Migration and locality in the 2nd millennium BCE Levant

Eisenmann, Stefanie (2023): Migration and locality in the 2nd millennium BCE Levant: the integration of isotopic, genetic, and archaeological evidence. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Cultural Studies

Abstract

This dissertation investigates migration and locality in the Levant during the Middle and Late Bronze Age (c. 2000–1200 BCE) by integrating strontium isotope and ancient DNA (aDNA) analyses with archaeological burial contexts. It first reviews the history of migration research in archaeology and develops a theoretical framework that understands migration and locality as dimensions of human identity. Methodological chapters explain the principles of aDNA and strontium isotope analysis for the identification of migration, and review the currently available datasets for the Levant. The study then applies this approach to burials at three urban sites—Alalakh, Megiddo, and Kamid el-Loz—by combining newly generated and previously published isotopic and genetic data with archaeological and historical evidence. The results show that most individuals buried directly at the cities were local, while migrants formed a minority, mainly originating from nearby regions within the Levant; long-distance migrants were rare. The integration of scientific data with burial contexts further demonstrates how migrants were incorporated into local communities and how migration and locality could form part of social identities in Bronze Age Levantine societies.

• Item Type: Theses (Dissertation, LMU Munich)
• Keywords: Bronze Age, Levant, ancientDNA, isotopes, migration
• Subjects: 900 History and geography; 900 History and geography > 930 History of the ancient world
• Faculties: Faculty of Cultural Studies
• Language: English
• Date of oral examination: 9. June 2023
• 1. Referee: Stockhammer, Philipp
• Signature of the printed copy: 0001/UMC 31933

Footnote

Die gedruckte Ausgabe erscheint in zwei Bänden. Signatur von Band 2: 0001/UMC 31934