A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine discusses prospects and


methods for a comprehensive, evidence-based history of Palestine with a


critical use of recent historical, archaeological and anthropological methods.


This history is not an exclusive history but one that is ethnically and


culturally inclusive, a history of and for all peoples who have lived in Palestine.


After an introductory essay offering a strategy for creating coherence


and continuity from the earliest beginnings to the present, the volume presents


twenty articles from twenty-two contributors, fifteen of whom are of


Middle Eastern origin or relation.


Split thematically into four parts, the volume discusses ideology, national


identity and chronology in various historiographies of Palestine, and the


legacy of memory and oral history; the transient character of ethnicity in


Palestine and questions regarding the ethical responsibilities of archaeologists


and historians to protect the multi-ethnic cultural heritage of Palestine;


landscape and memory, and the values of community archaeology and


bio-archaeology; and an exploration of the “ideology of the land” and its


influence on Palestine’s history and heritage.


The first in a series of books under the auspices of the Palestine History


and Heritage Project (PaHH), the volume offers a challenging new departure


for writing the history of Palestine and Israel throughout the ages. A


New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine explores the diverse history


of the region against the backdrop of twentieth-century scholarly construction


of the history of Palestine as a history of a Jewish homeland with roots


in an ancient, biblical Israel and examines the implications of this ancient


and recent history for archaeology and cultural heritage. The book offers a


fascinating new perspective for students and academics in the fields of anthropological,


political, cultural and biblical history.