Early Bronze Age settlement system and village life in the Jenin Region/ Palestine : a study of Tell Jenin stratigraphy and pottery traditions

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Early Bronze Age settlement system and village life in the Jenin

Region/ Palestine : a study of Tell Jenin stratigraphy and pottery

traditions

Salem, H.J.

Citation

Salem, H. J. (2006, February 14). Early Bronze Age settlement system and village life in the

Jenin Region/ Palestine : a study of Tell Jenin stratigraphy and pottery traditions. Retrieved

from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4360

Version:

Not Applicable (or Unknown)

License:

Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the

_{Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden}

Downloaded from:

https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4360

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Early Bronze Age Settlement System and Village Life

in the Jenin Region/ Palestine

A Study of Tell Jenin Stratigraphy and Pottery Traditions

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Early Bronze Age Settlement System and Village Life

in the Jenin Region/ Palestine

A Study of Tell Jenin Stratigraphy and Pottery Traditions

Proefschrift

ter verkrijging van

de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus Dr. D.D. Breimer,

hoogleraar in de Faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen en die der Geneeskunde, volgens het besluit van het College voor Promoties

te verdedigen op dinsdag 14 februari 2006 klokke 15.15 uur

door

Hamed J. Salem

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Promotiecommissie:

Promotor: Prof. Dr. J.L. Bintliff Co-promotores: Dr. A. van As

Dr. G. van der Kooij

Referent: Dr. S.E. Falconer, University of Arizona, USA Overige leden: Prof. Dr. P.M.M.G. Akkermans

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Table of Contents iii

List of Figures and Tables

vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION:

THE RESEARCH QUESTION

1 INTRODUCTION

1

2 A REVIEW OF SETTLEMENT PATTERN STUDIES

RELEVANT TO EARLY BRONZE AGE SETTLEMENT

SYSTEMS

1

2.1 MODELS OF SETTLEMENT PATTERNS AND SITE CATCHMENT ANALYSIS

2

2.1.1 Definition of Regional Settlement Pattern 2

2.1.2 A Cause and Effect Approach to Village Life Continuity and Change in a Regional Context

2

2.1.2.1 CULTURAL CAUSES ₂

2.1.2.2 NATURAL EXTERNAL CAUSES ₄

2.1.3 Definition of Site Catchment Approach 5

2.2 SITE CATCHMENTS APPLICATIONS IN A NEAR EASTERN CONTEXT

6

2.3 THEORIES OF CULTURAL CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OF EBI IN PALESTINE

10

2.3.1 General Discussions, General Models 10

2.3.2 Settlement Pattern Models of Continuity and Change 12

2.3.3 Summary and Review 15

3 A FRAMEWORK OF CULTURAL CONTINUITY AND

CHANGE

16

3.1 DEFINING THE CONCEPT TRADITION 16

3.2 ABANDONMENT VERSUS SETTLEMENT SHIFT AND CONTINUITY

17

3.3 DEFINITION OF POTTERY TRADITION CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

17

3.3.1 Pottery Traditions 17

3.3.2 Pottery Tradition in Palestine 18

4 CHRONOLOGY AND NOMENCLATURE

20

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Table of Contents iv

CHAPTER 2: THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF

THE TELL JENIN REGION

1 INTRODUCTION

24

2 A FRAMEWORK FOR DEFINING THE JENIN REGION

24

3 A SURVEY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE

TELL JENIN REGION

28

3.1 HISTORICAL SUMMARY OF JENIN REGION

28

3.2 ASPECTS OF TRADITIONAL VILLAGE LIFE IN THE JENIN

REGION

30

3.2.1 Local Chiefdom: The Case of Arrabeh Village ₃₁

3.2.1.1 ARCHAEOLOGICALANDHISTORICALACCOUNTS ₃₁ 3.2.1.2 LOCALCHIEFDOMOFABDULELHADY ₃₂ 3.2.1.3 VILLAGEPLANNINGANDPALACES:ANURBANORARURALCENTRE? ₃₃

