Seeing Through Walls: Interpreting Iron Age I Architecture at Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya

Routledge, Bruce

doi:10.2307/1357559

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…KMA (Routledge 2000;2004: 96-108;Routledge and Porter 2007) was one of several small agropastoralist communities founded in the 11th century b.c.e. in west-central Jordan and abandoned after no more than a century of occupation.…”

Section: Measuring Local Diversity In Early Ironmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2). Archaeological investigations at the settlement were conducted between 1994 and 2004, comprising five seasons of mapping and excavation on various scales (Routledge 2000;2004: 96-108;Routledge and Porter 2007). The settlement is positioned in a semiarid zone, falling between the 100 and 300 mm isohyets (el-Sherbini 1979: 174, table 2), and therefore receives only the minimum amount of precipitation needed to practice rain-fed agriculture.…”

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…KMA is one of a number of early Iron Age settlements subsisting in semiarid zones of west-central Jordan that have been identified in survey projects, most notably that of Worschech (1985) and Miller (1991) on the Karak Plateau, Parker (2006) on the eastern desert fringe, Ji (Ji and ʿAttiyat 1997;Ji and Lee 1998; on the Dhiban Plateau, Jacobs (1983) in the Wadi Isal, and Clark on the northern edge of the Wadi al-Hasa (Clark et al 1992;Clark et al 1994) (summarized in Routledge 2004: table 4.2). The best evidence comes from six settlements: ʿAroʿer (Olávarri 1965;1969;Olávarri-Goicoechea 1993), Baluʿa (Worschech 1989;Wor schech and Ninow 1994;1999;Worschech, Rosenthal, andZayadine 1986), Lahun (Homès-Fredericq 1992;Swinnen 2009), KMA (Routledge 2000;2004;Routledge and Porter 2007), Khirbat al-Mudayna al-Muʿarradja (hereafter KMM) (Olávarri 1977(Olávarri -19781983), and Khirbat al-Muʿammariyya (Ninow 2004;2 Holocene climate studies (Bar-Matthews et al 1998;1999) indicate that these regional precipitation patterns were relatively similar in the early Iron Age, although droughts likely introduced some variability in annual precipitation amounts. 3 Cordova has determined that portions of these soil beds were already eroded into the wadi canyons during earlier periods of agricultural intensification (e.g., the Early Bronze Age) prior to the Iron Age (Cordova 2007: 192-95).…”

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring Local Diversity in Early Iron Age Animal Economies: A View from Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya (Jordan)

Lev-Tov¹,

Porter²,

Routledge³

2011

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

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We use faunal evidence from Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya, an agropastoral settlement located in west-central Jordan, to examine early Iron Age subsistence regimes. Analysis of faunal evidence reveals a low-intensity, nonspecialized animal economy dependent on both domesticated and wild species, including freshwater crabs. The subsistence economy of the settlement, we argue, was structured so as to take maximum advantage of its location overlooking the Wadi al-Nukhayla, a perennial water source supporting a relatively verdant floral and faunal array. This diverse and flexible organization made subsistence in this resource-scarce environment more sustainable. When this profile is compared with other early Iron Age southern Levantine communities, the diversity of ways that animal economies were organized during this period is apparent, signaling the need to investigate the local strategies that communities used to adapt to their immediate environmental circumstances, not only ecologically but also socially.

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Section: Measuring Local Diversity In Early Ironmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring Local Diversity in Early Iron Age Animal Economies: A View from Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya (Jordan)

Lev-Tov¹,

Porter²,

Routledge³

2011

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

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“…These settlements inelude Aro'er (Olàvarri 1965;1969;1993), Balu'a (Worseheeh 1989;Worseheeh and Ninow 1994;1999;Worseheeh et al 1986), Dhiban (Morton 1989;Routledge 2004;Tushingham 1972;Winnett and Reed 1964), Khirbat al-Mudayna al-Aliya (or, al-Aliya) (Routledge 2000;2008;Routledge and Porter 2007), Khirbat al-Mudayna al-Mu'arradja (or, al-Mu'arradja) (Olàvarri 1977;1983;Menéndez 1983), Khirbat al-Mu'ammariyya (or, al-Mu'ammariyya) (Ninow 2004;2006) and Lahun (HomesFredèrieq 1992;1994;1997;Swinnen 2009). Some, but not all, settlements (e.g.…”

