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Dr. Andrew Danielson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of British Columbia
Andrew Danielson received his PhD in Levantine Archaeology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020 and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia. He is the Field Director of the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project, excavating the site of Khirbat al-Mukhayyat in Jordan. There he leads the investigation of the Iron Age contexts, examining questions related to cross-cultural interaction and sociopolitical changes at the site and in the region. In addition to archaeological fieldwork, his research examines power dynamics and identity negotiation in the borderlands of the kingdoms of Edom and Judah in the southern Levant.
During the Iron Age in the southern Levant, small competing kingdoms navigated a tenuous position between their local populace and the Mesopotamian empires who came to dominate the region. Despite our rich knowledge of these kingdoms, questions remain regarding our understanding of their creation and structure, and specifically how dynamic human action and interaction shaped them. In this talk, I examine the archaeological data from the late Iron Age in the northeastern Negev to explore questions related to cross-cultural interaction and how trans-regional relational networks characterized this borderland region between the kingdoms of Judah and Edom. I present case studies engaging with culinary practices, religion, and language to demonstrate how social diversity and entanglement were integral features in the region. Re-envisioning these political entities through the heuristic of networks and examining the means by which power was extended throughout the landscape allows us to explore the unique contingencies of these kingdoms and the ruling strategies of their elites. I will conclude by extending this model for understanding interaction in its local context north to the kingdom of Moab, where the Town of Nebo Archaeological Project is seeking to nuance our understanding of the region’s role in a larger landscape of power.
Note: Lecture will be recorded
