Student: J. Pae RS121: Fall, 1994
1) Archaeological Information.
Cylindrical juglets, one of the main juglet types in the Middle Bronze II , are virtually all wheel made and [ awk: imitate metal by its distinguished burnished slip. Like other MB II potteries, these juglets are characterized by their highly developed craftsmanship compared to hand-made MB I potteries with flat bases and little treatment. They mostly have round bases or button bases with beautifully proportioned curves and are marked by their high quality of shapes, temper, the finish, and firing. [I really don't know what you mean by this statement]Consequently, the forms of these potteries remain as the basic shape for next thousand years.
[Seems to me that you need to rewrite this first paragraph somewhat and clean up your logic. Just a suggestion.]
Cylindrical Juglets share strong resemblance with piriform juglets and Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware, highly burnished decorated by chalk-filled punctured ornament in geometric shapes. They have similar features regarding to their funnel neck, the flaring rim, and the attachment of the handles which is often doubled. A cylindrical juglet has an everted rim and handles (single or double) springing from either the rim or just below the rim. It usually has a button base though there is a juglet with small flat bases found in the early phase of Middle Bronze II A. As Amiran maintains, it seems hard to differentiate cylindrical juglets of Middle Bronze II A from those of Middle Bronze II B - C. [Citation, please] They have burnished slips common in all shades of red, brown, gray, and pink buff sometimes decorated with black grits.
The juglet in the University Museum seems to fit better with Middle Bronze II B - C because it has button bases and doubled handles because the button bases seem to be the later development; it seems logical that the bases changes from the flat bases to small or button bases.
Albright assumes that these cylindrical juglets might have been used as oil flask but it's hard to reconstruct the exact usage.
2) Historical Information.
Cylindrical juglets are first found in Middle Bronze II A (2000 - 1800 BCE) which sometimes marks the beginning of the fortified cities in Palestine. These juglets are not widely adopted in Palestine until Middle Bronze II B according to Kenyon. [Citation, please] Dan Cole in his analysis of Middle Bronze II B potteries in Shechem, surveys the expansion of cylindrical juglets throughout Palestine.[Citation, please] These juglets first appear in the coastal plain such as Megiddo (II) without much high frequency. In the central regions of Palestine, they become established slowly; they are absent from the earliest Middle Bronze II B contexts and slowly increase in their frequency toward the late Middle Bronze II B. But they largely replace the piriform type in the Middle Bronze II C. He maintains this gradual development and their spread from the coastal region are observed in other sites like Jericho, Beth Shemesh, and Tell Beit Mirisim, and these are confirmed by more recent excavations in Gibeon tombs.
During this period, Egypt's strength began to waver and decline by the presence of Hyksos, foreign rulers who took over Egypt in the Middle Bronze II B period. The Middle Bronze II period is also marked by the emergence of the fortified cities in Palestine. It has been suggested that during this period in Palestine, foreigners and new comers dared to rise and fortify their cities and establish independent regimes of their own possibly due to the weak control of Egypt over these regions. Dan Cole implies during Middle Bronze II A (which corresponds to the Twelfth and the Thirteenth Egyptian Dynasties) , there was a general communication among the regions of coast, the interior, and the north of Palestine. [Citation, please] But in the Middle Bronze II B (Hyksos Dynasty), the interregional contacts declined especially in more exposed settlements. And in the Middle Bronze II C, the contacts among them were reestablished. It seems his analysis corresponds well to the development and the spread of cylindrical juglets in Palestine. The gradual increase in frequency toward the late Middle Bronze B and their largely increased popularity in the Middle Bronze II C seem to indicate the reestablished contacts with the coastal plain and the rest of Palestine.
The analysis of cylindrical juglets seem to suggest that during the early Middle Bronze II , Palestine was unstable possibly due to lack of dominant power in that region and therefore, only the fortified cities could survive. Furthermore, this unstable condition made inter-regional travel and commerce difficult. But as the dominant force regained its control over the region, the trade and contacts became reestablished.
3) Parallels and Plates. * Cylindrical Juglet in the University Museum, Penn: Beth Shemesh (61-14-90) * Shechem Middle Bronze II B: Plate 28:Jc. * Gibeon. Figure 22: Tomb 15 , P1382 * Migiddo, Amiran Plate 34, Megiddo II Plate 23:14, 23:18 * Jericho phase v : # 3 and # 4 * Hazorea, Plate XXXI, 1:tomb C, Locus 518 * Palestine Museum 4) Bibliography - Kenyon, Kathleen M., ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE HOLY LAND, Frederick A. Praeger, NY 1960 - Cole, Dan P., SHECHEM: MBIIB POTTERY American Schools of Oriental Research, 1984 - Albright, William F., ARCHAEOLOGY OF PALESTINE Peter Smith., 1971 - Amiran, Ruth., ANCIENT POTTERY OF THE HOLY LAND Rutgers University Press. 1970
