A historical, geographical and archaeological survey of the Jordan Valley in the Late Bronze Age

Abstract

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age.