Considerations of Age and Demography for Early Christ Groups
Age is an integral part of social interaction and identity but has been largely neglected in studies of early Christ groups. An understanding of the demography (the study of population patterns) of first century Roman cultures in the ancient Mediterranean is critical if one is to avoid, as much as p...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the New Testament
Year: 2024, Volume: 46, Issue: 4, Pages: 579-606 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Old person (60-90 years)
/ Demography
/ Life expenctancy
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity ZB Sociology |
| Further subjects: | B
life expectancy
B kin B Demography B Social Identity B Age |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Age is an integral part of social interaction and identity but has been largely neglected in studies of early Christ groups. An understanding of the demography (the study of population patterns) of first century Roman cultures in the ancient Mediterranean is critical if one is to avoid, as much as possible, anachronistic and ethnocentric understandings of age in early Christ groups. Although average life expectancy at birth was low (mid-20s to early 30s), people did not expect to die young. This paper reviews ancient demographic evidence used to estimate life expectancy in the ancient Mediterranean (census data in papyri, funerary inscriptions, material culture and model life tables) and assesses Richard P. Saller’s simulation of the kin universe (1994). Clarifying the implications of demography is critical for studying the rhetoric and realities of age in early Christ groups in their ancient Mediterranean settings. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5294 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the New Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0142064X241249809 |