Chieftains of the Highland Clans: A History of Israel in the 12th and 11th Centuries B.C.

Robert D. Miller II. Chieftains of the Highland Clans: A History of Israel in the 12th and 11th Centuries B.C. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. 186 pp. $28.00.

Chieftains of the Highland Clans is a refinement of Miller's Michigan University doctoral dissertation in which he seeks to apply the modern anthropological model of a Complex Chieftain Society (CCM) to the "material culture of the llth and 12th century highland Palestine" (p. xiv). Whereas others have identified the highland culture of this period as ethnically distinct based on (1) readings of the Merneptah Stele, (2) its continuity with Iron II, "Israelite" culture, and (3) its stylistically distinct material culture, Miller's significant contribution is in demonstrating the unique economic interdependence of this region.

After reviewing previous studies of both Iron I Palestine and the intended anthropological model, Miller refines and justifies his approach of applying the CCM to the Iron I culture of the Palestinian highlands. The assertion is that pre-state societies (including...