The Buqeiϲa Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant During the Seventh to Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-off Farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland?

Shimon Gibson; Rafael Y. Lewis; Joan E. Taylor

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-27330-8_36

The Buqei^ϲa Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant During the Seventh to Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-off Farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland?

Shimon Gibson
, Rafael Y. Lewis
, Joan E. Taylor

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous archaeological studies of Iron Age IIC/III settlements in the Buqei^ϲa plateau, situated in the north-eastern part of the Judean Desert, suggest they were operated as permanent paramilitary farming establishments with their primary subsistence based on run-off farming in the alluvial soils of nearby tributary wadis. Using a landscape archaeology approach and data from archives, an alternative interpretation is presented in this paper, identifying the Buqei^ϲa plateau as a range-land for the grazing of livestock (sheep/goats), with the bounded alluvial lands next to the settlements serving as green pasturage. This allows for a different model for understanding the Iron Age inhabitants as specialized transhumant pastoralists.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology
Publisher	Springer Nature
Pages	839-897
Number of pages	59
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27330-8_36
State	Published - 2023
Externally published	Yes

Publication series

Name	Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology
Volume	2023
ISSN (Print)	1568-2722

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

Keywords

Agriculture
Animal pens
Buqeah plateau
Buqeia plateau
Desert agriculture
Field systems
Goats
Iron Age
Iron Age II
Judean Desert
Landscape archaeology
Lookout towers
Nomads
Pastoralism
Pasturage (green)
Qumran
Road systems
Sheep
Shepherds
Transhumant pastoralists

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-27330-8_36

Cite this

Gibson, S., Lewis, R. Y., & Taylor, J. E. (2023). The Buqei^ϲa Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant During the Seventh to Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-off Farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland? In Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology (pp. 839-897). (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology; Vol. 2023). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27330-8_36

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abstract = "Previous archaeological studies of Iron Age IIC/III settlements in the Buqeiϲa plateau, situated in the north-eastern part of the Judean Desert, suggest they were operated as permanent paramilitary farming establishments with their primary subsistence based on run-off farming in the alluvial soils of nearby tributary wadis. Using a landscape archaeology approach and data from archives, an alternative interpretation is presented in this paper, identifying the Buqeiϲa plateau as a range-land for the grazing of livestock (sheep/goats), with the bounded alluvial lands next to the settlements serving as green pasturage. This allows for a different model for understanding the Iron Age inhabitants as specialized transhumant pastoralists.",

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Gibson, S, Lewis, RY & Taylor, JE 2023, The Buqei^ϲa Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant During the Seventh to Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-off Farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland? in Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology, vol. 2023, Springer Nature, pp. 839-897. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27330-8_36

The Buqei^ϲa Plateau of the Judean Desert in the Southern Levant During the Seventh to Early Sixth Centuries BCE: Iron Age Run-off Farmland or a Pastoralist Rangeland? / Gibson, Shimon; Lewis, Rafael Y.; Taylor, Joan E.
Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer Nature, 2023. p. 839-897 (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology; Vol. 2023).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

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