*4.5. Ancestors*

The status, role, and treatment of the dead in the ancient Levant, and more broadly the ancient Near East, has stimulated several decades worth of serious scholarly study that goes well beyond the scope of this essay.<sup>42</sup> At a minimum, concepts of kinship linked the living and the dead, as did mortuary practices. Two main sets of evidence suggest the ongoing place of the dead within Ammonite society: (1) onomastic data, including the ethnonym or tribal name *bn* ގ*mn*, "the sons of Ammon," and Ammonite personal names; (2) grave goods that indicate ongoing interactions with the dead.
