The Greeks and Romans reproached the Phoenicians for the sacrifice of infants, and the excavation of cremated infants at 'Tophets' (named after the sacrificial site in Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible) seems to bear this out. However, the argument for infant sacrifice depends largely on a skewed age profile, and age is not easy to determine. The authors approach this problem with a battery of new techniques, showing that in the Tophet of Carthage the majority of the infants died between one and one and a half months. Sacrifice was thus very probable.

The Joint Expedition to Samaria dated bedrock installations to Early Bronze I and postulated a gap in occupation until the early ninth century B. C., when King Omri established his capital there. It is suggested that the score of olive- and winepresses cut into the bedrock summit were really part of Shemer's (or better, the Shomron family's) estate, which had been in the family since at least Iron I and included not only the center for processing oil and wine, but also the terraced olive- and vineyards that girdled the slopes. Because Samaria I-II pottery spans the 11th and 10th centuries B. C., this site should not be used to lower the Iron Age chronology for other sites in the Levant, Cyprus, or the Aegean.

Longterm trends are examined for the population mass that occupied the central highlands of Palestine during the Iron Age. After 1200 B. C. the landscape of this sparsely populated "frontier" changed as newcomers established hilltop villages, cultivated intermontane valleys, and terraced the slopes. Spatial patterning within villages and certain toponyms were influenced by patrilineal kinship. Heads of household and their lineage mates exercised rights over inheritance and succession in landholding. Inequalities developed within "tribal" Israel long before the monarchy, probably through a process of "lineage capture;" and clientship, with its dyadic relationships between superiors and inferiors, became more common. Tensions developed within Israelite society from the interactions of kinship, clientship, and kingship. As the population grew under the monarchy, the highland frontier was effectively closed, and opportunities for acquiring new land diminished. Thus, many unmarried males had to look elsewhere for patrons and positions. From the ranks of these noble "youths" came recruits for the military, the government, and the priesthood.

Previous article No AccessProduction and Commerce in Temple Courtyards: An Olive Press in the Sacred Precinct at Tel DanLawrence E. Stager and Samuel R. WolffLawrence E. Stager Search for more articles by this author and Samuel R. Wolff Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research Volume 243Summer 1981 A journal of the American Schools of Oriental Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/1356661 Views: 21Total views on this site Citations: 2Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in the Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research (1921-2021), which is continued by the Bulletin of the American Schools of Overseas Research (2022-present). Copyright 1982 The American Schools of Oriental ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Saar Ganor and Igor Kreimerman An Eighth-Century b.c.e. Gate Shrine at Tel Lachish, Israel, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 381 (May 2019): 211–236.https://doi.org/10.1086/703343 Daniel M. Master Economy and Exchange in the Iron Age Kingdoms of the Southern Levant, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 372 (Nov 2018): 81–97.https://doi.org/10.5615/bullamerschoorie.372.0081

Previous articleNext article No AccessFarming in the Judean Desert during the Iron AgeLawrence E. StagerLawrence E. Stager Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research Volume 221February 1976Memorial Issue: Essays in Honor of George Ernest Wright A journal of the American Schools of Oriental Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/1356097 Views: 14Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in the Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research (1921-2021), which is continued by the Bulletin of the American Schools of Overseas Research (2022-present). Copyright 1976 The American Schools of Oriental ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article: Larry G. Herr Frank Moore Cross and Archaeology, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 372 (Nov 2018): 171–174.https://doi.org/10.5615/bullamerschoorie.372.0171

Previous articleNext article No AccessAn Inscribed Potsherd from the Eleventh Century B. C.Lawrence E. StagerLawrence E. Stager Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research Volume 194April 1969 A journal of the American Schools of Oriental Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/1356427 Views: 3Total views on this site Journal History This article was published in the Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research (1921-2021), which is continued by the Bulletin of the American Schools of Overseas Research (2022-present). PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.