsistence at Hayyat (Falconer 1995). Pigs are
poorly suited for regional exchange because they
provide few secondary products and do not herd
readily to distant pasturage or markets (Wapnish
and Hesse 1988; Horwitz and Tchernov 1989).
Instead, pig husbandry tended to flourish when
institutional controls were relaxed (Zeder 1990)
and is highly diagnostic of sedentary household
husbandry, since swine can subsist as domestic
scavengers and may be managed effectively by
individual families (Grigson 1982).
Table 3. Sheep:Goat Ratios at Tell el-Hayyat,
Based on Number of Identifiable Specimens
(NISP) Determined as Ovis or Capraa
Phase Ratios NISP
3 2.73:1 183
4 0.83:1 289
5 0.56:1 196
a 2427, Phase 4 = 2802, Phase 3 = 1822), based on
Bone counts produce a chi-square statistic (X2 = 57.998, df
= 2, p < 0.001) that permits rejection of the null hypothesis
that there is no difference between sheep and goat distribution
at Hayyat by phase.
117
Thus the bone assemblages from Tell Abu en-
Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat reflect mixed strategies
of animal husbandry. High sheep and goat fre-
quencies typify Bronze Age herd management,
and escalating sheep:goat ratios suggest poten-
tially increased regional exchange of animal
goods by the inhabitants of Tell el-Hayyat, as
might be anticipated to accompany Middle
Bronze Age urbanization. These expected results
are tempered, however, by pig-bone frequencies
that are anomalously high at both sites and grow
through time at Hayyat. These data suggest
strongly that Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj was a sedentary
agrarian village, and that market participation by
Hayyat was tempered by accentuated household-
level animal management and consumption de-
spite the regional development of Middle Bronze
Age towns and cities.
Plant Cultivation and Exchange
As with their faunal data, Ni‘aj and Hayyat are
characterized by remarkably similar botanical as-
semblages (Table 4). Agricultural crops at both
villages are grouped into four main categories:
cultivated cereals, orchard crops, cultivated leg-
umes, and wild species (Table 5). Annual and
perennial crops often require very different culti-
vation strategies. Cereals and legumes require the
planting of mature seeds but may not entail in-
tensive maintenance before producing a harvest
of new seeds within several months. Thus the
Faunal Remains, Tell el-Hayyat
80
Phase 5
70
60 Phase 4
% Total NISP
50 Phase 3
40
30
20
10
0
Sheep/Goat Pig Cattle
Figure 5. Relative frequencies of bone-element depo-
sition from domestic animals at Tell el-Hayyat, phases
5–3. Data provided by M. Metzger. Chi-square statistic
(X2 = 183.207, df = 4, p < 0.001; NISP: Phase 5 =
number of identified specimens (NISP), permits rejec-
tion of the null hypothesis that there is no difference
in domestic animal-bone distribution by phase.
118 Fall, Lines, and Falconer
cultivation of annual crops permits discontinuous
seasonal cultivation by mobile populations (Zo-
hary and Hopf 1988; LaBianca 1990). In contrast,
the cultivation of fruit trees requires more con-
tinuous horticultural management and a shift
from sexual (i.e., involving seeds) to vegetative
reproduction (Liphschitz et al. 1991). Fruit trees
represent a distinct long-term investment, since
they do not bear fruit for three to eight years after
planting and may not reach full productivity for
ten to twenty years (Stager 1985; Hopkins 1985).
Cereal grains include einkorn (Triticum mono-
coccum), emmer (T. dicoccum), bread wheat (T.
aestivum/T. compactum), oat (Avena sativa), rye
(Secale cereale), and barley in both hulled (Hor-
deum vulgare) and naked varieties (H. vulgare var.
nudum) (Fall 1983; Lines 1995). All of these
cultivated cereals would have thrived as winter-
sown varieties in the Jordan Valley and could
have been cultivated without irrigation. Hulled
barley, the most common cultivated cereal at
both villages, is four to seven times more abun-
dant than the naked form. In traditional agricul-
tural systems, hulled varieties of barley are
preferred for animal fodder and brewing beer,
while naked forms are favored as food (Zohary
and Hopf 1988). The cultivated legumes found
in these villages include lentil (Lens culinaris), pea
(Pisium sativum), chickpea (Cicer arietinum),
horsebean (Vicia faba), bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia),
and grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) (Fall 1983; Lines
1995). Orchard crops feature olive (Olea
europea), grape (Vitis vinifera), and fig (Ficus
carica), while the only common uncultivated fruit
was Prosopis, a source of animal fodder (Helbaek
1966). All of the weeds, wild grasses, and wild
legumes recovered from Ni‘aj and Hayyat are
prevalent in agricultural fields or disturbed areas.
Weeds from a variety of genera include Malva,
Plantago, Rumex/Polygonum, Galium, Amaranthus,
and Chenopodium, among others.
