AUB - History and Archaeology

Studies of Pre- and Protohistory, Biblical Archaeology and Ancient History at the Universities of Tübingen and Kiel, between 1985 and 1991.
M.A degree at the Univeristy of Tübingen, title of MA thesis:"Decorated bone tubes of the 3rd millennium BC in the Eastern Mediterranean: a study in cultural connections between the Levant and the Aegean.",1992
Ph.D. degree at the University of Tübingen, title of Ph.D. thesis: “The Early Bronze Age pottery from Khirbet ez-Zeraqon, Northern Jordan.”, 1998
Research grant at the German Archaeological Institute in Istanbul for the publication of the Iron Age Pottery from the excavations on Büyükkaya in Boğazköy-Hattuša, Turkey, between 1998 and 2000.
Research grant from the German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) for a research project entitled: The Iron Age in Central Anatolia, between 2001 and 2002.
Holder of a research position for the organization of a special exhibition on the Early Bronze Age of Europe at the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (Museum of Prehistory) in Halle/Saale, Germany, between 2003 and 2004.
Assistant Professor at the American University of Beirut, between 2004 and 2007.
Associate Professor at the American University of Beirut, since 2007
Field experience on various excavation projects in Germany, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.

Research Interests

The Emergence of Complex Societies in the Bronze Age of the Levant

My research focuses on the emergence of complex societies in the Levant from the late fourth to the second millennia BC, and the socio-economic changes that accompanied the transition from a rural to an urban way of life. Special foci of my research are the chronological and functional aspects of Bronze Age pottery, the storage and trade of agricultural goods, mining and metallurgy, and trade relations between the Levant and the neighbouring regions as well as interrelations between human societies and their environment.

The Archaeology of the Bronze and Iron Ages in Anatolia

My research interests in this field focus on the archaeology of the Hittite Empire as well as the Iron Age cultures of Central Anatolia. Special points of interest are the foreign relations of the Hittites, the reasons for the collapse of the Hittite Empire and the re-emergence of social complexity in the Iron Age.

Research projects

Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon) : Excavation Project
Tell Hizzin (Lebanon) (together with Prof. Helen Sader)
The Iron Age Burials from Boğazköy (Turkey)

An Introduction to the Archaeology of Lebanon from Prehistory to Hellenistic Times)(together with Prof. Helen Sader) : An up-to-date book on the archaeology of Lebanon has long been overdue. In order to close this gap Helen Sader and the author are currently writing a book entitled An Introduction to the Archaeology of Lebanon from Prehistory to Hellenistic Times. This book will present the archaeological results from past and current excavations as well as the relevant textual sources for the Bronze and Iron Ages in Lebanon. The project is in an advanced stage of research.

Courses taught at AUB

Undergraduate Courses

Methodology I (AROL 211)
Methodology II (AROL 212)
The Human Story I (The Palaeolithic) (AROL 213)
The Human Story II (The Neolithic) (AROL 214)
The Bronze Age in the Levant I (Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age) (AROL 215)
The Bronze Age in the Levant II (The Middle and Late Bronze Ages) (AROL 216)
The Archaeology of Anatolia I (from the Neolithic to the End of the Middle Bronze Age) (AROL 235)
The Archaeology of the Hittites (AROL 235F)
Animals in Archaeology (AROL 235I)
The Archaeology of Anatolia II (Late Bronze and Iron Ages) (AROL 236)
From the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Aeneid (CVSP 201)

Graduate Courses

Artifact Technology and Representation (Pottery in Archaeology) (AROL 305)
Advanced Archaeological Research (The Bronze Ages in Lebanon: Problems of the Past – Potentials for the Future) (AROL 326)

Recent Publications

Genz, H. 2002 Die frühbronzezeitliche Keramik von Hirbet ez-Zeraqon, Nordjordanien. Mit Studien zur Chronologie und funktionalen Deutung frühbronzezeitlicher Keramik in der südlichen Levante (Deutsch-jordanische Ausgrabungen in Hirbet ez-Zeraqon 1984-1994. Endberichte Band V. Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 27,2; Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz Verlag).

Genz, H. 2003 Ritzverzierte Knochenhülsen des dritten Jahrtausends im Ostmittelmeerraum. Ein Beitrag zu den frühen Kulturverbindungen zwischen Levante und Ägäis (Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 31; Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz Verlag).

Genz, H. 2004 Büyükkaya I: Die Keramik der Eisenzeit. Boğazköy-Hattuša XXI (Mainz).

Genz, H. 2007 Kızılırmak Bölgesi’nde Demir Çağı/The Iron Age in the Kızılırmak Region, in: H. Sivas and T. Tüfekçi Sivas (eds.), Friglerin Gizemli Uygarlığı/The Mysterious Civilization of the Phrygians (Istanbul), 127-140.

Genz, H. and Sader, H. 2007 Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: Preliminary Report on the 2007 Season of Excavations. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 11: 7-16.

Genz, H.2007 Stunning Bolts: Late Bronze Age Hunting Weapons in the Ancient Near East. Levant 39: 47-69.

Genz, H 2007 Late Iron Age Occupation on the Northwest Slope at Boğazköy, in: A. Çilingiroğlu and A. Sagona (eds.), Anatolian Iron Ages 6: The Proceedings of the Sixth Anatolian Iron Ages Colloquium held at Eskisehir, 16-20 August 2004 (Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement Series 20; Leuven – Paris – Dudley), 135-151.

Genz, H. and Sader, H. 2007- 2008 Bronze Age Funerary Practices in Lebanon. Archaeology and History in the Lebanon 26-27: 258-283.

Genz, H. 2008 The Middle Bronze Age Pottery from Baalbek, in: M. van Ess (ed.), Baalbek/Heliopolis. Results of Archaeological and Architectural Research 2002-2005. Bulletin d'Archéologie et d'Architecture Libanaises, Hors Série IV: 127-149.

Badreshany, K. and Genz, H.2009 Pottery Production on the Northern Lebanese Coast during the Early Bronze Age II-III: The Petrographic Analysis of the Ceramics from Tell Fadous-Kfarabida. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 355: 51-83.

Kealhofer, L., Grave, P., Genz, H. and Marsh, B. 2009 Post-collapse: the re-emergence of polity in Iron Age Boğazköy, Central Anatolia. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 28.3: 275-300.

Genz, H. 2009 Thoughts on the Use of Seals in Iron Age Central Anatolia, in: H. Sağlamtimur, E. Abay, Z. Derin, A. Ü. Erdem, A. Batmaz, F. Dedeoğlu, M. Erdalkıran, M. B. Baştürk and E. Konakçı (eds.), Altan Çilingiroğlu’na Armağan: Yukarı Denizin Kıyısında Urartu Krallığı’na Adanmış Bir Hayat/Studies in Honour of Altan Çilingiroğlu: A Life Dedicated to Urartu on the Shores of the Upper Sea (Istanbul), 285-293.

Genz, H. 2009 A Stamp Seal Impression from Tell Fadous-Kfarabida. Tempora: Annales d’histoire et d’archéologie 18: 45-51.

Genz, H. 2009 Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: Regional Connections in the Early Bronze Age, in: Interconnections in the Eastern Mediterranean. Lebanon in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Proceedings of the International Symposium Beirut 2008. Bulletin d'Archéologie et d'Architecture Libanaises, Hors Série VI: 107-116.

Complete list of publications