Anth.310 Ppt. lecture-23: Egypt's Empire in Late Bronze Age Canaan (part-1), summarizing the nature...

ANT 310 / ARH 410:

Imperial and Post-Imperial Egypt: ca. 1550–332 BCE

(The Late Bronze Age Canaanites [New Kingdom])

Lecture 23: Canaanites pt.1© Notes and images compiled by Gregory Mumford 2014

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Inner division and terminology:

• Like the MB Age, the Late Bronze Age

has been subdivided variously:

W.F. Albright: C.F.A. Schaeffer: Dyn.

LB 1A 1550-1470 BC LB I 1600/1550-1450 BC Dyn.18

LB 1B 1470-1400 BC LB II 1450-1350 BC Dyn.18

LB IIA 1400-1300 BC LB III 1350 - Dyn.18

LB IIB 1300-1200 BC LB III - 1200 BC Dyn.19

• LB 1A = Ahmose Thutmose III & H.

Early empire

• LB 1B = Thutmose III Thutmose IV

Main campaigns

• LB 2A = Amenhotep III Horemheb

Amarna period peak-decline

• LB 2B = Ramesses I Qn. Tawosret

Ramesside intensification

• Iron 1A= Setnakhte Ramesses VI

Sea Peoples & decline.

• However, there = also much continuity

in Canaanite material culture.

The Canaanites:

1.Who were the “Canaanites” - Definition

2.Transition from MB to LB Age - NK empire

3.LB Age Settlement pattern - Communities

4.Lifestyle: arts, crafts, etc. - Mat. culture

5.Writing and language - Language

6.Religion and cult - Beliefs

7.Mortuary beliefs and burials - Burials

8.Trade and interactions - Interactions

9.Others within Canaan & its periphery - Diversity

10. Egyptian control - Egy. empire

The Late Bronze Age Canaanites:

(ca. 1550 – 1200 BCE)

1. The Canaanites

The Canaanites:

Definition:

- The Canaanites may be defined

variously:

a. Place: peoples residing within the

area of modern Israel, Transjordan,

Southern Syria, and Lebanon.

b. Language: peoples speaking a

Canaanite language.

c. Self-identity: peoples who called

themselves “Canaanites”

- Prior to evidence for the Canaanite

language, the term “Canaanite” is

applied more broadly to the peoples

residing in the aforementioned area.

- Both the origin and initial appearance,

of the peoples who became known

as “Canaanites,” remain unclear.

- Earliest reference to “Canaanites”

dates to 18th cent. BC (Mari; MB I).

CANAANITES

The Canaanites:

Origins:

- It appears that the Canaanites prob.

originated from eastern Syria in MB I

(cultural links to later Syria-Palestine).

Transcriptions of :Canaan”:

- Hebrew, Ugaritic, & Phoenician:

term = kn‘n

- Akkadian cuneiform:

term = ki-na-ah-nu(m)

= mat ki-na-hi

= mat ki-in-na-ah-hi

- In Egyptian consonantal hieroglyphs:

term = k-3-n-‘-n-3

= k-i-n-‘-nw

= many variations

The next appearance of “Canaan”

occurs in late 15th–14th cent. BC (NK)

- Booty list of Amenhotep II

- The Amarna Letters

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Cultural diversity in Canaan:

Canaanites:

• The majority of Palestine’s population

consisted of Canaanites, who were of

West Semitic origin.

• LB Age Palestine, however, had gained

a significant influx of non-Semites,

especially the Hurrians who had left

northern Syria in the 16th cent. BC.

• Such links have been suggested via the

inclusion of Hurrian deities in names

that deviate from West Semitic names.

- i.e., Canaan and the Canaanites were

actually a more diverse peoples

Various Egyptian depictions of

Canaanite garments


(ca. 1550 – 1200 BCE)

2. Transition from

MB to LB Age

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Egyptian empire’s foundation LB Age:

• From ca. “1550” BC to 1150 BC, Egypt

controlled the diverse Canaanite city-

states, populations, & the economy,

albeit with fluctuations in the extent

and nature of Egyptian governance.

• Egypt’s:

- Exaction of annual tribute,

- Imposition of duties upon city-states

regarding their var. contributions to

maintaining Egypt’s northern empire

- Mass deportations: people & livestock

- “Egyptianization” of city-state heirs,

- Exploitation of other resources,

- Retributive raids against rebels,

- Border disputes and fighting with

adjacent super powers over cities,

- Etc.

Reduced the power + prosperity of

many city-states (despite Pax Aegyptiaca)

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Egyptian empire’s foundation:

• Egypt’s establishment of an empire in

Palestine realized various benefits

for Egypt(!):

a. Securing trade routes to Lebanon

and Syria.

b. Exploiting Syria-Palestine for …

- Lumber (e.g., cedar; boxwood; etc.)

- Oil (e.g., olive and other oil)

- Wine (famed vintages from Retenu)

- Honey

- Wheat (e.g., both for transfers within

Palestine and to Egypt)

- Cattle (cows; sheep; goats; byproducts)

- Copper (via Sinai, Cyprus, etc.)

- Bitumen and salt (Dead Sea)

- Slaves (captives; servants; etc.)

- Concubines (trade, etc.)


(ca. 1550 – 1200 BCE)

3. LB Age

Settlement patterns

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Syria-Palestine’s urban landscape:

• Egypt kept the MB Age political infra-

structure intact in its Levantine vassals.

• Major city-states in northern empire:

- Yurza (Tell Jemmeh?)

- Lachish

- Gath (Tell es-Safi?)

