[Bonetools] FW: Sacred feasts in biblical Israel according to bones

[Etan Ayalon]

From: Tzvi Shacham [mailto:shtzvika at netvision.net.il]
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 8:12 AM
To: Etan Ayalon
Subject: FW: [agade] eNOTES: More on dinners at Tel Dan

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From: Jack Sasson <jack.m.sasson at vanderbilt.edu<mailto:jack.m.sasson at vanderbilt.edu>>
Date: 20 January 2014 00:51
Subject: [agade] eNOTES: More on dinners at Tel Dan
To: "The Agade mailing list." <agade at listserv.unc.edu<mailto:agade at listserv.unc.edu>>


From <http://asorblog.org/?p=6519>:
[Go there for many figs]
===========================

New Archaeological Data for the Study of Ancient Israelite Religion
and Society from Tel Dan
By: Jonathan S. Greer

Not all exciting archaeological discoveries, even those related to
Israelite religion, are made in field. Some come after the end of the
season, in the lab, or even long after the dig has concluded, after
scouring records and analyzing material from storerooms. I have had
the privilege of working with previously excavated material from Tel
Dan (Fig. 1) and recently published an analysis in a new book, Dinner
at Dan: Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sacred Feasts at Iron
Age II Tel Dan and Their Significance. I am delighted to share some of
my analysis and conclusions from this publication. These results point
to a remarkable convergence of Biblical and archaeological data.

The book explores biblical and archaeological evidence for sacred
feasting at Tel Dan and evaluates the historicity, nature, and
significance of these events from the late 10th through mid-8th
centuries BCE. Each data set, biblical and archaeological, is
addressed independently before drawing out the significance of these
(re-)constructed events for the study of ancient Israelite religion
and society. This précis covers some of the significant archaeological
findings from the project.

The archaeological section is based on my analysis of seven feasting
deposits from the Iron Age II “sacred precinct” (Area T, with its
famous series of altar platforms) at Tel Dan excavated by Avraham
Biran primarily in the 1980s and 1990s (Fig. 2 & 3). These were
identified by carefully working through all extant documentation and,
in consultation with the current project director David Ilan and one
of the longtime Area T supervisors, Ross Vos, noting relatively secure
loci with high concentrations of ceramic and animal bone remains.
Eight such loci were identified throughout the precinct forming seven
distinct concentrations; two were clearly pits and all appear to
represent intentional deposits rather than random scatter. Six of
these are discussed here.

These six concentrations are located in two separate areas within Area
T, the first clustered in the courtyard around the central altar
structure that is present in all Iron Age II phases of activity and
the second in a specific space of the western chamber complex (Fig.
4). My analysis of the ceramic and animal bone remains from these six
deposits highlighted both similarities and differences, and in many
cases demonstrated significant contrasts between the deposits of the
western chambers and those of the courtyard. The areas were used very
differently, but by whom?

Similarities among the deposits included the various species
represented by the animal bones – almost entirely sheep, goats, and
cattle – as well as numerous cut marks (Fig. 5) and breakage patterns
(Fig. 6) on the bones associated with eating activities. The ceramic
remains from the deposits, too, include evidence of eating based on
high proportions of cooking pots, as well as other dining vessels
(Fig. 7).

Together, the faunal and ceramic evidence suggest that each stage of
the foodway process – from animal slaughter and processing, to the
preparation, distribution, consumption, and deposition – took place in
this area. That these activities took place within an area with
religious significance, as demonstrated by architectural features and
cultic paraphernalia, justifies identifying these activities as cultic
feasts on archaeological grounds alone.

But detailed analyses revealed more subtle variations. Differences
between the two groups of deposits, those of the western chambers and
those of the courtyard, included four statistically significant
patterns of non-random distribution observed in 1) proportions of
different species, 2) right-sided to left-sided portions, 3), painted
to unpainted diagnostic ceramic sherds, and 4) phalanges (“toe bones”)
to meaty long bone fragments (Fig. 8). In the western chambers there
was a higher proportion of sheep/goat remains than cattle, a higher
percentage of right-sided limb portions (Fig. 9), and a greater
proportion of decorative ceramic wares, compared to the deposits of
the courtyard. Most striking was the higher percentage of phalanges in
the western chambers that suggest the processing of animal skins,
since the hooves and the related bones (i.e., phalanges; see Figure 9)
were often left intact in processed skins.

