The archaeology of warfare: Local chiefdoms and settlement systems in the jenin region during the ottoman period of palestine

Abstract

Warfare and chiefdoms are old global phenomena that, to a certain extent, affected the cultural landscape of the Jenin region. According to historians, local warfare and the rising power of chiefdoms in the Jenin region of Palestine during the Ottoman period destroyed villages and greatly disrupted the settlement pattern. However, history often highlights the role of elites and ignores the role of peasants and agrarians (fellahin) in shaping the cultural landscape of the region. It is left to archaeology to recover the material culture of these people and reconstruct daily life during this time. The fellahin represented a substantial unit of “dynamic stability” and maintained a settlement system that had been established as early as the Middle Bronze Age. In fact, local conflicts had little impact on the Jenin region settlement system during the Late Ottoman period. As a result of the exploration and excavation of these sites, we have been able to revise our understanding of Ottoman Palestine substantially.