La masse de documentation céramique disponible pour les différentes phases de la Protohistoire corse était aussi quantitativement importante que peu étudiée. L’analyse de ces sources (43 collections issues de 35 sites) selon une méthodologie basée sur les rapports de proportion, couplée au réexamen critique des publications et des datations radiocarbone, engendre une vision renouvelée de la structure chrono-culturelle des groupes insulaires entre Bronze final et premier âge du Fer. Pour aboutir, par sériation et périodisation, à un schéma reposant sur une articulation entre des entités matérielles clairement définies, il a notamment fallu se détacher de certains faux problèmes à l’origine d’hypothèses initiales souvent arbitraires ou trop tranchées. Les principaux résultats font apparaître une structuration polygénique complexe des assemblages céramiques, subtil jeu d’équilibre entre tradition, emprunt et innovation en fonction des époques et des contextes, mais qui intègre pleinement la Corse dans les dynamiques tyrrhéniennes et méditerranéennes à l’aube de l’avènement des premières sociétés historiques. / The amount of information available on ceramic ware from the different phases of Corsican protohistory is as quantitatively important as little studied. An analysis of these sources (43 collections from 35 sites) using a methodology based on ratios of proportion, as well as a critical re-examination of publications and radiocarbon dates, brings about a new understanding of the chrono-cultural structure of island groups between the Late Bronze and the Early Iron Ages. After resolving a few of the issues which led to previous arbitrary and incomplete analyses, it has been possible to generate a schema based on clearly defined material elements using seriation and periodisation. The main results show a complex polygenic structure in the ceramic assemblages, a subtle game of balance between tradition, borrowing and innovation in relationship to periods and contexts that plainly integrates Corsica in Tyrrhenian and Mediterranean dynamics at the dawn of the first historic societies.

Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware (RLWm ware) transport and storage vessels have been excavated from Late Bronze Age (LBA) sites across the eastern Mediterranean. These distinctive vessels were traded for the valuable commodity they contained so far unidentified. Seventy-three sherds (61 RLWm ware, 12 in local fabrics) and two visible residues were analysed for organic residues using standard lipid extraction techniques. Seven residues from a previous study were re-examined. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified four materials - beeswax, bitumen, fat/oil and resin. Beeswax, found only in vessels from Hittite sites in Turkey, was probably used as a post-firing treatment. Fat/oil, present in some sherds from every site, represents the contents of the vessels and showed many of the characteristics of degraded plant oil. Two examples contained a plant sterol and three yielded ricinoleic acid, a biomarker for castor oil. Gas-chromatography compound-specific isotope ratio mass spectrometry of selected residues excluded dairy products, ruminant animal fats and fish oils as source materials for the fats/oils, while comparison with a small database of modern oils created during this study does not exclude plant oils. Selected samples analysed by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry did not reveal wine residues. Data on the elemental composition of the fabric collected during another study was re-analysed and compared with data from a further published study, confirming the remarkable consistency of RLWm ware fabric. Volume calculations were also attempted to give an estimate of the capacity of the main vessel forms.

<p>This paper emphasizes the nature of trade relations in the EasternMediterranean in general and from a Levantine inland perspective inparticular. The ‘maritime’ trade relation of the ancient city of Hazor, located in the interior of LB Canaan is a case study investigating the Mycenaean and Cypriot pottery on the site. The influx of these vessels peaked during LB IIA. The distribution and types of this pottery at Hazorpoint to four interested groups that wanted it. These were the royal andreligious elites; the people in Area F; the religious functionaries of theLower City; and the craftsmen of Area C. The abundance of imports inArea F, among other evidence, indicates that this area might havecontained a trading quarter from where the imports were distributed toother interested groups.A model of ‘interregional interaction networks’, which is a modified world systems approach, is used to describe the organization of trade connections between the Levant, Cyprus and the Aegean and even beyond. The contents of the Ulu Burun and Cape Gelidonya ships, wrecked on the coast of south Turkey, show that luxury items were traded from afar through Canaan via the coastal cities overseas to the Aegean.Such long-distance trade with luxury goods requires professional traders familiar with the risks and security measures along the routes and with the knowledge of value systems and languages of diverse societies. These traders established networks along main trade routes and settled in trading quarters in particular node cities. The paper suggests that Hazor, as one of the largest cities in Canaan, located along the main trade routes, possessed such a node position. In this trade the Levantine coastal cities of Sarepta, Abu Hawam,Akko and possibly Tel Nami seem to have played important roles. These main ports of southern Syria and northern Palestine were all accessible to Hazor, although some of them in different periods of LB.</p>