Each of these four distinctly non-random distributions of faunal and
ceramic remains is curiously congruent with Avraham Biran’s original
association of the western chambers with Israelite priests, when
considered in light of priestly texts from the Hebrew Bible.

The increased percentages of sheep/goats may be explained by the datum
that in the offerings where the priests received a whole animal for
consumption (certain “sin” offerings; Leviticus 4:22-35; 5:6-10; 6:
18-20; and “guilt” offerings; Leviticus 7:1-7; 14:12-21) the victims
are always sheep or goats. Conversely, there are no such offerings of
cattle in which priests receive the entire animal for consumption. One
may conclude from the biblical texts that in a sacrificial setting the
percentage of sheep and goats consumed by priests would be higher than
that consumed by offerers, just as there is in the western chambers
compared to the courtyard.

More striking still is the higher percentage of right-sided portions
in the western chambers. In the biblical texts concerning the
“fellowship” offering, the priests are awarded the forelimb (in the
Septuagint) or hind-limb (in the Masoretic Text) of the animal. While
there appears to be evidence of different traditions and development
over time, when a side of the animal is specified (whether forelimb or
hind-limb) it is always the right-sided portion that is given to the
priest (cf. Exodus 29:27-28; Leviticus 7:32-33). The increased
percentage of right-sided limb portions is again consistent with
interpreting the western chambers as the domain of the priests.

Painted wares may also be viewed as indicating an elevated social
status or having specialized functions. The greater percentage of
painted wares in the western chambers may also strengthen association
with the priests.

Finally, the association of phalanges with priests makes sense in
light of biblical texts that assign the skin of animals destroyed by
fire in the regular “burnt” offerings (Leviticus 7:8) to the priests.
The percentage of bones associated with skin processing
activities—specifically phalanges attached to the skin—would be higher
in an area used by priests in a sacrificial setting than it would be
in an area used by offerers. This is the situation we have in the
western chambers, as compared to the courtyard.

As striking as these correspondences are, many questions remain. First
of all, can these archaeological indicators really be identified as
“Israelite,” or rather are they indicative of broader Levantine cultic
practices? Even if they could be identified as Israelite, can ritual
sections of the priestly texts that appear in the later edited forms
of the Hebrew Bible be regarded as applicable to interpreting Iron Age
practices? Above all, what is the significance of these archaeological
and textual correspondences for our understanding of Israelite
religion and society?

The evidence reviewed here reveals a remarkable “convergence,” to use
William Dever’s term, between the biblical texts and the
archaeological remains from Tel Dan. Overall, as I show in my book,
these data are mutually informative and together tell a story of
Israelite monarchs acting within a traditional Yahwistic religious
framework. These kings used the ancient and powerful practice of the
sacred feast to first unify tribal factions and then reinforce
hierarchies, political and religious developments that mirrored far
larger changes sweeping the region during the first millennium BCE.

In agreement with Aren Maeir’s recent comments in The Ancient Near
East Today, I suggest that today’s “biblical archaeology” demands a
rigorous, careful examination not only of archaeological remains but
also of the Bible in all its complexity. While I know well that not
all will be convinced by my conclusions, I hope that this study will
be viewed as striving to model for this approach and that will
encourage further efforts to re-integrate archaeology and biblical
studies in a responsible manner.

Jonathan Greer is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Grand Rapids
Theological Seminary.

Acknowledgements:
This work was only possible thanks to the access provided to the
unpublished Tel Dan remains by David Ilan and the cooperation of Ross
Vos. I am further indebted to Brian Hesse (z”l), my animal bone
mentor, and to my Doktorvaters B. Halpern and Gary Knoppers.

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