Sarit Paz | Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (original) (raw)

Books by Sarit Paz

Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 232, 2007

The numerous depictions of drumming – mainly figurines of female drum players as well as the Old ... more The numerous depictions of drumming – mainly figurines of female drum players as well as the Old Testament – indicate that the drum was a feminine instrument. The present study considers the gender-related contexts of drumming in Iron Age II Israel.
Following a survey and analysis of the archaeological, biblical, and ethnographic data, the study ascertains a gender model characterizing this musical activity and its contexts in Israelite society.
One facet of drumming by women, very pronounced in the archaeological record, but totally ignored by Scripture, was the fertility cult. The second facet of the women drummer tradition is reflected in both the archaeological record and the Hebrew Bible. Drumming in the framework of the "Victory Song” was a female tradition of popular (folk) character, which included drumming, song and dance.
In contrast to the women drummers’ tradition, the Canaanite Orchestra was specifically cultic in its function, and it comprised a number of different instruments, including the drum, played exclusively by men. The differences between the women drummers’ traditions and that of the Canaanite Orchestra reflect social differences between male and female, public and domestic, official and unofficial.
The women drummer figurines with which this study is concerned are a material reflection of these musical traditions and their implications. The drumming traditions, and the figurines depicting them, provide an expression in spirit and substance, of the daily tension between ideologies, lifestyles, and interests that shaped the lives of women in Iron Age Israel.

For a free eprint click: http://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/143074/

Papers by Sarit Paz

S. Valentini, G. Guarducci, and N. Laneri (eds.). Archaeology of Symbols: ICAS I. Proceedings of the First International Congress on the Archaeology of Symbols (MaReA vol 3), Oxford: Oxbow, 2024

*Please send me a message with your email address if you are interested in the full text* The ... more *Please send me a message with your email address if you are interested in the full text*

The Early Bronze Age village of Kvatskhelebi, Georgia, is one of the best-preserved Kura-Araxes settlements in the South Caucasus. The wide exposure, good preservation and ample finds in situ offer a rare glimpse of Kura-Araxes agro-pastoral village life in the early 3rd millennium BC. While domestic animals predominate in the faunal assemblage of Kvatskhelebi, there are also various wild animals. Among them, deer remains are especially significant. A unique setting of a whole deer with various vessels and artifacts around it was found in a special building at the site, attesting to a ritual feasting context. Deer bones and antlers, including numerous antler tools, were found in domestic and outdoor contexts. Finally, there are several iconographic depictions of deer on ceramic lids from domestic contexts, stylized painted and incised depictions on ceramic vessels, and deer images on a copper diadem from a burial context. The media and styles of this imagery differ from depictions of domestic animals at the site. The paper brings together the various evidence from Kvatskhelebi to discuss the symbolic value of the deer in this Kura-Araxes community. Using a ‘more than representational’ approach that combines Assemblage Theory with Peircean semiotics, it examines the ways deer are involved in various sets of human–non human interactions, in which the practical, material and semiotic are inseparably entangled.

Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies XVI/1-2, 2022: 166–181, 2022

Tel Bet Yerah has provided us with an opportunity to advance the study of diasporic Kura-Araxes r... more Tel Bet Yerah has provided us with an opportunity to advance the study of diasporic Kura-Araxes research in multiple ways. Reflecting on what we have learned in twenty years at the site, we summarize the evidence for an assemblage that goes far beyond Khirbet Kerak ceramics, and includes the
organization of space, miniature art, stone and metal artifacts, food and fuel acquisition and consumption practices. We also reflect on our evolving understanding of migration and interaction with local cultures
and on the role of intentionality in maintaining cultural and political distinction.

JIPS, 2022

The Kura-Araxes (KA) cultural horizon is the bestdocumented example of a late prehistoric migrati... more The Kura-Araxes (KA) cultural horizon is the bestdocumented example of a late prehistoric migration and an establishment of a diaspora community in southwestern Asia (e.g.

