Levantine archaeology
Palestinian archaeology is a term used to refer to archaeological research conducted in the land of ancient Palestine.[1] Besides its importance to the study of Biblical archaeology, the region of ancient Palestine is one of the most important to an understanding of the history of the earliest peoples of the Stone Age.[2]
Palestinian archaeology is marked a degree of acrimony not shared in other area studies in the field. Archaeologists who consider Biblical scriptures to be legitimate historical documents have been attacked by mainstream scientific archaeologists who see the hard data from excavations as being incompatible with the Biblical "historical" record.[3]
Origins
Modern Palestinian archaeology began to be practiced in the late nineteenth century. Early expeditions lacked standardized methods for excavation and interpretation, and were often little more than treasure-hunting expeditions.[4] A lack of awareness and attention to the importance of stratigraphy to the dating of objects, led to the digging of long trenches through the middle a site that made follow-up work by later archaeologists more difficult.[4]
One early school of modern Palestinian archaeology revolved around the powerful and authoritative figure of William F. Albright (1891-1971). His scholarship and that of the Albright school, which tended to lean toward a favouring of biblical narratives, were treated with great deference during his lifetime. [3] Albright himself held that Frederick Jones Bliss (1857-1939) was the Father of Palestinian archaeology; however, the work of Bliss is not well-known to those in the field. J.A. Blakely attributes this to the actions of Bliss' successor at the Palestine Exploration Fund, R.A.S. Macalister (1870-1950), who seems to have buried his predeccessor's achievements.[5]
While the importance of stratigraphy, typology and balk to a scientific study of sites became the norm sometime in the mid-twentieth century, the continued tendency to ignore data in favour of subjective interpretations invited criticism. Paul W. Lapp, for example, whom many thought would take up the mantle of Albright before his premature death in 1970, engaged in a harsh critique of the field, writing:
"Too much of Palestinian archaeology is an inflated fabrication [...] Too often a subjective interpretation, not based on empirical stratigraphic observation, is used to demonstrate the validity of another subjective interpretation. We assign close dates to a group of pots on subjective typological grounds and go on to cite our opinion as independent evidence for similarly dating a parallel group. Too much of Palestinian archaeology's foundation building has involved chasing ad hominenem arguments around in a circle."[6]
S. Buniwotiz in "How Mute Stones Speak: Interpreting What We Dig Up" echoes this critique, applying it to the "Israeli School" of Palestinian archaeology, as epitomized by Yigael Yadin, writing that,
"[...] despite its new scientific arsenal, biblical archaeology during the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s was still parochial, highly pragmatic and bound to traditional interpretative frameworks. Slowly, however, as previous interpretative concepts were discarded, exciting new cultural/historical insights gradually came into view, even through old research strategies."[7]
Thus, towards the end of the twentieth century, Palestinian archaeology became a more interdisciplinary practice. Today, scientists from different fields of expertise work together using new technologies to examine micro-remains, like seeds, or skeletal remains.[8]
See also
External links
References
- ^ On page 16 of his book, Rast notes that the term Palestine is commonly used by archaeologists in Jordan and Israel to refer to the region encompassed by modern-day Israel, Jordan and the West Bank.
- ^ Rast, 1992, p. xi.
- ^ a b Henry, 2003, p. 143.
- ^ a b Rast, 1992, pp. 1-2.
- ^ "Frederick Jones Bliss: Father of Palestinian Archaeology". The Biblical Archaeologist. Vol. 56, No. 3. American Schools of Oriental Research: 110–115. 1993. ISSN 0006-0895.
{{cite journal}}:|volume=has extra text (help) - ^ Moorey, 1992, p. 131.
- ^ S. Bunimovitz (March–April 1995). "How Mute Stones Speak: Interpreting What We Dig Up". Biblical Archaeology Review: 58–67.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link) - ^ Rast, 1992, p. 3.
Bibliography
- Henry, Roger (2003). Synchronized Chronology: Rethinking Middle East Antiquity. Algora Publishing. ISBN 0875861857
- Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1992). A Century of Biblical Archaeology. Westminster John Knox
Press. ISBN 066425392X
- Rast, Walter E (1992). Through the Ages in Palestinian Archaeology: An Introductory Handbook. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 1563380552