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In the Early Bronze Age, the inhabitants of Canaan
built the first walled towns. These towns were not large --
populations seldom exceeded 2000; the largest had perhaps
3000 - 5000 inhabitants. The evolution of urban societies
had a profound effect on the civilization in Canaan. The
clear boundaries of the cities and their role as regional
centers represented a new concept in communal
organization.
The most imposing feature of these towns were their
defenses. Walls were built of rough stones or of unbaked mud
brick. One of the best preserved sites from this time was
Arad. Here, the defensive wall was furnished with
semicircular bastions at regular intervals. As time
progressed, the fortifications in these towns grew more and
more complex and by the end of the Early Bronze Age, some
towns were even surrounded by double or triple lines of
walls for defense.
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Families lived within the city
walls in houses clustered around courtyards.
Differences in wealth existed but were not marked.
Buildings that might qualify as "palaces" were
almost non-existent. Small temples were the main
form of public building and probably served as the
focal point for community life. Both temples and
private houses had a similar basic plan, namely a
rectangular structure built of mud brick with the
entrance in the long side and often with benches
along the other three sides.
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Artist's reconstruction of Arad, an Early
Bronze Age city.
Drawing by Chad
Hennebery after R. Amiran and O. Ilan, Arad:
eine 5000 Jahre alte Stadt in der Wuste Neger,
Israel
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Khirbet Kerak Ware Ceramic
Vessel
Beth Shean, Stratum XII, Early Bronze III
2700-23000 BCE
34-20-362
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Around this time, pottery technology
developed as the potter's
wheel came into common use and methods
for firing wares were better controlled. Metal
weapons and tools were created by artisans in these
urban centers and despite the terminology, copper,
and not bronze, was the metal used in the Early
Bronze Age.
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Serekh of Narmer,
Egyptian Pharaoh of the First Dynasty, incised on a
pottery jar found at Arad.
J. Fisher,
after R. Amirah, Israel Exploration Journal,
24(1974): fig. 1.1
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Contact with the first Pharaohs of Egypt
played a role in stimulating the growth of these
walled towns. In Egypt, contemporary tombs
contained pottery jars from Canaan which were used
to transport wine and olive oil. The names of
Egypt's first two Pharaohs (Narmer and Hor-aha)
were found on objects at numerous sites in southern
Israel -- clear indication of commercial
contacts.
The existence of the heavily fortified city
walls is evidence that this was not a peaceful
period. Perhaps the walls were built to protect
against inter-town rivalry within Canaan itself,
but there are also Egyptian records testifying to
military intervention from that country. However,
by 2300 BCE, most of the towns in the southern
Levant had been abandoned or reduced in size.
Current evidence suggests that a global climate
change and drier conditions were the basic cause of
these social changes. In addition, there was a
gradual decline in trade with Egypt towards the end
of the period. Under this strain, the specialized
agricultural economy of Early Bronze Age Canaan
collapsed. In order to survive, people turned to
small-scale farming and pastoral nomadism. Urban
communities disintegrated and disappeared. For the
next 350 years, walled towns ceased to play a role
in Canaanite life.
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