Amorite names and old testament onomastics 1

Abstract

Amorite personal names, particularly those attested in texts from the Old Babylonian period, provide most valuable evidence for research in dia‐chronic aspects of Old Testament onomastics. The paper presents a general introduction to research on these names and to their grammatical structure. It further discusses possible Amorite parallels to the divine name Yahweh and lists a large number of names and name elements paralleled in the Hebrew Bible. Most prominent among the Hebrew cognates are names appearing in narratives with reference to the so‐called proto‐history and the Patriarchal period.     

A COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR ESTABLISHING FATTY ACID CONCENTRATION GRADIENTS ACROSS POTSHERDS: A CASE STUDY USING LATE BRONZE AGE CANAANITE AMPHORAE*

Canaanite amphorae fragments in fabrics believed to be associated with the bulk transport of vegetable oils from the fourteenth‐century BC site of Amarna, Egypt, have been examined. A comparison is made between solvent extraction, saponification and the use of TMTFTH (m‐trifluoromethylphenyl)trimethylammomum hydroxide, used here for the combined extraction and derivatization of ceramic‐absorbed organic residues. Extracts were studied using gas chromatography and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. The extraction of fatty acids from small ceramic samples has established concentration gradients of absorbed organic matter from the inner to the outer surfaces of the sherds.     

Ancestral Veneration and the Settlement History of Tell Sūkās

Abstract

Scholarship of the Bronze-to-Iron Age transition in the northern Levantine littoral has traditionally stressed a major disjuncture in settlement and societal development c. 1200 BCE, concurrent with the destruction and abandonment of the Ugaritic capital at Ras Shamra. Based upon a reinterpretation of the archaeological remains at Tell Sūkās, this study argues for a degree of regional continuity in cultural lineage from the mid-second to early first millennium BCE, based upon the proposed identification of a previously unknown example of ancestral veneration.     

COMPOSITIONAL VARIATIONS IN AGED AND HEATED PISTACIA RESIN FOUND IN LATE BRONZE AGE CANAANITE AMPHORAE AND BOWLS FROM AMARNA,EGYPT*

This study examines resinous deposits from the interior surfaces of sherds of imported Canaanite amphorae and locally produced bowls from the 18th Dynasty site of Tell el‐Amarna, Egypt. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Canaanite amphorae were used for resin transport, whilst the bowls are associated with burning resin as incense. A number of characteristic triterpenoids identify all the resinous deposits from both vessel types as Pistacia spp. No other resins were observed and there was no evidence of mixing with oils or fats. The composition of the archaeological resins is more complex than that of modern pistacia resin, due to degradation and generation of new components. Experimental heating alters the relative abundance of the triterpenoid composition of modern pistacia resin. One component, the triterpenoid 28‐norolean‐17‐en‐3‐one, is produced by such heating; however, an increase in its relative abundance in ancient samples is not matched by the archaeological evidence for heating. It is therefore not possible to use this component reliably to identify heated resin. However, additional unidentified components with a mass spectral base peak at m/z 453 have been associated with seven (out of 10) bowls and are not observed in resins associated with Canaanite amphorae. It is proposed that these components are more reliable molecular indicators of heating.     

Loose‐footed Sails of the Egyptian New Kingdom Ships

The relief from the temple of Ramesses III (1184–1153 BC) in Medinet Habu is often considered to be the most ancient representation of a brailed sail. According to many researchers, the loose‐footed sail and the system of brails were invented in the ancient countries of the Syro‐Canaanite coast and were later adopted by the Ancient Egyptians. However, iconographic material from Ancient Egypt testifies to the indigenous origin of a loose‐footed sail. The article presents an unknown relief from the Amarna period (1352–1336 BC) that further supports this hypothesis.     

