The Levantine Early Bronze Age (EBA; 3800/3600– 2600/2500 BCE; Regev et al. 2012; Table 1) challenges generations of researchers, that are forced to change approaches, refine methods and reconsider narratives in order to explain the nature of social change and the profound transformations reflected in the material culture (Albright 1949; Chesson 2015; Chesson and Philip 2003; Esse 1991; Greenberg 2019; de Miroschedji 1989; Philip 2001; Philip and Baird 2000). The elephant in the room is, of course, the urbanization processes that swept through the Ancient Near East during the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE, resulting in unmistakable change in the social, economic and political matrix in all sub-regions comprising this area. The EBA in the southern and central Levant involves independent trajectories within the overall pattern of rising complexity, with multifarious regional and local narratives. Co-existing and being in contact with societies that participated in the formation of the first bureaucratic states and literate civilizations, Levantine societies found their own, different, nonlinear ways of re-organization and development (Chesson 2015; Chesson and Philip 2003; Greenberg 2019; Joffe 1993; Pollock 1999; Stein 2012; Yoffe 2005). The co-existing, and sometimes competing, regional narratives of social and political developments in the Levantine EBA are a reflection of the environmental variability and fragmentation characterizing the narrow Mediterranean strip along the Eastern Mediterranean littoral and neighbouring steppe and desert regions. The abundance of archaeological data assembled from the different parts of the Levant expresses the existence of small-scale, yet spatially coherent settlement systems (or activity systems in the case of more arid regions) with high cultural integration. Each of these systems had a somewhat different trajectory within the overall EBA sequence, resulting in distinct patterns of material culture that only partially overlap chronologically (Ben-Yosef et al. 2016; Chesson 2015; Greenberg 2002; 2019; de Miroschedji 1989; 2014; Müller-Neuhof 2014; Richard 2014; Savage et al. 2007). These differences constitute tangible manifestations to the formation and recreation of social identities, circulation of ideas and traditions, reshaping of cultural boundaries, and the rise and decline of regional powers. Deep comparative examination of the material culture in each region may get us closer to delineating the invention of regional entities, in the sense of social and political units, as well as

Tel Bet Yerah has provided us with an opportunity to advance the study of diasporic Kura-Araxes research in multiple ways. Reflecting on what we have learned in twenty years at the site, we summarize the evidence for an assemblage that goes far beyond Khirbet Kerak ceramics, and includes the organization of space, miniature art, stone and metal artifacts, food and fuel acquisition and consumption practices. We also reflect on our evolving understanding of migration and interaction with local cultures and on the role of intentionality in maintaining cultural and political distinction.

This paper deals with a unique stone object found at the Early Bronze Age site of Tel Yaqush in the Central Jordan Valley. The object is understood by the authors to be a cylinder-seal amulet with incised geometric motifs, locally produced by a non-specialist craftsman in imitation of specialized seals of local glyptic tradition. The paper presents the object as part of the emerging local glyptic tradition of the period and discusses its significance to the understanding of social and cultural trends as related to the EB I–II chronological horizon in the region. The attempt to imitate a specialized object used to impress pottery vessels from a centralized ceramic production centre elicits a profound discussion on the concept of imitation and its social roots. It may be studied and interpreted using a network approach, which provides a good analytical tool to explore the village of Yaqush and its interactions within EB I–II southern Levantine social systems. Yaqush’s singular object and its specific archaeological context, serve as a basis to explore the occurrences of the 31st–30th centuries BCE and discuss relations between the Jordan Valley communities, and the way they are maintained by cultural transmission through objects and practices in this period.

