About Archaeology

I do not consider myself a scholar in the contemporary sense of the word.  Most dictionaries
define the term "scholar" as 'one who has already mastered one or more disciplinary fields'.  I personally do not think such a thing is possible.  Any student or educator eventually comes to the conclusion we don't yet know what we don't know.  As educators and scientists our entire lives are spent in the pursuit of knowledge.
 

For the exact sciences it may one day be possible to know everything there is to know about a select few things; such as the specific molecular makeup of a chocolate bar by a certain manufacturer on a given specific date.  But that's all we can know about that "artifact".  By the standards of contemporary archaeology that is a great deal of knowledge. Therefore a scholar is a perpetual student, always studying something, proposing theories and evaluating those theories.  Some things can be empirically tested but archaeology has little of those.  The archaeologists theories are tested through the minds of the contemporary 'greats' and by new information discovered in subsequent excavation.


Unfortunately the practical truth of the matter in archaeology is that almost every "fact" about ancient history is really just a thesis; an educated guess based on an individual archaeologist's or a team of archaeologists' (and probably other disciplines such as historians etc) conclusions about the physical remnants of evidence recovered in an excavation.  The more ancient those recoveries are tends to affect the amount of information (and, certainly, the quality of that information).  For the most part these ancient objects are rarely signed by the author or artist until the late Renaissance era.  Also, where the artifacts were housed (the climate and exposure to the elements) contributes to the availbility of ancient literature and other artifacts.

Unless we have a contemporary signature of the perpetrator and a detailed description of what an object is that has been recovered in a specific site and/or we have something similar still in use today it's not an easy task to identify a 4000 year old worked stone (i.e. obviously carved - not a natural state of that particular mineral).  Nobody today is alive who was alive when say King David ruled in Judah.  As scientists, we can only give it our best guess.  The hard part comes when we try to convince others that our idea is the best interpretation of the physical evidence.


Each generation adds to the currently known pool of information.  Each successive excavation in any given area of the world gives us a chance at recovering some new evidence.  Unfortunately many ancient societies either didn't record information or they used a medium to do so which did not survive into our modern world.  Of course, we may still find some of that information.  But at the moment we don't have it.  It's foolish for anyone to insist a theory is a fact when there is no evidence to back up the supposition.  "However, an absence of evidence is not evidence none exists." (That cited sentence probably belongs to every archaeologist, historian, teacher, preacher etc that ever existed up to and including our own time.)

Some cultures recorded some of their knowledge and activities of daily life but they used materials which could not stand the proverbial test of time.  We have found some of them as tattered and incomplete textual artifacts.  They help but they often pose more questions than the content can provide answers for.  On the other side of the coin, so to speak, there are cultures who left their mark in grandiose ways; such as the Babylonians, the Assyrians, and the Egyptians; to name but a few.


The above civilizations quite literally carved information into stones which have more often than not survived to our era.  As long as we're able to translate these "documents" we can get a general idea of what their meaning was in comparison to modern languages relevant or descended from that original ancient tongue.  [Anyone can back this up by simply reading about how archaeology was significantly affected by the discovery of the Rosetta stone and other (many of them - gargantuan)" textual evidences.]


I say " general idea" because language changes.  In the last 50 years, especially since the invention of the Internet and the world wide web, we have seen yearly changes in the meaning of common everyday words.  Bad used to mean something was not right; it was bad- not what we would like in a given situation.  Today if we say something is bad we are more likely meaning it's  a good thing.  This may be perceived as a nemesis to the archaeologists of about the year 3000 CE.


On the other hand, however, there are issues with accepting what is written in our textual artifacts as absolute fact.  We not only have the issues we've already discussed above but there are some more things to consider.  Who wrote it and what was the contextually intended purpose?  We may have nothing but a bunch of baloney if some noblemen is writing to glorify his contemporary god king in hopes to get that new position of power.


If the said god king happens to have been a monstrous dictator, the person who penned (or carved) that bit of information may have said exactly what he needed to say in order to keep from losing his life.  Information like that of a similar type can not be automatically assumed to be factual just because it was written down.  As a charge nurse (a few decades ago) I can tell you what was written down  (as completed) by some staff members  sometimes was not done and we had the physical proof that it was not.  In archaeology exactness is going to be a very rare instance.