The Amarna Stone Village Survey and life on the urban periphery in New Kingdom Egypt

Abstract

Recent fieldwork at Amarna, the short-lived capital city of Egypt in the late 2nd millennium B.C., added a second area of peripheral settlement, the Stone Village, to the well-known Workmen’s Village, the subject of an intensive excavation campaign in the 1970s and 1980s. Both villages were evidently involved in tomb cutting and/or stone quarrying, but the Stone Village is smaller, conveys a particularly vernacular style of architecture, and seems to have had less state support than the Workmen’s Village. This paper describes the Stone Village as a source for the study of urban life in ancient Egypt. The two village sites offer a case study of the tensions that arose from controlling human populations in a border zone and from longestablished belief frameworks concerning desert landscapes and sacred space.     

Yahweh's divorce in Hosea 2 — Who is that woman?

Abstract

The proposal that Yahweh's wife being divorced in Hos 2 is Asherah fails all tests that one puts to it. The monotheistic prophet would not have dignified the Canaanite Goddess with such a recognition. Nor would the Israelites have claimed the Canaanite mother of the Gods as their own mother. The city of Samaria is the only bride/divorcee around. (Israel, being masculine, is son m not wife — of Yahweh). Hosea does not create the idea of the city as woman; the usage is an ancient West‐Semitic way of speaking of cities. Hosea is simply one of the first Israelite prophets to use the Canaanite imagery for cities, but his utterance was preserved. He probably is distinctive as the first to have Yahweh divorce his city‐wife. Thus, Hosea in Chap 2 proclaims the future demise of Samaria.     

A PROVENANCE STUDY OF THE GILGAMESH FRAGMENT FROM MEGIDDO

A Late Bronze Age fragment of a clay cuneiform tablet with the Gilgamesh Epic was found in the 1950s on the surface at Megiddo. The presence of scribes in Megiddo is evident from the el‐Amarna letters. This is the only first‐class literary Mesopotamian text ever to be found in Canaan. The aim of the present study was to examine the origin of this tablet, by mineralogical and elemental methods. The petrographic and NAA results indicate that the tablet was not Mesopotamian, but was written in southern Israel. The implications of this result in view of the small corpus of scholarly cuneiform texts discovered in Egypt and the southern Levant in the second millennium bce are discussed.     

LEAD ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF LATE BRONZE AGE POTTERY FROM HALA SULTAN TEKKE (CYPRUS)

Lead isotopic compositions were measured for 65 sherds from five pottery wares (Plain White, Coarse, Canaanite, White Slip and Base‐ring) excavated from the Late Bronze Age site of Hala Sultan Tekke (Cyprus). The elemental composition and isotopic signature of the sherds were compared with those of 65 clay samples collected in south‐east Cyprus, mainly in the surroundings (<20 km) of Hala Sultan Tekke. This work shows the effectiveness of using lead isotopic analysis in provenance studies, along with other analytical techniques, such as X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X‐ray detection (EDX) facility, to identify the composition of pottery wares and the clay sources used for pottery ware production.     

BULK STABLE LIGHT ISOTOPIC RATIOS IN RECENT AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESINS: TOWARDS DETECTING THE TRANSPORT OF RESINS IN ANTIQUITY?*

We have applied and refined methods for the determination of bulk hydrogen, carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in modern and archaeological resins. The modern resins have a wide range of isotopic values and vary within the same tree, between individual trees, with species and location. For all isotopes measured, there is a general trend of increasing depletion of the heavier isotope with increasing altitude. There is also a linear trend between depletion of δD and δ¹³C values with increasing latitude; this trend is less clear for oxygen, but is related to the meteoric water line. Two case studies using archaeological resins known or suspected to have been transported in antiquity have been investigated to determine whether isotopic signatures can assist in pinpointing the geographical origin of the resin: Pistacia sp. resin from Canaanite amphorae imported into Egypt from known geographical locations in the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age, and Roman amphorae sherds lined with Pinus sp. resin from sites ranging from Britain to the eastern Mediterranean. These results show separate groupings between the two resin types (pine/pistacia) and between the modern/archaeological resins. Some archaeological samples are distinct from the others and the modern resins show differences between geographical areas. However, there are no clear patterns relating the different Canaanite fabrics or the suggested manufacturing site of the Roman amphorae.     

