Historians and archaeologists search for markers of distinction in texts and physical artifacts in the Middle East from Neolithic through Persian periods and Hellenistic through Byzantine periods. Among the topics are the emergence of social complexity in the Neolithic, two issues concerning the kings of Israel and Judah having to do with the absence of stelae and queens, archaeological evidence for ethnic variability among the butchers of Sepphoris, and Christians among Jews in En-Gedi.