This study is a continuation of previous work on the Negev Desert district and the people who settled and dwelled there during the Iron Age I and II periods. The composition of samples of Edomite, Negabite, and Midianite pottery was determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis in a bid to establish who were the lords of the trade in the Negev Desert and with whom they had their socioeconomic relations. It was shown that the nomenclature of the archaeologists for the above-mentioned pottery repertories has to be reviewed in the light of the analytical results. The Jordanian mountain plateau of Edom and the Negev of Israel were much more connected than hitherto believed.