THE TUNGSTEN AND TIN SIGNATURE OF IRON ORES FROM ELBA ISLAND (ITALY): A TOOL FOR PROVENANCE STUDIES OF IRON PRODUCTION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION

The mineralogy, petrography and major‐ and trace‐element composition of iron ores from Elba Island (Tuscany, Italy), one of the most important iron sources in the Mediterranean area since the first millennium bc , revealed that hematite‐rich ores display prominent enrichments in W and Sn (up to 4950 μg g^?1 and 8400 μg g^?1, respectively). These two elements are hosted by tiny grains of W–Sn mineral phases (ferberite, scheelite and cassiterite) that are disseminated throughout the hematite matrix. A comparison with iron ores from many Italian and European localities (most of which were exploited in ancient times) suggests the uniqueness of the geochemical pattern of Elba Island hematite‐rich ores (i.e., high W and Sn, low Mo and low Cu, Pb and Zn). We suggest that this geochemical signature may represent a new provenance marker not only for discarded ore at smelting/smithing sites, but, possibly, also for metallurgical slag and smelted metal produced in the chaîne opératoire of the iron process.     

DIET AND ENVIRONMENT IN SOUTH‐EASTERN IBERIA DURING THE BRONZE AGE,BASED ON ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF HUMAN REMAINS

A large sample of human bones from a series of archaeological sites in the south‐eastern Iberian Peninsula was selected for δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N stable isotope analysis. Except for some contrast samples, the remains date from the first half of the second millennium cal BC and are ascribed to the Argar Culture, which developed during the Bronze Age in south‐eastern Iberia. Most authors have considered that this region reached a high degree of social hierarchical organization at this time, as demonstrated by the funerary record, both with regard to the grave goods and to the evidence of physical effort and diseases on the human remains. Results of the isotope analysis revealed the existence of differences among the settlements studied, as well as differences over time within every settlement and among the various individuals tested. Some variances can be assigned to social classes/status and others are linked to chronological factors. In particular, changes in δ¹³C can be explained by the increasing aridity of the first half of the second millennium cal BC, although other causes can be put forward too.     

The Critical Edition of the Medieval Waldensian Sermons

Early Waldensian literature is an outstanding source for the study of the Waldensian movement, as it is a rare direct testimony of a dissident medieval religious movement. One of the most important genres of that literature is represented by the as yet unpublished collection of about two hundred sermons, which is one of the main sources for the reconstruction of Waldensian preaching. The critical edition of this important corpus is the aim of a research group led by Luciana Borghi Cedrini (Professor of Romance Philology at the University of Turin). Established at the beginning of the millennium by the publishing house Claudiana in Turin, together with the Waldensian Studies Society and the Waldensian Church, the project is expected to be active at least until 2018 and it is officially supported by the Waldensian Faculty of Theology of Rome.     

Reading between the lines: δ18O and δ13C isotopes of Unio elongatulus shell increments as proxies for local palaeoenvironments in mid-Holocene northern Syria

The much debated link between the collapse of urban centres in northern Syria and climate change at the end of third millennium bc is arguably one of the best known cases about human societies' struggle with the unpredictable nature of the Holocene. Fine-grained analyses of bioarchaeological materials offer excellent opportunities to overcome some of the difficulties encountered in such studies that tackle the effects of changing environmental and climatic conditions on human civilisations during the Holocene. This paper explains the results of a pilot study that uses archaeological freshwater clams (Unio elongatulus) from northern Syria as intermediary anthropobiogenic proxies to infer about the seasonal rhythms of local pluvial regimes and their possible fluctuations at the turn of the third millennium bc. Having secreted their CaCO₃ in chemical and periodical accordance with the ambient environment and ending up at tell sites through human activity, these bivalves are suitable vessels of information about human ecology in northern Syria at the end of third millennium bc. Marked differences were observed between the isotopic (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) compositions of shells from Tell Mozan, an urban site that continued to exist throughout the rapid climate event, and those from Tell Leilan, which went into hiatus at the end of third millennium bc. These results have important implications about the potentially severe effects of micro-environmental differences on distinct human communities inhabiting the same culturally unified region.     