3.2.1.4 CONCLUDINGREMARKS ₃₄

3.2.2 The Local Pottery Traditions of the Jenin Region ₃₄

3.2.2.1 Y’ABADPOTTERYTRADITONS ₃₄

3.2.2.2 THEWHEELMADEPOTTERYOFJABA' ₃₆

3.2.2.3 POTTERS’ECONOMY ₃₈

3.3 PATTERN OF SETTLEMENT OF TRADITIONAL PALESTINIAN

VILLAGES AS A MODEL FOR RECONSTRUCTING JENIN

REGION SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS

39

3.3.1 Traditional Villages as a Model of Population Estimates and Site Catchment Analysis

40

3.3.2 Site Catchment, Land Use and Economic Production ₄₂

3.3.3 The Model 45

4 AN OVERVIEW OF JENIN REGION SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS

46

4.1 THE NATURE OF THE SURVEY DATA

46

4.1.1 Review of the Archaeological Surveys 46

4.1.2 Notes on the Settlement Sizes 48

4.1.3 Notes On Site Location And Occupation 49

4.2 THE PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM

50

4.2.1 Prehistory (Chalcolithic) Of Tell Jenin Region ₅₀

4.2.2 The Early Bronze Age I ₅₃

4.2.3 The EBII-III Periods 57

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Table of Contents v

CHAPTER3: TELL JENIN SITE SETTINGS

1 THE SITE ENVIRONMENT

63

1.1 THE LOCATION

63

1.2 CLIMATE

65

1.3 WATER RESOURCES

65

1.4 GEOLOGY

66

2 HISTORICAL IDENTIFICATION OF TELL JENIN

66

2.1 THE PROBLEMS WITH HISTORICAL RECORDS

66

2.2 IDENTIFICATION OF TELL JENIN IN THE ANCIENT

HISTORICAL RECORDS

67

2.3 CONCLUSION

70

3 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF TELL JENIN

71

The Archaeological Explorations of Tell Jenin 71

4 THE STRATIGRAPHY OF TELL JENIN

72

4.1 STRATUM I: THE PRE-OCCUPATION PHASE

72

4.2 STRATUM II: NEOLITHIC HABITAT

73

4.3 STRATUM III: THE LATE CHALCOLITHIC AND EARLY

BRONZE AGE IA TOWN

75

4.3.1 Phase 1: Pre-Construction Phase of the Early Bronze Age I ₇₅

4.3.2 Phase 1a ₇₅

4.3.3 Phase 1b ₈₀

4.3.4 Phase 2 ₈₀

4.3.5 Phase 3 ₈₂

4.4 STRATUM IV: THE EARLY BRONZE AGE I-B PERIOD

83

4.4.1 Phase 1 ₈₃

4.4.2 Phase 2 ₈₄

4.4.3 Phase 3 ₈₄

4.4.4 Phase 4 ₈₄

4.4.5 The Apsidal House of Tell Jenin in the Wake of Curvilinear Architecture ₈₅

5 PHASING SUMMARY AFTER THE EARLY BRONZE AGE

85

5.1 STRATUM VI (13TH-12TH CENTURY TRANSITION)

86

5.2 STRATUM VI AND VII (EARLY AND LATE BYZANTINE

87

5.3 STRATUM VIII (SEVENTH CENTURY A.D.)

87

5.4 STRATUM IX (OTTOMAN ACTIVITIES)

88

5.5 STRATUM X (RECENT AND MODERN ACTIVITIES)

88

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Table of Contensts vi

CHAPTER 4: A TECHNOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE

EARLY BRONZE AGE I POTTERY OF TELL JENIN

1 INTRODUCTION

89

2 MATERIALS

AND

METHODS

89

2.1 THE

NATURE

OF

THE

STUDY

SAMPLE

89

2.2 METHODS

OF

DATA

COLLECTION

AND

ANALYSIS

91

2.2.1 Data Collection 91

2.2.2 Analysis 91

2.2.2.1 RAW MATERIALS 91

2.2.2.1.1 Study of the Clay Samples 91

2.2.2.1.2 Study of the Pottery 93

2.2.2.2 MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES 94

2.2.2.3 POTTERY FORMS 94

2.2.2.4 SURFACE TREATMENT AND DECORATION 95

2.2.3 Statistical Analysis 95

3 RESULTS

95

3.1 RAW

MATERIALS

95

3.1.1 The Natural Clay (Clay Samples) 95

3.1.1.1 COLOURS 96 3.1.1.2 SHRINKAGE RATE 98 3.1.1.3 POROSITY 98 3.1.1.4 STRENGTH 99 3.1.1.5 THE NON-PLASTICS 99 3.1.1.6 CONCLUSIONS 99

3.2 THE

EARLY

BRONZE

AGE

POTTERY

100

3.2.1 The Fabric (Fired Clay and Non-Plastics) 100

3.2.1.1 CLAY COLOUR 100

3.2.1.2 NON-PLASTICS TYPES 101

3.2.1.3 NON-PLASTICS SIZES 103

3.2.1.4 NON- PLASTICS INTENSITY 103

3.2.1.5 SOME REMARKS 103

3.2.2 Manufacturing Techniques 104

3.2.3 Pottery Forms 105

3.2.4 Sherd Types 105

3.2.4.1 RIMS 105

3.2.4.2 RELATION BETWEEN RIM TURN AND RIM TYPES 106 3.2.4.3 RIM DIAMETER AND WALL THICKNESS 107 3.2.4.4 RELATION OF RIM TO BASE DIAMETERS 107