Керамика является важнейшим компонентом майкопской культуры и уникальным источником информации о ее производителях и пользователях. Целью нашего исследования является описание технологических систем, в рамках которых была произведена керамика Серегинского поселения. В статье представлены результаты технологического анализа керамического ансамбля, включающего в себя исследование методов конструирования, обработки поверхностей и обжига, а также анализ материалов, использованных для производства керамики и местного потенциального сырья для керамического производства. Жители Серегинского поселения пользовались керамикой, произведенной в рамках 2 индустрий, характеризуемых специфическими техниками, формовочными массами и принципами организации труда. Индустрии, описанные в статье, можно связать с двумя традициями, действующими в соответствии с разными технологическими принципами. Pottery is a key component of the Maykop cultural phenomenon and a unique source of information on its producers and users. The aim of this study is to describe technological systems used to produce ceramics at the Sereginskoye settlement. The article presents the results of the technological analysis of the pottery assemblage. The systematic analysis includes the investigation of vessel shaping, surface treatment and firing, as well as the study of raw materials used to produce ceramics and local potential resources for ceramic production. The Sereginskoye inhabitants used pottery produced by three industries characterized by specific techniques, clay fabrics and principles of production organization. The industries described in the article can be associated with two traditions based on different technological principles.

Серегинское поселение, исследованное в 1980-е гг. и опубликованное в двух сжатых статьях, является одним из ключевых для понимания структуры жилых памятников майкопской культурно-исторической общности. Авторы видят своей основной целью расширенную подробную публикацию материалов завершенных раскопок Серегинского поселения. Основываясь на новом анализе полевой документации и материальной культуры, мы предлагаем новую интерпретацию зафиксированных на плане объектов и представляем научному сообществу дополнительную важную информацию, полученную в процессе раскопок и неопубликованную или лишь частично опубликованную ранее. Результаты исследования позволяют говорить о сложной, неоднослойной, плотной стратиграфии Серегинского поселения с толщиной культурного слоя 0,9–1 м и частой сменой планировки застройки/деятельности. Sereginskoe is a small Maikop settlement located in the wide alluvial plain of the Lower Kuban river. The settlement was excavated and preliminary published in two articles in the late 1980s – early 1990s. It is one of the key sites for understanding of the Maykop cultural-historical community and its settlement structure. The main goal of the presented article is to provide a detailed publication of stratigraphic observations and finds of the State Museum of Oriental Art (Moscow) expedition team, headed by K. Dneprovskiy. Based on a new analysis of original field documentation and material culture assemblage, we suggest a new interpretation of stratigraphy and structure of the settlement. We hope to provide the scientific community with unpublished or partially published data obtained during the excavations. The results of the study suggest a complex, multi-phase and dense stratigraphy of Sereginskoye settlement, characterized by a frequent change of plan and architecture.

Оригинальная документация и объекты материальной культуры двух сезонов раскопок на Серегинском поселении (1987–1988 гг.) были использованы для реконструкции его планиграфии и его строений. В статье описаны основные составляющие поселения и взаимосвязь между турлучными строениями фаз 8 и 7. Серегинское включало в себя большие, округлые турлучные постройки с обмазанными полами и системой очагов. После обрушения построек оставались груды турлука высотой 7–25 см, состоящие из обломков обмазки, смешанных с углями, а иногда с черепками и костями. Следующие сооружения строились в непосредственной близости от груд турлука или прямо на них. Серегинское поселение характеризуется чередованием рухнувших и вновь отстроенных турлучных структур и плотной стратиграфией. Система очажных площадок Серегинского схожа с описанной С. Кореневским на поселении Галюгай-1. Плотная стратиграфия, зафиксированная на Серегинском, не типична для известных на сегодняшний день по литературе майкопских памятников. Original field documentation and material culture from two excavation seasons at the Sereginskoe settlement (1987–1988) in Adygea were used for the reconstruction of the Maikop settlement and its dwellings. The article describes the main components of the settlement and the relationship between the wattle and daub structures of phases 8 and 7. Sereginskoe included large, rounded wattle and daub structures with plastered floors and a system of fireplaces. The collapsed structures formed piles of 7–25 cm high, consisting of wattle and daub fragments, mixed with charcoals, and sometimes with potsherds and bones. The later structures were built in close proximilty of these piles or right on them. Sereginskoe settlement is characterized by a series of collapsed and rebuilt wattle and daub structures, and dense stratigraphy. The system of fireplaces described in the paper is similar to the pattern described by S. Korenevskiy at the settlement of Galyugay-1. Dense stratigraphy recorded at Sereginskoe is atypical for Maykop settlements known at present from publications.