- Ashkelon

- Ashdod

- Jerusalem

- Gezer

- Shechem

- Gath-Padalla (Jatt in Plain of Sharon)

- Taanach

- Megiddo

- Rehob (South of Beth-Shean)

- Pehel (Pella)

- Shimon (Tel Shimron: W.Jezreel)

- Anaharath (Tel Rekhesh?)

- Acre

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Syria-Palestine’s urban landscape:

• Egypt kept the MB Age political infra-

structure intact in its Levantine vassals.

• Major city-states in northern empire:

- Yurza (Tell Jemmeh?)

- Lachish

- Gath (Tell es-Safi?)

- Ashkelon

- Ashdod

- Jerusalem

- Gezer

- Shechem

- Gath-Padalla (Jatt in Plain of Sharon)

- Taanach

- Megiddo

- Rehob (South of Beth-Shean)

- Pehel (Pella)

- Shimon (Tel Shimron: W.Jezreel)

- Anaharath (Tel Rekhesh?)

- Acre 40 km diameter

MB IIB-C: ca. 1800/1750 – 1550+ BC

MB Age Fortifications LB Age:

Ramparts and glacis:

• MB IIB-C represent the culmination in

the design, size, and complexity of the

fortification of major Levantine cities.

• These fortifications entailed building a

huge artificial earth rampart around

the perimeter of a city, creating a high

embankment with an upper wall.

• Another variant entailed sculpting and

building a high, steep-loped glacis

along the base of wall (similar effect).

• Both types aimed at raising a city wall

much higher above its high, steep-

sloping rampart or glacis to prevent the

use of battering rams, sappers, ladders.

• Such elaborate defence systems

spread throughout Syria-Palestine.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Town planning & architecture:

Fortifications:

• Virtually all excav. LB Age sites in

Palestine lack fortifications in sharp

contrast to the preceding MB Age.

• Some settlements may have retained

upper walls on the MB Age ramparts,

which still lay around their settlements.

• A few sites reveal rebuilding of their

walling systems after destructions at

the beginning of LB 1 (ca.1550 BC):

• E.g., Hazor retains its prominence and

rebuilds its wall throughout the LB Age

• Megiddo kept its double-chambered

gateway, but lost its adjoining wall.

-The palace north wall served as a

partial wall beside the gate (T-III siege)

-The gate became more ceremonial.

Megiddo gateway & palace wall

Shechem

Hazor Stratum 2, LB 1 gate

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


Fortifications:

• Virtually all excavated LB Age sites in

Palestine lack fortifications in sharp

contrast to the preceding MB Age.

• Some settlements may have retained

upper walls on the MB Age ramparts,

which still lay around their settlements.

• A few sites reveal rebuilding of their

walling systems after destructions at

the beginning of LB 1 (ca.1550 BC):

• E.g., Hazor retains its prominence &

rebuilds its wall throughout the LB Age

• Megiddo kept its double-chambered

gateway, but lost its adjoining wall.

-The palace north wall served as a

partial wall beside the gate (T-III siege)

-The gate became more ceremonial.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Fortifications:

• Both Lachish & Tel Batash definitely

lack city walls throughout the LB Age.

• Large buildings = placed along the

mound edges, possibly serving as

pseudo walls, or features that provided

limited defence against raiding Habiru.

• The inhabitants at Tel Batash placed

wall sections and drainage holes in the

streets between these mound-edge

buildings, making a makeshift defence

• Gezer’s massive exterior wall is hotly

debated as dating either to the LB Age

or the succeeding Iron Age.

• 14th–13th cent BC fortifications occur at

Ashdod, T.Abu Hawam, T.Beit Mirsim.

• The apparent de-fortification is best

explained via Egyptian imperial policy.

Tell ed-Duweir = Ancient Lachish

Plain of Philistia: Ashdod

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


Town planning:

• As in MB Age, LB Age settlements

yield insufficient exposure to assess

town planning at any one site.

• However, the major N. settlements of

Hazor and Megiddo appear to have

retained or followed the main existing

layout founded in MB Age levels.

• In essence, only details change within

individual buildings and complexes,

whilst the street layout and major

structural walls remain in place.

• In contrast, Southern settlements

were largely destroyed & experience

a period of abandonment or major

alterations in their layout.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Town planning:

• Some towns kept their orthogonal

layout, whilst others introduced an

irregular pattern of alleys, streets,

and thoroughfares.

• The larger settlements appear to have

distinct quarters with associated cult

centres: E.g., Hazor and Ugarit.

• In Syria and Palestine, temples and

palaces now become physically

separated, with palaces tending to be

near their city gates:

- Alalakh MB palace gate

- Megiddo MB palace gate

- Lachish MB palace a temple

- Hazor MB Temple-A disuse

MB temple-H continues

Megiddo Stratum VIII: 1400-1300 BC

Megiddo Stratum VIIB: 1300-1200 BC

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


Palaces:

• Megiddo illustrates the evolution of

a typical Canaanite palace from 1550

to 1150 BC (Strata X-VIIA):

a. Strata X-IX square building with a

courtyard surrounded by chambers.

b. Strat. VIII palace 50 x 33+ m:

- Central courtyard

- W-reception halls divided by pillars

- Adjacent bathroom to South

- Eastern living quarters

- Probable stairway to upper floor

c. Strat. VIIB palace renovated: W.hall

d. Strat. VIIA palace 3-roomed annex

= chapel/shrine with ivories.

Megiddo Str.VIII

palace

Megiddo Str.VIIB

palace

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


Elite domestic architecture:

• LB Age settlements also contain elite

dwellings smaller than nearby palaces:

E.g., Megiddo

- A central courtyard with surrounding

rooms and halls.

- Such elite houses probably served

the town’s nobility (maryannu).