Although the floral assemblages from Ni‘aj and
Hayyat are generally similar, there are several
significant trends through time. Among cereal
grains, density ratios show a predominance of
barley cultivation at Ni‘aj and during the early
phases at Hayyat that gives way to similar wheat
and barley densities during the latter half of the
Middle Bronze Age (Figure 6). Both wheat and
barley may be eaten as gruel or porridge or baked
into bread. Barley flour traditionally has been
viewed as an inferior source of bread for the poor
(Zohary 1982), since wheat produces clearly su-
perior baking flour, particularly when grown in
rich soil, with a climate affording low rainfall and
a hot, dry, sunny ripening period (Renfrew 1973).
The relative mercantile value of these crops is
reflected in the biblical verse: “A quart of wheat
for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a
denarius . . .” (Revelations 6:6). Although all va-
rieties of wheat (einkorn, emmer, and bread
wheat) are more common at Hayyat, the fre-
quency of bread wheat in particular jumps to eight
times its value at Ni‘aj. The Jordan Valley pro-
vides precisely the agricultural characteristics fa-
vorable for wheat cultivation, making local bread
wheat a potentially valuable commodity for local
and, perhaps, regional trade.
The influence of regional exchange on rural
agriculture is most apparent when considering
evidence for fruit cultivation. Of the seven crop
taxa—wheat, barley, grape, fig, pomegranate, ol-
ive, and date—with which the Old Testament
says the Land of Israel was blessed, five are fruit
trees (Deuteronomy 8:8; Zohary 1982). Ren-
dered fruit products provide relatively low bulk,
highly storable and transportable commodities
that are much better suited for regional exchange
than more perishable, higher bulk annual grains
and legumes.
Olive, arguably the most important fruit tree
of the eastern Mediterranean, was valued primar-
ily as a producer of oil for eating and cooking,
ointments, and fuel for lamps (Zohary 1982).
Olive oil, because it could be stored for long
periods, was a valued trade commodity and a
symbol of wealth throughout the Mediterranean
Basin beginning in the Early Bronze Age (Zohary
and Hopf 1988; Neef 1990).
The grape vine, a similarly versatile orchard
taxon, produced fruits that could be eaten fresh,
dried to make raisins, or pressed to render juice
and wine (Zohary 1982). Like olive oil, wine
could be sealed in pottery jars, stored and trans-
ported, making it suitable for regional exchange
(Stager 1985). Although wild grapes were utilized
Table 4. Carbonized Seed Frequencies from Tell
Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat
Seed Frequencies as Percentage
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj Tell el-Hayyat
(n = 2217) (n = 8081)
Cultivated cereals 33 30
Orchard crops 13 17
Cultivated legumes 3 4
Weed taxa 51 49
 Seeds of Civilization 119

Table 5. Floral Assemblages for Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat with Main Crop Categories and
Major Crop Taxa Presented as Density Ratios (# of Seeds/kl)
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj Tell el-Hayyat
(204 liters) (852 liters)
Cultivated cereals 3598 2888
Wheat 549 898
Barley 1971 1300
Oat 657 273
Rye 422 417
Orchard crops 1407 1574
Grape 137 31
Olive 25 142
Fig 1245 1401
Cultivated legumes 319 373
Weed taxa 5544 4649

Figure 6. Density ratios of barley and wheat grains
from Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat, phases 5–2.
Summarized seed counts for barley and wheat produce
a chi-square statistic (X2 = 63.23, df = 1, p < 0.001)
that permits rejection of the null hypothesis that there
is no difference in barley and wheat distribution be-
tween the two villages.
Figure 7. Density ratios of orchard crop remains from
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat. Summarized seed
counts for fig, olive, and grape produce a chi-square
statistic (X2 = 55.68, df = 2, p < 0.001) that permits
rejection of the null hypothesis that there is no differ-
ence in orchard crop distribution between the two
villages.

earlier, the first evidence of cultivated grapes
comes from excavations at Early Bronze Age
Lachish (Helbaek 1958), Arad (Hopf 1978), Nu-
meira (McCreery 1980), and Jericho (Hopf
1983).
Cultivated figs, which are particularly rich in
sugar, could be dried, stored, and eaten year
round. The earliest evidence for fig cultivation in
the Levant dates to the Chalcolithic (Hopf 1983)
and the Early Bronze Age (McCreery 1980). By
the Early Bronze Age, olive, grape, and fig, which
flourish collectively in Mediterranean environ-
ments, constituted the main horticultural prod-
ucts in areas throughout the Mediterranean basin
that were dependent upon rain-fed agriculture
(Zohary and Hopf 1988).
