Depuis la decouverte des manuscrits de la mer Morte en 1947 et les fouilles de R. de Vaux (1949-5... more Depuis la decouverte des manuscrits de la mer Morte en 1947 et les fouilles de R. de Vaux (1949-56), la petite communaute essenienne continue d'attirer l'attention du grand public. L'importance du site a aussi attise de multiples abus scientifiques, des proces et des pretentions non prouvees de la part de savants comme de non-specialistes depuis les annees 1960. Les fouilles recentes (2000-02) qui continuent de faire les gros titres avec la pretention d'avoir decouvert Jean le frere de Jesus, Jean-Baptiste, le Maitre de Justice et des cercueils en zinc sont des exemples de ce manque d'integrite scientifique qui empoisonnent l'archeologie de Qumrân.
that the renowned Israeli archaeologist, the late Professor Yigael Yadin excavated the site. Sinc... more that the renowned Israeli archaeologist, the late Professor Yigael Yadin excavated the site. Since the 1990s much has been written about Yadin's interpretation of the site (Magness 1992; Ben-Yahuda 1995; Zias 2000) as well as the accuracy of Josephus reporting of events (Cohen 1982). Josephus reported that 960 Jews committed suicide; the skeletal remains of 25 found buried in a cave outside the southern wall1 and 3 found
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 1989
While the bible and later rabbinic literature were never intended to be medical texts, a wealth o... more While the bible and later rabbinic literature were never intended to be medical texts, a wealth of information regarding Syro-Palestinian medical practices and folk beliefs can be ascertained from their study. True leprosy, or Hansen's disease as it is called today, is well known to the lay public because of its biblical association. Few are aware, however, that biblical leprosy was not the leprosy we know of today. When Hansen's disease eventually arrived in the eastern Mediterranean region there was much confusion regarding its etiology, due partly to the complicated way in which the disease manifests itself. As a result, erroneous assumptions correlated the disease with forbidden sexual practices. That confusion eventually led to the disease being used metaphorically by various religious communities to slander one another.
Avant le IVe s., impossibilite de distinguer sepulture juive et sepulture chretienne. Tombe fouil... more Avant le IVe s., impossibilite de distinguer sepulture juive et sepulture chretienne. Tombe fouillee par des anthropologues ; 51 individus ; repartition par âge ; maladies
Y a-t-il eu des femmes a Qumrân ? En decrivant les esseniens comme de farouches celibataires, les... more Y a-t-il eu des femmes a Qumrân ? En decrivant les esseniens comme de farouches celibataires, les textes des historiens antiques incitent a repondre par la negative. Pourtant, au debut des annees 50, Roland de Vaux mit au jour, dans le cimetiere de Qumrân, ce que l'on crut etre des tombes de femmes et d'enfants appartenant a la communaute. Finalement, il n'en est rien. Une recente etude des ossements et des documents relatifs aux fouilles de l'epoque a permis de reattribuer ces sepultures a un groupe de bedouins qui enterrait la ses morts, il y a seulement quelques centaines d'annees.
The imposing stone monument in the Kidron valley, popularly known as the tomb of Absalom, is undo... more The imposing stone monument in the Kidron valley, popularly known as the tomb of Absalom, is undoubtedly the best known of all Jerusalem's ancient monuments. While viewing a photograph of the tomb of Absalom in 2000, one of the authors was surprised to discover a faintly visible two-line Greek inscription crudely incised above the original tomb entrance that had gone unnoticed or centuries. The inscription, which the authors date to the middle of the fourth century CE, identifies the tomb as belonging to Zachariah the martyr, but which Zachariah? And why did Byzantine tradition have him sharing the tomb with Simeon, another important figure in the early Christian period, who is identified in a second inscription on the tomb?
L'estampage de l'autre inscription reperee lors du dechiffrement de l'inscription de ... more L'estampage de l'autre inscription reperee lors du dechiffrement de l'inscription de Zacharie sur ce tombeau a confirme la sepulture du Vieillard Simeon dans ce monument de la vallee de Josaphat d'apres les traditions byzantines locales. L'auteur de l'inscription connaissait manifestement Lc 2,25 de la tradition Koine. Mais nulle trace de la sepulture de Jacques n'y ayant ete reperee, il faut chercher leur sepulture commune dans la chapelle byzantine construite devant le monolithe communement designe aujourd'hui « Tombeau de Zacharie », ce que confirme la presence d'un graffito.
La discussion sur la déformation crânienne artificielle observée au Proche Orient au Néolithique,... more La discussion sur la déformation crânienne artificielle observée au Proche Orient au Néolithique, amorcée par Lambert à partir de six crânes trouvés sur le site de Ganj Dareh (Iran) est reprise ici. Lambert considérait, pour la région, ces crânes comme étant les plus ...
