On Rural Aspects of the Urban Settlement System in Southwestern Canaan during the Early Bronze Age III

The urban settlement system that flourished during EB III (c. 2700-2200 BCE) in southwestern Canaan has been thoroughly discussed in recent decades and is still being studied. On-going excavations and research continue to provide impressive evidence of the existence during this period of major fortified centres such as Yarmouth, Tel Zafit, Tel Hesi, Tel Poran and Tel Halif. In contrast, archaeological research has neglected the rural system that accompanied these urban centres. The accumulated data from surveyed and excavated sites that may belong to the socioeconomic hinterland of the urban centres has allowed us to shed some light on several aspects of this rural system. Our discussion will focus on rural sites from EB III, and will delineate the possible spatial connections between rural and urban sites in the EB III settlement system of this region.