The densities of orchard crop remains at Tell
Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat show the same
general pattern identified above for faunal and
annual crop data: striking overall similarity, with
some subtle but significant distinctions (Figure
7). Major fruit cultigens, all of which require
long-term cultivation and maintenance, are well
represented at both sites, reinforcing our inter-
pretation of Ni‘aj as a sedentary agrarian village,
rather than a seasonal pastoral encampment.
Among the most informative floral distinc-
tions, we note a shifting balance of grape and olive
120 Fall, Lines, and Falconer
Figure 8. Density ratios of grape and olive seeds from
Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat, phases 5–2. Seed
counts for grape and olive produce a chi-square statistic
(X2 = 63.8, df = 4, p < 0.01) that permits rejection of
the null hypothesis that there is no difference between
grape and olive deposition through the sequence at
Ni‘aj and Hayyat.
deposition, in which grape seeds are more com-
mon at Ni‘aj, while olive becomes more abundant
at Hayyat, particularly during phases 4 and 3
(Figure 8). Olive trees are perhaps the optimal
cultigen for Mediterranean climates, since they
thrive with warm, wet winters and hot, dry sum-
mers, particularly when planted on well-drained
soils (Polunin and Huxley 1965; Renfrew 1973).
Successful olive cultivation requires extensive
landholdings since each tree has an extensive
root system that requires a spacing of approxi-
mately 10 m between trees (Turrill 1952). The
apparent shift to greater olive cultivation at Tell
el-Hayyat represents a serious increase in local
agricultural investment. This shift extended well
after the end of Early Bronze IV into phases 5 and
4 at Hayyat, suggesting it was also inspired by the
mercantile opportunities afforded by developing
urbanism.
These floral data clearly reflect sedentary farm-
ing strategies at both Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell
el-Hayyat, with a growing emphasis on crops with
greater market potential. The two major horticul-
tural shifts, in which wheat became more domi-
nant among cereals, and fruit cultivation shifted
from grape to olive, are most accentuated within
the Middle Bronze Age, rather than at the Early
Bronze IV/Middle Bronze Age interface.
Village Agriculture in Overview
This detailed profile of village agriculture in
the Jordan Valley, as summarized in Table 6,
provides several fundamental, and sometimes un-
expected, insights on Bronze Age rural economy
and ecology in the midst of urban collapse and
florescence. Many of our inferences stem from
several basic continuities between Tell Abu en-
Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat. For example, the striking
similarities in animal management and orchard
cultivation at both villages reflect a persistent
element of rural sedentarism that may link the
seemingly distinct societies of the “pastoralized”
Early Bronze IV period and the urban heyday of
Middle Bronze II. Yet Ni‘aj and Hayyat also pro-
vide their share of distinct contrasts that reflect
rural responses to growing urbanism. Several
clear trends of enhanced production of market-
able commodities (especially olive oil, bread
wheat, and sheep wool) suggest that the farmers
of Tell el-Hayyat increasingly adapted their crop
cultivation and animal management to meet the
demands of emerging mercantile exchange and
consumption in Middle Bronze Age towns and
cities. An equally intriguing, and less expected,
trend is marked by a parallel increase in more
localized plant and animal management (e.g.,
especially of pigs and possibly grapes), possibly as
a hedge by this hamlet against the potential in-
roads of urban economic and political authorities.
In a study of peasant agriculture under Inca
rule, Zimmerer (1993) also emphasizes the impor-
tance of household subsistence cultivation. Sur-
plus-oriented production under the Inca state
featured only a few major crops such as maize,
potatoes, and coca; localized subsistence farming,
however, supported a wide variety of cultivars
(Lathrap 1973; Plowman 1984; Knapp 1991;
Zimmerer 1993). Household gardens undoubt-
edly also played a similar role in maintaining
native crop diversity in pre - Columbian
Mesoamerica (Whitmore and Turner 1992).
At Tell el-Hayyat, the most pronounced
changes in both faunal and floral data occur
between phases 4 and 3, and therefore suggest
social and economic changes between the rebirth
of town life in Middle Bronze II A and the culmi-
nation of urbanism in Middle Bronze II B and II
C. In this manner, Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell
el-Hayyat illuminate the complex weave of vil-
lage agriculture and intercommunity relations at
the foundation of Bronze Age society in the
southern Levant.
 Seeds of Civilization
Table 6. Significant Results of Floral and Faunal Remains from Tell el-Hayyat and Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj
Results
Substantial remains of cattle, pig, and perennial or-
chard crops at Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj
Increase in species that yield marketable commodities
during the Middle Bronze II (e.g., olive, wheat, sheep)
Decrease in olive, increase in grape and pig during late
Middle Bronze II
Relative absence of wild floral and faunal remains from
both villages (except agricultural weeds)
Conclusion
Any appreciation of the roots of civilization in
the Near East must not only identify the origins
of social revolutions such as agriculture and ur-
banism, but comprehend their concomitant ef-
fects on the natural environment and the
economic behaviors of rural villagers who com-
prised the vast majority of ancient populations.
