Establishing an absolute chronology of the Middle Bronze Age.
Abstract
This chapter summarizes the present state of debate on the absolute dating of the Middle Bronze Age in the Near East. The chapter presents the historical chronologies based on political events/periods, relative chronologies based on archaeological stratigraphy and the development of material culture, as well as scientific dating based on radiocarbon data. While absolute dating schemes for the Middle Bronze Age are traditionally dependent on the Egyptian historical chronology, recent radiocarbon dating programs have provided a growing data set of reliable measurements that allow independent synchronization of the various chronologies of Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt. The chapter compares the results of the various approaches, juxtaposing the results of historical and archaeological assessments with the results gained from current radiocarbon data.
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The Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom periods provide the key pillar for placing and linking the chronology of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean.
“Specifically, the Old Kingdom (OK, c. mid-late 3rd millennium BCE, the ‘Pyramid Age’) and Middle Kingdom (MK, c. late 3rd/early 2nd millennium BCE) periods provide the key pillar for placing and linking the chronology of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean [4–8].”
From Resolution of the High versus Low debate for Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt (2025) · cites this paper as [8]
Cites
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Radiocarbon-Based Chronology for Dynastic Egypt
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Antagonisms in Historical and Radiocarbon Chronology
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Radiocarbon dating the Late Bronze Age: Cultural and Historical Considerations on Megiddo and Beyond
Martin, M. A. S., Finkelstein, I., & Piasetzky, E. (2020) · Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research · doi:10.1086/709576 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
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A Genealogical Chronology of the Seventeenth Dynasty
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Resolution of the High versus Low debate for Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt
Erdil, P., Webster, L., Kuitems, M., Knoblauch, C., Bestock, L., Höflmayer, F., Beeckman, H., Fuller, D. Q., Manning, S. W., & Dee, M. W. (2025) · PLOS One · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0314612 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Höflmayer, F.
- Corresponding author
- Höflmayer, Felix
- ORCID
- Höflmayer, Felix
- Venue
- The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: Volume II
- Publisher
- Oxford University PressNew York
- Published
- 2022-08-18
- Pages
- 1-46
- OpenAlex
- W4293757876
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 0.92
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient Near East History
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History
- Keywords
- Middle Bronze Age, absolute chronology, Near East, radiocarbon dating, historical chronology, Egyptian chronology, stratigraphy, material culture, chronology synchronization, Mesopotamia, Levant, Egypt
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