E.g., Taanach West Building:

- 18 x 21 m building

- Courtyard at one corner


- 9 square rooms

E.g., Aphek (13th cent. BC):


- Several rooms and halls

- Archive reveals = Egy. administration

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


Elite domestic architecture:

• LB Age settlements also contain elite

dwellings smaller than nearby palaces:

E.g., Megiddo

- A central courtyard with surrounding

rooms and halls.

- Such elite houses probably served

the town’s nobility (maryannu).

E.g., Taanach West Building:


- Courtyard at one corner


- 9 square rooms

E.g., Aphek (13th cent. BC):


- Several rooms and halls

- Archive reveals=Egy. administration

Dyn.18: Amarna 1347-1336 BC

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

LB Age Tower-Temples:

• LB Age temples display a wide

range of forms at many sites:

• Some temples continue from the MB,

being rebuilt and refurbished:

E.g., Hazor Area H Temple

E.g., Megiddo Temple

Hazor Area H Tower-temple (LB 1-2B):

XV: The front courtyard received an

altar and an ornate entryway.

XIV: Total rebuilding after destruction:

Retained the foundational outline.

Added outer entry hall to building.

Basalt orthostats along inner walls

Two couchant lions flank doorway

Basalt altar has spoked wheel:

= Anatolian/N. Syrian symbol for

the deity Hadad / Baal (MB+)

Basalt statue of deity on a bull.

Temple appears dedicated to Baal.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


• LB Age temples display a wide range

of forms at many sites:





Hazor Area H Tower-temple (LB 1):













Strat.-2

LB 1B

Strat.-1B

LB 2A

Strat.-1A

LB 2B

Levantine tower-temple

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


• LB Age temples display a wide range

of forms at many sites:





Hazor Area H Tower-temple (LB 1-2):













Hazor Area H Stratum 2

Migdol-temple:

LB 1B: ca.1470 – 1400 BC- Cultic incense stands, offering bowls,

and liver model (inscribed in cuneiform)

Hazor Area H Stratum 2

Migdol-temple:

LB 1B: ca.1470 – 1400 BC

Votive offerings from

Stratum 2 migdol-temple

at Hazor (Area H):

Bronze sheet figures

Hazor Area H Stratum 1B

Migdol-temple: LB 2A: ca.1400–1300 BC

Note temple’s immense size

Hazor Area H Stratum 1B

Migdol-temple: LB 2A:

ca.1400–1300 BC

Basalt lion orthostat:

Guardian figure at entryway

Hazor: Area H Migdol-temple.

Basalt altar with disk symbol of Hadad (= Baal: a storm god)


Stratum 1A LB 2B: 1300-1200 BC

Basalt altar with disk symbol of Hadad

And basalt cultic figures, one of which

Also has a disk-symbol of Hadad

i.e., = Baal cult (the storm god)

Hazor: Area H Migdol-temple. Stratum 1A = LB 2B: ca.1300 – 1200 BC

Bronze bull figurine from sanctuary = symbol of Baal (virility/fertility aspect)

Hazor: Area H Migdol-temple. Stratum 1A = LB 2B: ca.1300 – 1200 BC

Terra cotta shrine

for a cult figure

-- The Bull?

?


Stratum 1A = LB 2B ca.1300-1200 BC

Basalt cultic seated-figure with head broken-off -- a deity?

Hazor:

Area H Migdol-temple.

Strat. 1A LB 2B 1300-1200

Basalt cultic seated-figure

with head broken-off

Hazor:

Area H

Mgdl-temple.

Strat. 1A

LB 2B

1300-1200 BC

Basalt cultic

basins and

trays for

cultic use


Stratum 1A: LB 2B 1300-1200

Basalt bowls & libation containers


Stratum 1A: LB 2B 1300-1200

Mycenaean bull/cow-figurine

Multiple cults & votives

from a diverse population

Hazor: Area H

Migdol-temple.

Stratum 1A:

LB 2B 1300-1200

Votive offerings of beads

& seals (i.e., jewellery)

Hazor: Area H Migdol-temple. Strat.1A: LB 2B 1300-1200

Syro-Mesopotamian style cylinder seals

What does it mean? How did the Canaanite temple work? …E.g., San Andras de Teixido, Galicia (Spain) Sailors offering model ships safety

Timeless

votive

offerings

to Saints

& God

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC


• Despite various temple designs in the

LB Levant, the widespread occurrence

of related temple types argues for

overall cultural homogeneity:

E.g., Hazor & Alalakh Tower-temples

- Both resemble each other closely in

structure, decoration, & furnishings,

even with dramatic alterations over

time.

Alalakh strata IV & I temples also

have lion orthostats

have a basalt altar

have a similar main hall

Megiddo tower temple lasts 500 yrs:

Two ashlar towers

Sanctuary changes

Enclosure built with

surrounding rooms.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Irregular Canaanite temples:

• Diverse and individual types of

Canaanite temples also appear at

LB Age sites:

Hazor Area C shrine in Lower City:

• Placed beside the interior rampart

• A broad-room

• 11 upright stones (stelae / masseboth)

- Central stone depicted two raised

arms below a lunar crescent-disk

• Vertical slab depicting a lion

• Statuette of a seated male

• An altar / offering table

• A pottery mask (ritual equipment?)

• A silver sceptre

• Hence, this small communal shrine

prob. served the immediate community

and had links with a lunar cult.

