067
Archaeology of the City: Urban Planning in Ancient Israel and Its Social Implications
Ze’ev Herzog
(Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv Univ., 1997) Monograph Series No. 13, xiii + 299 pp., 11 figs., $60.00 (hardback)
What caused the rise of cities? Why did villagers leave their family homes and migrate to heavily populated centers? What persuaded farmers to support the ruling urban elite?
There is no universal agreement regarding the way urban societies arose. But the enormous amount of archaeological data presented by Ze’ev Herzog in this volume will surely aid serious readers as they address the many questions surrounding the emergence of urbanism in ancient Palestine. Herzog, a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University, has provided an excellent overview of urbanism in ancient Palestine and its social implications. The volume is greatly enhanced by 114 figures, many of them previously published but adapted here by the author.
Herzog’s research has yielded two important general observations: First, urban phenomena are surprisingly cyclical over time, with socially complex cities emerging every millennium or so, starting in about 3000 B.C.E. and reappearing in 2000 and 1000 B.C.E. These highly urban periods are separated by long stretches of simpler social organization. Second, urban life was not continuous, nor even remained the same, over time. Each new urban phase was ruled by a different group. In the first phase (c. 3000 B.C.E.), a religious elite controlled the cities; in the second phase (c. 2000 B.C.E.), a politico-military elite arose; and in the final stage treated in this volume (c. 1000 B.C.E.), the city itself plays an administrative role within a larger state. Similarly, in each phase a different form of managerial institution (such as the monarchy or another urban elite group) was used by small groups to achieve wealth and high status.
This book will prove a useful source for all specialists and a helpful guide to teachers of ancient Near Eastern archaeology. Herzog has for many years been one of the most prolific Israeli authors writing about the architecture, fortifications and social organization of ancient Palestinian sites. With this superb monograph on the archaeology of the city, Herzog secures a special niche for himself.
Archaeology of the City: Urban Planning in Ancient Israel and Its Social Implications
Ze’ev Herzog
(Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv Univ., 1997) Monograph Series No. 13, xiii + 299 pp., 11 figs., $60.00 (hardback)