3.2.4.5 HANDLES 107

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Table of Contensts vii

3.3 SURFACE

TREATMENT

AND

DECORATION

109

4 TYPOLOGY

OF

THE

EARLY

BRONZE

AGE

POTTERY

110

4.1 THE

CLASSIFICATION

SYSTEM

110

4.2 THE

POTTERY

TYPES

113

4.2.1 Type 1: Hole-Mouth Jars Rims 113

4.2.1.1 SUB-TYPE 1 HOLE-MOUTH JARS WITH FLAT RIMS 113 4.2.1.2 SUB-TYPE 2: HOLE- MOUTH JARS WITH GROOVED RIMS 113 4.2.1.3 SUB-TYPE 3: HOLE-MOUTH JARS WITH ROUNDED RIMS 113 4.2.1.4 SUB-TYPE 4: HOLE-MOUTH JARS WITH ROUNDED TO A POINT RIM 113

4.2.2 Type 2: Neck Jars 116

4.2.3 Type 3 Pithos 120

4.2.4 Type 4: Jugs And Juglets 122

4.2.5 Type 5: Bowls 124

4.2.6 Type 6: Small Bowls Or Cups 127

4.2.7 Type 7: Goblets 129

4.2.8 Type 8: The Grey Burnished Tradition 131

4.2.9 Kraters 133

5 CONCLUSION

135

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS

139

Bibliography

145

Appendices

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List of Figures

Figure 1.1: Location Map of Jenin Region. 25

Figure 1.2: Map of the Jenin Region Settlements 27-28

Figure 1.3: A general Photo of Sahel Arrabeh 32

Figure 1.4.1: Y'abad Potter Kneading Clay 34

Figure 1.4.2: Y'abad Potter Making the Base from a Coil 35

Figure 1.4.3: Y'abad Potter Inserting the Handle 35

Figure 1.4.4: Y'abad Pottery 36

Figure 1.4.5: Y'abad Potter Firing the Pots. 36

Figure 1.5.1: Jaba' Workshop 37

Figure 1.5.2: Jaba' Potters making the Storage Jar 37

Figure 1.5.3: Jaba' Potter making the Storage Jar 38

Figure 1.5.4: Jaba' Potter M. Yunis and his Son at Work 38 Figure 2.1.1: Population Estimates Following Different Coefficients 40 Figure 2.1.2 Population Estimates Average of all Coefficients 40 Figure 2.2.1: Digital Elevation Model of Jenin Region (ARIJ 1996) 43

Figure 2.2.2: Soil Map of Jenin Region (ARIJ 1996) 43

Figure 2.2.3: Land Use Map of Jenin Region (Courtesy ARIJ 1996) 44

Figure 2.2.4: Aerial Photo of Jenin City Surrounding 44

Figure 2.3.1: Surveys per Site Coverage 46

Figure 2.3.2: Area Boundary Covered by the Surveys 47

Figure 2.3.3: Cluster of Sites by Sizes 48

Figure 2.3.4: Occupation Periods per Site 50

Figure 2.3.5: Chart of Sites by Occupational Periods 50

Figure 2.4.1: Map of the Chalcolithic Sites by Size and Area 51 Figure 2.4.2: Map of the Chalcolithic States (Thiessen Polygon) 52 Figure 2.4.3: Map of Early Bronze Age I Sites by Size and Area 54 Figure 2.4.4: Map of the Early Bronze Age I States (Thiessen Polygon) 55 Figure 2.4.5: Map of the Early Bronze Age II Sites by Size and Area 57 Figure 2.4.6: Map of the Early Bronze Age II States (Thiessen Polygon) 58 Figure 2.5: Territorial Boundaries of Major Sites in Jenin Region 60

Figure 3.1: Location Map of Tell Jenin 64

Figure 3.2: Natural Deposits 72

Figure 3.3: Top of Natural Deposits. 72

Figure 3.4: Top Plan of Stratum II (Site 4) 73

Figure 3.5: Top Plan of Stratum III-Platform (Site 4) 74

Figure 3.6: Remains of the Platform 4.017 and Wall 4.026 (Site 4) 75

Figure 3.7: North Main Section of Site 4. 76

Figure 3.8: West Main Section of Site 4. 77

Figure 3.9: South Main Section of Site 4. 78

Figure 3.10: East Main Section of Site 4 79

Figure 3.11: Figure 3.6. Remains of Animal Skeleton 80

Figure 3.12: Apsidal House Phases (Site 3) 81

Figure 3.13: First Phase of Apsidal House (Site 3) 82

Figure 3.14: Upper Apsidal House Phase (Site 3) 82

Figure 3.15: Apse and Section through Apsidal House (Site 3) 83 Figure 3.16: Destruction Phase of Strata III, IV (Site 3) 85

