Rewriting the History of Israel: A Review Essay: pg. 325-342

Frederick L. Downing

Near Eastern archaeology, once ruled by the magisterial theories of W. F. Albright and his students, has come under the powerful influence of anthropology and has witnessed the emergence of a gifted and energetic generation of young Israeli practitioners of the art. Some of the new theories have sent shock waves through an Israeli public who have been more accustomed to scenarios closer to Albright. For a time the revisionist views associated with the current archaeological landscape seemed to matter only to the scholars. But now archaeology is an issue of the discussion in matters of politics and questions of national identity for both Israelis and Palestinians. This essay will explore these issues through an analysis of the books recently published by Marcus, Finkelstein and Siblerman, and Dever.