»Intricate identities – Identifying Egyptians in the archaeological record of southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age«

Katharina Streit | Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut der ÖAW

The nature of the Egyptian control of the southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age has been subject to a vivid debate. Historical reconstructions either see a substantial presence of Egyptian personnel in the southern Levant or rather local Canaanites emulating the Egyptian mode of rulership. In this talk, I will re-examine the archaeological data, focusing on evidence which is indicative for the presence of Egyptian individuals. The analysis will focus particularly on ceramic data, architectural evidence, as well as burial practices, small finds and written evidence. The dataset includes previously published data, but also recent discoveries. Evidence is re-analysed in light of indicators for ‘embodied knowledge’ which indicates the presence of individuals accultured in Egypt and ‘emulation’ of Egyptian practices by local, Canaanite individuals.