Contacts between Egypt and the Southern Levant in the Late Early Bronze Age: An Open Question

The second half of the third millennium BCE is traditionally interpreted as a period of intense interactions between the southern Levant and Egypt. In past scholarship, interpretative frameworks for these activities have centered either on conflicts or commercial relations linked to the trade of southern Levantine copper with Egypt, both considered limited to the time of the Old Kingdom with virtually no evidence of contacts afterward until the early Middle Kingdom. However, nothing is virtually known about southern Levantine– Egyptian connections during this time span. This article reconsiders, from the southern Levant perspective, the impact of the lack of chronological resolution in the sub-phasing of the southern Levantine Early Bronze IV on this question and discusses how recent archaeological research may enhance our understanding of this phase in an interregional context.

Southern Levantine–Egyptian connections; Early Bronze Age III; Early Bronze Age IV; absolute chronology; relative chronology; copper trade; connectivity; mobility

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