Contextualizing the Madaba Plains Project at Tall al-ʿUmayri: The Early Bronze Age
Narrating Archaeological Sites and Places - Fifty Years of the Madaba Plains Project at Tall Hisban, Tall al-`Umayri, and Tall Jalul - Douglas R. Clark
Timothy P. Harrison [+]
University of Chicago
Description
To what extent do the archaeological finds from the Early Bronze Age at Tall al-ʿUmayri fit the meta-narrative of the beginning of urbanization in the Levant? This paper will highlight results that support this narrative (such as the evidence for a regional site hierarchy, a planned settlement, and the presence of Khirbat Karak Ware and evidence of long-distance trade) and finds that diverge from this narrative (such as the absence of fortifications, and large-scale craft production). The paper will also examine whether this meta-narrative was part of the thinking of core staff on the project from the outset, or whether it was a latecomer in the effort to interpret the site. Note will also be taken of other narratives that were discussed in relation to Early Bronze Age finds at Tall al-ʿUmayri.