Crisis y reestructuración comercial periférica : el caso del Negev a inicios de la Edad del Hierro

Abstract

This article considers the exchange networks in northern Negev during the Early Iron Age (12 th early 10 th centuries BC), after the collapse of the Egyptian hegemony over Palestine. The site of Tel Masos performed an important role both as main intermediary in the circulation of goods between the Negev and the Mediterranean, and as workshop place for the copper extracted in the Arabah mines. It is suggested that the Early Iron exchange networks were highly influenced by the pastoralist, tribal nature of the local society. The political vacuum left by the Egyptians was filled by several polities that competed for the local supremacy.