#  Shiqmim: Subterranean Settlement & Society, Negev Desert Israel, ca. 4500-3500 B.C.E. 

 



 **PUBLISHED 2023**. Please also visit the ***[publication's webpage](/publications/shiqmim-ii-phase-ii-excavations-chalcolithic-settlement-center-northern-negev).***

 The Chalcolithic period (ca. 4500–3600 BCE) in the southern Levant represents the rise of regional polities, the metallurgical revolution, and a set of other significant socio-economic changes that distinguish it from the preceding Pottery Neolithic period. Central to these issues are the Phase II (1987–1989, 1993) excavations at Shiqmim, a large Chalcolithic settlement centre in Israel’s northern Negev desert. The first phase of excavations at Shiqmim took place between 1979 and 1984 and were described in Shiqmim I, Parts i and ii (BAR Publishing, 1987). Shiqmim II reports on the second phase of excavations at this complex site and contributes to a greater understanding of its Chalcolithic stratigraphy, architecture, and chronology. It includes the project research design and history framed in an anthropological archaeology perspective, primary excavation data, and a Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates from Shiqmim presented in comparison with dates from contemporary regional sites.

 The publication project is directed by **[Thomas E. Levy](/people/thomas-levy)** with a grant awarded in 1999 in conjunction with **[Yorke M. Rowan](/people/yorke-rowan)** and Margie M. Burton.



 



 

 See also:- [ 1999 Sponsored Projects ](/grants-year/1999)
- [ Levant - Southern ](/sponsored-projects-area/levant-southern)