The Maikop culture of the 4th millennium BC has long been recognized as one of the most intriguing phenomena in the archaeology and history of Eurasia. A pottery assemblage of Ust-Dzheguta, located on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus, should provide an insight into Maikop society and its technological and social choices. The article provides information on geographical location and geological settings of the Maikop site. Based on optical mineralogy analysis, potential raw materials and geological maps, fabrics and their possible geological sources were defined. The pottery assemblage exhibits technical and technological heterogeneity, including the use of a variety of raw materials and techniques. Correlation between types of vessels and fabrics is traced. Three Maikop pottery industries have been identified. Most of massive and sophisticated basins and pithoi were produced by highly skilled and specialized potters. The majority of vessels were manufactured by part-time potters. Cooking vessels were made as part of household production. The conclusion is provided about the established specialization in the pottery manufacture and preservation of household production.

This article highlights the results of five excavation seasons at Tel Yaqush, Israel, conducted between the 1989 and 2000 on behalf of The Oriental Institute at The University of Chicago. Tel Yaqush was a medium-sized village, inhabited during the entire Early Bronze Age period, from the mid-4th to the mid-3rd millennia b.c.e. The excavations exposed a dense settlement begun in the Early Bronze Age (EB) I, which ended in a severe conflagration. Apparently rebuilt at the beginning of EB II, the village remained a small site and technically non-urban throughout the period. Destroyed at the end of EB II, it was renewed in EB III, coinciding with the arrival of people bearing the Khirbet Kerak Ware ceramic tradition. This preliminary report includes new observations following recent studies of Tel Yaqush finds, including a new sequence of 14C dates from EB I to III (published in detail elsewhere). The excavation results summarized here reveal the unique role Tel Yaqush played during the shift to urbanism, and its contribution to our understanding of Early Bronze Age village society in the central Jordan Valley.

New optical mineralogy and pXRF studies of ceramics from First Dynasty royal tombs at Abydos and from Tel Bet Yerah, in the Jordan Valley, reveal a very close correlation between vessels from Egypt and both fired and unfired wares from a potter's establishment at Tel Bet Yerah, marking the first time that vessels found in Egypt can be attributed a site-specific origin in the Levant. Other vessels, most of them previously identified as 'metallic ware', included some that likely originated in the northern Jordan Valley and two vessels from a the Lebanese Biqa valley or Lebanese coast. The vessels found in Egypt most likely span the entire First Dynasty, beginning with Djer, whereas the equivalent material from Tel Bet Yerah falls in the EB II/ESL 4 period, radiometrically dated at Bet Yerah to ca. 3100-2900 BCE. No evidence was found for a more southerly origin of imported Levantine wares in the First Dynasty.

Древности Восточной Европы, Центральной Азии и Южной Сибири в контексте связей и взаимодействий в евразийском культурном пространстве (новые данные и концепции) Antiquities of East Europe, South Asia and South Siberia in the context of connections and interactions within the Eurasian cultural space (new data and concepts) К

New excavations conducted in the Circles Building (Granary) at Tel Bet Yerah, first excavated in 1946, form the basis for a revised, detailed description of the construction and use of this unique structure. Stratigraphic soundings have established that the structure consisted of three platforms with seven circles sunk into them, enclosing a paved courtyard that was open toward the east. The structure was constructed in a single operation, at the transition between Early Bronze Age II and III, but it seems to have been abandoned before it was completed and given over to new tenants who changed the trajectory of its use. These new inhabitants are responsible for the bulk of the deposits excavated in and around the building, which are characterized by large quantities of Khirbet Kerak Ware and complementary lithic and other assemblages. We suggest that the building was conceived as part of the corporate urbanizing project of Early Bronze Age II, but was overtaken by a crisis that deflected the urban trajectory of Tel Bet Yerah in Early Bronze Age III and allowed the entry of migrant groups, such as those bearing the Khirbet Kerak Ware tradition.

