ABSTRACT
The early Iron Age in the Levant (Bilad ash-Sham) is a period of significant social and cultural change, one that takes us from the end of Egyptian and Hittite imperial domination to the rise of local monarchies. The study of the Iron Age I has thus far been dominated by evidence from sites in Palestine and Israel and by questions and priorities that derive ultimately from the Bible. Sites of this period, however, are plentiful and well-preserved in Jordan, holding the potential to broaden debate and challenge basic presumptions regarding society and social change during the early Iron Age.