• Continuity through MB and Iron Ages

Hazor Area C Courtyard 6215

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Irregular Canaanite temples:

• Diverse and individual types of

Canaanite temples also appear at

LB Age sites:

Hazor Area C shrine in Lower City:

• Placed beside the interior rampart

• A broad-room

• 11 upright stones (stelae / masseboth)

- Central stone depicted two raised

arms below a lunar crescent-disk

• Vertical slab depicting a lion

• Statuette of a seated male

• An altar / offering table

• A pottery mask (ritual equipment?)

• A silver sceptre

• Hence, this small communal shrine

prob. served the immediate community

and had links with a lunar cult.

• Continuity through MB and Iron AgesLunar cults

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Lachish: Fosse Temple outside City.

• 1th – 13th cents. BC: 1500-1200 BC

• 3 successive (superimposed) temples

• Indirect approach to main hall

• Pillared hall with offering benches

• Central altar/platform along back wall

• Later back rooms for ritual equipment

and priests’ usage.

• Last temple = destroyed ca.1200 BC

i.e., offerings smashed across floor.

• Earlier excess offerings buried in pits

(favissae) outside temple.

• Votives:

- Ivory pieces from a composite cult

statuette (hand; eye).

- Canaanite pottery

- Cypriot & Mycenaean pottery

- Some Egyptian pottery (rare)

- Jewellery, etc.

• Probably catering to foreigners, esp.

merchants?, perhaps Cypriots-Greeks

Aegean-style temple

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Overall settlement pattern trends:

• Both the overall number of people,

and the relative density of sites,

declined from the MB Age - LB Age.

a. The desert fringe regions are

basically abandoned.

b. Some major MB IIB-C cities are also

abandoned, or continue partially:

i. Beer Sheba Valley

ii. Central Hill country

iii.Jordan Valley

c. Some major MB Age cities, such as

Tell el-‘Ajjul and Tel Nagila become

small outposts, or are abandoned.

d. Var. cities in the central & northern

plains become impoverished sites:

E.g., Kabri, Aphek, Tel Gerisa, Dan,

and Shechem.

• Some are converted into Egy. forts.

Tell el-‘Ajjul

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Overall settlement pattern trends:

• In the LB Age, rural settlements also

declines sharply:

E.g., Many small MB Age agricultural

communities are abandoned in the hills

of Samaria & Ephriam.

• In contrast, there appears to be an

increase in semi-nomadic +nomadic

populations.

• R. Gonen’s demographic study has

concluded that the LB I period in

particular experiences a severe drop

in settlements (may = insufficient data),

with a relative revival in LB IIA-B.

• Of note, the overall population decline

is more evident in certain areas versus

other regions:


(ca. 1550 – 1200 BCE)

4. LB Age

Lifestyle: arts, crafts, etc.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Indigenous, Canaanite pottery:

• Canaanite pottery experiences an even

greater increase in types and foreign

influences and imports in the LB Age.

• The occurrence of foreign imports also

provides cross-cultural chronological

reference points with Egypt, Syria,

Cyprus, Anatolia, Greece, the Aegean.

Local pottery:

• LB Age Canaanite pottery develops

slowly from MB Age forms.

• I.e., There is NO sharp break between

MB and LB Age pottery.

• In contrast, MB IIC & LB I tend to

merge and are difficult to separate.

• Distinctions between the two rely on

the disappearance and appearance of

certain forms from a given corpus. Canaanite amphorae = storage jars

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Metallurgy: i.e., copper sources.

• Cyprus formed the main supplier of

copper for the East Mediterranean

during the LB Age.

• At times when this copper supply

became inaccessible or much reduced

to Egypt (during the Egypto-Hittite war)

Egypt increased its exploitation of its

Eastern Desert & South Sinai sources,

& dug new mines in S. Negev: Timna.

• Otherwise, Cyprus enriched itself via

mining and exporting copper in an

“ox-hide”-shaped ingot that appears

throughout the Mediterranean:

- Cyprus (mines and ports)

- Ugarit (Ras Shamra)

- Shipwrecks off Turkey

- Sites in Greece

- Sites in Southern ItalyTimna

Cyprus

South Sinai

Timna

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Metallurgy: i.e., tin sources bronze

• SE Anatolia (Turkey) supplied tin

from its mines, which accompanied

copper shipments in ingots to enable

the production of bronze (copper + tin).

• E.g., Tin ingots appear in a shipwreck

off the coast of Haifa.

• The recipient polities of copper and tin

shipments established smelting

installations to produce bronze tools,

weapons, & other items for local use:

• Tel Zeror (Plain of Sharon):

- Several smelting furnaces in an open

area with clay crucibles & bellows.

- Adjacent massive ash deposits attest

to long-term intense operations.

- An unusual abundance of Cypriot

pottery near the installations implies

an additional assoc. with Cypriots.

Tel Zeror mound plan

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Metallurgy: i.e., Canaanite items.

Repertoire of bronze items:

• Sickle swords (began in MB II)

• Daggers (now cast with a hilt)

• Tanged spearheads

• Shafted/socketed spearheads

• Arrowheads

• Chisels (wood-working)

• Cymbals (temple rituals)

• Figurines (cultic applications)

Precious metals:

• Gold and silver jewellery, representing

recycled local materials and imported

gold from Egypt &. silver from Anatolia

• Precious metals become scarcer in

Canaan during the Late Bronze Age,

possibly owing to Egypt’s continuous,

and increasing extraction of tribute

from its vassal states.Deir el-Balah: Canaanite-Egy. jewellery

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Metallurgy: i.e., Canaanite items.

