Subsistence and Settlement in a Marginal Environment

Tell Es-Sweyhat, 1989-1995

By (author) Richard Zettler

Book cover: Subsistence and Settlement in a Marginal Environment

Extent: 200 pages

Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Museum

Subjects: Ancient Near East

Series: MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(January 1997)

ISBN: 9781931707084

8.46 x 10.98 inches

Price: $34.95

In stock

Four seasons of excavation at an Early Bronze Age urban center in Syria, integrating various methods, the findings illuminate the site’s strategic location, emphasizing its significance in exploiting upland pastures. Includes archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, geomagnetic mapping, pottery analysis, regional survey, and a newly discovered cemetery.


The volume reports the results of four seasons of excavation at Tell es-Sweyhat, an Early Bronze Age urban center located on the margins of the dry-farming zone in Syria. A goal of the project has been to integrate traditional archaeological methods and the applied sciences. Results to date suggest that the site, though several kilometers from the Euphrates River, was well-situated for exploiting upland pastures. Geomagnetic mapping reveals details about the internal site structure. Archaeobotany, zooarchaeology, and geomagnetic mapping, complemented by a substantial pottery study, regional survey, stratigraphic analysis, and discussion of the newly discovered cemetery provide the basis for understanding this inhospitable area.

  • By (author) Richard Zettler