Cette note publie une inscription grecque gravée au-dessus de la porte d'entrée du tombeau-m... more Cette note publie une inscription grecque gravée au-dessus de la porte d'entrée du tombeau-mémorial dit d'Absalom dans la Vallée de Josaphat. Les Byzantins ont fait de ce monument funéraire le tombeau du grand-prêtre Zacharie, père de Jean-Baptiste et martyr, en l' ...
Crucifixion and the cross continue to fascinate religious believers and non-believers alike. But ... more Crucifixion and the cross continue to fascinate religious believers and non-believers alike. But the history of both remains poorly understood. Archaeologists, biblical scholars, and others have long pointed to the "crucified man from Giv'at Ha-Mivtar" as the earliest, indeed only, evidence of crucifixion. But they have consistently failed to point out that what appears to be the only direct evidence of crucifixion in the ancient world is, in fact, a fragmentary and heavily restored calcaneum, or heel.
Depuis la decouverte des manuscrits de la mer Morte en 1947 et les fouilles de R. de Vaux (1949-5... more Depuis la decouverte des manuscrits de la mer Morte en 1947 et les fouilles de R. de Vaux (1949-56), la petite communaute essenienne continue d'attirer l'attention du grand public. L'importance du site a aussi attise de multiples abus scientifiques, des proces et des pretentions non prouvees de la part de savants comme de non-specialistes depuis les annees 1960. Les fouilles recentes (2000-02) qui continuent de faire les gros titres avec la pretention d'avoir decouvert Jean le frere de Jesus, Jean-Baptiste, le Maitre de Justice et des cercueils en zinc sont des exemples de ce manque d'integrite scientifique qui empoisonnent l'archeologie de Qumrân.
that the renowned Israeli archaeologist, the late Professor Yigael Yadin excavated the site. Sinc... more that the renowned Israeli archaeologist, the late Professor Yigael Yadin excavated the site. Since the 1990s much has been written about Yadin's interpretation of the site (Magness 1992; Ben-Yahuda 1995; Zias 2000) as well as the accuracy of Josephus reporting of events (Cohen 1982). Josephus reported that 960 Jews committed suicide; the skeletal remains of 25 found buried in a cave outside the southern wall1 and 3 found
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 1989
While the bible and later rabbinic literature were never intended to be medical texts, a wealth o... more While the bible and later rabbinic literature were never intended to be medical texts, a wealth of information regarding Syro-Palestinian medical practices and folk beliefs can be ascertained from their study. True leprosy, or Hansen's disease as it is called today, is well known to the lay public because of its biblical association. Few are aware, however, that biblical leprosy was not the leprosy we know of today. When Hansen's disease eventually arrived in the eastern Mediterranean region there was much confusion regarding its etiology, due partly to the complicated way in which the disease manifests itself. As a result, erroneous assumptions correlated the disease with forbidden sexual practices. That confusion eventually led to the disease being used metaphorically by various religious communities to slander one another.
Avant le IVe s., impossibilite de distinguer sepulture juive et sepulture chretienne. Tombe fouil... more Avant le IVe s., impossibilite de distinguer sepulture juive et sepulture chretienne. Tombe fouillee par des anthropologues ; 51 individus ; repartition par âge ; maladies
Y a-t-il eu des femmes a Qumrân ? En decrivant les esseniens comme de farouches celibataires, les... more Y a-t-il eu des femmes a Qumrân ? En decrivant les esseniens comme de farouches celibataires, les textes des historiens antiques incitent a repondre par la negative. Pourtant, au debut des annees 50, Roland de Vaux mit au jour, dans le cimetiere de Qumrân, ce que l'on crut etre des tombes de femmes et d'enfants appartenant a la communaute. Finalement, il n'en est rien. Une recente etude des ossements et des documents relatifs aux fouilles de l'epoque a permis de reattribuer ces sepultures a un groupe de bedouins qui enterrait la ses morts, il y a seulement quelques centaines d'annees.
The imposing stone monument in the Kidron valley, popularly known as the tomb of Absalom, is undo... more The imposing stone monument in the Kidron valley, popularly known as the tomb of Absalom, is undoubtedly the best known of all Jerusalem's ancient monuments. While viewing a photograph of the tomb of Absalom in 2000, one of the authors was surprised to discover a faintly visible two-line Greek inscription crudely incised above the original tomb entrance that had gone unnoticed or centuries. The inscription, which the authors date to the middle of the fourth century CE, identifies the tomb as belonging to Zachariah the martyr, but which Zachariah? And why did Byzantine tradition have him sharing the tomb with Simeon, another important figure in the early Christian period, who is identified in a second inscription on the tomb?
