November 2008 Archives
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November 30, 2008
The Kuttamuwa Stele: Another Preliminary Translation
Since John Hobbins was brave enough to go first and offer his translation of the Kuttamuwa stele inscription, I thought I would offer mine. A few disclaimers: I am an amateur in all you read on this blog. I am...Read all of "The Kuttamuwa Stele: Another Preliminary Translation"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:03 PM
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November 29, 2008
Increasingly Improbable or Somewhat Less Probable?
Khirbet-Qeiyafa has produced some abnormally interesting archaeological evidence including a potentially important ostracon in paleo-something or other. Aside from a few tantalizing hints, the ostracon has not been published and much of the archaeological evidence is not available. But this...Read all of "Increasingly Improbable or Somewhat Less Probable? "
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:23 AM
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November 28, 2008
Friday Loanword: šubû
Šubû in Akkadian is some kind of a gemstone. CAD Š3, 137, suggests that it is agate but I don't think this is much more than a guess. Mesopotamian craftsman used šubû to make both cylinder and ring seals but...Read all of "Friday Loanword: šubû"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:49 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 26, 2008
It's Not Only The Turkey
What makes you sleepy after that Thanksgiving dinner? Well, it may not be the Turkey. According to the Los Angeles Times it may be everything else. "You eat a ton of other food, and that makes you tired," says Jamie...Read all of "It's Not Only The Turkey"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:37 PM
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November 25, 2008
No One Is Immune From Criticism
One of his regular readers asked Aydin Örstan of Snail's Tales to share his thoughts concerning the "impact of blogging on the evolution versus creation debate." Aydin made several important observations but here is the real take home quotation. But...Read all of "No One Is Immune From Criticism"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:40 PM
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November 24, 2008
The Kuttamuwa Stele (Again)
Because I am not attending the SBL meeting this year, I'm sure missing a lot of fun. Of special interest was Pardee and Schloen's paper on the Kuttamuwa stele from Zincirli. Jim Getz has a complete transcription at Katuvim and...Read all of "The Kuttamuwa Stele (Again)"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:10 AM
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November 23, 2008
The Latest JNES Is Out
The October 2008 issue of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies is now out. Nothing exactly bowled me over, but you may find one or two of the papers and reviews abnormally interesting. The Table of Contents is online. You'll...Read all of "The Latest JNES Is Out"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:20 PM
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November 22, 2008
Four Stone Hearth Is Up
Four Stone Hearth 53 is up at Moneduloides and it looks like it's nearly all archaeology of one sort or another. Readers who share my abnormal interests will find several of the posts interesting. I particularly enjoyed Old Dirt -...Read all of "Four Stone Hearth Is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:37 PM
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November 21, 2008
Friday Loanword: šulmānu
Normally I start these posts with an exciting definition of some Akkadian word. But today, I thought I'd start with a few lines from the Tale of the Poor Man of Nippur. The story is about Gimil-Ninurta, a poor and...Read all of "Friday Loanword: šulmānu"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:33 PM
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November 19, 2008
Cuneiform Digital Library Update
Jay at mu-pàd-da tells us of updates to the Cuneiform Digital Library. I hadn't browsed this growing online reference for a while and his post gave me the motivation to do just that. Because of my own abnormal interests, I...Read all of "Cuneiform Digital Library Update"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:02 PM
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November 18, 2008
The Soul of Kuttamuwa
Since I am on the west coast and had to take my car in for servicing this morning just about everyone has already written on the latest news concerning the now famous Kuttamuwa Stele from Zinjirli. Chip Hardy posted the...Read all of "The Soul of Kuttamuwa"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:23 PM
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November 17, 2008
Gezer 2008 Season News Release
The Israel Antiquities Authority has released news of the 2008 season of excavations at Gezer. Nothing really earth shattering, but interesting nonetheless. While most of the work involved exposing Iron Age II remains, one probe did "uncovered a massive pillar...Read all of "Gezer 2008 Season News Release"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:58 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 16, 2008
Syria: Now Available At JSTOR
Back issues of the journal Syria are now available at JSTOR. Anyone who has access to a JSTOR account can now download papers from the 1920 through the 2002 volumes. Starting in 1929, the la revue Syria published the first...Read all of "Syria: Now Available At JSTOR"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:50 PM
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November 15, 2008
Friday Loanword (On Saturday): šaršerru
