| ToC | Reading the Old Testament | . . . The Biblical Story | ToC |
A. Prehistory
Remains in caves on Mount Carmel near the Mediterranean Sea reveal the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) presence of humans in Palestine of a type related to the Neanderthals of Europe. A later Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) human culture of the Natufian variety has been identified at Jericho and 'Ain Mallaha.
1. Neolithic Period / New Stone Age (6000-4000 B.C.E.)
This period marks the transition from food gathering to food production. During this time humans gradually domesticated animals, cultivated grains, produced pottery, and built towns. Jericho developed into a sizable and fortified Palestinian settlement during this period.
2. Chalcolithic Period / Copper Age (4000-3200 B.C.E.)
Metal weapons and tools replaced stone implements during this period, and painted pottery became widely used. Beersheba in the Negev developed a copper-working industry, getting its ore from Sinai. The Dead Sea caves at Nahal Mishmar yielded a mass of copper ritual utensils, as well as baskets, leather, and ivory.
 |
Prehistoric Pedestal Bowls dating to the Chalcolithic period, perhaps intended to represent household gods.
Israel Museum, Jerusalem |
3. Early Bronze Age (3200-2000 B.C.E.)
The Bronze Age (early, middle, and late) in the ancient Middle East was a time of explosive human achievement. It also saw the development of empires. Outside Palestine, great civilizations developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both regions would have significant impact on the culture and politics of Palestine throughout Israelite history.
 |
Ebih-il, the Superintendent of Mari, from Mari on the Euphrates, c. 2400 B.C.E. Mari was one of the great city-states of the Early Bronze age.
Musée du Louvre, Paris |
The Hebrew Bible retains strong memories of Mesopotamian connections. Abraham originated in Ur, one of the cities of Mesopotamia, and the twelve Hebrew clans spent many years in Egypt before the exodus. During the time of the Israelite monarchies there was much contact with the surrounding empires, mostly hostile.
Having come from the mountains of what is today Iran, the Sumerians settled in the Mesopotamian river valleys and instigated a wealth of cultural advances. They were the first to build cities and to practice irrigation agriculture. They invented writing and produced a literature that included proverbs and wisdom sayings, religious myths, heroic epics, hymns, and law codes.
Sumerian government took the form of city-states and an early form of democracy. Each was independent and controlled its surrounding countryside, each was governed by a council of elders, and all landholders had a say in decision making. But because this type of governing council was unable to cope effectively with military crises, it eventually gave way to dynastic kingship.
 |
Gudea, from Tello in ancient Sumeria, c. 2150 B.C.E. Gudea of Lagash was one of the great empire builders of Sumer.
Musée du Louvre, Paris |
The Sumerians controlled the southern part of Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, until about 2400 B.C.E. After that time the Akkadians, led by Sargon of Akkad, established a Semitic empire, borrowing much of their culture from the Sumerians. Except for a resurgence of Sumerian rule for a hundred years beginning in 2050 B.C.E., the Semitic Akkadians, Babylonians, or Assyrians ruled Mesopotamia until Cyrus established the Medo-Persian empire in the sixth century B.C.E.
 |
Sakkara Pyramid
This step pyramid is the first pyramid in history, built early in the third millennium. It functioned as a royal tomb.
Photo by Barry Bandstra |
In Egypt, the time period corresponding to the Early Bronze Age is called the Early Dynastic period. The beginnings of the great Egyptian empire and the pyramids trace back to this time.
 The Ancient Middle East was home to earliest civilizations, including the Egyptians, Sumerians, and Babylonians. Mesopotamia is literally the "land between rivers" referring to the Tigris and Euphrates.
|  |  |
| ToC | Reading the Old Testament | . . . The Biblical Story | ToC |
|