Integrating History and Archaeology in the Study of Contact Period Philippine Chiefdoms

Malay texts, Philippine oral traditions, Chinese tributary records and geographies, early Spanish writings, and archaeological evidence from Philippine sites present divergent views of political structures and political economies in Philippine chiefdoms of the late first millennium to midsecond millennium A.D. While some sources claim a political landscape dominated by a few large-scale, highly centralized polities almost wholly supported through foreign trade, others suggest the presence of more heterogeneous and politically segmented configurations of varying scale and complexity and with eclectic economic bases. These disparate narratives are evaluated in terms of methodological biases, their cultural context, and the historical circumstances of their production.     

Ceremonial objects or household items? Non‐destructive μ‐XRD2 and μ‐XRF studies on three Neolithic hematite axes from Qatar

Three small stone axes were collected by the joint Qatari‐German South Qatar Survey Project (SQSP) at two places close to the eastern and western coast of Qatar in autumn 2012. Associated with settlement remains, flint artefacts and pieces of ?Ubaid pottery, the implements have been dated to the fifth millennium BCE. Non‐destructive μ‐XRD² and μ‐XRF analyses could, for the first time, prove the use of hematite as the raw material for the manufacture of these tools in Arabia. The absence of major hematite sources in the region and the special characteristics of hematite — a unique metallic shine of polished pieces and the blood‐red colour that appears during the manufacturing process — suggest the highly symbolic character of these objects.     

'.. Slaying oxen and Killing Sheep,Eating Flesh and Drinking Wine ..': Feasting in Late Bronze Age Hazor

Abstract

Communal feasts, events of ritual activity that involve shared food and drink consumption and display in religious and secular elite contexts, received considerable attention in anthropological and archaeological literature in recent years. In those studies, the focus was on the identification of feasting in the material record of ancient societies, and an attempt was made to decipher the complex social and political meanings inherent in such contexts. In this study, the aim is to identify and interpret traces of feasting activities in the context of Canaanite society of the 14th–13th century BCE. The site of Hazor, the largest Canaanite kingdom, serves as a case study for this discussion. Archaeological correlates of commensal feasts, uncovered in the extensive excavations of the site, are presented and discussed within the general picture of the Canaanite palatial system.     

Hazor rulership and ritual manipulation

ABSTRACT

Hazor was unquestionably the largest Bronze Age Canaanite site, standing as an anomaly in the southern Levant in terms of its size, elaborate public architecture, special geopolitical stature and far-reaching international networks. While the site has been well established as an urban center with many temples, the use of each of Hazor’s temples and how they relate to one another remains unclear. In this study, we analyze the rituals and other activities that were conducted within Hazor’s numerous temples. The methodology we employ stresses, fundamentally, the necessity to contextualize objects within entire assemblages – through spatial analysis – to most accurately assess how Hazor’s cultic spaces were actually used. We apply the same methodology to other MB and LB Canaanite temples to establish a generalized ideal-type temple assemblage for Canaanite temples. This study successfully demonstrates that Hazor’s temples substantially diverge from the ideal temple assemblage, indicating cult at Hazor was practiced differently than elsewhere in the region. This includes the atypical distribution of certain cultic vessels (e.g. miniature vessels), the appearance of special vessels in ritual contexts (e.g. cups), and a fundamentally different use of indoor and outdoor spaces when compared to other Canaanite temples. It turns out that Hazor’s elites were major factors controlling the anomalies of cultic practice at the site. Hazor’s rulers impacted cultic architectural forms and locations and played instrumental roles in dictating and manipulating the types of rituals and associated cultic paraphernalia that were allowed to be performed and used throughout the entire settlement landscape.     

The meaning of El Roi and the mythological dimension in Genesis 16

Abstract

This article discusses the literary debt of the story of Hagar in Genesis 16 to the Ugaritic text KTU 1.23, suggesting that behind the present tale lie ancient royal ideological motifs. These have a bearing on the present form of the story, ans suggest a message of hope to an exilic readership. The divine epithet Roi is explained as “seen”, expressing Hagar's surprise at surviving a vision of God.