The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel

Abstract

Longterm trends are examined for the population mass that occupied the central highlands of Palestine during the Iron Age. After 1200 B. C. the landscape of this sparsely populated "frontier" changed as newcomers established hilltop villages, cultivated intermontane valleys, and terraced the slopes. Spatial patterning within villages and certain toponyms were influenced by patrilineal kinship. Heads of household and their lineage mates exercised rights over inheritance and succession in landholding. Inequalities developed within "tribal" Israel long before the monarchy, probably through a process of "lineage capture;" and clientship, with its dyadic relationships between superiors and inferiors, became more common. Tensions developed within Israelite society from the interactions of kinship, clientship, and kingship. As the population grew under the monarchy, the highland frontier was effectively closed, and opportunities for acquiring new land diminished. Thus, many unmarried males had to look elsewhere for patrons and positions. From the ranks of these noble "youths" came recruits for the military, the government, and the priesthood.

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