Economic and Political Organization of Early Bronze Age Coastal Communities:Tell Fadous-Kfarabida as a Case Study

In: Genz , H , Riehl , S , Çakirlar , C , Slim , F & Damick , A 2016 , ' Economic and Political Organization of Early Bronze Age Coastal Communities : Tell Fadous-Kfarabida as a Case Study ' , Berytus , vol. 55 , pp. 79-119 . ; ISSN:0067-6195

Abstract

This contribution seeks to address the issue of the economic and political status of the coastal settlement of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida during the Early Bronze Age III by investigating the bioarchaeological remains from the site in their archaeological context. The presence of public buildings and prestige objects at the rather small site together with indications of a specialized economy according to the plant and animal bone records suggests that the site had a special position within a larger economic network. Most likely, Tell Fadous-Kfarabida should be interpreted as an administrative sub-centre connected to the more important site of Byblos. If this interpretation is accepted, it suggests a more complex economic and political organization during the Early Bronze Age III in coastal Lebanon than hitherto envisaged.