Akkadian šaršerru has a range of meanings all revolving around a red clay or paste and the color there of. In many contexts, it stands for a pigment or paint that is used on a person's face or the face...Read all of "Friday Loanword (On Saturday): šaršerru"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:18 PM
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November 13, 2008
Iron Age Burial Jars from Tyre
Archaeologists working at Tyre in Lebanon have discovered a large group of burial jars. This from Makfax Online, The cemetery dates to between the ninth and seventh centuries BC. "The importance of this cemetery is that it is located in...Read all of "Iron Age Burial Jars from Tyre"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:49 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 12, 2008
For Him Of Little Faith
The other day I exposed six not so random things about myself. But Aydin Örstan of Snail's Tales is a person of very little faith. He didn't believe that I ever rode a unicycle and left a comment calling for...Read all of "For Him Of Little Faith"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:08 PM
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November 11, 2008
Correcting A Possible False Impression
For abnormal reasons, I was looking through the preface of Gezer III and found the following paragraph that might give a false impression, The supervisory staff of Field VII West, under the direction of the author, were Chris Balcer, Pat...Read all of "Correcting A Possible False Impression"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:37 PM
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November 10, 2008
Six Not So Random Things About Me
Despite the fact that I've always been kind to him James McGrath tagged me with a meme. Below are the rules of this meme. I will try to follow rules 1, 2, 3 and 6. But I will also attempt...Read all of "Six Not So Random Things About Me"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:38 PM
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Photo Captions and Excavation Photographers
N. T. Wrong did an interesting post titled "Yigael Yadin, the Bible, Archaeology, and Orientalism - When Captions Precede their Photos." And after reading the good Bishop's post and the comments that follow, you may understand the following photograph. That...Read all of "Photo Captions and Excavation Photographers "
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:37 AM
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November 9, 2008
More On The Göbekli Tepe Complex
Back in January of 2006, I reported on Turkish Daily News, and Die Welt stories of the discovery of an old temple at Göbekli Tepe (neither article is currently available). At the time, I had more questions than these reports...Read all of "More On The Göbekli Tepe Complex"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:09 AM
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November 8, 2008
Free lunch and lecture: Mapping A Shared Past
I received this notice from the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture and thought my Southern California reader(s) might be interested. If you are in the area on Friday, plan to drop by for a free lunch and lecture....Read all of "Free lunch and lecture: Mapping A Shared Past"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:10 AM
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November 7, 2008
Friday Loanword: pilku
This Friday's loanword raises abnormally interesting problems of interpretation. The Akkadian, pilku, according to CAD, P, 375, has related meanings in the range of (A) boundary, border, district, (B) work assignment or sector for building buildings or walls or (C)...Read all of "Friday Loanword: pilku"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:01 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
November 6, 2008
This Is Our Moment
[My friend and teacher Loren Fisher wrote the following poem and kindly gave me permission to post it here.] This Is Our Moment Tremendous historical moments, Flashes of insight, these things amaze me. They renew our place among the nations;...Read all of "This Is Our Moment"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:54 PM
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A Still More Perfect Union
In order to form a more perfect union, I took the liberty of adding a couple of words to President Elect Obama's victory speech. I highlighted them in the quotation below. If there is anyone out there who still doubts...Read all of "A Still More Perfect Union"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:57 AM
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November 4, 2008
Congratulations Mr. President (Elect)
Now the real work begins for all of us. Lead us wisely and pragmatically. And please listen to as many differing voices as possible....Read all of "Congratulations Mr. President (Elect)"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:52 PM
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November 3, 2008
Election Paralysis
No, I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. However, I can't blog anything right now. I'm over at pollster, transfixed by tiny little movements in proportions not significantly different from 0.5. It's like popping bubble wrap; I can't...Read all of "Election Paralysis"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:38 PM
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November 2, 2008
There's Abnormal and There's Just Plain Weird
I have abnormal interests and Peter Bekins does "weird stuff." Go over to balshanut and see for yourself....Read all of "There's Abnormal and There's Just Plain Weird"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:45 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |