December 2011 Archives
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December 31, 2011
This Marks The End Of Abnormal Blogging Until Next Year
Have a happy New Year. My New Year’s resolution is to stop using 2011 by mid-March 2012....Read all of "This Marks The End Of Abnormal Blogging Until Next Year"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:07 PM
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December 28, 2011
Early Bronze Age Burial Excavated In Syria
The Syrian Arab News Agency is reporting the discovery of an Early Bronze Age burial in the village of Sousan, 12 kilometers west of Ein al-Arab, Aleppo governorate. Excavators date the burial to c. 2150-2250 BCE. SANA Photograph He [Director...Read all of "Early Bronze Age Burial Excavated In Syria "
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:33 PM
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December 27, 2011
When A Snake Is A Harbinger of Peace Or A Son
I’m making what I hope is my final pass (for now) through the omens in Šumma ālu having protases that refer to a man, a woman, and a snake. Almost all of these omens have negative outcomes – “they will...Read all of "When A Snake Is A Harbinger of Peace Or A Son"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:47 AM
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December 26, 2011
Condemning Religious Intolerance Without Restricting Free Speech.
There is good news in the recent UN resolution on religious intolerance. For the first time in more than a decade, the U.N. General Assembly on Monday [that’s last Monday] condemned religious intolerance without urging states to outlaw “defamation of...Read all of "Condemning Religious Intolerance Without Restricting Free Speech. "
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:17 PM
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December 24, 2011
Have A Joyous, Merry, Happy One
To all who will celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, I wish you a joyous Christmas! To those who like me and most of my family celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday, Merry Christmas! Next only to Thanksgiving and my...Read all of "Have A Joyous, Merry, Happy One"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:30 PM
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December 22, 2011
Emmett L. Bennett, Jr 1918-2011
It is with sadness that I learned that Emmett L. Bennett, Jr. died on December 15th. A giant among classicists, Bennett was the author of over 60 works including ten books. Abnormal readers know that while my principal research focus...Read all of "Emmett L. Bennett, Jr 1918-2011"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:52 AM
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December 21, 2011
The End Of The World
As of 2:16 PM PST the world hasn’t ended. I’ll let you know if anything changes....Read all of "The End Of The World"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:16 PM
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December 20, 2011
Cuneiform Inscription Found In Malta
Steven Cook of Biblische Ausbildung directs us to an agate fragment with cuneiform script discovered in Malta. Cultura Itatia has some details. Italian archaeologists working in Malta have made a sensational discovery: an agate carved with cuneiform script dating back...Read all of "Cuneiform Inscription Found In Malta"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:07 AM
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A Yowling Cat
The cat we live with seldom vocalizes and when he does he makes but a weak, pathetic, sound. But not all cats are so quiet. Even in antiquity some could yowl. Here is the first omen on tablet 45 of...
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:38 AM
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December 19, 2011
When A Written Work Was Written
We often think of a handwritten work as a thing of the distance past. But I was filing some papers that I had gathered for previous projects when I ran across a copy of a rather massive paper in four...Read all of "When A Written Work Was Written"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:52 AM
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December 17, 2011
On Reading Near Eastern Texts
By blog standards, this is a delayed reaction but Charles Halton offers four important tips for the use of Ancient Near Eastern material. He focuses on the use of this material by Biblical scholars but his tips apply as well...Read all of "On Reading Near Eastern Texts"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:52 PM
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December 16, 2011
Update: On The Tiryns Ivory Cuneiform Inscription
I’ve reposted a somewhat revised draft of my paper on the Tiryns ivory cuneiform inscription at Academia.edu. I have just heard that Manfried Dietrich and Oswald Loretz’, “Rhabdomantie im mykenischen Palast von Tiryns. Das Fragment eines kurz-alphabetisch beschrifteten Elfenbeinstabs, (Ti...Read all of "Update: On The Tiryns Ivory Cuneiform Inscription"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:05 PM
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December 15, 2011
“What We Have Here Is Failure To Communicate”
Back in September I quoted from a report on recent work on the Gezer water system. In that report I expressed concern about the reference to “the time of Abraham.” Yesterday, having read my post, Gary Myers sent me an...Read all of "“What We Have Here Is Failure To Communicate”"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:13 AM
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December 14, 2011
A Matter Of Procedure
Several weeks ago I emailed a request to a very prominent scholar. Without going into the details, I asked if he would arrange for me to see some information to which I believed he had access. I received a reply...Read all of "A Matter Of Procedure"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:07 AM
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December 13, 2011
The Problem With Snakes
I’m back reading snake omens. I found these two of particularly abnormal interest. Both are from Šumma ālu ina mēlê šakin. 23:111. DIŠ MUŠ ina UGU GIŠ.NÁ NITA u MUSUS ŠUB-ut ZI-ib ḪUL-tì ZI-šú :: KI.DÚR-su KÚR-ir While this is...Read all of "The Problem With Snakes"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:43 PM
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December 11, 2011
There Must Be A Word For Them
I’m looking for a single word or even a two word phrase that suggests the author(s) (including anyone involved in an oral creation process), compiler(s), editor(s), excerpters, readers, and referencers of a literary work or collection of literary works. For...Read all of "There Must Be A Word For Them"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:52 PM
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December 10, 2011
Quotation Of The Day
Ed Brayton wrote, Rod Blagojevich was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of 18 charges of corruption, including trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat after he was elected president. That’ll teach him. We don’t...Read all of "Quotation Of The Day"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:44 AM
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December 7, 2011
How Did This Happen?
The MT of 1 Chronicles 6:1 reads, בני לוי גרשׁון קהת ומררי, “Sons of Levi: Gershom, Kothath, and Merari.” The Old Greek renders its vorlage for the same passage, Υἱοὶ Λευι· Γεδσων, Κααθ καὶ Μεραρι,”Sons of Levi: Gedson, Kaath and...Read all of "How Did This Happen?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:34 AM
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December 6, 2011
The Aegean Bronze Age
On AEGEANET, John Younger calls our attention to the just released Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean, edited by Eric Cline. I’ve added this one to my Christmas list. There is currently a focus on the possibility, some would...Read all of "The Aegean Bronze Age"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:36 AM
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December 5, 2011
André Lemaire Articles Online
Charles at The Ancient World Online points us to several articles by André Lemaire that are online. A few are in English; others are in French. All are quite recent and abnormally interesting. Check them out....Read all of "André Lemaire Articles Online"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:05 AM
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December 3, 2011
Crazy Alphabetic Cuneiform Ms
I spent much of today improving the graphics for my paper on the Tiryns ivory inscription. Here’s the M chart. I’ll add labels later. The first row, if you can call it a row, is my drawing of what I...Read all of "Crazy Alphabetic Cuneiform Ms"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:52 PM
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December 2, 2011
Medicare And A New Breast Cancer Treatment
A couple of years ago Shirley had a lump removed from her breast. The normal procedure following such surgery would be 25 to 30 X-ray sessions over a period of five to six weeks. But she participated in a study...Read all of "Medicare And A New Breast Cancer Treatment"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:45 PM
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December 1, 2011
Confusing News On An Amenhotep III Statue
The Telegraph, The Washington Post and even Fox News are reporting that archaeologists have uncovered a massive quartzite stature of Amenhotep III at Luxor. The Telegraph headline is typical, “Statue of Amenhotep III, King Tut's grandfather, found.” But exactly when...Read all of "Confusing News On An Amenhotep III Statue"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:41 PM
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