arqueologia

Estudiosos agem de modo irresponsável quando encorajam reportagens sensacionalistas da mídia. Mesmo sendo mais tarde desmentidas, para muitas pessoas, determinadas hipóteses já se transformaram em certeza.

Em Jerusalém, uma descoberta recente de um selo com o nome “Isaías”. Polêmica e sensacionalismo. Uma boa síntese, fotos e links podem ser vistos em:

Why “Isaiah” of the Isaiah Bulla is not the Prophet Isaiah – Deane Galbraith – Remnant of Giants: February 24, 2018

Artigo da arqueóloga Eilat Mazar:

Is This the Prophet Isaiah’s Signature? – By Eilat Mazar – Biblical Archaeology Review 44:2, March/April May/June 2018

Bloggers on the Isaiah Bulla – Jim Davila: PaleoJudaica.com – February 25, 2018

Leia Mais:
Perguntas mais frequentes sobre o profeta Isaías

 A Proper Answer: Reflections on Archaeology, Archaeologists and Biblical Historiography

By Israel Finkelstein

ANEToday is pleased to present comments by noted archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, delivered at a joint session of ASOR and the Society of Biblical Literature titled “Rethinking Israel” (Boston, November 2017). The session honored Professor Finkelstein’s many contributions and presented him with a festschrift, Rethinking Israel, Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel in Honor of Israel Finkelstein, edited by Oded Lipschits, Yuval Gadot, and Matthew Adams.

I wonder what is going on? Does standing here in front of you, in a joint session of ASOR and SBL, which celebrates Rethinking Israel, mean that I have been “institutionalized”? This is a terrifying, compromising moment, which I can hardly contain. The whole thing is probably a mistake and therefore I am going to do my best this evening in order to de-institutionalize myself.

I have been in the field for 46 years, I have taught for 41 years and from the book that we are celebrating today, I learn that my academic record is not the worst, which means that I have earned my right to reflect on archaeology and archaeologists. Since this is a joint session of ASOR and SBL, and in order to comply with much of the contents of the book, I will put the spotlight on biblical historiography. I know that the event calls for me to behave myself and play the nice guy. Indeed, I will do my best to keep it light, but you cannot expect me, the man who has been described for so many years as an enfant terrible, to suddenly become a stately gentleman.

(…)

In the field of archaeology of Israel and neighboring regions in the Bronze and Iron Ages, my ultimate goal is reconstructing history. I therefore see myself as a “historian practicing archaeology.” One of my closest associates has made a career of describing himself as a technician who brings the dry facts of archaeology to the high court of history and historians. Well, I have never been a technician and if there is a high court, I am confident enough to be a member of the jury. So, with all due respect to changes in the shape of the cooking pot’s rim, whether it is everted or inverted, this is not a topic worthy of devoting one’s life (at least my life) to. Of course, unless the cooking pot sheds light on something bigger in material culture, which in turn leads to better understanding of historical processes.

(…)

I see myself as being lucky on three fronts: to deal with the archaeology of such an important region, to focus on important periods related to the rise of Judeo-Christian civilization, and because of timing. Speaking about timing, I reached the frontline of research into the history of Ancient Israel when the traditional fortress of biblical archaeology started crumbling, enabling one to think differently and freely without being crushed by “authority” – the Thought Police. Many of us were there when the time was ripe; only some of us grabbed the opportunity. Make no mistake, there were endless attempts to stop me and others like me, with all sorts of “tricks and schticks,” some funny and others less so.

(…)

Let me caution you about the three types of academics in our field who are the most menacing to research. First among them is the one who selects the data in advance in order to serve his/her agenda. Here is the modus operandi: Identify a problem, usually a theme central to biblical research; lament how disputed it is and say that you are coming with no agenda – just to look at the facts. Select the data in advance, in order to give you the desired results and then conduct your “study.” Oops – believe it or not – the results fit what you wished to prove from the outset.

Then there is the cultureless ignorant, who boasts about his/her ignorance. Here is how to operate: Make sure that you read nothing and know nothing. Don’t be ashamed of your ignorance; to the contrary, make it the flagship of your work. Endlessly repeat your ignorance in the most provocative way possible. Remember that those whom you are catering to do not care about your ignorance as long as you give them what they want to hear.