Section: Food Production Scarcity and Commensal Strategies In Early mentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding the Community

Porter

2011

JMA

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History and ethnicity have been the preferred frameworks for explaining hotu Levantine societies organized themselves during the early Iron Age. Consequently, opportunities are missed to understand hotu local economic and environmental factors structured social life. In this study, a collection of early Iron Age settlements from southwest central fordan, the Dhiban and Karak Plateaus, is examined using a community perspective. Fmphasis is placed on the production and consumption of food, the raw materials for household and communal wealth. The value of food in the communities was heightened due to the difficult semi-arid environmental conditions in which it was produced. The sharing of food between households and communities was one way to create social bonds, or to gain power over others. Food circulation through practices such as storage, everyday meals and feasts therefore offers an ideal window through which to observe social life. Fvidencefor the communities'food-systems is considered (faunal and palaeobotanical data, storage and food production facilities, ceramic vessel production). The presence and uneven distribution of this evidence within individual communities indicates that households possessed different amounts of food, signaling a degree of inequality between households. A collection of decorated ceramic food-serving vessels is also discussed along with information about its production, its semiotic qualities and the possible roles it played in commensal events. One broader implication of this study is that materials were entangled in the networks of relationships that constituted early Iron Age social life. This recognition of the material world's participation challenges normative ways that early Iron Age societies have been analyzed and represented.

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“…Early Iron Age southwest central Jordan, the Dhiban and Karak Plateaus, consists of a regional settlement pattern of agro-pastoralist communities that has been identified in survey projects (summarized in Routledge 2004: table 4.2), and studied in excavation projects (Figure 1). These settlements include 'Aro'er (Olàvarri 1965;1969;1993), Balu'a (Worschech 1989;Worschech and Ninow 1994;1999;Worschech et al 1986), Dhiban (Morton 1989;Porter et al 2005;Routledge 2004;Tushingham 1972;Winnett and Reed 1964), Khirbat al-Mudayna al-'Aliya (or, al-'Aliya) (Routledge 2000;Routledge and Porter 2007), Khirbat al-Mudayna al-Mu'arradja (or, al-Mu'arradja) (Olàvarri 1977;1983;Menéndez 1983), Khirbat al-Mu'ammariyya (or, al-Mu'ammariyya) (Ninow 2004;2006) and Lahun (Homes-Fredèricq 1992;1994;1997;Swinnen 2009). Some, but not all, settlements (e.g.…”

Section: Food Production Scarcity and Commensal Strategies In Early Iron Age Southwest Central Jordanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding the Community: Objects, Scarcity and Commensality in the Early Iron Age Southern Levant

Porter

2011

jmea

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History and ethnicity have been the preferred frameworks for explaining how Levantine societies organized themselves during the early Iron Age. Consequently, opportunities are missed to understand how local economic and environmental factors structured social life. In this study, a collection of early Iron Age settlements from southwest central Jordan, the Dhiban and Karak Plateaus, is examined using a community perspective. Emphasis is placed on the production and consumption of food, the raw materials for household and communal wealth. The value of food in the communities was heightened due to the difficult semi-arid environmental conditions in which it was produced. The sharing of food between households and communities was one way to create social bonds, or to gain power over others. Food circulation through practices such as storage, everyday meals and feasts therefore offers an ideal window through which to observe social life. Evidence for the communities' food-systems is considered (faunal and palaeobotanical data, storage and food production facilities, ceramic vessel production). The presence and uneven distribution of this evidence within individual communities indicates that households possessed different amounts of food, signaling a degree of inequality between households. A collection of decorated ceramic food-serving vessels is also discussed along with information about its production, its semiotic qualities and the possible roles it played in commensal events. One broader implication of this study is that materials were entangled in the networks of relationships that constituted early Iron Age social life. This recognition of the material world's participation challenges normative ways that early Iron Age societies have been analyzed and represented.

show abstract

Seeing Through Walls: Interpreting Iron Age I Architecture at Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya

Cited by 13 publications

References 0 publications

Measuring Local Diversity in Early Iron Age Animal Economies: A View from Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya (Jordan)

Measuring Local Diversity in Early Iron Age Animal Economies: A View from Khirbat al-Mudayna al-ʿAliya (Jordan)

Feeding the Community

Feeding the Community: Objects, Scarcity and Commensality in the Early Iron Age Southern Levant

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