Repertoire of bronze items:

• Sickle swords (began in MB II)

• Daggers (now cast with a hilt)

• Tanged spearheads

• Shafted/socketed spearheads

• Arrowheads

• Chisels (wood-working)

• Cymbals (temple rituals)

• Figurines (cultic applications)

Precious metals:

• Gold and silver jewellery, representing

recycled local materials and imported

gold from Egypt &. silver from Anatolia

• Precious metals become scarcer in

Canaan during the Late Bronze Age,

possibly owing to Egypt’s continuous,

and increasing extraction of tribute

from its vassal states.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Art: i.e., Canaanite artists & their work

• Most Canaanite artistic expression

appears in the miniature arts, including

cylinder seals, figurines, and jewellery.

• Sculpture does appear, and exhibits

skills affiliated with MB North Syria,

but is much less common.

• All of the forms and motifs, however,

provide an invaluable source for

studying otherwise poorly preserved

Canaanite a. Garments

b. Physical appearance

c. Religion (iconography)

d. Cross-cultural relations

e. Aspects of daily life

f. Fauna

g. Flora

h. Etc.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Stone sculpture:

• Canaanite temples in particular display

stone sculpture that apparently is

derived from MB Age North Syrian art:

Ebla and Alalakh.

Orthostats (sculpted slabs):

Hazor:

• Stone orthostat portraying a crouching

lion flanking the temple’s entry.

also a Lioness head (from Hazor).

• The motif of guardian lions is popular

throughout the Levant, including an

association with a deity standing on a

lion’s back.

E.g., Ebla: row of lion heads on basins

E.g., Other temples with guardian lions

Beth-Shean:

• Basalt slab depicting a dog fighting a

lion in two registers (i.e., 2 stages).

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Stone sculpture:

Stone statuettes:

• Canaan has yielded small stone

anthropomorphic statuettes of divine

or royal figures:

E.g., A seated male holding an item in

a hand, such as a cup or lotus flower

(Hazor; Tel Sippor)

Stone stelae (free-standing slabs):

• Canaanite sculpture includes stelae

that often portray deities, such as

Baal: A warrior figure with a spear and

conical headdress, & variants.

(Ugarit; Tell Shihab)

El: A seated, elderly god (Ugarit).

Egyptian-style deities: A nomadic

Shasu(?) is depicted before an

Egyptian-style deity (Balua‘)

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Stone sculpture:

Stone statuettes:

• Canaan has yielded small stone

anthropomorphic statuettes of divine

or royal figures:

E.g., A seated male holding an item in

a hand, such as a cup or lotus flower

(Hazor; Tel Sippor)

Stone stelae (free-standing slabs):

• Canaanite sculpture includes stelae

that often portray deities, such as

Baal: A warrior figure with a spear and

conical headdress, & variants.

(Ugarit; Tell Shihab)

El: A seated, elderly god (Ugarit).

Egyptian-style deities: A nomadic

Shasu(?) is depicted before an

Egyptian-style deity (Balua‘)

Tell Shihab “Baal” on a stela

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Glyptic art:

• Cylinder seals provide a major source

for the study of local through foreign

art, iconography, and foreign contact.

• Palestine has produced about 400+

cylinder seals with diverse motifs,

while Syria contains larger quantities

(both as MB heirlooms & later styles).

• During Egypt’s control of much of the

Levant, cylinder seals suffer a decline

in quality (versus prosperous MB Age).

• Popular motifs / themes:

Warrior deity Baal

Naked/clothed goddess Astarte(?)

Cylinder seals = Syro-Mesopotamian

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Glyptic art:

Canaanite cylinder seals:

• The local Canaanite seal-cutting

workshops made simpler cylinder

seals with a broad range of motifs.

• They drew upon local through regional

and foreign motifs/influences.

• The Canaanites also imported seals

from elsewhere, including:

- Cyprus

- Assyria

• Hence, some seals appear essentially

as jewellery: an object d’art

• Other foreign seals may reflect the

presence, or transit, of foreign envoys:

- Merchants

- Messengers

- Others

Linear style technique in cylinder seal:

NW Syria: Tell Atchana (Alalakh II?)

Gezer (South Canaan): cylinder seal

Egyptian-style adopted in cylinder seal:

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Glyptic art:

Egyptian scarab seals:

• Canaan contains immense quantities

of Egyptian scarab seals during the

Late Bronze Age (i.e., imperial control)

• A number of scarabs bear Egyptian

royal names, indicating more official

contact with, or gifts to, vassal states.

• Although such scarabs provide a

chronological link, their tendency to be

retained as heirlooms reduced their

aid in dating their contexts of discovery

• Some king’s names were especially

popular as a talisman (protection), &

are produced after the king’s reign:

E.g., Thutmose III (Menkheperre) is

found on scarabs for 100s of yrs

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Ivory carving: popular industry.

• Ivory carving is a well-attested industry

in the Late Bronze Age, with artisans

using ivory to produce a wide range of

small items to decorative components

in composite objects:

- E.g., cosmetic containers

- E.g., inlay panels in furniture.

• A subterranean storage area in the

LB-Iron 1A palace at Megiddo (Str.VIIA)

yielded ca.300 pieces of carved ivory:

- One ivory piece bore the name of

Ramesses III (early Dyn.20: Iron 1A).

• This represents a re-building of the

LB Age palace, and may include items

that span the LB Iron 1A periods.

• The ivory pieces consisted of small

containers, decorative fittings, and

inlays that came from wooden furniture

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Ivory carving:

• Kantor and others have studied the

ivories in detail, dividing the artwork

into different cultural workshops:

a. Pure Canaanite artwork

b. Hybrid Canaanite-Egyptian artwork

c. Hybrid Canaanite-Mycenaean work

d. Imported Mycenaean ivories

e. A rare imported Hittite ivory

Canaanite ivory artwork:

• Canaanite artists made decorative

ivory panels for furniture, ivory plaques

and small boxes, and sculpted figures.

• Their favourite motifs include stylized

flora, fauna, and mythological beings.

• Female sphinxes, griffins, lions, and

antelopes appeared earlier in “Syrian”

glyptic art.

Mycenaean

Canaan

Hatti(Hittites)

Egypt

Mitanni

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Canaanite ivory artwork:

• Scenes often feature naked or clothed

female figures.

• The palace ivory bed panels often

have scenes of daily life at Ugarit and

to a lesser extent at Megiddo.

• An ivory plaque, which may have come

from a chair’s armrest shows a seated

ruler, a queen approaching, a female

lyre player, a soldier bringing POWs,

the prince/ruler in his chariot; banquet.

• Just this one scene illustrates a broad

range of things:

a. Costumes and regalia of different

classes and professions.

b. Different items, weaponry, etc. that

are otherwise not well-preserved.

c. A local depiction of Canaanites vs.

Egyptian propagandistic stereotypes

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Hybrid Canaanite-Egyptian ivories:

• This collection of ivories are mostly

Egyptian in form and motifs:

- Plaques depicting Egyptian deities

- Swimming-girl shaped cosmetic

containers

- Duck-shaped cosmetic containers

- Egyptian plants: e.g., papyrus.

• Despite the prevalence of Egyptian

influence, it appears that Canaanite

artisans made most of these things,

copying hieroglyphs and other motifs

inaccurately, but in an attempt to lend

an Egyptian feel to the artwork & forms

Egy. wooden swimming-girl cosm-spoon

Composite swimming-girl cosm-spoon

Ugarit: duck-shaped cosmetic container

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Ivory carving: sources of ivory.

• Hence, the ivory industry relied upon

raw materials that include mainly

elephant & hippopotamus tusks.

• The nearest source represents the

Syrian elephant, which resided in the

forests in Lebanon and Syria mostly

(now extinct).

• Other sources include Nubia & India.

• Raw tusks are known to be exported

throughout Egypt, the Near East, and

East Mediterranean, where local artists

used ivory to produce their own or

hybrid compositions for the elite.

• Despite an overall impoverishment in

Late Bronze Canaan, the local elites

were still prosperous, and in the 13th

to early 12th centuries BC reveal

widespread collections of ivories.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Metal artwork: figurines etc.

Figurines and pendants:

• LB Age artisans continued to produce

figurines and pendants in gold, silver,

and bronze.

• A seated male, probably the god EL,

wears a long mantle and represents

the head of the Canaanite pantheon.

• A seated female wearing a long robe

is likely El’s spouse: Astarte?

• A naked female figure is likely the

goddess Astarte, who represents love

and fertility ().

a. Often portrayed on gold-sheet

pendants (triangular in form).

b. Sometimes shown in full-figure

c. Or abbreviated head & genitalia

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Metal artwork: figurines etc.

Figurines and pendants:

• A warrior, prob. the god Baal-Hadad,

forms the most popular subject:

a. Striding figure

b. Holding a spear/weapon & shield

• A naked female standing on a lion

is identified by Egyptian captions as

Qudshu: “the Holy One.”

a. Canaanite deity depicted in both

Canaan and Egypt.

b. Lachish temple variant shows her

wearing an Egyptian-style crown,

standing on a horse, and holding

two lotus flowers (Acropolis temple).

• Humans are less frequently portrayed

in metal figures, but include a king or

priest wearing a mantle with a right

hand raised palm outward in adoration

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Clay figurines:

• Levantine artisans produced clay

figurines by putting raw clay into

moulds and baking the clay figurine.

• Most figurines consist of naked

females, equated with naked fertility

goddesses, such as Astarte (or Anat?)

• Such figurines are likely used mainly

by women, such as the later biblical

teraphim:

(Genesis 31:19-35; I Samuel 19:13-16)

• Female figurines are often standing,

holding snakes or lotus flowers.

• They often have Egyptian “Hathor”-

style hair: curled side-locks.

• Another type of female figurine

includes a female lying on a bed

(which is a popular type in NK Egypt).

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Clay figurines:

• Levantine artisans produced clay

figurines by putting raw clay into

moulds and baking the clay figurine.

• Most figurines consist of naked

females, equated with naked fertility

goddesses, such as Astarte (or Anat?)

• Such figurines are likely used mainly

by women, such as the later biblical

teraphim:

(Genesis 31:19-35; I Samuel 19:13-16)

• Female figurines are often standing,

holding snakes or lotus flowers.

• They often have Egyptian “Hathor”-

style hair: curled side-locks.

• Another type of female figurine

includes a female lying on a bed

(which is a popular type in NK Egypt).

Deir el-Balah


(ca. 1550 – 1200 BCE)

5. LB Age

Writing and language

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Writing:

Akkadian script in Levant:

• The cosmopolitan nature of LB Age

Canaan, which had broader relations

with the East Mediterranean and Near

East, is reflected in the writing systems

found throughout Palestine.

• As in Middle Bronze Age, Akkadian

cuneiform script and language

formed the international means of

communication throughout the

Near East: = lingua franca.

• In addition, the archives at Ugarit,

Amarna letters, and other isolated

tablets from Hazor, Megiddo, Tanaach,

Aphek, and Tel Hebron, reveal that

Canaanites used cuneiform widely

in various religious & secular texts:

- E.g., Dictionaries

Lists, etc.

Aphek 1250 BC letter

Megiddo: LB 1A frag.

of Gilgamesh epic

Tanaach: frags.

of cuneiform tablets

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Ugarit’s archive regarding Canaan:

• A large corpus of LB Age texts occurs at

Ugarit (Ras Shamra), yielding the most

important information on the Canaanites

• While Ugarit lay outside the borders of

Egypt’s northern Canaanite empire, and

contained a “non-Canaanite” population,

the Ugaritic language & culture = sub-

group related to Canaanite culture.