Finally, there is the Authority academic who delivers the ideas of others. Here is the mode of operation: Identify a topic in the forefront of research, preferably to do with Ancient Israel. You have little to say, so look for a scholar whose ideas you like. In order not to be accused of plagiarism, attack the author viciously, but then, with a sophisticated twist, sell his/her ideas as your own in a pompous manner. Present yourself as a critical scholar, but cater to church and synagogue.

Leia Mais:
Israel Finkelstein

What Is Multispectral Imaging And How Is It Changing Archaeology And Digital Humanities Today? By Sarah Bond – Forbes: Nov 30, 2017

What is multispectral imaging and how is the technology changing the face of archaeology, art history and digital humanities today? The non-invasive digital technique is making the past visible in ways we never thought possible.

In the world of archaeology and art history, even objects that have long been known to the world are now providing new information for researchers. This is in part due to an approach called multispectral imaging (MSI). Multispectral imaging first began as bulky and expensive remote sensing equipment used by high-tech astronomy labs like those at NASA interested in planetary science and mapping mineral deposits.

Improvements to sensors and apertures have downsized MSI technology and made it more cost-efficient in recent years. Consequently, the technique has become a more regularized part of the fields of digital archaeology and art preservation as a novel means of revealing hidden materials, pigments and inks that the naked eye alone cannot decipher.

The approach detects electromagnetic infrared radiation wavelengths and melds between three and five spectral imaging bands into one optical system. As Haida Liang, a professor at Nottingham Trent University and the Head of the Imaging & Sensing for Archaeology, Art History & Conservation (ISAAC) research group has noted, MSI can take three visible images in blue, green and red and can combine them with an infrared image and an X-ray image of an object in order to reveal minute hints of pigment. It can even reveal hidden drawings, stains or writings underneath various layers of paint or grime.

In a new paper studying a Hebrew ostracon from 600 BCE, the promise of MSI is exemplified. In antiquity, ceramic pot sherds were often used as a kind of scrap paper; however, the ink used on these ceramics can often fade, blur and become illegible. Professors at Tel-Aviv University led by mathematician and imaging specialist Shira Faigenbaum-Golovin used MSI on a number of ostraca predominantly from the southern Beer Sheba Valley and Jerusalem. Most dated to the time of the Kingdom of Judah (ca. 600 BCE) and one in particular revealed an amusing if familiar request of the writer: “If there is any wine, send [quantity].”

As the Tel-Aviv University researchers noted, MSI holds the potential to help us reconstruct the past in new ways: “These examples demonstrate that at least some of the ostraca have ink traces invisible to the naked eye that are detectable by MS photography. They also indicate that in certain cases MS imaging can provide good results even decades after excavation despite overall ink deterioration.”

LIPSCHITS, O. ; GADOT, Y. ; ADAMS, M. (eds.) Rethinking Israel: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel in Honor of Israel Finkelstein. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2017, 520 p. – ISBN 9781575067872.

Israel Finkelstein is perhaps the best-known Israeli archaeologist in the world. Renowned for his innovative and ground-breaking research, he has written and edited more than 20 books and published more than 300 academic papers. He has served as the director of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology and is the Jacob M. Alkow Professor of Archeology in the Bronze and Iron Age at Tel Aviv University. For the past two decades, he has been co-director of the Megiddo Expedition and is currently co-director of the Mission archéologique de Qiryat-Yéarim.

His work has greatly changed the face of archaeological and historical research of the biblical period. His unique ability to see the comprehensive big picture and formulate a broad framework has inspired countless scholars to reexamine long-established paradigms. His trail-blazing work covering every period from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age through the Hasmonean period, while sometimes controversial, has led to a creative new approach that connects archaeology with history, the social sciences, and the natural and life sciences.

