Assessing the Early Bronze-Middle Bronze Age Transition in the Southern Levant in light of a Transitional Ceramic Vessel from Tell Umm Hammad, Jordan

The Early Bronze–Middle Bronze transition in the southern Levant has been the subject of much debate, as few sequences span this transitional horizon. Indeed, scholars are divided as to the origins of the reurbanization process, with some advocating indigenous development, while others assert foreign, specifically Egyptian or Syrian, influence. The identification of a terminal EB IV horizon at the settlement site of Tell Umm Hammad, Jordan, has the ability to offer a new
and important insight into this enigmatic period. Analysis here suggests that the reurbanization of the southern Levant during the early Middle Bronze Age may in fact be due to a fusion of indigenous, Syrian, and Egyptian influences, with each of these focused on specific geographic regions within the southern Levant.