Resource allocation and rising complexity during the Iron Age IIA: An isotopic case study from Khirbet Summeily, Israel. (10th February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Larson, Kara; Arnold, Elizabeth; Hardin, James W.
• Is Part Of: Quaternary international. Volume 646(2023)
• Page Start: 68
• Page End: 80
• Publication Date: 2023-02-10
• Subjects: Stable isotopes -- Zooarchaeology -- Herd management -- Iron age Israel -- Animal economies -- Secondary state formation; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Quaternary -- Periodicals; Stratigraphie -- Quaternaire -- Périodiques; 551.79
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2022.03.022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1040-6182

Abstract

Abstract: Isotopic analyses can be a useful tool in identifying animal exploitation patterns and herding strategies in the southern Levant. Here, carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses of domestic animal tooth enamel are used to investigate herd management at the Iron Age IIA site of Khirbet Summeily in Israel. The site was located in a prime ecological and political locale along the fringes of the emerging polity (potentially Judah), which ascended to regional significance by the Iron Age IIB. In order to understand the diets and movement of sheep, goats and cattle, we undertook intra-tooth sequential sampling and isotopic analyses of mandibular molars (n = 20). Results suggest that the livestock recovered at Khirbet Summeily were raised in different locations with varied management patterns. Variation in the dietary intake of sheep and goats indicates that they were pastured in different ecological zones. While some goats were mobile across long-distances, the majority of livestock were from local and regionally managed herds. Alongside material evidence of exotic goods from nearby polities, our findings lend further support to the idea that Khirbet Summeily acted as a resource allocation outpost strategically located on the edge of a political entity (potentially Judah), suggesting a trend towards increased economic complexity during the Iron Age IIA.