Between Text and Artifact: Integrating Archaeology in Biblical Studies Teaching (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)

74 ImTwEENTEXTANDAR1WACr

Kenyon'sintroductorycommentsaboutthehistoryofthediscipline
andfieldmethodologyarequitebrief,butsheismuchmoreexpansive
abouttheenvironmentandthePaleolithicandNeolithicperiods.Kenyon
paysspecialattentiontoplantandanimaldomestication,which isnot
surprising,basedonherworkatJericho.Thoughdated,Kenyon'scover-
ageoftheNalufianandtheNeolithicperiodsisparticularlystrong,where
she includesmuchoftheentireNearEast. Eachmajor periodis then
coveredonachaptcr-by-chaptcrb<lsis,concludingwiththedestruction
ofJerusalembytheBabyloniansanda fewpagesdedicatedtothepost-
exilicperiod.
Thenumberofdiagramsandillustrationsislimited,buttheyareusu-
allywellplacedanduseful.Z3Moreextensivearetheninety~sixblackand
whitephotogmphsthatpresentmaterialfromthePaleolithicthroughthe
IronAge.Manyofthesecomefrom Kenyon'sownworkatSamariaand
Jericho.Thereisalsoanappendixofexcavatedsitesandbibliogmphy.
Unfortunately,inadditiontobeingoutofdate,therearesevemlreal
concernswiththisvolume.First,althoughKenyonherselfwasve'Yinter-
estedinprehisto'Y,24thebulkofthevolumeis a culturehist0'Yofancient
Israelwithastrongbiblicalflavor,notKenyon'sstrongsuit. Kenyon,like
Albright,alsotendstoviewculturalchangeastheresultofthearrivalof
newpeoples,advancingan"invadershypothesisn wheneverpossible(a
rerspecrivf'th~tfilSnicelywithrhf'hihli,~ln~mllivf's).ForKenyon,new-
comerscontinuallyarrive intothesouthernLevant,bringingwith them
innovativetechnologiesandnewstylesofmaterialculture.Thiskindof
perspectivewasalreadybeginningtobreakdowninthelate1960s,andto
seeitsoforceFullypresented<ISlateas 1979 is vexing.
Thisisnottosaythatthismodelis notentirelywithoutmerit;aFterall,
thereweremanysignificantmovementsofpeoplesthroughoutNearEas[~
ern history. However, Kenyon tended 10 reduce many of the most
significantchangesinculturetooutsideinvasions.Shevieweddestruction
levelsasindicationsofnewpeoplesarriving,especiallywhenaccompa-
niedbyachangeinthecemmicdecomtivestyle.ForKenyon,potsclearly
equaledpeoples,a propositionthatwassquarelychallengedinanimpor-
tant article by Carol Kramer entitled "Pots and People."25 This very
traditionalapproachwasusedbyKenyontounderstandtheoriginsofthe

Z3TheseconsistmainlyoflinedraWingsofpotteryandarchitecturalplans.

24 Kenyonmadehermostimportantscholarlycontributionsintheprehistoricperiods,

especiallytheNeolithic,theEarlyBronzeI,andtheEarlyBronzeIVperiods.seenote 27

belowontheissue 01 EarlyI3ronzeIVterminology.

25 CarolKramer,"PotsandPeople,"inMOllntainsandLowlands:EssaysintbeArcbae~

ologya/GreaterMesopotamia(ed.LD.LevineandT.C.YoungJr.;BMes6;Malibu:Undena,

1977),99-112.