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

DESSH;INSEARCHOFTilEGOODBOOK 77

Aluroni'skeeninterestintheenvironmentandarchaeologicalsurvey
insome waypresaged thedevelopment ofprocessual archaeology in
NorthAmerica,aswellastheapproachHobertMcC.Adamspioneeredin
Mesopotamia.34[n facl, some ofAharoni's then-idiosyncratic views of
topicssuchas theIsraeliteconquestandsettlementwerebasedonlhe
resullsofsurveyworkandnOIexcavationitself.3"
BythetimeAharoniwrotehisvolumetherewasa greatdealmoreraw
data;however,thebasicorganizationofthatdataremainedthesame.As
withAlbrightandKenyon,Aharonialsocametorely 100 heavilyonthe
biblical texts. Aharoni'sintroductorychaptercoversfieldmethodology,
environment,andhislOryofthediscipline,butmorebrieflythanhispred-
ecessors. Moslofthebookis dedicated 10 the Bronzeand IronAges,
which Aharoni referred toas the Canaanile and Israelite periods (see
above),Basedonhisownexcavationinterests,itisnotatallsurprising
thathismainthrustwasontheIsraeliteperiod,orIronAge,withanespe-
cialinterestin"theperiodoftheformationoftheIsraelitepeopleinilS
lanel.~36HedevotedmuchlessaHentiontotheprehistoricperiodsfromthe
PaleolithicthroughtheCha1colithicperiod,periodsinwhichAharonihim-
selfwasnotdeeplyengaged.
Illustrativematerialisextensivelyused,includingsomeeighty-eight
figures,thirty-follrplates,andfifty-fivephotographs.Moslofthefigures
areindividualarchitecturalpbnsintegr,ncdintothetext.Entirepages,Ire
dedicatedtoplatesofeitherponeryorflinttools,andthephotographsare
groupedtogetheratthebackofthevolumeandcoverawidevarietyof
subject matter.Thereisa great numberofillustrations fromAharoni's
excavationsatAradandl3eersheba.ConsideringAharoni'sinterestinset-
tlementpatternandhistoricalgeography,boththequantityandqualityof
themapsaredisappointing.
1beArchaeologyoftheLandofIsraelwasneverasinfluentialorpop-
ularas Aharoni's LandoftheBible. However,as thefirsl modernand
explicitlyarchaeologicalexampleofanIsraeliperspectiveontheculture
historyofthesouthernLevant,it isalandmarkvolume,andAluroniwas
indeeda trailblazer.ItisintereslingtonotethatAharoni'schiefrivalin

34 Sc~RabenMrC.Adam~,lmul/x'billdl3{/gbll{/d.A IlisIOr'}'ofSentell/elll 011 IbeD~)'{/I{/
Plains(Chic,lgO,Univ~~i(yofChicagoPress, 1%');idem,Hcur/lundofCili~'S'SlIn't''S(if
Ancient5<'lIlelllclIl{/II(ILLmdliseOiltbeCelllmiHoodplaill(iftbelillpbml('s(Chicago:
UniversityofChicagoPress,19HI):andIlol~nMcC.AdamsandllansJ.Nissen,71JeUn,k
COIlIllr'}'Side:"l1JeNmra"lllSellin!:ofUrlxmSocielies(Chi(a~O;UniversityofChlca~oPrcss,
1972).
35 InthisC;ISC,hisownsurvcr-workinthcUpperG'llilec,lndNc}:cl/Dcsen,,lrc,IS
whichh:ldtx--enrcl,llivclyi}:non.:dby,lrchacolo}:istsuntilthen,
36 M.AharoniinY.Ah:lroni."l1J('Arcb{/eologyoftbel.amlofIsrael.xv-xvi.