Professor Finkelstein is the recipient of the prestigious 2005 Dan David Prize for his radical revision of the history of Israel in the 10th and 9th centuries BCE. In 2009, he was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2010 received an honorary doctorate from the University of Lausanne. He is a member of the selection committee of the Shanghai Archaeology Forum, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In 2014, his book The Forgotten Kingdom was awarded the esteemed Prix Delalande-Guérineau by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris.

This volume, dedicated to Professor Finkelstein’s accomplishments and contributions, features 36 articles written by his colleagues, friends, and students in honor of his decades of scholarship and leadership in the field of biblical archaeology.

Leia Mais:
Israel Finkelstein

A cidade dos 3 apóstolos? – Por Reinaldo José Lopes 08/08/2017 11:29 – Darwin e Deus

Betsaida, a antiga cidade judaica na qual teriam nascido três dos 12 apóstolos (Pedro, André e Filipe), perto de onde Jesus teria realizado o célebre milagre da multiplicação dos pães e dos peixes, foi identificada nas margens do mar da Galileia, segundo um grupo de arqueólogos israelenses liderados por Mordechai Aviam, da Faculdade Kinneret.

As informações são do jornal israelense “Haaretz”. Segundo Aviam, a peça do quebra-cabeças que faltava para identificar Betsaida acaba de ser desenterrada por sua equipe: restos de uma casa de banhos do período inicial do domínio do Império Romano na região (do século 1º ao século 3º d.C.), bem como cacos de cerâmica dessa época e algumas moedas, entre elas um denário de prata datado do reinado do imperador Nero (em torno do ano 65 d.C.). Ironicamente, a tradição cristã diz que Nero foi o responsável por ordenar a execução do próprio Pedro em Roma.

A informação de que Betsaida era a cidade natal dos irmãos Pedro e André e também do apóstolo Filipe vem do Evangelho de João; por outro lado, a associação entre o local e o milagre da multiplicação dos pães aparece de forma mais clara no Evangelho de Lucas.

Acredita-se que a cidade, originalmente um vilarejo de pescadores, teria ganhado obras públicas, como a casa de banhos, durante o governo de Filipe, filho do temido rei Herodes, o Grande. Para homenagear a esposa do imperador romano Augusto, Filipe teria rebatizado a cidade, dando-lhe o nome oficial de “Julias”.

A identificação do local com a Betsaida dos apóstolos só não é 100% segura porque há algumas divergências entre as informações do Novo Testamento e as trazidas pelo historiador judeu Flávio Josefo. É que os evangelistas da Bíblia localizam Betsaida na região da Galileia, terra onde Jesus cresceu, do lado oeste do mar, enquanto Josefo considera que a cidade pertencia à Gaulanítide, do lado leste do mar da Galileia. É concebível que existissem duas localidades com o nome de Betsaida naquela época.

The Lost Home of Jesus’ Apostles Has Just Been Found, Archaeologists Say – Noa Shpigel and Ruth Schuster: Aug 08, 2017 10:45 AM – Haaretz

Archaeologists think they may have found the lost Roman city of Julias, the home of three apostles of Jesus: Peter, Andrew and Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). A multi-layered site discovered on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the Bethsaida Valley Nature Reserve, is the spot, the team believes.

The key discovery is of an advanced Roman-style bathhouse. That in and of itself indicates that there had been a city there, not just a fishing village, Dr. Mordechai Aviam of Kinneret College told Haaretz.

None other than the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius – in fact the only source describing this city’s existence – wrote that the Jewish monarch King Philip Herod, son of the great vassal King Herod, transformed Bethsaida, which had been a Jewish fishing village, into a real Roman polis (Ant. 18:28. Though whether it was built on Bethsaida, or by it, remains unknown.)

Philip flatteringly renamed the city “Julias” after Livia Drusilla, who after marriage would become known as Julia Augusta, the mother of the Roman Emperor Tiberius.

“Josephus reported that the king had upgraded Bethsaida from a village into a polis, a proper city,” Aviam says meticulously. “He didn’t say it had been built on or beside or underneath it. And indeed, all this time, we have not known where it was. But the bathhouse attests to the existence of urban culture.”

Leia Mais:
Bethsaida Controversy

POTTS, D. T.  (ed.) A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 2 vols. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012, 1500 p. – ISBN 9781405189880.
 

 A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East is a comprehensive and authoritative overview of ancient material culture from the late Pleistocene to Late Antiquity. This expansive two-volume work includes sixty new essays from an international community of Ancient Near East scholars. With coverage extending from Asia Minor, the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt to the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Indo-Iranian borderlands, the book highlights the enormous variation in cultural developments across roughly 11,000 years of human endeavor. In addition to chapters devoted to specific regions and particular periods, a large number of chapters present individual industries and major themes in ancient Near Eastern archaeology, ranging from metallurgy and agriculture to irrigation and fishing. Controversial issues, including the nature and significance of the antiquities market, ethical considerations in archaeological praxis, the history of the foundation of departments of antiquities and ancient attitudes towards the past, make this a unique collection of studies that will be of interest to scholars, students and interested readers alike. Daniel T. Potts is Professor at Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, USA.

Esta obra em dois volumes oferece, em cinquenta e oito ensaios assinados por especialistas, uma visão abrangente e competente da cultura material do Antigo Oriente Médio ao longo de 11 mil anos.

Leia Mais:
Histórias do Antigo Oriente Médio: uma bibliografia

 Para entender o motivo dessa publicação, clique aqui.

 
POLLOCK, S.; BERBECK, R.  (eds.) Archaeologies of the Middle East: Critical Perspectives. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005, 384 p. – ISBN 9780631230014.

Archaeologies of the Middle East explores the connections between modern-day politics and the social context of archaeological practice and underutilized approaches to archaeological interpretation, such as: examining the ways in which scholars write about the past, the portrayal of archaeology in the news media, and the impacts of and on archaeology in volatile political situations. Written by some of the top archaeologists of the Middle East, this volume integrates scholars from diverse backgrounds with a wide range of interests and intellectual approaches to their research. Susan Pollock is Professor Emerita at State University of New York at Binghamton, USA, and guest professor in the Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Reinhard Bernbeck is Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Near Eastern Archaeology at Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany.

Este livro trabalha as conexões entre a política atual e o contexto social da prática arqueológica. Examina as formas como os estudiosos escrevem sobre o passado, a imagem da arqueologia nos meios de comunicação e os impactos da arqueologia em situações políticas voláteis. Escrito por alguns dos principais arqueólogos do Antigo Oriente Médio, este volume congrega estudiosos de diversas origens com ampla gama de interesses e variadas abordagens intelectuais.

A arqueologia como um produto social… as implicações políticas e ideológicas da prática arqueológica… arqueologia, colonialismo, imperialismo, ideologia, religião, bíblia… Este é o assunto deste livro.

Veja o sumário:

1.  Introduction – Susan Pollock and Reinhard Bernbeck
2.  A Cultural-Historical Framework – Reinhard Bernbeck and Susan Pollock

Part I – Producing and Disseminating Knowledge About the Ancient Near East
3.  Who Has Not Eaten Cherrhttps://www.airtonjo.com/images/bernbeck-1ies with the Devil? Archaeology under Challenge – Caroline Steele
4.  Archaeology and Nationalism in the Holy Land – Adel H.Yahya
5.  Archaeology Goes to War at the Newsstand – Susan Pollock
6.  The Past as Fact and Fiction: From Historical Novels to Novel Histories – Reinhard Bernbeck

Part II – Reassessing Evolutionary “Firsts”
7.  Bleeding or Breeding: Neandertals vs. Early Modern Humans in the Middle Paleolithic Levant – John Shea
8.  Lumps of Clay and Pieces of Stone: Ambiguity, Bodies, and Identity as Portrayed in Neolithic Figurines – Ian Kuijt and Meredith S. Chesson
9.  The State: The Process of State Formation as Seen from Mesopotamia – Jean-Daniel Forest
10. Archaeology, Bible, and the History of the Levant in the Iron Age – Israel Finkelstein
11. Imperialism – Mario Liverani

Part III – Constructing Arguments, Understanding Perceptions
12. Ethnoarchaeology, Analogy, and Ancient Society – Marc Verhoeven
13. The Ancient Sumerians in the Tides of Time – Petr Charvát
14. Reliquaries on the Landscape: Mounds as Matrices of Human Cognition – Sharon R. Steadman
15. Archaeology and Texts in the Ancient Near East – Paul Zimansky
16. Representations, Reality, and Ideology – Jennifer C. Ross

Leia Mais:
Histórias do Antigo Oriente Médio: uma bibliografia

MALLEY, S. Layard enterprise: Victorian archaeology and informal imperialism in Mesopotamia. International Journal of Middle East Studies, Cambridge, 40 (4), p. 623-646, 2008.

In this essay I argue that the myth of archaeological stewardship needs to be historicized and problematized at its very birthplace. For the British, this begins with the myth of “Layard of Nineveh.” Shawn Malley is professor of English at Bishop’s University, Canada.

Artigo interessante, mostrando aspectos imperialistas na arqueologia da Mesopotâmia.

Deste autor e sobre este tema, confira o livro:

MALLEY, S. From Archaeology to Spectacle in Victorian Britain: The Case of Assyria, 1845-1854. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016, 220 p. – ISBN 9781138254541.

In this detailed and rigorously researched study, Shawn Malley examines Austen Henry Layard’s excavation of Assyria, and its subsequent impact upon literary, cultural, religious and scientific spheres. Concurrently, he grapples with the imperialistic repercussions of the removal of antiquities to British institutions (focusing exclusively on the British Museum), and the implications for Layard as a middle-class individual thrust into aristocratic circles on the back of his twin archaeological and political endeavours. From Archaeology to Spectacle in Victorian Britain is rich with original archival research, conducted at the British Library, British Museum and Foreign Office, and it is Malley’s unearthing and analysis of such material that makes this monograph so significant within a growing corpus of critical studies dealing with literature and archaeology in this period, complementing such respected works as Frederick Bohrer’s Orientalism and Visual Culture: Imagining Mesopotamia in Nineteenth-Century Europe (2003) and David Gange’s Dialogues with the Dead: Egyptology in British Culture and Religion, 1822-1922 (2013). Investigating the intersections between biblical archaeology and British imperialism, Malley draws upon postprocessual archaeological theory, bringing together the methodologies of diverse critical fields. Across five chapters, and enhanced by copious illustrations, From Archaeology to Spectacle in Victorian Britain addresses the potent cultural ripples radiating out from Layard’s archaeological and diplomatic mission (Eleanor Dobson)

LIVERANI, M. Immaginare Babele: Due secoli di studi sulla città orientale antica. Bari: Laterza, 2013, 530 p. – ISBN 9788858106518.
 

In questo libro Mario Liverani racconta come, nell’arco di due secoli, le città dell’antico Oriente sono tornate a vivere per noi, dapprima solo immaginate, sulla scorta delle notizie bibliche e della letteratura classica; poi intraviste da viaggiatori alla ricerca della Torre di Babele in un paesaggio cosparso di macerie informi; infine scavate, descritte, misurate, classificate, interpretate a seconda delle tendenze culturali degli studiosi. Dopo due secoli di scavi, di studi e di mutevoli approcci è possibile finalmente costruire un quadro d’insieme non solo dell’attività di ricerca ma anche dei suoi risultati, che restituiscono le città dell’antico Oriente – grazie all’apporto di varie discipline – nel loro splendore architettonico e artistico e nella loro vita socio-economica. Mario Liverani è uno archeologo e storico italiano. Professore emerito di Storia del Vicino Oriente antico presso l’Università La Sapienza di Roma, Italia.

LIVERANI, M. Imagining Babylon: The Modern Story of an Ancient City. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2016, 488 p. – ISBN 9781614516026.

Ever since the archaeological rediscovery of the Ancient Near East, generations of scholars have attempted to reconstruct the “real Babylon,” known to us before from the evocative biblical account of the Tower of Babel. After two centuries of excavations and scholarship, Mario Liverani provides an insightful overview of modern, Western approaches, theories, and accounts of the ancient Near Eastern city. Mario Liverani is Professor Emeritus at the University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.

Leia Mais:
Histórias do Antigo Oriente Médio: uma bibliografia

TRIGGER, B. G. A History of Archaeological Thought. 2. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, 710 p. – ISBN 9780521600491.

This work traces the history and context of archaeological research and practice around the world, and examines underlying ideas and values. The primary goal of this book is to survey the intellectual history of archaeology in an attempt to evaluate the claims of three alternative epistemologies that are currently being applied to archaeology. Positivist epistemologists maintain that society and culture exert no significant influence on the development of archaeology, which is shaped by explanations based on explicit theories being tested in the light of adequate evidence and according to proper scientific methods. Extreme relativists argue that the interpretation of archaeological data is so influenced by the intellectual persuasions, class interests, ethnic loyalties, gender prejudices, and personal self-interest of archaeologists that objectivity is impossible. There is no such thing as objective knowledge, and, therefore, no one truth but many possibly antithetical truths. Moderate relativists concede that archaeological interpretations are influenced by society, culture, and self-interest but maintain that archaeological evidence constrains speculation. Bruce Graham Trigger (1937– 2006) was a Canadian archaeologist.

TRIGGER, B. G. História do pensamento arqueológico. 2. ed. São Paulo: Odysseus, 2011, 630 p. -ISBN 9788578760175.

Esse livro examina as relações entre a arqueologia e seu meio social em uma perspectiva histórica. Um tal enfoque possibilita uma visão comparativa a partir da qual problemas relativos a subjetividade, objetividade e acumulação gradual de conhecimento podem ser apreciados.

A arqueologia é uma ciência social no sentido de que ela procura explicar o que aconteceu a um grupo específico de seres humanos no passado e fazer generalizações a respeito do processo de mudança cultural. Porém, ao contrário dos etnólogos, dos geógrafos, dos sociólogos, dos cientistas políticos e dos economistas, os arqueólogos não podem observar o comportamento da população que eles estudam; ao contrário dos historiadores, também não têm, na maioria dos casos, acesso direto ao pensamento dessa gente registrado em textos escritos. A arqueologia infere comportamento humano, e também ideias, a partir de materiais remanescentes do que pessoas fizeram e usaram, e do impacto físico de sua presença no meio ambiente. A interpretação de dados arqueológicos depende da compreensão de como seres humanos se comportam no presente e, em particular, de como esse comportamento se reflete na cultura material. Os arqueólogos também têm de recorrer a princípios uniformitaristas para que possam valer-se do entendimento de processos biológicos e geológicos contemporâneos na inferência de como tais processos ajudaram a configurar o registro arqueológico. No entanto, eles estão longe de chegar a um acordo a respeito de como esses saberes podem ser legítima e compreensivamente aplicados aos seus dados a fim de tornar inteligível o comportamento humano passado.

É talvez decepcionantemente fácil mostrar que, no mundo inteiro, a interpretação da evidência arqueológica é influenciada por condições políticas, sociais e econômicas, assim como pela tendência de indivíduos e grupos a afirmar seus interesses apresentando objetivos egoístas como se fossem altruístas. Além do mais, interpretações arqueológicas são diretamente influenciadas por preconceitos de gênero, por interesses étnicos, pelo controle político da pesquisa e da publicação, pelo financiamento das atividades arqueológicas, por conflitos de geração entre os pesquisadores e por influências idiossincráticas de arqueólogos carismáticos. São também influenciadas pela sociedade indiretamente, através de modelos analíticos oferecidos pelas ciências físicas e biológicas e, em maior medida, pelas ciências sociais, assim como pela continuidade da aceitação de explicações arqueológicas estabelecidas cujo caráter obsoleto não se tornou evidente.

No entanto, apenas muito raramente são encontradas correspondências simples entre as interpretações arqueológicas e as condições sociais. Essas interpretações não constituem, na maioria, reflexo direto de tais condições, antes vêm a ser versões do passado criadas por arqueólogos que tentam, em circunstâncias históricas particulares, promover, ou defender, interesses e preferências sociais. Esses interesses variam e podem ser apoiados de diferentes maneiras.

Bruce Graham Trigger (1937– 2006) foi um arqueólogo canadense.