• The numerous Akkadian & Ugaritic

texts from the archives of the palace

and temples yield a broad range of data

on the Canaanite …

a. Political system

b. Economy

c. Social structure

d. International relations

e. Religion

f. Etc.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Akkadian script in Levant (cont.’):

• Each city-state ruler apparently had

locally trained scribes in his service.

• The discovery of bilingual and trilingual

dictionary tablets in Akkadian, at such

sites as Aphek, reveal the existence of

local scribal schools and reference

collections for the non-indigenous

speakers/readers/writers of Akkadian.

• The presence and usage of Akkadian

at Egypt’s royal court emphasizes the

need for all East Mediterranean states

to employ scribes conversant in this

language for international relations.

• Despite Egypt’s political domination of

the Levant, it recognized that Akkadian

had to be used to communicate with

its vassals and neighbouring states,

in trade, commerce, and diplomacy.

Hebron: cuneiform tablet listing animals

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Egyptian script in Levant:

• However, the Egyptian language is

also found in the Levant, using formal

hieroglyphs on stone slabs associated

with state and funerary-cultic structures

(e.g., statuary; stelae; jambs; lintels).

• Egyptian business script also occurs,

being best preserved on var. hieratic-

inscribed bowls or other less-

perishable materials (e.g., clay coffins;

scarab seals; etc.).

• The Egyptian texts mostly reflect the

usage of Egyptian script by

a. Egyptians in Canaan

(military, state, temple administration),

b. Some Egyptianized Canaanites

(i.e., princes rulers), and

c. Canaanite scribes.

• However, both Egyptian & Akkadian

still foreign languages to Canaanites.Dyn.19 Sety I stela

at Beth-Shan

Mt.Ebal R2 scarab

Dr. el-Balah stela

Deir el-Balah: Egy

hieratic on bowl

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Indigenous Levantine script/language

• The Levantine population, including

Canaanites and northern affiliated

peoples (e.g., Ugarit), also developed

their own alphabetic writing system,

beginning in the later MB Age.

• This innovation became one of the

most important contributions to

Western civilization: the Canaanite

alphabet formed the foundation for the

later development of the Phoenician

and Greek alphabets.

• The Levant experiences two distinct

forms of the “Canaanite” alphabet:

a. North: Ugarit

b. South: Canaan with two variants:

- Proto-Sinaitic

- Proto-CanaaniteProto-Canaanite & Ugaritic alphabet!

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Ugaritic-alphabetic script:

• In the northern Levant, at Ugarit, the

indigenous scribes developed an

alphabetic script with 27 signs using

cuneiform signs (= specific to Ugarit).

• This adapted the use of clay tablets,

used for traditional Akkadian cuneiform

but used a stylus to write in the much

simplified new alphabetic system.

• As a major trading peoples, acting as

mediators between Syria-Mesopotamia

and the East Mediterranean, it was a

natural move to simplify the difficult &

cumbersome Akkadian script to a much

simpler alphabetic script that could be

learnt and used much more easily and

widely by business persons.

• Most of Ugarit’s mythological texts in

the temple library used the new script.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Canaanite alphabetic script:

• The Canaanites, who were dominated

politically by Egypt in the LB Age,

introduced their own distinct alphabetic

script based on acronyms.

• This Canaanite script displays two

variants: a. Proto-Sinaitic

b. Proto-Canaanite

a. Proto-Sinaitic:

• The Proto-Sinaitic script appears in

the Sinai Peninsula primarily, being

written on rock slabs, rock faces, and

some earlier Middle Kingdom statues

in the copper mining region.

• This script was apparently used by

Canaanites exploiting the copper

mining region in Middle Bronze IIB-C:

ca.1750-1550 BC (post-Middle Kingdom)

• This script = still poorly understood

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

b. Proto-Canaanite:

• This script occurs in brief inscriptions

on pottery vessels & stone+metal items.

• Both its date of origin and meaning

remain poorly understood (similarly

to Proto-Sinaitic).

- E.g., Lachish Brief text

- E.g., Tel Nagila Brief text

- E.g., Shechem Longer stone text

• The Shechem text has been dated to

Late MB IIC, in the 16th cent. BC

• The remaining Proto-Canaanite texts

are dated to LB 2B (13th cent. BC)

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Proto-Canaanite & Proto-Sinaitic:

• Of the relatively few translated texts,

they seem to refer to cultic activities.

• A Proto-Canaanite text on a jar from

Lachish’s Fosse temple is a dedication

to the goddess of this shrine.

• In Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions, one of

the very few known words is Ib‘lt:

“for/belonging to the lady”

• This epithet may refer to Astarte, who

in-turn may represent the Egyptian

goddess Hathor, who has a shrine in

the S. Sinai turquoise mining region:

“Hathor, Mistress of the Turquoise.”

Overview of the alphabet:

• An exceedingly important innovation.

• It simplified both the ease of learning

how to read and write & using writing.

• It also increased literacy immensely.

Lachish

Ewer

with

Proto-

Canaanite


(ca. 1550 – 1200 BCE)

6. LB Age

Religion and cult

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

EL:• Head of the Canaanite pantheon, with

El meaning “leader.”

• Major deity representing “order” in the

universe.

• In his traits there are allusions to

infancy, childhood, i.e, a passive/calm

nature (shown seated & bearded).

• He is often called the father of Baal.