The invention of clay tablets was a both a detriment and mark of significant literary progress on many levels from document collection, to records of contracts and historical relevance.   Some of those tablets were cooked into a stone condition which allows us permanent textual evidence of that specific society in a specific given time.  We know that I'm either buying names mentioned or is sometimes from the date was written down or at least the year of what ever king was on the throne might be included.  The collection is limited though.  If we just concentrate on the thousands of clay tablets fired by a destruction inferno of Babylon we can more easily understand our point.


When Babylon was destroyed the fire cooked every single document in their library/archive into stone AKA ceramic.  Even so not all of those documents were preserved because the documents on each of the upper shelves would fall as those shells burned and those tablets would then fall go crashing through the next layer all of those then falling through the next layer so that what remains for us on the floor of some intact documents, lots of fragments and a lot of dust.


The very same thing happens when a piece of wet pottery is fired in a kiln with properly dried and stacked pottery.  The wet clay explodes shattering the very brittle bisque ware being fired.  Some pieces will be whole, most will be fragmented and some will be dust.  We can glean information from the former two classes of artifact but that dust will yield us nothing other than there was a catastrophe.


Not all of Babylon's documents were there to be fired when Babylon went down.  The scribes used clay tablets to pen down information but that wasn't always something needed for posterity in the eyes of whom ever was responsible for recording specific transactions, deeds or spectacular events.  The wet clay could be moistened a little bit and erased like an old fashioned chalk board.  And of course if the document was not there when the destruction fire occured then it didn't get preserved.


Most of the events carved into stone over the centuries and millenia were intended to brag about someone's great feats.  Some may also have been documented for posterity so that doer of great deeds would never be forgotten but it also has a practical effect as well.  Usually the most important person in any of these textual remains is larger than all the rest.  So we can say he's the most important any probably was the king but he didn't really have to be called a king to get the message across that he was big enough and bad enough to slice and dice any would be contenders.


They didn't have CNN in that era but the wall at Beitan not only tells the words the sculptor was saying (or perhaps a script provided to the sculptor) about his king but even people who couldn't read could discern by the incised scenic artwork.  It does not take a literate person to scratch out letters in a rock.  That person rendering the script could have been looking at the message merely as another shape to be incised.  So then they may not be the thoughts of the artisan at all.


It is said that only the Babylonians gave both sides of the story that is the good things the king did as well as the not so good things; especially in what we call the Babylonian Chronicles.  In fact, Dr. Lipschits reports many archaeologists and historians believe the Babylonian Chronicles are more reliable sources of information than any others because they recorded both the bad and the good things the king did during the past year for that chronicle.  That may or may not be the fact.  The Babylonian Chronicles don't go into great detail for the most part.  They were sort of a public record written in language that is rather dry and straight to the point.  There is a very little editorializing; plain language for what we might call " transparency in government" today.


Perhaps one of the toughest responsibilities of an archaeologist is to interpret the finds; that is the physical evidence left behind by a specific culture.  The pioneering archaeologists had the luxury of a blank paper tablet to identify and interpret a lot of excavations finds.  Over the centuries of archaeology becoming an actual scientifically modified social science, we have learned not every idea is correct; in fact very few of them stand the test of time.  Although the idea " the theory" may have appeared to be sound, future excavation often reputes many of them.

The following post is in answer to a comment pertaining to the subject of many people writing a plethora of treatises that Moses is a myth in the Coursera course, The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem, taught by Oded Lipschits, et al. Coursera Link: https://www.coursera.org/

 As some of my grown children remind me - on a daily basis, if they believed there is a God they couldn't do a lot of what they want to do. I imagine many people deny the existence of God for the same reason. The problem then becomes the Bible, in their opinion, is rendered moot; including all of the characters contained therein. Even when these people are faced with concrete evidence of one of those characters (such as extra-Biblical evidence of Pontius Pilate) they choose to deny it's existence. [http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/pontius-pilate-faq.htm]

 Of course, being a student of Biblical archaeology, I have read many pro and con papers concerning Moses et al Biblical characters. They are theories! Theories are only ideas. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion (theory). What really bothers me the most is university graduates who cannot understand a theory is NOT a PROVEN (nor often even tested because it's impossible to do so) fact. A theory is NOT empirical evidence.