The Kura-Araxes phenomenon, represented by its trademark pottery, is one of the most intriguing examples of cultural expansion in the Bronze Age world. Technological analysis of pottery assemblages, providing insight into relations between producers, users, pots and the environment, can be a key to understand how the culture was maintained over time and space. We focus on Tsaghkasar, an early Kura-Araxes village in the Armenian highlands, which should provide a clear view of the technological choices that characterize the Kura-Araxes tradition from its inception, as well as a benchmark against which to measure other expressions of the tradition. Using visual observations, microscopic method and experimental work, we demonstrate that the tradition was based on the use of ready-to-hand soils that underwent considerable manipulation, and on added tempers including volcanic ash that may have been perceived as a guarantee of technical success.

The paper attempts to integrate the study of the manufacture, function and discard of chalices from three sites in Philistia in order to form a coherent 'life-cycle story' of this vessel type. The analyses include examination of the sources of the ceramic raw material using petrography; study of the modes of manufacture, employing visual inspection and ethnographic data; and examination of the function of these vessels, using organic residue analysis. By combining these analytic perspectives, the authors shed new light on cultic practices in Iron Age Philistia and offer an alternative view of Philistine identity.

A Tel Bet Yerah, la fouille intensive de contextes associés à de grandes quantités de céramique Khirbet-Kerak (KKW), ainsi que de contextes associés à la poterie de tradition locale, qu’ils soient antérieurs aux contextes KKW ou contemporains, nous a permis d’élargir la définition du complexe culturel KKW. L’usage du torchis, le mobilier en terre cuite polie, une technologie lithique particulière, les supports de foyers en argile, des objets symboliques et des éléments de mobilier lourd en pierre, peuvent tous être attribués aux contextes KKW. Ils diffèrent nettement de la tradition locale et trouvent de nombreux précédents dans le monde ETC / Kura-Araxe en Anatolie orientale et dans le Haut Euphrate. Ces découvertes donnent plus de crédibilité à l’approche qui voit l’introduction vers 2800 av. J.-C. de la KKW au Levant comme un témoignage de la migration d’un groupe familial.

A sample of glossed and non-glossed Canaanean blades from the Early Bronze Age Ib-II site of Qiryat Ata, northern Israel, was the subject of a use-wear analysis. This research comprised microscopic analysis and a series of experiments based on the microscopic use-wear detected to reconstruct the function of the archaeological Canaanean blades. Two main activities were reconstructed in the analysis: one related to plant processing, including cereal harvesting and threshing; and the other, which is the focus of this article, was related to pottery processing. Several experiments using experimental flint blades were carried out, including processing clay on a potter's wheel, and processing by hand. The results indicated that the microscopic traces on the blades were produced by contact with moist coarse-tempered clay, especially for smoothing by hand, as in the initial stages of pottery processing and shaping. Reconstructing the potters' use of Canaanean blades indicated that ceramic tools were locally produced at Qiryat Ata. Reconstruction also contributed to the understanding of the complexity involved in models related to Canaanean blade production and distribution.

ABSTRACT Two identical ceramic rattles dated to the Early Islamic period (ninth–eleventh centuries CE), retrieved from excavations at Mishmar David (Israel), were studied using petrographic analysis and x-ray radiography. The petrography shows that the rattles were made of a typical Egyptian Nile Valley clay, while the x-ray radiography provides important data regarding their interior, including the sounding elements they contain. Given the rarity of contemporaneous ceramic rattles and the foreign origin of the specimens, the present study contributes to the broader discipline of childhood archaeology in the Early Islamic Near East, providing additional evidence of the Egyptian presence in Early Islamic Palestine, and contributes to a better understanding of the technology used in the manufacture of these mundane objects.