Abstract A history of the written word, examining writing from its Sumerian origins through the development of the Greek alphabet. The focus is the shift from pictographic characters to a phonetic alphabet. This paper discusses the Old Canaanite, Phoenician, Egyptian, Hebrew, and Aramaic scripts as well.
From the Paper "The calling and constant challenge of the poet has been to express, in writing, the highly dynamic and abstractly imaginal feeling of the human condition. Similarly, individuals have long attempted to preserve facets of life for convenience, future reference, or posterity. Writing, now a virtual necessity, was not used until the advent of civilizations, when life became complex enough that memory could not keep track of all of those things one needed to remember. It is a much younger art than that of the spoken language ? which has existed for tens of thousands of years ? but has come far from the early days of writing to today. The first forms of writing are results of the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations."
Tags:canaanite, character, egypt, hebrew, linear, phoenicia, phonetic, pictograph, script, written
Examines the historical, religious and political aspects, focusing on the role of social stratification between Arabs and Jews based on ethnicity, religion, region, rights, segregation and racism.
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 5 sources, 1999, $ 63.95
Abstract In some ways, one could trace the development of the Israeli Palestinian conflict back to Biblical times, when the wandering Hebrew tribes fought their way into a place in what was then called Canaan. It was at that point that those tribes chose to make a covenant with their new God who was different from the Canaanite God, El.
From the Paper "Social Stratification and the Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Introduction
In some ways, one could trace the development of the Israeli Palestinian conflict back to Biblical times, when the wandering Hebrew tribes fought their way into a place in what was then called Canaan. It was at that point that those tribes chose to make a covenant with their new God who was different from the Canaanite God, El. Not only were they of a different ethnicity than the original settlers of that valley, they chose to separate themselves from the religion and traditional practices of that people (Armstrong, 1993). Since that point, there has been increasing distinction between the two Semitic peoples who are now called Arabs and Jews, represented by the two distinct ..."
Abstract Looks at the differing historical assessments of the nature of Israel during the rules of David and Solomon and whether Israel could be classified as a kingdom during those times. Examines both the traditional view, where David and Solomon are considered central to Jewish history, and the position taken by a group called the "new archaeologists" who claim that David and Solomon were, at best, small-time leaders of local tribes.
From the Paper "Such an analysis is more a matter of commentary on the text than any sort of historical analysis because until recently there was little clear evidence that David or Solomon even existed, and many scholars have claimed that they did not. Under the traditional view, David and Solomon are considered central to Jewish history. A group known as the "new archaeologists" claim that David and Solomon were at best small-time leaders of local tribes, making the greatness of Israel under their leadership is a matter of exaggeration. For instance, they doubt that Solomon ever built the great temple as described in the Bible. These scholars are also known as the "minimalists" because they believe in a minimal interpretation of the evidence available about ancient Israel."
Abstract Modern Judaism is usually considered a monotheistic religion - it has as its central tenet the belief in only one God, and the denial of the existence of all other gods. However, the Hebrew Bible is not a modern document, and it contains different conceptions of God and his relation to other gods. In places, the Hebrew Bible supports monotheism, but in other places it does not. This paper examines the various conceptions of God and other gods in the Hebrew Bible, how these conceptions changed over time, and the possible influences from sources outside the Israelite tradition, including Egyptian, Canaanite, and Iranian.
From the Paper "In the early, pre-exilic period, the Israelites were still forming as a people, and were substantially influenced by Canaanite religion and culture. Yahweh was still a somewhat local deity, tied to the land and the temple. After the destruction of the temple and during the exile, the Israelite religion had to broaden to survive, and God became more transcendent, omnipresent, and monotheistic. The Israelites also had to differentiate themselves from the people they were living among, in order to keep their religion and culture whole. When the exile ended and the temple was rebuilt this movement continued: God became more universal and the Jewish people became more exclusive. The religion has become thoroughly monotheistic, although in late post-exilic times it starts to develop a sense of dualism that was absent earlier, and is a result of Iranian influences (Widengren, 311)."
Abstract This papers discuses the methods and procedure used by anthropologists in the discovery of the Uluburun Shipwreck discovery.
Specifically, the paper presents a description of the site, artifacts found and methods used at Uluburun. The paper concludes that, by studying the contents, origins and methods of Mediterranean trading vessels, the scientific community is able to piece together a cohesive picture of Mediterranean cultures circa 1300 B.C.E.
From the Paper "Many other artifacts were found at the site. These were comprised of personal items, weapons, and mercantile items. Weights for scales were found, which make sense being present on a trading vessel. A ram's horn trumpet was found. This is similar to the modern shofar in the Jewish tradition. Many gold ambulates were found; as well as pectorals, and other jewelry. Much of the gold was in jewelry form, but some was in the scrap form, as a byproduct of jewelry making or simply for later use. Foodstuffs were also found."
Tags: dendochronology, trading vessel, ingots, canaanite ceramic jars, late bronze age