This paper emphasizes the nature of trade relations in the EasternMediterranean in general and from a Levantine inland perspective inparticular. The ‘maritime’ trade relation of the ancient city of Hazor, located in the interior of LB Canaan is a case study investigating the Mycenaean and Cypriot pottery on the site. The influx of these vessels peaked during LB IIA. The distribution and types of this pottery at Hazorpoint to four interested groups that wanted it. These were the royal andreligious elites; the people in Area F; the religious functionaries of theLower City; and the craftsmen of Area C. The abundance of imports inArea F, among other evidence, indicates that this area might havecontained a trading quarter from where the imports were distributed toother interested groups.A model of ‘interregional interaction networks’, which is a modified world systems approach, is used to describe the organization of trade connections between the Levant, Cyprus and the Aegean and even beyond. The contents of the Ulu Burun and Cape Gelidonya ships, wrecked on the coast of south Turkey, show that luxury items were traded from afar through Canaan via the coastal cities overseas to the Aegean.Such long-distance trade with luxury goods requires professional traders familiar with the risks and security measures along the routes and with the knowledge of value systems and languages of diverse societies. These traders established networks along main trade routes and settled in trading quarters in particular node cities. The paper suggests that Hazor, as one of the largest cities in Canaan, located along the main trade routes, possessed such a node position. In this trade the Levantine coastal cities of Sarepta, Abu Hawam,Akko and possibly Tel Nami seem to have played important roles. These main ports of southern Syria and northern Palestine were all accessible to Hazor, although some of them in different periods of LB.

Nous avons poursuivi plusieurs desseins dans cette étude portant sur les dynamiques funéraires à l’est du Lassithi, du XIVe au Ve siècle av. J.-C. L’identification, au travers des traces matérielles, des pratiques collectives et codifiées que constituent les rituels funéraires, empreints d’une forte dimension identitaire, a constitué un premier objectif. Nous avons également cherché à saisir les stratégies territoriales de mise en place des sites funéraires parallèlement aux changements sociopolitiques majeurs qui affectent la Crète durant la délicate période transitionnelle que constitue le passage de l’âge du Bronze à l’âge du Fer. Dans un premier temps, après une présentation du contexte spatiotemporel et du vocable propre à l’archéologie de la mort, nous avons focalisé notre travail sur la description systématique de chaque sépulture dans son environnement propre. Dans un second temps, nous avons procédé en croisant les données matérielles, à une analyse thématique et comparative des nécropoles. La dimension systémique des dynamiques funéraires à l’est du Lassithi a enfin été envisagée à l’aune du contexte chrono-culturel égéen. / This doctoral thesis examining funerary dynamics in the east of Lassithi from the fourteenth to the fifth century B.C.E. has several aims. In the first instance, I seek to identify through the material vestiges the collective and codified practices that constitute the funerary rituals marked by a strong identitarian dimension. I also endeavour to grasp the territorial strategies used in the organisation of funerary sites in parallel to the major socio-political changes affecting Crete during the delicate transitional period marking the passage from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. After an initial presentation of the spatio-temporal context and the vocabulary specific to the archaeology of death, the thesis turns towards the systematic description of each sepulchre in its own environment. This material data is subsequently combined with a thematic and comparative analysis of the necropolis. Finally, the systematic dimension of funerary dynamics in the east of Lassithi is considered in light of the Aegean chrono-cultural context.