L'estampage de l'autre inscription reperee lors du dechiffrement de l'inscription de ... more L'estampage de l'autre inscription reperee lors du dechiffrement de l'inscription de Zacharie sur ce tombeau a confirme la sepulture du Vieillard Simeon dans ce monument de la vallee de Josaphat d'apres les traditions byzantines locales. L'auteur de l'inscription connaissait manifestement Lc 2,25 de la tradition Koine. Mais nulle trace de la sepulture de Jacques n'y ayant ete reperee, il faut chercher leur sepulture commune dans la chapelle byzantine construite devant le monolithe communement designe aujourd'hui « Tombeau de Zacharie », ce que confirme la presence d'un graffito.
La discussion sur la déformation crânienne artificielle observée au Proche Orient au Néolithique,... more La discussion sur la déformation crânienne artificielle observée au Proche Orient au Néolithique, amorcée par Lambert à partir de six crânes trouvés sur le site de Ganj Dareh (Iran) est reprise ici. Lambert considérait, pour la région, ces crânes comme étant les plus ...
Cette note publie une inscription grecque gravée au-dessus de la porte d'entrée du tombeau-m... more Cette note publie une inscription grecque gravée au-dessus de la porte d'entrée du tombeau-mémorial dit d'Absalom dans la Vallée de Josaphat. Les Byzantins ont fait de ce monument funéraire le tombeau du grand-prêtre Zacharie, père de Jean-Baptiste et martyr, en l' ...
Crucifixion and the cross continue to fascinate religious believers and non-believers alike. But ... more Crucifixion and the cross continue to fascinate religious believers and non-believers alike. But the history of both remains poorly understood. Archaeologists, biblical scholars, and others have long pointed to the "crucified man from Giv'at Ha-Mivtar" as the earliest, indeed only, evidence of crucifixion. But they have consistently failed to point out that what appears to be the only direct evidence of crucifixion in the ancient world is, in fact, a fragmentary and heavily restored calcaneum, or heel.
In 1971 I penned the following MA thesis, Negro Folk Medicine In An Urban environment: a Functio... more In 1971 I penned the following MA thesis, Negro Folk Medicine In An Urban environment: a Functional Analysis. Living, teaching in the ghetto of Detroit, left an unforgettable impression on the hardships therein and what transpired when the urban poor were and are victimized by the American health care system. As a result, lack of access to the system left many with but one alternative ‘folk medicine’, handed down generation after generation from the Antebellum South. Its origin lay not in Africa from whence they came, but in Europe as the slave holders, many of they themselves poorly educated, needed to protect the health of their ‘investment’. Today, nearly five decades later, the sheer neglect of Americas poorer citizens, by the medical establishment in which health has long been regarded as a privilege than a right, continues to be an indictment of the system and ‘Big Pharm’ in particular. In effect, it perpetuates what it is obligated to remedy. Folk medicine for the inner city poor thus, was not a viable alternative, but time and again, their only option.
DNA from fossil human bones can provide valuable information for understanding intra-and inter-po... more DNA from fossil human bones can provide valuable information for understanding intra-and inter-population relationships. Using the DNA preserved inside crystal aggregates from human fossil bones containing relatively large amounts of collagen, we demonstrate the presence of reproducible mtDNA control region sequences. Radiocarbon dates from each bone show that the burial caves were used for up to 600 years during the Chalcolithic period (5 th-4 th millennium BP). A comparison of the ancient DNA sequences with modern mtDNA databases indicates that all samples can most likely be assigned to the R haplogroup sub-clades, which are common in West-Eurasia. In four cases more precise and confident haplogroup identifications could be achieved (H, U3a and H6). The H haplogroup is present in three out of the four assigned ancient samples. This hap-logroup is prevalent today in West-Eurasia. The results reported here tend to genetically link this Chalcolithic group of individuals to the current West Eurasian populations. Abbreviations: aDNA, ancient DNA; CRS, Cambridge Reference Sequence; mtDNA, mitochon-drial DNA; HVS-I, Hypervariable segment 1. Data deposition: The sequences reported in this paper have been deposited in the GenBank database (accession nos. EF060054-EF060059, DQ020117).
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Papers by Joe Zias
Today, nearly five decades later, the sheer neglect of Americas poorer citizens, by the medical establishment in which health has long been regarded as a privilege than a right, continues to be an indictment of the system and ‘Big Pharm’ in particular. In effect, it perpetuates what it is obligated to remedy. Folk medicine for the inner city poor thus, was not a viable alternative, but time and again, their only option.