The communities of Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and Tell
el-Hayyat provide a rare, intimate portrait of
agrarian ecology on an increasingly anthropo-
genic landscape during the collapse and develop-
ment of early towns and cities. Pre-Columbian
state-level societies exerted comparably powerful
influences on the rural environments of
Mesoamerica (Denevan 1992; Whitmore and
Turner 1992). Aztec and Maya demand for spe-
cialized orchard products such as cacao (Theo-
broma cacao) and avocado (Persea americana)
created extensive agricultural landscapes
throughout the region (Bergman 1969; Turner
and Miksicek 1984; Whitmore and Turner 1992).
Amid relatively long-term trajectories of agrarian
and environmental change, rural communities
often demonstrate remarkable resilience (e.g.,
Adams 1978), making them ideal vantage points
for detailed reconstructions of the economy and
ecology that lay at the root of early civilizations.
At Ni‘aj and Hayyat, striking overall similari-
ties in crop cultivation and animal management
reflect the persistence of sedentary agriculture,
despite the varying fortunes of urban centers, that
has escaped serious attention previously. Ni‘aj
exemplifies the importance of sedentary commu-
nities and the persistence of orchard cultivation
during the urban collapse and regional “pastorali-
zation” of Early Bronze IV, while Hayyat demon-
strates several striking trends that accompany the
rejuvenation of Middle Bronze Age cities. The
farmers of Hayyat increasingly exploited far-
121
Significance
Persistence of sedentary farming in Early Bronze IV,
despite the decline of urban centers
Shift to market-oriented economy following the re-
emergence of urban centers
Enhanced economic autonomy; reduced potential for
encroachment by political authorities
Anthropogenic landscape
reaching mercantile opportunities afforded by ur-
ban markets, as signaled by clear shifts to greater
sheep husbandry and, most significantly, accen-
tuated cultivation of marketable orchard crops
like olives, figs, and grapes. They clearly also
accentuated some aspects of economic auton-
omy, notably pig husbandry, which may be inter-
preted as a strategy to avoid excessive mercantile
dependence.
O n t h e e v e o f S p a n ish co n t a ct in
Mesoamerica, rural villages similarly integrated
surplus-oriented tree cropping with diversified,
household-level subsistence farming. Household
orchard-gardens supported a wide variety of
fruits, vegetables, condiments, fibers, and medici-
nal plants (Whitmore and Turner 1992). These
diversified gardens provided a measure of household-
level autonomy, facilitating the maintenance of
traditional crop diversity. Nabhan (1987) sug-
gests provocatively that the conservation of mod-
ern agricultural biodiversity may also depend on
rural resistance to market forces and state-level
political authority. Throughout the tropics, tradi-
tional diversified systems are being displaced by
high-yield monocultures of cash crops such as
coffee, bananas, and pineapple. The ability of
rural peoples to resist this process in the face of
emerging urban markets will have significant im-
plications for the future of agrarian diversity.
While the assemblages of wild plant and ani-
mal taxa discussed above might suggest such ex-
treme agricultural dedication that episodes of
urban collapse would have a devastating impact
on Bronze Age rural economy in the southern
Levant, the evidence from Ni‘aj and Hayyat at-
tests to the resilience of these early rural commu-
nities. This resilience is based on shifts in
agricultural intensification that variably ex-
ploited growing market opportunities or reduced
the potential for institutional control. Tell Abu
en-Ni‘aj and Tell el-Hayyat exemplify the spec-
122 Fall, Lines, and Falconer
trum of agrarian strategies that provided the basis
for village economy and ecology in emerging ur-
banized societies such as those of the southern
Levant.
Acknowledgments
Suggestions and editorial comments by Karl W.
Butzer and two anonymous reviewers greatly improved
this manuscript. Excavations at Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj and
Tell el-Hayyat were conducted with the cooperation
and assistance of the Department of Antiquities of
Jordan and the American Center of Oriental Research,
Amman. The field component of this research has been
supported by grants to Steven Falconer and Bonnie
Magness-Gardiner from the National Endowment for
the Humanities (#RO-21027), the National Geo-
graphic Society (#2598-83 and #2984-84), and the
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Re-
search (#4382). Analysis of the Hayyat and Ni’aj
collections is funded by grants to Steven Falconer and
Patricia Fall from the National Endowment for the
Humanities (#R0-22467-92) and by three Arizona
State University Faculty Grants-in-Aid. We offer spe-
cial thanks to Mary Metzger for identification and
analyses of the bone material from Hayyat and Ni‘aj, to
Bonnie Magness-Gardiner for insights into the cultural
remains excavated from these two archaeological vil-
lages, and to Barbara Trapido for drafting the illustra-
tions. Naomi Miller, Karen Adams, and Charles
Miksicek aided in identifying the plant remains.
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