From Texts to Scribes: Evidence for Writing in Ancient Israel
What do we know about ancient Israel’s scribal culture? Can two words in the biblical text, the verb ‘write’ (katav) and the noun ‘scribe’ (sofer) help us understand the
Why Did the World End in 1200 BCE?
The year 1200 BCE has iconic status in histories of the ancient world. But did an English polymath and a German historian who liked round numbers foist this on the world?
Cognitive Science and the Ancient Near Eastern Religious Imagination
Ancient religions imagined all sorts of animals and demons. Cognitive science suggests how humans understood these hybrids, and when they became too much to comprehend.
Neo-Assyrian Legal Practices – Law Without Lawyers
Assyria in the first millennium BCE was filled with lawsuits but no lawyers. What do we know about courts, evidence, criminal versus civil law, and ultimately, justice?