REL 415 - Archaeology of Ancient Israel: Field and Laboratory Methods

In this 4 week summer travel course, students will participate in the Jezreel Expedition, a multidisciplinary archaeological, environmental, and ethnographical investigation in northern Israel. The Jezreel Expedition is sponsored by the University of Evansville and the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa; with consortium members– the University of Arizona, Chapman University, Vanderbilt University and Villanova University. Students will experience firsthand an archaeological dig in Israel, excavating material remains to understand ancient Near Eastern history, daily life activities, gender and society roles, space utilization, town planning, trade, political relations, and the development of the religious traditions of ancient Israel. Specific methodologies including field excavation, pottery analysis, laboratory processing, and the recording and interpretation of artifacts, stratigraphy, top plans, section drawing, computer applications, use of optical and electronic theodolites, registration, pottery reading, lithic analysis and archaeozoology. In addition to archaeological field skills, students will learn how the finds can illuminate the history, literature, culture, and religion of the ancient Canaan and Israel through lectures and assigned readings, therefore contextualizing the fieldwork. The ideology of archaeology, the development of its techniques, and its key contributions to understanding the Bible will be important factors in this class. Settlement patterns, the material culture, fortifications, monumental architecture, domestic contexts, cultic and other objects will be discussed along with the question of the ethnic and religious identities of the various groups who settled in Israel during the different periods. As we will live on a functioning kibbutz with founding kibbutz members, a secondary goal of gaining an understanding of Israeli history, Zionism, and communal societal structure. Daily lectures, workshops, and organized weekend trips to archaeological, historical and religious sites will be led by professional archaeologists and scholars. Students will live in at Kibbutz Jezreel in guesthouses (2-3 to a room) with dig participants from other US and international universities. Fee: TBD. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits