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| History of the Levant |
|---|
| Prehistory |
| Ancient history |
| Classical antiquity |
| Middle Ages |
| Modern history |
Theprehistory of the Levant includes the various cultural changes that occurred, as revealed by archaeological evidence, prior to recorded traditions in the area of theLevant. Archaeological evidence suggests thatHomo sapiens and other hominid species originated inAfrica (seehominid dispersal) and that one of the routes taken to colonizeEurasia was through theSinai Peninsula desert and the Levant, which means that this is one of the most occupied locations in the history of theEarth. Not only have many cultures lived here, but also many species of the genusHomo. In addition, this region is one of the centers for thedevelopment of agriculture.[1]
Geographically, the area is divided between a coastal plain, the hill country to the east, and theJordan Valley joining theSea of Galilee to theDead Sea. Rainfall decreases from the north to the south, with the result that the northern region has generally been more economically developed than the southern one.[citation needed]
At the latest from the Neolithic period onwards, the area's location at the center of threetrade routes linking three continents made it the meeting place for religious and cultural influences fromEgypt,Syria,Mesopotamia, andAsia Minor:
The area seems to have suffered from acute periods ofdesiccation and reduced rainfall, influencing the relative importance of settled versus nomadic ways of living. The cycle seems to have been repeated, during which a reduced rainfall increases periods of fallow, with farmers spending increasing amounts of time with their flocks and away from cultivation. Eventually, they revert fully tonomadism. When rainfall increases, they settle around important water sources and increase cultivation. Increased prosperity leads to a revival of inter-regional and, eventually, international trade. The growth of villages rapidly proceeds to the increased prosperity ofmarket towns andcity-states, which attract the attention of neighbouring great powers, who may invade to capture control of regional trade networks and possibilities for tribute and taxation. Warfare leads to opening the region topandemics, with resultant depopulation, overuse of fragile soils and a reversion tonomadic pastoralism.[citation needed]
The earliest traces of the human occupation in the Levant are documented inUbeidiya in theJordan Valley of theSouthern Levant. The site was dated toc. 1.4 million years ago,[2] but further research has fixed its chronological context to 1.5–1.2 million years ago.[3] The site yieldedstone tools typical of theAcheulean industry which appears inEast Africa as early asc. 1.76 million years ago.[4] An earlier site is found inDmanisi,Georgia, dated to 1.85–1.78 million years ago[5] suggest the existence of other sites in the Levant which are yet to be found. Stone tools of theOldowan industry, preceding the Acheulian, were found in theNegev andSyrian deserts and support the presence of pre-Acheulian cultures in theLevantine corridor, but their chronological context cannot be determined.[6]
Ubeidiya prehistoric site is an open site that existed alongside the extinctLake Ubeidiya whose shores were inhabited by over a hundred Asian and African animal species including mammals such asgiraffes,Syrian elephants,Persian fallow deer,mountain andDorcas gazelles, and the now-extinctpelorovis; birds; reptiles; amphibians; and insects. Some of these animals have been hunted by hominins who inhabited the site, as evidenced by the cut marks observed on the fossilized bones. The stone tools found in Ubeidiya includehand axes, picks, chopping tools, and spheroids. These tools have been attested to the Early Acheulian industry. The tools show a preference for specific rock types such asbasalt,limestone andflint for particular tool types. This implies a sophisticated understanding of raw materials by the hominins who located and selected them for production. Other stone tool assemblages in the Levant have been attested to the earlyAcheulean but lack sufficient dating evidence to compare with Ubeidiya's finds. These sites includeAbbassia near theNile,Evron Quarry andZihor inIsrael andal-Lataminah inSyria.[6]
North of Ubeidiya is the crucial site ofDaughters of Jacob Bridge (Gesher Benot Ya'akov, abbreviated as "GBY") dated to slightly afterc. 790,000 years ago. The stone tool assemblage belongs to the "Large Flake" stage of the Acheulian, testifying to an advancedknapping technique. GBY provides information on many aspects of the life of its inhabitants: Many large mammal bones were found at the site, including those of the elephantPalaeoloxodon recki display evidence of butchery by the early humans. Nuts and tools used to crack them, as well as fish bones, were collected. The earliest wooden artifact - a plank with evidence of polishing - was found at the site and one of the earliest traces offire use. In some layers, the organization of living space was observed, with certain activities limited to specific areas at the site.[6]
The late stage of the Acheulian industry is observed in thousands of sites and find spots in the Middle East, though only a few were excavated. Most of the sites did not yield enough datable evidence. The site atLake Ram in theGolan Heights was dated based on the basalt flows below and above to an unknown timespan betweenc. 800,000–233,000 years ago. More accurate dates fromMa'ayan Baruch and theRevadim Quarry in Israel provide the timeframe ofc. 500,000–400,000 years ago. Late Acheulian sites and finds are found spread all across the regions of the Levant, including the desert regions fromprehistoric Arabia, such as areas in modern-daySaudi Arabia andJordan, primarily associated withoases, as well as the coastal plains and rift valleys of Israel,Lebanon and Syria. This distribution of sites in various regions of different conditions indicates either a more suitable climate in this period (theChibanian stage of thePleistocene) or alternatively better human adapting skills. The earliest cave sites also appear in this stage. Unlike the earlier Acheulian industries in the Levant, flint is the primary material used for tool making, with the handaxe being the primary tool. The toolmakers developed different variants of handaxes different in shape and function, which replaced other tools such as cleavers. Some of the most significant assemblages of stone tools are found inNadaouiyeh (in central Syria),Tabun,Um Qatafa and Ma'ayan Baruch (in Israel). These sites yield an enormous amount of stone tools, reaching several thousands. An important discovery from Lake Ram is astone pebble with evidence of artificial shaping and polishing, which resembles the body of a woman and thus serves as one of the earliest figurines known.[6]
TheMiddle Paleolithic (c. 250,000 – c. 48,000 BCE) is represented in the Levant by theMousterian, known from numerous sites (both caves and open-air sites) through the region. The chronological subdivision of theMousterian is based on the stratigraphic sequence of the Tabun Cave. Middle Paleolithic human remains include both theNeandertals (Kebara,Amud and Tabun caves) and the anatomically modern humans (Misliya,Skhul,Qafzeh andManot caves).
