Blurb:

Bayesian modeling of calibrated 14C ages from Khirbat Iskandar, Bab edh-Dhra‘, and Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj bolsters an emerging high chronology for the Southern Levantine Early Bronze Age. The work of Suzanne Richard, especially through the excavation of Khirbat Iskandar, highlights the importance of sedentary settlements amid the mobile pastoralism normally emphasized for Early Bronze IV (EB IV) society. Comparative analysis of radiocarbon dates from Khirbat Iskandar and Bab edh-Dhra‘ permits reexamination of their stratigraphic and chronological correlations. Integration of these results with a Bayesian model of 14C ages from Tell Abu en-Ni‘aj provides a coordinated overview of chronological relationships among these important sedentary communities and through the full course of a newly-lengthened EB IV Period. Jointly, the temporal insights from these settlements contribute to a potential uncoupling of EB IV from the Egyptian First Intermediate Period, both chronologically and interpretively, and a revised orientation toward non-urban settlement as a hallmark of Early Bronze Age society.