• Epithets: “Father of all the gods”

“Father of the years”

“Father of men”

“Bull El” (i.e., fertility link)

“King”

• Earthly kings are called “son of EL”

• EL appears in Syria ca. 2500 BC

(?) = Dagon/Dagan EL = Astarte

Yam Mot Baal = Anat

Summary of Levantine pantheon:

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Aštar / Astarte:• She is the wife of EL and is a major

deity.

• Epithets: “Lady Asherah of the Sea”

“Mother of all the gods”

“Wet-nurse of the gods”

• She represents the mother of Baal,

but is not well-disposed towards him.

• She is important in the Levant from

1500 BC onwards.

• She may have solar features in South

Arabia.

• She also becomes important in New

Kingdom Egypt (and later)

• She is later a major deity amongst the

Sidonians and Phoenicians.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Dagan / Dagon:• A weather deity / manifestation.

• Epithets: “The rainy one”

“Lord of corpses”

Has chthonic affiliations

• Also a deity of grain / fertility.

• Recognized as an alternate father of

Baal (maybe two different traditions?).

• Initially from the Middle Euphrates

region in Syria.

• Spreads to W. Syria and Palestine

in 1500 – 1000 BC.

• Has temples at Ugarit (Ras Shamra)

• Becomes a major deity in the Iron Age

Philistine culture.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Baal:• A weather deity with variant names:

-Baal-Zephon, who lives on Jebel el-

Aqra in Syria, has a few temples in

Ugarit and a temple in Egypt (D19).

-Baal-Karmelos, who resides at Mt.

Carmel (in Palestine).

-Baal, Baal-Hadad, or Hadad, a chief

deity of Ugarit.

• Epithets: “prince” (Baal-zebub),

“The bull-calf”

“The Rider of the Clouds”

- Appearing in storms

- Life-giving force behind crops,

animals, and people.

- Battling chaos of the sea and

the heat of the summer.

Model of Baal temple at Ugarit (Ras Shamra)

Storm clouds in Lebanon: “Rider of Clouds”

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Baal (continued):• A major deity in the Levant.

• One tradition labels him as the son of

Dagan / Dagon (also a weather god)

• Another tradition equates him with

being a son of EL (chief of pantheon).

• He is depicted

a. striding

b. Armed with weapons

c. Throwing lightning bolts

• Baal represents the positive aspects of

the natural cycle: i.e., growing crops,

rebirth,etc. (the opposite of Mot/Death)

• He is later a major opponent deity to

the Israelite religion.

Old Testament Baal-zebub (our Satan)

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Anat:• A goddess of beauty, love, etc.

• Also known as a fierce warrior.

• Adopted by Egyptians and shown

protecting the pharaoh from enemies.

• Epithets: “Virgin/Maiden Anat”

“The destroyer”

• She is called the daughter of EL.

• She is both the sister & lover of Baal

(she changes to a heifer to make love

to Baal who changes to a bull).

• She also plays the role of the “widow”

when Baal is killed (prior to his

resurrection)

• A major deity in the Levant from

1500 BC to the Hellenistic period.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Yam:• An important deity of the sea & water

in general, being thus important to

sailors.

• Yam/Sea has two personality types:

a. Calm: i.e., good summer weather

b. Anger: i.e., harsh winter weather

• Epithets: “Lord Sea”

“Prince River”

• Yam has temples and regular offerings

being generally an important deity.

• Yam is a traditional enemy of Baal,

with whom he often fights.

Yam = associated with the Sea

Sailors would offer votives to Yam

i.e., to receive safety on a voyage

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Mot (“Death”):• The Underworld deity and a major

enemy of Baal (i.e., his counterpart).

• god of “death”

• Name comes from mwt “to die”

• Epithets: “Mot is a son of the gods”

“Beloved of EL”

• He resides in the Underworld

• He can take the form of a snake

• In death people are said to be eaten

by Mot.

• Baal battles Mot and is killed, but is

reborn (Anat defeats Mot in revenge)

• Mot = hard dry earth in summer.

• Baal = green crops in winter-Spring.

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Religion: deities:

Mot (“Death”):• The Underworld deity and a major

enemy of Baal (i.e., his counterpart).

• god of “death”

• Name comes from mwt “to die”

• Epithets: “Mot is a son of the gods”

“Beloved of EL”

• He resides in the Underworld

• He can take the form of a snake

• In death people are said to be eaten

by Mot.

• Baal battles Mot and is killed, but is

reborn (Anat defeats Mot in revenge)

• Mot = hard dry earth in summer.

• Baal = green crops in winter-Spring.

Drought in Syria; + generic scene below

Mot (“death” i.e., heat/drought)

killing Baal (“life” i.e., crops)

LB Age: ca. 1550 – 1200 BC

Other Levantine (W. Semitic) deities:

- Aštar = Son of Astarte

- (el)qunirša = Creator of the earth

- Hauran/Horon= Chthonic deity (fierce)

- Kamoš/Kamiš= 1000 BC god of Moab

- Kothar-Hasis = Craftsman of the gods

- Kotharat = Usually 7 goddesses

(childbirth & fertility)

- Rephaim = “saviors” (chthonic?)

- Rešep = Plague god, fights evil

- Šahr+Šalim = “Dawn” and “Dusk”

Gracious & merciful gods

- Šapaš = Sun-goddess

Traverses underworld at

night; EL’s messenger.

- Yarik & Nikkal= Lunar deities.

Anth.310 Ppt. lecture-23: Egypt's Empire in Late Bronze Age Canaan (part-1), summarizing the nature...

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Transcript of Anth.310 Ppt. lecture-23: Egypt's Empire in Late Bronze Age Canaan (part-1), summarizing the nature...