TheUpper Palaeolithic period is dated in the Levant toc. 48,000 – c. 20,000 BCE.
TheEpipalaeolithic period (c. 20,000 – c. 9,500 cal. BCE; also known asMesolithic period) is characterized by significant cultural variability and wide spread of themicrolithic technologies. Beginning with the appearance of theKebaran culture (18,000–12,500 BCE) a microlithic toolkit was associated with the appearance of the bow and arrow into the area. Kebaran shows affinities with the earlierHelwan phase in the Egyptian Fayyum, and may be associated with a movement of people across the Sinai associated with the climatic warming after the Late Glacial Maxima of 20,000 BCE. Kebaran affiliated cultures spread as far as Southern Turkey. The latest part of the period (c. 12,500 – c. 9,500 cal. BCE) is the time of flourishing of theNatufian culture and development ofsedentism among thehunter-gatherers.
This culture existed from about 13,000 to 9,800BCE in the Levant. Numerous archaeological excavations have led to a relatively well defined understanding of these people. Two of the most significant aspects of this culture were their large community sizes and their sedentary lifestyles.[7] Although the LateNatufian experienced a slight reversal in this trend (possibly a result of the cold period known as theYounger Dryas) as their community size shrank and they became more nomadic, it is believed that this culture continued through and was the foundation for theNeolithic Revolution.[8]
TheNeolithic is traditionally divided to the Pre-Pottery (A andB) and PotteryLate Neolithic phases. Pre-Pottery Neolithic A developed from the earlier Natufian cultures of the area. This is the time of theNeolithic Revolution anddevelopment of agriculture in West Asia, and the region's first knownmegaliths (and Earth's oldest known megalith, other thanGöbekli Tepe, which is in theNorthern Levant and from an unknown culture) with a burial chamber andtracking of the sun or other stars.[citation needed]
In addition, the Levant in the Neolithic (and later, in theChalcolithic) was involved in large scale, far reaching trade.[9]
Trade on an impressive scale and covering large distances continued during theChalcolithic (c. 4500–3300 BCE). Obsidian found in the Chalcolithic levels at what is nowGilat in Israel have had their origins traced via elemental analysis to three sources in southern Anatolia:Hotamış Dağ,Mount Göllü, and as far east asMount Nemrut, 500 km (310 mi) east of the other two sources. This indicates a vast trade circle reaching as far as the northernFertile Crescent at these three Anatolian sites.[9]
TheGhassulian created the basis of the Mediterranean economy, which has characterized the area ever since. AChalcolithic culture, the Ghassulian economy was a mixed agricultural system consisting of extensive cultivation ofwheat andbarley, intensivehorticulture of vegetable crops, commercial production ofvines andolives, and a combination oftranshumance and nomadic pastoralism. The Ghassulian culture, according toJuris Zarins, developed out of the earlierMunhata phase of what he calls the "circum-Arabian nomadic pastoral complex", probably associated with the first appearance ofancient Semitic-speaking peoples in this area.[10]
The urban development ofCanaan lagged considerably behind that ofEgypt,Mesopotamia, and even that ofSyria, where from 3500 BCE, a sizable city developed atHamoukar. This city, which was conquered, probably by people coming from theLower Mesopotamian city ofUruk, saw the first connections between Syria and Lower Mesopotamia that some[11][12] have suggested lying behind theBiblical Patriarchs. Urban development again began culminating inEarly Bronze Age sites likeEbla, which by2300 BCE, was incorporated once again into the empires ofSargon andNaram-Sin of Akkad. The archives of Ebla show reference to several Biblical sites, includingHazor, Jerusalem, and several people have claimed, also toSodom and Gomorrah. The collapse of theAkkadian Empire saw the arrival of peoples usingKhirbet Kerak Syro-Palestinian pottery ware[13] which originated from theZagros Mountains east of theTigris. It is suspected by someUr seals that this event marks the arrival in Syria and Palestine of theHurrians, people later known in the Biblical tradition asHorites.[citation needed]
The followingMiddle Bronze Age period was initiated by the arrival ofAmorites from Syria inLower Mesopotamia. This period saw the pinnacle of urban development in Syria and Palestine. Archaeologists show that the chief state at this time was the city of Hazor, the head of all theCanaanite kingdoms of the northern region of Palestine. This is also the period in whichancient Semitic-speaking peoples began to appear in more significant numbers in theNile Delta.
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The biochronological analysis narrows the age range for the fossil bearing strata at 'Ubeidiya and the Early Acheulian industry in the Jordan Valley to 1.5–1.2 Ma and is 100–200,000 years earlier than previously estimated.
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