Figure 3.17: Stratum V Terrace Wall (Site 4) 86

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List of Figures and Tables ix Figure 3.19: Lower Phase of Byzantine Occupation. (Site 4) 87

Figure 3.20: Upper Phase of Byzantine Occupation. (Site 4) 87 Figure 3.21: Occupational Remains of Stratum VIII (Site 4) 87 Figure 3.22: A look at North Section Showing Stratum IX Remains (Site 4) 88

Figure 4.1.1: Distribution of the Sherd Types 90

Figure 4.1.2: Distribution of the Sherds Between the Two Strata 90

Figure 4.1.3: Distribution of the Sherd Types by Phase 91

Figure 4.2.1: Shrinkage Rate of all Samples 96

Figure 4.2.2: Porosity Rates at Various Temperatures 97

Figure 4.2.3: Charts of Average Strength, Porosity, and Shrinkage Rate for all Clay Samples

98

Figure 4.3.1: Pottery Colours 100

Figure 4.3.2: Non-Plastics Types by Strata 101

Figure.4.3.3: Manufacturing Method by Strata 104

Figure 4.3.4: Distribution of Forms by Strata 104

Figure 4.3.5: Distribution of Form between Strata 105

Figure 4.3.6: Distribution of Rim Types 106

Figure 4.3.7: Rim Type by Rim Turn 107

Figure 4.3.8: Relation of Rim to Base Diameter with Wall Thickness 107

Figure 4.3.9: Handle Types 108

Figure 4.3.10: Base Diameters 108

Figure 4.3.11: Distribution of Surface Treatment Types 109

Figure 4.4.1: Bar of Type per Strata 111

Figure 4.4.2: Bar Chart of Pottery Types 111

Figure 5: See (Appendix C) Drawings of Pottery Sherds

Figure 6.1.1.1: Pie Chart of Interior Surface Color for Type 1 114 Figure 6.1.1.2: Pie Chart of Exterior Surface Color for Type 1 114 Figure 6.1.2: Pie Chart of Non-Plastics Types for Type 1 114 Figure 6.1.3: Box Plot of Non-Plastics Intensity, Type and Size for Type 1 114

Figure 6.1.4: Pie Chart of Decoration Types for Type 2 116

Figure 6.4.4: Decoration Types for Type 4 124

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List of Figures and Tables x Figure 6.6.2: Pie Chart of Non-Plastics Types for Type 6 128

Figure 6.6.3: Box Plot of Non-Plastics Intensity, Type and Size for Type 6 128

Figure 6.8.1.1: Pie Chart of Interior Surface Color for Type 8 131 Figure 6.8.1.2: Pie Chart of Exterior Surface Color for Type 8 132 Figure 6.8.2: Pie Chart of Non-Plastics Types for Type 8 132 Figure 6.8.3: Box Plot of Non-Plastics Intensity, Type and Size for Type 8 132 Figure 6.9.1.1: Pie Chart of Interior Surface Color for Type 9 133 Figure 6.9.1.2: Pie Chart of Exterior Surface Color for Type 9 134 Figure 6.9.2: Pie Chart of Non-Plastics Types for Type 9 134 Figure 6.9.3: Box Plot of Non-Plastics Intensity, Type and Size for Type 9 134

Figure 7.1 : Clustering of all Types 136

Figure 7.2: Component Analysis of all Types 137

List of Tables

Table 1.1: Land Use and Land Productivity in Jenin Region (1945 British Census)

41 Table 1.2: Average Summary of Various Village Sizes in Terms of their Needs 42 Table 2.1: Coverage of Surveys for Settlements within Jenin Region 46 Table 2.2: Frequency of Occupational Periods per Sites number 47 Table 2.3: Frequency Table of Tell Jenin Showing the Development History of

the Occupational Periods 49

Table 3.1.1: Distribution of Sherd Types Between the Two Strata 90

Table 3.2.1: Colours of Clay Samples 96

Table 3.2.2.: Strength, Porosity and Shrinkage Rate of the Clay Samples 97

Table 3.2.3: Non-plastics Type Size, and Intensity for Clay Samples 99

Table 3.3.1: Distribution of Non-Plastics between Strata 101

Table 3.3.2.: Distribution of Non-Plastics for Intensity and Size 102

Table 3.3.3.: Rim Types between Strata 105

Table 3.3.4.: Distribution of Surface Treatment Types between Strata 109

Table 4.1: Distribution of Pottery Types between Strata 112