I imagine how this subject relates to our current course is that all of the theories presented are the individual professor's ideas; however much studied they may be. To our Prof. Lipschits' credit, he presents the opposing theories in the optional readings. That particular find was done by Ron Wyatt originally among many other finds along the Sinai. There is a video on "Youtube" filmed by Ron Wyatt.

Wyatt, now deceased was a nurse and self taught in archaeology and it is said he did take some courses in archaeology while he was in college. He founded a small archaeological institute. Wyatt was attacked and defamed by many world renowned archaeologists and called a 'crackpot' for thinking outside of the box. In reality his theories are no less valid than anyone else's. He presented his conclusions of his findings with no concern about what others thought probably partly because he was dying of cancer. Young students of archaeology in the past decade have been visiting and documenting some of the same sites Wyatt recorded fifty years ago.

The most important part of being a scientist of any kind is to keep an open mind. If I find something and I cannot move it to a museum or university for study then some scientist needs to go observe it him/her self before denouncing it. Students of archaeology learn this in first semester of grad school. However, in the field, the name of the archaeologist is most important in what colleagues decide is valid or not with NO observation. Opposing viewpoints are often not spoken until that great of archaeology has passed on. Cowardice!

I suppose, before someone jumps to an incorrect conclusion, I should tell you what I think about this particular "find". I don't know if it is real or not! I have not seen it up close with my own eyeballs nor have I touched it with my own two hands. I am a skeptic at heart, anyways...just ask my husband! If he says it you can bet I don't buy it; we have been married close to 1/2 century.What I do believe is that we have no right to make a judgement without a great deal of further study.

Exploitation of Children in the Philippines

Today I want to share what I have learned about Human Trafficking.I apologize that formatting seems to not be working...the infor is in one large block rather than nice neat paragraphs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG27J9YouOw&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 "Youtube Slide/Power Point Presentation"

THE PROBLEM: Exploitation of children in the Philippines is primarily due to poverty. Unfortunately, it covers sexual, domestic workers and agricultural fields. In this presentation we will deal with Cybersex exploitation of children, which has become a way of life for many families in the Philippines. Some of the parents have actually convinced themselves it's OK because nobody is actually touching the child except themselves; to themselves or children one to another. The perpetrator or client, requesting the "show" is often many thousands of miles away. We know sexual exploitation is not right because it damages the child's psyche. However the parents are looking at a way of supporting their family without having (some are economically not able to do so) to leave the Philippines to do it. That it is against the law means little to a starving family.

 The following are some documents which tell us what is happening but only on rare occasion do the documents address the fact of why it's happening. "Police say the Philippines has emerged as the key hub of a billion-dollar cybersex industry where most of the victims are under 18 but some are as young as two...A Philippine National Police report said the streaming is being done inside hotel rooms, private houses and shanties in impoverished areas of 31 Philippine provinces, including the island of Cebu, a cybersex hotspot where several child pornography rings have been identified and disrupted with scores of children rescued..operating next to a nursery in a secluded village on Cebu..." (Linsay Murdock; Fairfax Media, July 2014) [Emphasis mine] Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/philippine-children-exploited-in-billiondollar-webcam-paedophilia-industry-20140708-zszsd.html#ixzz3CBjqnfJc

"Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD) recorded 361 child pornography cases from 2009 to 2012. See more at: http://diversityhuman.com/hollywood/index.php/Editorials/child-pornography-in-philippines-prevalent-child-sex-abuse-poor-children#sthash.vdDlsLdf.dpuf "Fathers and mothers would bring their children here to, and would get paid by the owner of the house," he said. He explained the property owner forced her own children to "perform" for foreigners using a webcam. Other people in the community who heard there was money to be made then brought their children too." (Angus Crawford; BBC News,Jan 15, 2014) http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-25729140# "

