New Evidence on the Conquest of Ai

Callaway, Joseph A.

doi:10.2307/3263542

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…7-8 did not happen. Thirty years later, an expanded excavation by another archaeologist (Callaway, 1968) at the same site confirmed Marquet-Krause's conclusion and his soundings at several alternative locations for biblical Ai showed, by similar evidence-from-absence arguments, that none of them was inhabited in the relevant period. Actually, mentioned finding a few sherds that might belong to the Middle Bronze Age, and another archaeologist (Garstang, 1931) reported finding a Late Bronze potsherd there.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Inference from absence: the case of archaeology

Wallach

2019

Palgrave Commun

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Inferences from the absence of evidence to something are common in ordinary speech, but when used in scientific argumentations are usually considered deficient or outright false. Yet, as demonstrated here with the help of various examples, archaeologists frequently use inferences and reasoning from absence, often allowing it a status on par with inferences from tangible evidence. This discrepancy has not been examined so far. The article analyses it drawing on philosophical discussions concerning the validity of inference from absence, using probabilistic models that were originally developed to show that such inferences are weak and inconclusive. The analysis reveals that inference from absence can indeed be justified in many important situations of archaeological research, such as excavations carried out to explore the past existence and time-span of sedentary human habitation. The justification is closely related to the fact that archaeology explores the human past via its material remains. The same analysis points to instances where inference from absence can have comparable validity in other historical sciences, and to research questions in which archaeological inference from absence will be problematic or totally unwarranted.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Inference from absence: the case of archaeology

Wallach

2019

Palgrave Commun

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“…Early excavators at Ai immediately recognized the difficulties the site posed for the historical integrity of the biblical account.24 Though Ai was indeed once a monumental location covering 110 dunams, this impressive site existed only in the Early Bronze Age or the third millennium BCE (Callaway 1976;Finkelstein 1988). After ca.…”

Section: "Memory Is Of the Past": Epistemology And The Rival Claims Omentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2400 BCE the city was abandoned and remained so 23 So, for example , Sherratt 1990;Cramp 1993;Webster 2002;Niles 2007. 24 For a fascinating account of early attempts to reconcile the archaeological remains of Ai with the biblical narrative, see Callaway 1968. until the early Iron I period (twelfth century BCE), when a small village of ca. 10 dunams occupied a modest section of the already ancient acropolis (Callaway 1976).…”

Section: "Memory Is Of the Past": Epistemology And The Rival Claims Omentioning

confidence: 99%

“…24 For a fascinating account of early attempts to reconcile the archaeological remains of Ai with the biblical narrative, see Callaway 1968. until the early Iron I period (twelfth century BCE), when a small village of ca. 10 dunams occupied a modest section of the already ancient acropolis (Callaway 1976). The absence of any Late Bronze remains at Ai from the time when, presumably, the biblical account of Ai's destruction would have taken place25 thus came to form a serious impediment to those who read the narrative in Joshua 7-8 as a historical account of the early Israelite "conquest" of Canaan.…”

Section: "Memory Is Of the Past": Epistemology And The Rival Claims Omentioning

confidence: 99%

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Retracing a Remembered Past

Pioske

2015

Biblical Interpret

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Historians of the southern Levant have increasingly made recourse to the concept of memory as an analytical tool to examine the past recounted within the Hebrew Bible. The intent of this article is to review current approaches toward memory among these historians in order to consider certain theoretical questions raised within this research. Most significant of these will be concerns related to the epistemological relationship that obtains between those ancient, literary memories outlined within these investigations and that past reconstructed through the techniques of modern historical inquiry. The epistemological differences perceived between the past claimed by memory and history leads to the contention that historians charged with interpreting the referential claims of ancient texts informed by a community's shared memories must do so through a hermeneutical framework that is sensitive to memory's distinct epistemological underpinnings. This study then concludes by advocating for a post-positivist interpretive approach that situates the referential claims of a remembered past alongside a constellation of ancient referents, textual and material, that attest to the place and time being recollected in order to trace out the semblances and dissimilarities that emerge.

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“…Alt's theory has received further confirmation as the archaeological evidence has trickled in. This evidence shows that some of the cities whose conquest loomed largest in the biblical narrative, such as Jericho, Ai, and Gibeon, were uninhabited at the time of the settlement (see Kenyon 1957; Pritchard 1962, Callaway 1968, 1987; respectively).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion, Identity and the Origins of Ancient Israel

Sparks¹

2007

Religion Compass

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According to the Bible, early Israel originated as a group migrant slaves who escaped from Egypt, spent an extended time in the wilderness as pastoral nomads, and then fought their way into the highlands of Palestine. Because these events are not wholly confirmed by the archaeological and historical evidence, modern scholars are attempting to reconstruct Israel's early history on the basis of the archaeological evidence, ancient textual evidence, and a critical reading of the Bible. Scholars agree that the Israelites, or their ancestors, first appeared in the highlands of Palestine around 1200 bce. The key question is where these early highland settlers came from. At present, the most popular theory among scholars is that the settlers migrated into the highlands from the Canaanite lowlands, so that the earliest Israelites were essentially Canaanites. But that theory is now being questioned vigorously by scholars who accentuate the role of nomadic pastoralists in the highland settlements. In important ways, our understanding of Israelite religion and identity hinges on these important debates.

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New Evidence on the Conquest of Ai

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Inference from absence: the case of archaeology

Inference from absence: the case of archaeology

Retracing a Remembered Past

Religion, Identity and the Origins of Ancient Israel

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