Transitions, Urbanism, and Collapse in the Bronze Age - Essays in Honor of Suzanne Richard - Jesse C. Long, Jr.
17. A Survey of the EB IV Presence in Jordan
Transitions, Urbanism, and Collapse in the Bronze Age - Essays in Honor of Suzanne Richard - Jesse C. Long, Jr.
Burton MacDonald [+]
St Francis Xavier University
Description
Suzanne Richard’s work in Jordan has centered on Early Bronze IV presence at Khirbat Iskandar in west-central Jordan. What her work at the site has emphasized is the sedentary and agrarian component of EB IV presence there. Her findings, when combined with the well-documented pastoral-nomadic populations of EB IV, provide a balanced perspective on the peoples of the period (Richard et al. 2010: 1). Moreover, not only does Richard’s work affirm the agrarian component of the EB IV population, it also illuminates strong ties with antecedent Early Bronze Age traditions. She concludes that her findings support the view that the Early Bronze Age was one continuous tradition with continuity from EB I to EB IV, that is, from ca. 3600 to 2000 BCE (Richard et al. 2010: 5, 278). This is in line with similar findings at other sites in Jordan especially in the Jordan Valley, in the area between Wadi Zarqa and Khirbat Iskandar, on the Karak Plateau, and in the Southern Ghors and Northeast `Arabah and in Wadi Fidan. To the west, in the Negev and Sinai such presence is also found. This is in contrast to lack of such presence on the southern Transjordan Plateau and in the Southeast `Arabah. This paper will look at both where EB IV sedentary and agrarian presence is evident and where it is not.