According to the US labor department, Filipino children, “primarily girls, are trafficked from rural to urban areas for forced domestic service and commercial sex exploitation. There are no reports of children in the government Armed Forces in the Philippines, but child soldiering is a problem among anti-government and terrorist organizations.“ http://angelroar.com/b-child-abuse-news/philippines-has-some-of-the-worst-cases-of-child-abuse

What Is Being Done About The Problem There are a safe houses where a child can find assistance from social workers, teachers, churches and from concerned private citizens. Below are some links to different agencies helping battle this problem on the front lines. There are many many more with a simple search of " sexual exploitation of children in the Philippines". A special task force has been installed that investigates and makes arrests of exploiters. The task force works with other countries to attempt to prevent sexual exploitation from foreign tourists. The most exciting development is the street teacher program. It is providing homeless or street children with an education even if they can't attend schools. It's similar to what we want to do in the north of Luzon. Those children don't have access to this street education program available in the larger cities.

More Solutions At this point in time the children in our target area are trafficked in two ways: as agriculture workers and as beggars. They are referred to as beggar children. There is a large problem with drug usage by their parents and their older siblings. The plan is to provide a means of legal income for the parents; adequate to care for their families and allow the children time off to go to school. We will teach English to the children so that they can be successful in school because only English is allowed in the school system. We will also offer English as a second language (ESL) classes and vocational skills/appropriate level schooling to the adults allowing them to be better equipped for the job market. We realize until we actually get there and observe the situation and learn the customs of the local people, our ideas are just that; theories. However, some middle class people have set aside land to build a small school, and have volunteered to help in whatever capacity they can. I wanted to do the research for this assignment on where we plan to be in order to understand what why and how. I have found that it's much worse than I ever imagined or have been told about from my friends in the Philippines. That only makes it more critical we get there to do something.

This site has the current law for the Philippines which is called The Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act. The penalties are severe, yet many sources identify the Philippines as the worst offender world wide. The question is not that it is but why is it so? "...the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation set up an anti-child abuse division - the first squad dedicated to fighting child abuse in the country. www.congress.gov.ph/download/ra_08/Ra07610.pdf The bill was passed in 1991. "...the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation set up an anti-child abuse division - the first squad dedicated to fighting child abuse in the country...Two of the three foreigners so far convicted for child abuse in a Philippine government get-tough policy have been British. Steven Mitchell, 44, is serving 17 years for sexual activities with small boys and Michael Clarke, 50, is serving 16 years for organising sex tours...UK police pass on warnings when known and suspected paedophiles and other serious criminals travel to the Philippines." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/08/0830/phil.shtml "Street Educators are the frontline field workers who reach out to street children and conduct education sessions on life skills, ethics, vocational training etc. They conduct sessions five-days-a-week (Tuesdays to Saturdays, 4pm-9pm). They are professionally-trained social workers or teachers." http://childhope.hope.org.ph/projects--activities.html

Public Programs Against Human Trafficking: http://www.childhood.org/ http://angelroar.com/ http://childhope.hope.org.ph/

In that time of ancient history, the era of the Judges, it was not unusual for a conquering king to require his new subjects to either worship his own god (or gods) or suffer the penalty of death. In our time, that's a very hard thing to understand. Most of today's world lives in religious tolerance. But if we understand where these ancient people were coming from perhaps we can understand why they believed the way they did. Primarily, the ancients truly believed if their gods were slighted it would bring misfortune, perhaps even death on a grand scale, to their nation. We can find documentation from Babylon, the city of Ur, several other civilizations, and especially Rome. There is a plethora of evidence, both textual and physical, confirming such. A Google search will produce thousands of hits. It's important to us to understand this concept. We, of the western world, have let our nations become inundated with atheists and agnostics. We have given up our national allegiance to our heavenly father to not hurt the feelings of the people who do not believe in a Divine Creator. Of course we would not wish to discriminate against the non religious population. However, so many polls show that they are the minority; not the majority. How is it they have been able to change our laws, our school systems, our text books and our overall philosophy of life? The sense of community has been a part of humanity since man appeared on the earth. The reason for the early culture's requirement of following and honoring a specific deity is still applicable today. The United States of America was founded as a Christian nation. Our school system in the past century has taught us and our children that our heavenly God is dead, and we are the true gods. Such an idea is absolutely in dire contrast to the traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs of the western world and much of the eastern nations, as well. It's easy for those who have a personal relationship with God to know, He exists.

