RADIOCARBON EVIDENCE FOR THE EARLY BRONZE AGE LEVANT: THE SITE OF TELL FADOUS-KFARABIDA (LEBANON) AND THE END OF THE EARLY BRONZE III PERIOD.

Absolute dates for the end of the Early Bronze Age ancient Near East are of crucial importance for assessing the nature and extent of mid- to late 3rd millennium BC transitions in the Near East and their alleged link to the 4.2ka BP climatic event. This article presents a radiocarbon sequence for the Early Bronze Age site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon) and argues that the end of the Early Bronze III period has to be dated considerably higher than previously estimated. There is no reason to assume that the 4.2ka BP event might have contributed to or even triggered the collapse of the first urban cities in the southern and central Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]