84 lJETWEENTEXTANDANTIFACT'facedwithsuchanambitioustemporalspread.However,becausethereare
somanycontributors(thirtyinalI)whoworkinseveraldisparatefields,
theflowofthetextissomewhatstilted.Whileeachcontributorstrivesto
adheretoLevy's"contextualarchaeology" appro;:lch(stressingtheroleof
theenvironment,interdisciplinarymethodology,andanavoidanceofhis-
toricalparticularism),thereisagreatdealofvariabilitybetweenchapters
(unlikeinDen-Tor).Thereisnooverallconsistencyintheorganizationof
theclaw,thetypesofc1alapresented,thetheoreticalorientationsused,
levelsofsophistication,orthestyleofwriting.Thismakesforachoppy
andunevenvolume,wilhsomechaptersgearedtowardthespecialistand
othersmoregeneral.Inthiswaythevolumerenectsitsoriginsasa schol-
arlysymposium,butthisstructuremight notbeaswellsuitedforuseas
ahandbook,
Unlike otherhandbooks, ArchaeologyojSociezyin theHolyLand
coversmostofthehumanhistol)'inthesouthernLevant,Itisdividedinto
six parts with a total of thirty-two chapters. The first part, entitled
"ApproachestothePast,"isa seriesoffiveintroductorychapterscovering
someimportantthemesalludedto,but neverelaboratedon,elsewhere,
Threechaptersalonearedevotedtothenaturalenvironmentandhuman
population,byfarthemostdevelopedpresemationofthismaterialavail-
ableanywhere."Power,PoliticsandthePast:TheSocialConstructionof
AntiquityintheIiolyLand"isanexcellenthistoryofthedisciplinebyNeil
AsherSilberman,whohm;writtenextensivelyonthepoliticsofarchaeol-
ogyintheNearEasl.')7Levyhimself,alongwithhislong-timecollaborator
Augustin Holl, introducestheAnnalesSchooland theworkofFernand
Braudelas~lusefulhistoricalframeworkforbetterunderstandingtheLev-
antinearchaeologicalrecord.
Part2 reachesbackintodeeptime,coveringtheLowerP~lleolilhicup
throughtheEpipaleolithic,withdetailedcoverageoftheNatufian. Part3,
"Farmers,Priest,andPrinces:TheRiseoftheFirstComplexSocieties,"covers
theNeolithicthroughtheEarlyBronze[II,witha thematicchapterdedicated
toanimalhusbandryinthesouthernLevant.Part4,"Canaan,Israelandthe57 For:motherexcellentoverviewofthearchat.'Ologicalinstitutionsdt.'(lic,l(.'(1tothe
studyofthesouthernLevant,see"St:ssionI: RecollectionsofthePast,'"inBiblicalArcb(lc%8Y
Today, 1990:Procf.'edil/gsoftbeSecol/dIl/lenwliOlwlOmgr(!ss01/Bib/lcafArcbaeo{o8J',
jen/safem,jl/lw....jllly 1990 (cd.A.l3ir.ln~Illdj.Avir.llTI:jerus;llem,ISr:ldI~plor.ltionSociety
andtheIsrJelAcademyofSciencesandHumanities,1993).These"rt.'.::oll...oclions·arecharm-
ingandhighlyinformative,writtenbyscholarswho;Ireimim:ltelyin\olvedwiththefollow-
inginstitutions:thel'aleslmet:xploratlonhInd,thefcotelllbltque,theAmenC;ln~hoolsof
OrientalResc;lrch,theDeutschesEv;mgelischesInstitut([irAltcnumswissenschftde.'5I-Idligen
Landes,theStudiumBiblicumFr.mciscanum,the13ritishSchoolofArchaeologyinjerusalem,
theIsraelAn1iquiticsAuthority,:mdtheIsrJcIExp[oJ"JtionSociety.