L’intérêt historique suscité par la richesse des vestiges provenant d’Emar et d’Ougarit ainsi que de plusieurs autres cités de l’époque, notamment Alalaḫ, nous a poussé à nous intéresser à la répartition des pouvoirs en Syrie à l’époque du Bronze Récent, question pour laquelle peu d’études des synthèse ont été consacrées à l’heure actuelle.Nous concentrerons notre étude sur plusieurs villes à l’époque du Bronze Récent, depuis le début de la deuxième moitié de deuxième millénaire jusqu’au début de XIIe siècle av. J.-C.Certes, Il existe un pouvoir religieux, économique ; mais le plus souvent la notion de pouvoir sous-entend la présence d’une puissance politique à laquelle est soumise une communauté. Nous distinguerons donc les termes d’ « autorité » et de « pouvoir », ce dernier devant être considéré comme l’application et la manifestation de l’autorité.Les textes anciens représentent pour notre étude une documentation directe. Les tablettes provenant des cités syriennes de cette époque sont au cœur de notre étude. Il s’agit surtout de tablettes cunéiformes écrites en akkadien.Nous pensons qu’une recherche analytique et comparative nous aidera de mieux connaître les différents types de pouvoir en Syrie, de repérer les divers détenteurs du pouvoir au Bronze Récent et de définir les caractéristiques propres à l’organisation politique syrienne durant cette même période. / The historical interest generated by the rich archaeological remains from Emar and Ugarit as well as several other cities of the era, including Alalah, encouraged us to take an interest in the distribution of power in Syria at the Late Bronze Age, a question for which few synthesis studies have been devoted today. We focus our study on several cities during the Late Bronze Age, since the beginning of the second half of the second millennium to the early twelfth century BC.Certainly, there is a religious power and economic power, but more often the notion of power implies the presence of a political power which is subject to a community. We therefore distinguish the terms “authority” and “power”, the latter to be considered the application and demonstration of authority. The ancient texts represent a direct documentation for this study. The akkadian cuneiform tablets from the Syrian cities of this period are in the middle of our research.We believe that a comparative and analytical research will help us better understand the different types of power in Syria, to identify the various rulers of the Late Bronze Age and define the characteristics of the Syrian political organization during this period.

For a long time, the human bones that were found outside the classical graves/grave context during the late Bronze Age were severely overlooked in research. It was first during the 1990’s that research took place and archaeologist like Anders Kaliff och Joanna Brück started studying this severely overlooked phenomena. This paper aims at analyzing and discussing why human bones were used outside the classical graves/grave context. As well as what the human bones were used for and how the human bones were treated. In this study the grave concept will be discussed to understand the late Bronze Age human’s definition of grave and burial rites more fully. The distinction between what is sacred and what is profane in the handling and using of the human bones in non-classical graves/grave contexts will also be overseen. The study in this paper is focused on the East part of central Sweden and will be analyzed and supplemented by both national and international archaeological sites of similar character. The primal sites for the study are Broby in Börje parish, Apalle in Övergran parish, Ryssgärdet in Tensta parish and Ringeby in Kvillinge parish. The study is set in the late Bronze Age in Sweden (1100–500 BC). This paper is meant as an analytical research where former research and archaeologist interpretations will be compared and work as a discussion with the writer’s own interpretations of the late Bronze Age human’s use of human bones. With the writer’s own interpretation and with the help of former research, the human bones found in non-classical graves/grave contexts have been assessed with both sacred and profane contexts. The result shows that the distinction between the sacred and the profane are better left outside the context of handling and using human bones.

Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware (RLWm ware) transport and storage vessels have been excavated from Late Bronze Age (LBA) sites across the eastern Mediterranean. These distinctive vessels were traded for the valuable commodity they contained so far unidentified. Seventy-three sherds (61 RLWm ware, 12 in local fabrics) and two visible residues were analysed for organic residues using standard lipid extraction techniques. Seven residues from a previous study were re-examined. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified four materials ¿ beeswax, bitumen, fat/oil and resin. Beeswax, found only in vessels from Hittite sites in Turkey, was probably used as a post-firing treatment. Fat/oil, present in some sherds from every site, represents the contents of the vessels and showed many of the characteristics of degraded plant oil. Two examples contained a plant sterol and three yielded ricinoleic acid, a biomarker for castor oil. Gas-chromatography compound-specific isotope ratio mass spectrometry of selected residues excluded dairy products, ruminant animal fats and fish oils as source materials for the fats/oils, while comparison with a small database of modern oils created during this study does not exclude plant oils. Selected samples analysed by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry did not reveal wine residues. Data on the elemental composition of the fabric collected during another study was re-analysed and compared with data from a further published study, confirming the remarkable consistency of RLWm ware fabric. Volume calculations were also attempted to give an estimate of the capacity of the main vessel forms. / Arts and Humanities Research Council / Extensive folders of data and appendices which accompany this thesis are not presently available online.

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. / Biblical and Ancient Studies