Hoshea begins the “twelve prophets” or תרי עשר, which span a period of over 300 years. Amos is actually the first prophet, but Hoshea is chosen to open the series for thematic and poetic reasons.
Hoshea is probably from the tribe of Reuven, and he operated in the Kingdom of Israel, during the lifetime of the prophets Amos, Yeshayahu and Micha; his prophecy dealt with the moral decay in the kingdom of Yisrael, mostly, and he rebuked the over-reliance on Assyria, the rising world superpower.
Archaeology Snapshot is a discussion on the location, timeline, main characters and highlights from history and archaeology, for each Sefer in Tanach.