I wanted to share this with my friends and family. I hope I made the point that HE is in charge, always and defended Him to the atheists well. Dolores B Davis June 12, 2014 The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future Presented by Dr Jacob Wright, Emory University Discussion Forum: Week 3 How did Judahite communities really live after the destruction of 587 BCE? To answer this question: (a) Reflect on how textual and archaeological sources provide varying accounts of post-conquest life. (b) Consider the possible motivations behind the written sources. In what ways might these motivations have affected the depiction of the community? (c) Explore how we can best use sources to reconstruct an image of Judahite living after the Babylonian conquest. A: Textual vs Archaeological Hard Evidence: After being exiled to Babylonia the Judahites in Persia apparently adopted some of the culture of that empire. As might be expected the Elders were probably concerned the young people might fall away from Judaism. Some scholars suggest there were no great literary works from Judah until their sojourn in Babylon as noted by Dr. Finkelstein. They base that claim on the absence of written records from the appropriate levels prior to the Assyrian siege. [THE QUEST FOR THE HISTORICAL ISRAEL (Finkelstein, Israel; Mazar, Amihai (2012-01-01). The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel (Archaeology and biblical studies) . Society of Biblical Literature. Kindle Edition.)] The lack of evidence may merely be because of the great destruction levels in the eighth and the sixth centuries. Papyri nor vellum would make it through the destructive fires so many archeologists have reported at those two specific layers. One has to find it rather hard to understand why Judah wouldn't have written language when all the countries around Judah did. Such an idea smacks of assuming the Judahites and the Israelites were backward country bumpkins. We know from the Bible and from extra Biblical sources Solomon communicated via letters with his father in law. Although there are various percentages given by different archaeologists, not more than 10% of the sites have actually been excavated and none of them in their entirety. Over the past nearly two centuries, since the birth of archaeology, much information has been gleaned and many artifacts have been recovered. In the early part of the first century of archaeology, however, a great deal of artefacts were damaged, destroyed or removed from context; sometimes rendering the finds useless. Neither Israel nor Judah wrote on wet clay tablets which would have become permanent documents when their cities were incinerated. The treasure hunters wanted pottery, silver and gold objects for profit...one has to wonder how many fragments were overlooked, mislaid and downright destroyed. The Judahites (and Israelites) left behind after the 586 BC destuction didn't have much left to work with. Their fields and orchards were decimated, flocks destroyed. They wouldn't have had much spare time for the frivolous idea of leaving us notes in their struggle to survive. B: Possible Motivations To Write a History: Several have already commented using the common sense ideas of why the Jews in Babylon felt the need to construct a history for themselves. There are practical reasons also. The Judahites and the Israelites both knew they were called by God to bring His message to the world. Even if the younger generation didn't know it, the elders did. A nation had lost everything that was dear to them except their memories, traditions and purpose. In order to maintain their culture, writing down their history seems the best way to preserve it; much like an individual keeping a diary for successive generations. If it wasn't written before, there is some evidence among Native American tribes that oral traditions can be kept for centuries by mere memorization. I have witnessed Native American elders teaching the younger generation songs and stories. The children repeat verbatim. As for political reasons...it seems silly that a nation of people not in their homeland would have political agendas but culturally speaking it would be a great way to share with all living generations so they wouldn't forget who they were. Apparantly some of the descendants either didn't have access to this information or they chose to ignore it and adopt Babylonian culture such as Dr. Wright spoke of on the island of Elephantina. We see that happening in history many times. Native Americans were absorbed into the United States primarily Anglo Saxon culture, South American Natives were absorbed into the Spanish culture, Hawaiians and other Pacific island peoples absorbed into the primarily Anglo Saxon culture of the United States. Even today, we are witnessing Middle Eastern born young people, who have immigrated to the United States, choosing to ignore their familial culture; adopting American mores and lifestyles. By writing down and teaching cultural traditions to the young people, a culture can be saved or renewed. No matter how hard the Spanish, the Americans, the English, the French or the Canadians tried to stamp out aboriginal culture it survived. At first it was totally oral and as the natives became literate they wrote books containing their histories and cultural traditions. Native American pottery, jewelry, and costumes have adapted over the generations to style and material availability such as the Navajo raising sheep and spinning wool for clothing and blankets. However, there are some traditionalists who still use ancient patterns on their pottery and in their weaving. Still, their morality teaching stories have not changed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoyah C: Reconstructing Judahite life after Babylonian captivity: I am not convinced we can actually reconstruct Judahite society from the information that we have right now. There are still many more sites to be excavated. Ancient Persia is not exactly a safe place to dig at the present time even if we were allowed to do so. There has been a great deal of strife in that part of the world for the last century. Secondly, only a small portion of the tablets recovered at Babylon and Nineva have been translated according to several scholars. According to Dr. Johnson C Philip (c. 2007 in class lectures) some of the textual information recovered cannot be read at the present time because the letters are sealed inside fired clay envelopes. To open those envelopes would do a great deal of damage. They are being saved until technology can allow archaeologists to view the information inside without breaking the precious envelopes.http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/05/06_tablet.shtml Thirdly, theories are only ideas; all be it educated guesses. As archaeologists we look at all the evidence that is available and try to tell a story; a plausible story. Ten different archaeologists might have 10 totally different interpretations of the very same evidence. I am reminded of my very first archaeology class in 1976. There was this role of string with a gold clip on it in our lab session that not one single student could figure out what was. Dr. Argeullas finally told us it was elephant hair used as money in some parts of Asia. In a class of about 30 there were at least 25 different guesses. We held it in our hands, we felt it, we stared at it for hours, we collaborated, we reasoned but none of our guesses even came close to what it really was. More than likely we will find Judahite life during the Babylonian captivity is somewhere in the middle between the maximalist and minimalist ideas; that is, somewhere between what's archaeological recoveries suggest and what the Bible's narratives tell us. From the dawn of mankind man has survived by adaptation to his circumstances.

