Posted on 11/10/2013 7:44:11 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Wild boars look more or less the same in Israel as they do anywhere else: stalky and hairy with big heads, long snouts, and beady eyes. So scientists had no reason to suspect Israeli wild boars were any different than their brothers and sisters roaming the Middle East, from Egypt to Iran... unlike the Near Eastern wild boars in surrounding countries, Israel's wild boars originated in Europe. After a genetic and archaeological analysis, the researchers suggest the wild boars living in Israel are descendants of domesticated pigs brought to Israel starting almost 3,000 years ago by the Philistines and other seafaring raiders...
Pig bones have been found in abundance at Philistine archaeological sites along Israel's southern coastal plane dating from the beginning of the Iron Age, around 1150 to 950 BCE. But pig bones are rare or absent at Iron Age sites in other parts of the country, including in the central hills, where Ancient Israel is thought to have emerged... Because there is not much difference in the size and the shape between European and Near Eastern pigs, the researchers had to use DNA testing to identify the origins of the animals.
Genetics researchers divide the pigs of the world into three main groups: European, Far Eastern, and Near Eastern. To the researchers' surprise, each of the 25 modern-day wild boars they analyzed from Israel share a European genetic signature, whereas modern-day boars from nearby countries, like Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Iraq, and Iran, have a Near Eastern genetic signature. The researchers conclude that European pigs arrived in Israel at some point and overtook the local pig population.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
It may have to do with trichinosis or environmental damage.
Or maybe it is just one of those ‘G-d things’.
A serving of Philistine culture: Boar, dog and fine wine
Ha’aretz | Monday, September 3, 2007 | Ofri Ilani
Posted on 09/03/2007 8:38:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1890763/posts
Ethnic Groups in Philistia
Giving Goliath His Due: New Archaeological Light on the Philistines | Neal Bierling
Posted on 09/08/2004 10:41:26 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1210752/posts
I know one bore who originated in Europe.....Piers Morgan.
Ah, what about the LePen family of French politics?
Now look, Christie just won reelection. Why do you have to go and rain on his parade like that?
Biblical Deir Alla
http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/arc/balaams/final/biblical.htm
Deir Alla has a long tradition as a sacred place from as far back as the Bronze Age. At some point in the early Iron Age, metalworkers leveled part of the surface of the ruined site and, for a short period, settled the tell, where they produced bronze objects. Large buildings had been erected on the east side of the tell—perhaps a new temple complex serving trade (sometimes with Egypt).
The texts were written on a wall in a room belonging to the large complex of work and storage rooms, that was associated with a sanctuary. No architectural parallel to this layout has yet been found in the region. Although an earthquake that shifted walls at ground level destroyed this building, it is apparent that some rooms could only be entered through a high window or from the roof. The room in which the text was written belonged to this group. The complex resembles what is described in myths as a labyrinth—a place of death and victory over death, a typical theme in religion in the Ancient Near East.
The text was probably religious in nature and was made to hang from a stela on a wall. The nature of the text, and its coloration, meant that it was for much more than to be read. It was probably quite iconical, similar to displaying the Declaration of Independence. Everyone recognized it, but few actually read it.
Later construction at the tell buried the remains of a Baal high place and the fertility religion practiced there. Evidence has been found to suggest that weaving for a water spending deity, a goddess holding power over the water clouds, took place in the sanctuary.
Deir Alla has often been identified with biblical Succoth. One theory suggests that Succoth may not have been the named used by the local people, but rather was a biblical indication of a place of pagan religion: the site’s sanctuary may have been known as a holy place belonging to certain deities.
Another claim is that, in view of Balaam being revered at Deir Alla, one would expect that Deir Alla was his home. This is exactly what William Shea has proposed, based on his reading of the name Pethor in an inscribed clay tablet found at Deir Alla. In this case, the river of Numbers 22:5 would be the Jabbok river and the naharaim (two rivers) of Deuteronomy 23:4 would be the Jabbok and Jordan rivers. Concerning the references to Aram, Shea suggests that the original place name was Adam, with the “d” being miscopied as “r,” since the two letters are nearly identical in ancient Hebrew. Adam was a town about eight mi southwest of Deir Alla, on the east bank of the Jordan river, where the Jabbok meets the Jordan.
Unfortunately, ancient sites such as Succoth and Aram cannot be archaeologically confirmed because there is not a description of what these places looked like each point in time at which they were referenced in the Old Testament so that it could be recognized when found. Since 1200 B.C. the level of the ground at tell Deir Alla has risen four meters by the deposits from regular winter floods. Since that time, the wadi Zerqa has changed its course. Nevertheless, these are minor inconveniences compared to the lack of material information about the exact location, the exact time and the exact nature of may sites referred to in the Old Testament. Another small problem is the competing locations for the ancient sites proposed by other scholars.
The Inscribed Tablets from Tell Deir ‘Alla: Part 1
http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted.../02.../shea-tabletdeiralla1-auss.pdf
THE INSCRIBED TABLETS FROM TELL DEIR ‘ALLA PART 11” Part
http://www.auss.info/auss_publication_file.php?pub_id=791
8. The Archaeological Context of the Tell Deir ‘Alla Tablets
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/.../08%20ASLU%2019%20Chapter%208.pdf
Clay Tablets from Deir Alla, Jordan - Jstor
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1516435
A pig is an animal with dirt on his face,
His shoes are a terrible disgrace,
He always grunts when he eats his food,
He’s fat, he’s lazy, he’s extremely rude,
And he tastes good BBQ’d!
Your poem is now complete. You’re exceedingly welcome.
And Anti-Semitic to the core. Don't Fall for their tricks FReepres!
I wonder of the Le Penists chew Cud or not?
” The prohibition on pork may have to do with the fact that it is indistinguishable from human flesh.”
You can grill pork, and it also goes great with kraut.
It leaves out an early (6th-century) depiction in stone, found at Delphi in the ruins of the Sicyonian treasury. It may date to the period when Cleisthenes was tyrant of Sicyon.
So the European pigs were smart enough to go where they are not on the menu.
Taste, texture, appearance?
I'm pretty sure that I could distinguish the body of one from the other. A man's ham would be considerably smaller than that of a full grown swine.
I've read that those that have eaten both say that man tastes like monkey.
But if man tastes like pork, it probably explains the popularity of cannibalism throughout prehistory. well, that and the struggle to obtain enough calories.
If seen as entire chunks, the anatomy might be a giveaway, but cut into servings, probably not. Pork was very popular in Roman times, but would be expensive; otoh, when the “games” were going, the supply of, shall we say, good substitutes was plentiful and cheap. It wasn’t a good idea to order pork at those times, particularly near the arena.
And vice versa, apparently. ;’)
Now that I did not know.
Thanks!
Roman Italy served spaghetti and pete’s balls, I suppose...
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