Pigs in Space (and Time): Pork Consumption and Identity Negotiations in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages of Ancient Israel

Pork consumption and avoidance became a major issue in the study of ancient Israel in the 1980s. Initial works associated massive consumption of pork with the Philistines and its avoidance with the Israelites, and despite the doubts cast by some later studies, the topic is still closely associated w...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Near Eastern archaeology
Main Author: Faust, Avi 1967- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: University of Chicago Press [2018]
In: Near Eastern archaeology
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Israel (Antiquity) / Pig / Diet / Bronze Age / Iron age
IxTheo Classification:BH Judaism
HB Old Testament
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Pork consumption and avoidance became a major issue in the study of ancient Israel in the 1980s. Initial works associated massive consumption of pork with the Philistines and its avoidance with the Israelites, and despite the doubts cast by some later studies, the topic is still closely associated with the study of Iron Age ethnic identities. The extensive data that has accumulated over the years, however, show that the distribution of pork-consuming communities in space and time is not random and, when examined in tandem with the wider social background of this era, can reveal a great deal about Iron Age group interactions and boundary maintenance. It appears that the arrival of the Philistines was a watershed as far as pork consumption was concerned, and in subsequent centuries pork consumption and avoidance correlate closely with the changing strategies of boundary maintenance used by the different groups residing in the region.
ISSN:2325-5404
Contains:Enthalten in: Near Eastern archaeology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5615/neareastarch.81.4.0276