Reading Time: 13 minutes We took an unintended hiatus last week for Humanist Book Club, but hopefully for the better. Comments to date on this series suggest that many folks aren’t reading the book directly, but responding to my summaries and analysis of author commentary. This places an added burden to ensure that I’m articulating key points properly, and […]
archaeology
Posted inMyth & Folklore
Forgotten gods: When we buried Summanus’s lightning
Reading Time: 9 minutes He was at one time a god so widely respected and feared that Romans went to great lengths to escape his power. But by the first century BCE, he had fallen into such obscurity that Ovid could refer to “a shrine dedicated to Summanus, whoever
he is.” What can the followers of other gods learn from his fate?
Posted inHistory
Across gulfs of time
Reading Time: 4 minutes Our ancestors are separated from us by unimaginable expansesâand yet, in a few special places, they seem almost close enough to touch.
Posted inEvolution
The Silurian hypothesis: Are we the first intelligent species on Earth?
Reading Time: 4 minutes If humans weren’t the first intelligent species to evolve on this planet, would we know it?
Posted inReligious News
Does a newly-discovered Hebrew tablet prove the Bible is older than initially believed?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Christians and Jews have been excited as of late due to an archaeological discovery that has caused quite a stir. A tablet, which contains the words of an ancient Hebrew curse has been found in Israel that pre-dates the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls, whose oldest fragments and scrolls date back to the […]
Posted inDeep Dive
Why we need to decolonize our thinking on archaeology
Reading Time: 13 minutes In a world of significant scientific illiteracy, it’s easy to point fingers at “the other side”. Religious extremists, and the politicians who leverage them for power, are a serious problem. But what habits have we formed, and what narrative structures exist in our media, that only make things worse? Today I interrogate my own weaknesses, […]
Posted inHistory
Bowen, Lewis and Stavrakapoulou Dissect the Genesis of Israel’s Religion
Reading Time: < 1 minute I can’t tell you how interesting this interview was. Actually, I can – it was supremely interesting. I cannot wait for Stavrakapoulou’s book to be released – she is such a good public communicator of her discipline. This interview has soooo many fascinating and important nuggets for discussion. It is listening to stuff like this […]
Posted inScience
Dragon Man: We Found Another Ancient Neighbor (LSP #198)
Reading Time: 6 minutes Hi and welcome back! I love ancient history and archaeology, so I keep up with news about it. And this news is something special indeed. See, we’ve found yet another ancient pre-human species. And this one might be our closest neighbor of all. Today, Lord Snow Presides over the increasingly-crowded ancient world that gave rise […]
Posted inHistory
Exodus Sidebar: Pitch – You Wouldn’t Let It Lie!
Reading Time: 14 minutes Ah, dag nam it. You wouldn’t let it lie, Armstrong. You wouldn’t let it lie! đ Okay, I’ll spare you all the previous, readers. Here are the links: Debunking the Exodus V: Mosesâ Birth Exodus Sidebar: Refuting Armstrongâs âRefutationâ on Pitch (but Oddly Not Sargon) Exodus Sidebar: More on Moses and Sargon Exodus Sidebar: Sargon […]
Posted inHistory
Exodus Sidebar: The Final Pitch Battle
Reading Time: 16 minutes As part of my debunking the Exodus series, I’ve been involved in a prolonged debate with Dave Armstrong, in particular, regardingâŚpretty much everything I have stated. Let me give you a super-quick synopsis of where we are at. One of my arguments was that the Moses birth story was appropriated from the surrounding culture when […]