Abstract:
Agriculture played a central role in Levantine societies during the Bronze and Iron
Age (ca. 3700-332 BCE), providing food security and enabling surplus production
that supported social organization and trade. Agricultural strategies were shaped by
the region’s diverse environments and climates, influencing crop choices and land
use. Archaeobotany, which analyzes preserved plant remains, provides evidence to
reconstruct crop husbandry, storage practices, and human-plant interactions. While
this field has significantly advanced understanding of Levantine Bronze and Iron Age
crop husbandry, some challenges and gaps still remain. This dissertation investigates
crop husbandry and storage practices across the Levant using new archaeobotanical
data from Kamid el-Loz, Tel Kinrot, Tel Lachish, Tel Dan, and Tel Dor, combined with
comparative datasets based on ADEMNES. Multivariate statistical analyses are used
to identify regional and chronological shifts in crop patterns, with particular attention
to differences between inland and coastal regions, and their link to environmental
and socio-political influences. The results indicate a stable core set of crops, primarily
cereals, pulses, and fruits, alongside notable chronological and regional variation. A
key chronological shift is the transition from hulled to free-threshing wheat between
the Bronze and Iron Age, which likely reflects changing political and economic
conditions. Regional differences are also evident. Inland areas tended to focus on
cereal-pulse agriculture, whereas coastal regions placed additionally greater
emphasis on fruit cultivation, particularly olives and grapes. In the northern Levant,
agriculture centered on cereals and pulses, while in the southern Levant fruit trees
and flax played a more prominent role. Most central Levantine sites align with the
southern Levantine pattern, with Kamid el-Loz, an inland site, standing out as an
exception. These patterns can be linked primarily to environmental factors, but in
some cases also to economic and political influences. Storage practices formed a
fundamental component of crop husbandry. Archaeobotanical evidence suggests
that cereals were often stored in large communal facilities, pulses in household-level
containers, and fruits mainly in processed forms such as oil or wine. These patterns
underscore the importance of storage for surplus management, redistribution, and
integration into urban and administrative networks. The similarity of chronological and
regional trends observed in both storage and non-storage datasets indicates that
environmental variables, particularly rainfall and elevation, played a key role in
shaping both crop selection and storage strategies, alongside socio-political and
economic factors. Overall, the study demonstrates that Levantine agriculture was in a
way constant but also dynamic and adaptive, shaped by environmental conditions,
economic networks, and political change. By integrating new archaeobotanical data
with comparative datasets, it contributes to a more nuanced understanding of
agricultural strategies, storage systems, and daily life in the ancient Levant.
Archaeobotany