UC San Diego

Between 1200 BCE - 400 CE, the Levant was situated in the shadow of powerful ancient empires - Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and Rome. Under these conditions, we see two episodes of independent state formation in southern Transjordan: the Iron Age kingdom of Edom and the early Nabatean state. This dissertation examines the relationship between these two archaic societies in southern Jordan and the physical, social, and ideational landscapes they inhabited. The broad goal of this dissertation is to contribute to a better understanding of culture change through the lens of ancient landscapes. This approach has an explicitly spatial orientation that lends itself to understanding the myriad relationships between human societies and the spaces they created, maintained, and occupied. Focusing on a period of 1600 years, from the beginning of the Iron Age (c. 1200 BCE) through the end of the Roman period (c. 400 CE), my research tracks the history of socio-subsistence practices, human impacts on the environment, and political organization in the arid environments of southern Transjordan. Based on the results of systematic surveys and archaeological excavations in the highlands and lowlands of southern Transjordan, I argue: 1) that socio- economic organization shifted from relatively autonomous, agro-pastoral communities during the Iron Age (1200-500 BCE), to highly integrated, agriculturally specialized producers during the Roman period (100 BCE -400 CE); 2) that these Iron Age communities strived for political autonomy from the state, whereas during the Roman period political autonomy within the territory of the Nabataean kingdom was no longer tenable; and 3) that intensive copper production in the lowlands of Wadi Faynan did not lead directly to environmental degradation, but instead, was probably the result of a combination of post- abandonment factors, including erosion and the collapse of mining and smelting infrastructure