Paléorient, 2021

Food and its interactions with the environmental, economic, social, and cultural spheres play an ... more Food and its interactions with the environmental, economic, social, and cultural spheres play an essential role in communities' cultural identity. This theory has been verified by an analysis of the Kura-Araxes (KA) culture, characterised by original cultural developments, which spread in the South Caucasus around the middle of the fourth millennium BC. This research aims to study the variability of dietary choices at the individual and population levels by analysing stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen (δ 13 C, δ 15 N). To monitor regional and diachronic changes in dietary patterns, we performed analysis on human, animal, and plant materials (n = 144) from eight KA highland and lowland sites in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia compared with data (n = 39) from Post-KA sites already published (Herrscher et al. 2016, 2018b). Isotopic data show no significant differences with altitude. The KA diet is characterised by higher consumption of herbivore meat than pork and higher barley consumption than wheat. No relationship with age at death, sex, and burial traits were observed, suggesting "equal" access to food among community members. Human low isotope variability shows persistence over KA's entire duration (3,500-2,500 BC), while it is significantly different between KA and Post-KA subjects. The results confirm the homogeneity of KA communities' food practices that reinforces the theory of a "strong cultural identity" of the KA populations. Résumé. L'alimentation et l'ensemble des interactions qu'elle entretient avec les sphères environnementale, économique, sociale et culturelle jouent un rôle important dans l'identité culturelle des communautés. Cette théorie a été vérifiée par une analyse de la culture Kuro-Araxe (KA), caractérisée par des développements culturels originaux, qui s'est répandue dans le Caucase du Sud vers le milieu du quatrième millénaire avant notre ère. Cette recherche vise à étudier la variabilité des choix alimentaires, aux niveaux individuel et populationnel, par l'analyse des isotopes stables du carbone et de l'azote (δ 13 C, δ 15 N). Afin de suivre les changements régionaux et diachroniques des modes alimentaires, des analyses ont été réalisées sur des matériaux humains, animaux et végétaux (n = 144) provenant de sites d'altitudes différentes, huit en Géorgie, deux en Arménie et un en Azerbaïdjan et comparées à des données (n = 39) provenant de 4 sites Post KA de la région déjà publiées (Herrscher et al. 2016, 2018b) Les données isotopiques ne montrent aucun changement significatif avec l'altitude. L'alimentation KA se caractérise par une plus grande consommation de viande d'herbivore que de porc et une plus grande consommation d'orge que de blé. Aucune relation avec l'âge au décès, le sexe et les traits funéraires n'a été observée, ce qui suggère un accès « égal » à la nourriture entre les membres des communautés. La variabilité isotopique humaine montre une persistance sur toute la durée du KA (3500-2500 avant J.-C.), tandis qu'elle est significativement différente entre les sujets KA et Post KA. Les résultats convergent pour confirmer une homogénéité des pratiques alimentaires des communautés KA qui renforce la théorie d'une « forte identité culturelle » des communautés KA.

Antiquity, 2021

The role and significance of fish and fishing in the ancient Near East has been little studied. A... more The role and significance of fish and fishing in the ancient Near East has been little studied. A new assemblage of fish remains and fishing gear recovered from Bronze Age Bet Yerah on the Sea of Galilee, however, offers insights into the transition from village to town life, and illuminates interactions between local populations and incoming groups. The assemblage also reveals temporal and spatial variations in the utilisation of local fish resources. As the first such assemblage obtained from a systematically sampled Early Bronze Age stratigraphic sequence in the Southern Levant, it highlights the contribution of secondary food-production and-consumption activities to the interpretation of socio-cultural change.

In: Richard, Suzanne (ed.). New Horizons in the Study of the Early Bronze III and Early Bronze IV of the Levant. Pp. 234-248., 2020

The Early Bronze (EB) III is often considered the pinnacle of urban developments in the third mil... more The Early Bronze (EB) III is often considered the pinnacle of urban developments in the third millennium BCE in the southern Levant. However, a close view of the processes reflected in the complete Early Bronze Age stratigraphic sequence at Tel Bet Yerah suggest a different narrative. After a crisis that marks the EB II–III transition, alongside cases of clear continuity there are major changes in the trajectory of urban evolution at the site during the EB III. These include the entrance of a new cultural group, various rehabilitation attempts and major construction projects, and changes in the social and political structure of the city. Rather than a continuous development and regeneration of urban life, these punctuated processes and events gradually brought its demise. The article discusses these intertwined processes of continuity, change, rehabilitation, and decay, their nature, and their outcomes.

Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, 2020

The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria ... more The contents of a small trash pit discovered in the recent excavations in Hellenistic Philoteria (Tel Bet Yerah/Khirbet el-Kerak) offer a unique opportunity to study the components of what appears to have been a single festive meal. Extant remains include numerous mammal bones, mollusc shells, and ceramic tableware; they suggest a rustic Mediterranean cuisine, compatible with the presence of Greek settlers in pre-Hasmonean Galilee.

Full text available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.8.1.issue-1

Studies in Archaeology and Ancient Cultures in Honor of Isaac Gilead, 2019

The discovery of 16 Conus apex beads from the Early Bronze Age II site of Tel Bareqet in central ... more The discovery of 16 Conus apex beads from the Early Bronze Age II site of Tel Bareqet in central Israel, prompted research concerning this type of personal ornament. Theses ornaments were made of Indo-Pacific Conus shells, and they were discovered in numerous third millennium BCE sites in the Levant, the Sinai Desert, as well as in Mesopotamia, suggesting long-range contacts. The existence of a workshop of such artifacts in Oman might point to their actual origin. Ethnographic analogies, coupled with the size and distribution of these artifacts, suggest that these were prestige items.

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research , 2017

New excavations conducted in the Circles Building (Granary) at Tel Bet Yerah, first excavated in ... more New excavations conducted in the Circles Building (Granary) at Tel Bet Yerah, first excavated in 1946, form the basis for a revised, detailed description of the construction and use of this unique structure. Stratigraphic soundings have established that the structure consisted of three platforms with seven circles sunk into them, enclosing a paved courtyard that was open toward the east. The structure was constructed in a single operation, at the transition between Early Bronze Age II and III, but it seems to have been abandoned before it was completed and given over to new tenants who changed the trajectory of its use. These new inhabitants are responsible for the bulk of the deposits excavated in and around the building, which are characterized by large quantities of Khirbet Kerak Ware and complementary lithic and other assemblages. We suggest that the building was conceived as part of the corporate urbanizing project of Early Bronze Age II, but was overtaken by a crisis that deflected the urban trajectory of Tel Bet Yerah in Early Bronze Age III and allowed the entry of migrant groups, such as those bearing the Khirbet Kerak Ware tradition.

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2017

Early Bronze Age urbanization and urbanism in the Levant have long been important themes in schol... more Early Bronze Age urbanization and urbanism in the Levant have long been important themes in scholarly discussion, with both the nature of the process and its results being the subject of lively debate. We view Early Bronze II (EB II) south Levantine urbanism as a novel ideological construct grounded in heterarchical modes of social organization, rather than a direct development from earlier village-based lifestyles. In the current study we employ a phenomenological approach that enables us to identify an urban habitus and to discuss cognitive aspects of town life, rather than constraining the discussion to urban morphology. Tel Bet Yerah in northern Israel is a good place to approach these issues, as it presents a continuous, extensively excavated Early Bronze Age sequence. One of the most prominent elements of the EB II fortified city is a system of paved streets that constructed space in a clear geometric pattern. The investment in street planning and engineering, alongside other aspects of planning, no doubt played a key role in the inculcation of urban concepts at the site. As shared public spaces, the streets were experienced and modified through the everyday practices of the town’s inhabitants and visitors. It is the negotiation between planning, ideology and practice that makes the streets of Bet Yerah an exemplary case of the role of architecture in promoting and sustaining a new social order.

ARC (Archaeological Review from Cambridge) 30.1 (seen & unseen spaces), 2015

Site and scene: Evaluating visibility in monument placement during the Bronze Age of West Penwith... more Site and scene: Evaluating visibility in monument placement during the Bronze Age of West Penwith, Cornwall, United Kingdom Chelsee Arbour (In)visible cities: The abandoned Early Bronze Age tells in the landscape of the Intermediate Bronze Age southern Levant Sarit Paz 'All that we see or seem': Space, memory and Greek akropoleis Robin Rönnlund Becoming visible: The formation of urban boundaries in the oppidum of Manching (Bavaria) Thimo Jacob Brestel

Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 54. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority. Pp. 15–52., 2014

Israel Antiquities Authority Reports 54. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority. Pp. 235–296., 2014