Felix Höflmayer
Austrian Academy of Sciences

High, middle, or low? establishing an absolute radiocarbon chronology for the middle bronze age levant

November 2nd, 2023 (Thursday), 5:30 PM, Faculty House, Columbia University

Abstract 

In recent years, radiocarbon data from several sites throughout the eastern Mediterranean challenged both the low and the traditional chronology of the Middle Bronze Age Levant and subsequently its correlation with Egypt. The revised chronology demands a critical reassessment of our current view of Egyptian-Levantine relations during the Middle Bronze Age. Textual sources such as the Execration Texts, the Mit Rahina inscription of Amenemhet II, the historical inscription of Khnumhotep at Dahshur, or the Khu-Sobek inscription were interpreted along the lines of the traditional or the low chronology, as were art historical references, such as the Egyptianizing paintings at the Middle Bronze Age fort at Tell el-Burak. This paper summarizes the current state of research in the field of absolute chronology of the Middle Bronze Age Levant and its synchronization with Egypt and presents for the first time a historical interpretation of Egyptian-Levantine relations based on an absolute radiocarbon-backed chronological framework.