Major cultural transformations took place in the southern Levant during the late prehistoric periods (ca. late 7th-4th millennia B.C.). Agropastoralists expanded into areas previously only sparsely occupied and secondary animal products played an increasingly important economic role. In the arable parts of the southern Levant, the olive in particular became increasingly significant and may have played a part in expanded exchange contacts in the region. Technological expertise developed in craft production, and the volume and diversity of status goods increased, particularly in funerary contexts. Mortuary and other ritual practices became increasingly pronounced. General study syntheses, however, rarely include more than a cursory mention of the more arid regions of the southern Levant (i.e., Negev, eastern and southern Jordan, and Syria). Recent investigations indicate that intensive exploitation of the regions may date to these late prehistoric periods, yet this evidence has been difficult to attribute to specific chronological period or cultural affiliations. The Eastern Badia Archaeological Project investigates two regions for a potential florescence of building and occupation during the late prehistoric periods in the eastern desert of Jordan.

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________________________________________________________________Does the demand for archaeological artefacts in the legal marketplace in Israel increase the looting of archaeological sites in the region? Through the course of investigating this question it became apparent that while consumer demand may be at the heart of the trade in antiquities, the nature and driving forces behind looting are far more complex than is often understood. The motivations for looting involve notions of nationalism, the forces of globalism, conflicting preservation and management plans, colonialism, and long-entrenched traditional practices. It is an examination of this complexity (i.e. the multiple forms of and incentives for looting), which forms the focus of this paper. This is an exploration of the multivocality of the various agents who make it possible for objects to transcend borders. ________________________________________________________________Resumen: ¿La demanda de objetos/artefactos arqueoló gicos en el mercado legal en Israel ha incrementado el saqueo de los sitios arqueoló gicos en esa regió n? Al investigar esta pregunta se hizo evidente que mientras la demanda del consumidor puede ser el centro del comercio en antigü edades, las razones detrás del saqueo son mucho más complejas de lo que comú nmente se cree. Las motivaciones para el saqueo incluyen nociones de nacionalismo, las fuerzas de globalizació n, los planes de conservació n y administració n, colonialismo y prácticas tradicionales só lidas. El objetivo de este trabajo es explicar la complejidad de las mú ltiples formas e incentivos del saqueo. Esta es una investigació n de la multivocalidad de los varios agentes que hacen posible que los objetos puedan ser transcendentes en las fronteras. ________________________________________________________________Resumé: Est-ce que la demande des objets façonnés archéologiques dans le marché légal en Israel augmente le pillage des emplacements archéologiques dans la région? Par le cours d'étudier cette question il est devenu évident que tandis que la demande du consommateur peut être au coeur des échanges des antiquités, la nature et les forces d'entraînement derrière le pillage sont plus complexes bien qu'est souvent compris. Les RESEARCH ARCHAEOLOGIES Volume motivations pour piller impliquent des notions du nationalisme, les forces du mondialisme, des plans contradictoires de conservation et de gestion, colonialisme, et des pratiques traditionnelles long-indélogeables. C'est un examen de cette complexité (c.-à-d. les formes de et les incitations multiples pour le pillage), qui forme le centre de cet article. C'est une exploration du multivocality des divers agents qui permettent pour que les objets dépassent des frontières.

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Palestine is a state in limbo-they lack full formal recognition as a sovereign land but possess a unique nation-state status that incorporates elements of a unified national consciousness and basic civil institutions albeit with limited autonomy. Palestine's ambiguous political status is starkly illustrated by its convoluted territorial control, and nowhere is this more clearly attested than in the jurisdiction of archaeological sites and the display of artifacts in museums. The legislative colonial legacies of the Ottoman, the British Mandate, the Jordanians, the Egyptians, Israeli military orders, and the 1995 Oslo II Accords, which carved the Occupied Territories into a complex mosaic of areas-A, B, and C-have resulted in fractured oversight of heritage sites and objects. A case study focused on Herodium provides a fascinating lens for examining the efficacy of law and the administration of archaeological and object management in a contested landscape.