The Middle Bronze Age of the Euphrates Valley, Syria, chronology, regional interaction and cultural exchange

grantor: University of TorontoThe essential purpose of this study was to formulate a Middle Bronze Age ceramic chronology that could be used to determine the relative dates of archaeological sites located in the Euphrates Valley of Syria. Through a study of the pottery from the Middle Bronze sequence at the site of Tell Hadidi, I identified diagnostic vessel types that were thought best to characterize successive phases of the Middle Bronze Age. Following this, I reviewed the current ceramic evidence from excavated sites along the river and attempted to fix those sites' occupations within the newly defined phases of the Middle Bronze Age on the basis of the presence or absence of these diagnostic categories. The study successfully determined the relative placement of nearly all of the major sites located in the "Big Bend" and the Mari region of the Euphrates Valley within distinct phases of the Middle Bronze Age. The formulation of the Middle Bronze Euphrates chronology made it possible to study two important issues. First, it was possible to clarify the Euphrates Valley's chronological position relative to the Levant, based on a re-evaluation of the Levantine evidence and its correspondence with the newly structured Euphrates pottery sequence. Second, the chronology facilitated an investigation of cultural relationships between contemporary Euphrates sites. This inquiry led to new insights about intra-riverine relationships, particularly those involving political and economic exchange.Ph.D