Strategies of survival? Change, continuity and the adaptive cycle across the middle to early late bronze age at Tell el-Dabˁa, Egypt.

• Ancient Egypt provides insights on local responses to political and social changes. • Changes were not all gradual and were part of interacting, dynamic, multiscalar adaptive cycles. • Inhabitants at Tell el-Dabˁa reacted and (re-)adapted via short- and long-term strategies. • Strategies include fostering community, negotiating cultural elements, and developing networks. Ancient Egypt is considered as one of the world's longest enduring civilisations, yet few studies have explored its history for insights on community resilience in response to institutional and social change. Instead of focussing on the collapse of the central Egyptian administration, this paper centres its analysis on a 'community' in the northeast of Egypt at ancient Avaris, modern Tell el-Dabˁa. Using resilience theory as metaphor, it provides an overview of developments at the site, observing periods of relative stability punctuated by those of accelerated change. It addresses how different social groups transformed in light of social and political developments by (re-)negotiating cultural elements as well as their local, regional, and supra-regional ties, and whether and how these may be interpreted as short- and long-term strategies of 'survival'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]