I finished the Master's Bib Arch some time ago but have been taking some arch courses through Coursera to keep abreast of new discoveries. TGSAT; http://www.trinitytheology.org/ great programs at Trinity...hard work but well worth it...I have learned so much...I am at the place where at least I know which questions to research and some of what I don't yet know! I have found many new sources of free MOOC (massive open online course. So far, I have only taken courses through TGSAT and Coursera. They were all great learning experiences. I am enrolled in The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future (through Coursera)by Dr. Jacob L. Wright of Emory University at present...Dr Wright has a unique viewpoint of King David. I have already learned some more of the Mesopotamian tablets have been deciphered since the writing of the program for the Master's...and this course will introduce us to deciphering manuscripts in the next couple of weeks. I have wondered how scolars can read inormation in a "dead language format". But God is good...there is a "Rosetta Stone" in just about every major ancient city...not THE Rosetta Stone but something along the same lines...the ancients have written the contents in 3 or more languages...allowing us the opportunity of understanding (at least literally understanding) what is written in the unknown language/s. I thought it was interesting some of the ancient textual information is in the form of copies of letters written for a variety of state reasons. The letters are in envelopes, as well. The bad news is the letters and the envelope are both made of clay and have been 'fired' during seige. In order to get out the letter one must break the envelope. Wisely archaeologists have not done that and we are at a technological stage we are begiining to be able to see inside the envelope without damaging it. This same technology is helpful for rolled scrolls which might perish if unrolled and for viewing script on the back sides of wall stones without dislodging them. It is the same technology used to "layer" xray people.

Our school president, Dr Johnson C. Philip, videotaped a series of lectures for Summer Camp 2013. The theme is on the scripture "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" II Timothy 3:16. It's such an awesome lecture I wanted to share it with all my friends. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkZ8DeMLWhQ