There and back again: A zooarchaeological perspective on Early and Middle Bronze Age urbanism in the southern Levant

Abstract

Multiple arguments for or against the presence of 'urban' settlements in the Early Bronze Age of the southern Levant have identified the need to compare these settlements against their rural hinterlands through multiple lines of evidence. This meta-analysis of zooarchaeological data from the region compares and identifies patterns of animal production, provisioning and consumption between the supposed "urban" and rural sites of the southern Levant from the Early Bronze (EB) against the (more widely recognised urban) Middle Bronze (MB) Ages. It also identifies distinct and regionally specific patterns in animal production and consumption that can be detected between urban and rural sites of the southern Levant. The taxonomic and age profiles from EB Ia and Ib sites do not demonstrate any urban versus rural differentiation patterning, even though fortifications appear in the EB Ib. Beginning in the EB II and clearly visible in the EB III, there is differentiation between rural and urban sites in the taxonomic and age proportions. Differentiation is repeated in the MB II. The clear differentiation between "urban" and rural zooarchaeological assemblages from the EB II-III and MB suggest that rural sites are provisioning the larger fortified settlements. This pattern indicates that these sites are indeed urban in nature, and these societies are organized at the state-level. From the EB II onwards, there is a clear bias in the large centres towards the consumption of cattle and of subadult sheep and goats with a corresponding bias in smaller rural sites towards the consumption of adult sheep and goats and a reduced presence of cattle. After the emergence of this differential pattern, it disappears with the decline in social complexity at the end of the Early Bronze Age, only to come 'back again' with the re-emergence of urban settlement systems in the Middle Bronze Age.

Landscapes, climate and choice: Examining patterns in animal provisioning across the Near East c. 13,000-0 BCE

“…Some decrease in pigs is seen in northern Mesopotamia in both urban and rural sites, although these are minor and do not extend to cattle. The southern Levant also sees a slight pig decrease, but at the same time also sees the development of urban settlements (Gaastra et al 2020b). Multiple regions (Anatolia, the Caucasus, eastern Iran and possibly western Iran) also demonstrate increased proportions of water-intensive cattle at rural sites even in more marginal landuse zones.…”

“…In keeping with the criteria from previous studies (e.g. Gaastra et al 2020b) sites were divided in this study into rural and urban categories based on settlement size (relative to regional values), internal planning and the presence of elite/public buildings. While the specific species consumed varies according to cultural preferences, studies across multiple cultures of the ancient Near East have identified the common pattern of divergent species and age proportions eaten between urban and rural sites (e.g.…”

“…Animal remains classified to these indeterminate categories were present in 117 (88% of total) samples. For site samples dating post-c.6000 BCE these indeterminate remains were classified pro rata as wild or domestic following the method established by Orton et al (2016;Gaastra & Vander Linden 2018;Gaastra et al 2020aGaastra et al , 2020b. Equids, which include domestic horses (Equus caballus) and donkeys (Equus asinus) as well as wild onager (Equus hemionus), are notoriously difficult to differentiate from individual bones and teeth (Clutton-Brock 1986).…”

“…This also means that equids (wild or domestic) could not be assigned to the broader 'large game' cate-gory in correspondence analysis and instead formed an independent category of 'equid wild/domestic'. Macromammal bone counts were grouped according to domestic species (ovicaprines, cattle, pigs and dogs) combined wild/domestic equids and hunted wild game divided between small (wolf size and smaller) and large (wolf size and larger) body size classes following the method of previous analyses (Gaastra et al 2020a(Gaastra et al , 2020b.…”

Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on Woodland in Northern Syria (4th–2nd Mill. BC): Evidence from Charcoal Assemblages and Oak Measurements

“…It was marked by a three to four-tiered settlement hierarchy, and the urban centers included massive city walls, palaces and temples. There is evidence for increased specialization and intensification in the pastoral sector (Ur 2010a;Gaastra et al 2020;Gaastra et al 2021;Price et al 2017), with dung being increasingly used as (additional) fuel at Middle Euphrates sites, especially those further south, suggesting decreased availability of woody resources (Miller 1997). Writing is used for the first time during this phase, specifically in the realm of the palace and its economic administration (Kolinski 2007).…”