Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations

Extract

Material reminiscent of an Aegean-style culture, distinct from that of the indigenous population in southern Canaan, appeared some time near the beginning of the twelfth century B.C.E. Scholars have long associated this material with the arrival of a group of newcomers called the Philistines and known as the famous antagonists of the biblical Israelites. Limited excavation and publication of Philistine settlements have restricted previous studies to the available portable artifacts such as pottery. While such studies have advanced our understanding of Philistine culture, le mobilier is vulnerable to post-depositional disturbances and other issues that potentially remove them from the proper context of those people who created and used them. Unlike such portable elements of material culture, archaeological strata and built architectural features cannot be traded; thus they reflect the activity of people at the site. The current research has shifted the emphasis away from that of previous Philistine studies, from an examination of portable items, to the examination of fixed domestic structures, which thereby helps to augment our understanding of the composition and culture of the people living in the territories of Philistia.