This lecture approaches Iron Age desert cultic sites from southern Israel and Jordan as zones of interaction in cultural, economic, and ritual networks, considering them in light of larger patterns in human mobility and ritual economy across the Mediterranean region. We will compare and contrast cultic assemblages from eighth through sixth century BCE desert shrines from southern Israel, comparable ritual sites in central and southern Jordan, and cultic assemblages from sites across the southern incense route that connected traders traveling between the Arabian Peninsula and the Mediterranean coast. Together, we will investigate how cultic activity in southern Israel and Jordan facilitated interactions between agents of differing religio-cultural identities, including the artisans who produced shrine furnishings, the visitors to the sites, and the social and political elites responsible for the creation and maintenance of cultic activity. Presented by Dr. Erin Darby
