Forensic document examination and algorithmic handwriting analysis of Judahite biblical period inscriptions reveal significant literacy level (original) (raw)
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Plos One, 2020
Arad is a well preserved desert fort on the southern frontier of the biblical kingdom of Judah. Excavation of the site yielded over 100 Hebrew ostraca (ink inscriptions on potsherds) dated to ca. 600 BCE, the eve of Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of Jerusalem. Due to the site's isolation, small size and texts that were written in a short time span, the Arad corpus holds important keys to understanding dissemination of literacy in Judah. Here we present the handwriting analysis of 18 Arad inscriptions, including more than 150 pair-wise assessments of writer's identity. The examination was performed by two new algorithmic handwriting analysis methods and independently by a professional forensic document examiner. To the best of our knowledge, no such large-scale pair-wise assessments of ancient documents by a forensic expert has previously been published. Comparison of forensic examination with algorithmic analysis is also unique. Our study demonstrates substantial agreement between the results of these independent methods of investigation. Remarkably, the forensic examination reveals a high probability of at least 12 writers within the analyzed corpus. This is a major increment over the previously published algorithmic estimations, which revealed 4-7 writers for the same assemblage. The high literacy rate detected within the small Arad stronghold, estimated (using broadly-accepted paleo-demographic coefficients) to have accommodated 20-30 soldiers, demonstrates widespread literacy in the late 7 th century BCE Judahite military and administration apparatuses, with the ability to compose biblical texts during this period a possible by-product.
PLOS ONE, 2020
Supplementary Material for paper A. Shaus, Y. Gerber, S. Faigenbaum-Golovin, B. Sober, E. Piasetzky, I. Finkelstein, “Forensic document examination and algorithmic handwriting analysis of Judahite biblical period inscriptions reveal significant literacy level”, PLOS ONE 15.9, e0237962, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237962, 2020. Also here: https://www.academia.edu/44109813/Forensic\_document\_examination\_and\_algorithmic\_handwriting\_analysis\_of\_Judahite\_biblical\_period\_inscriptions\_reveal\_significant\_literacy\_level
Literacy in Judah and Israel: Algorithmic and forensic examination of the Arad and Samaria ostraca
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2021
A highly discussed issue in the fields of Hebrew epigraphy and biblical research is the level of literacy in the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah (Rollston 2010; Davies and Römer 2013; Schmidt 2015). Treating this topic using biblical texts, for example, the references to scribes at the time of a given monarch, may lead to circular argumentation: The reality behind a given account may reflect the time of the authors, who could have lived centuries later and retrojected their own situation back onto earlier history. A preferable methodology is to consider the material evidence—the corpora of Iron Age Hebrew ostraca from archaeological excavations. The idea is to use algorithmic and forensic methods to distinguish between handwritings and thus the number of authors in a given corpus.
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2021
The relationship between the expansion of literacy in Judah and composition of biblical texts has attracted scholarly attention for over a century. Information on this issue can be deduced from Hebrew inscriptions from the final phase of the first Temple period. We report our investigation of 16 inscriptions from the Judahite desert fortress of Arad, datedca 600 BCE-the eve of Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of Jerusalem. The inquiry is based on new methods for image processing and document analysis, as well as machine learning algorithms. These techniques enable identification of the minimal number of authors in a given group of inscriptions. Our algorithmic analysis, complemented by the textual information, reveals a minimum of six authors within the examined inscriptions. The results indicate that in this remote fort literacy had spread throughout the military hierarchy, down to the quartermaster and probably even below that rank. This implies that an educational infrastructure that could support the composition of literary texts in Judah already existed before the destruction of the first Temple. A similar level of literacy in this area is attested again only 400 y later,ca 200 BCE.
Plos One, 2020
Past excavations in Samaria, capital of biblical Israel, yielded a corpus of Hebrew ink on clay inscriptions (ostraca) that documents wine and oil shipments to the palace from surrounding localities. Many questions regarding these early 8 th century BCE texts, in particular the location of their composition, have been debated. Authorship in countryside villages or estates would attest to widespread literacy in a relatively early phase of ancient Israel's history. Here we report an algorithmic investigation of 31 of the inscriptions. Our study establishes that they were most likely written by two scribes who recorded the shipments in Samaria. We achieved our results through a method comprised of image processing and newly developed statistical learning techniques. These outcomes contrast with our previous results, which indicated widespread literacy in the kingdom of Judah a century and half to two centuries later, ca. 600 BCE.
PLOS ONE, 2020
Past excavations in Samaria, capital of biblical Israel, yielded a corpus of Hebrew ink on clay inscriptions (ostraca) that documents wine and oil shipments to the palace from surrounding localities. Many questions regarding these early 8 th century BCE texts, in particular the location of their composition, have been debated. Authorship in countryside villages or estates would attest to widespread literacy in a relatively early phase of ancient Israel's history. Here we report an algorithmic investigation of 31 of the inscriptions. Our study establishes that they were most likely written by two scribes who recorded the shipments in Samaria. We achieved our results through a method comprised of image processing and newly developed statistical learning techniques. These outcomes contrast with our previous results, which indicated widespread literacy in the kingdom of Judah a century and half to two centuries later, ca. 600 BCE.
From Texts to Scribes: Evidence for Writing in Ancient Israel
Ancient Near East Today e-newsletter, 2021
Writing and literacy has long been a popular subject in Biblical Studies. Archaeological sites in Israel have yielded many artifacts inscribed with Hebrew writing. Such finds often have a sensational flare and for good reason: they offer a window into the world of ancient Israel. We can learn about ancient beliefs and practices, and compare actual finds with the text of the Bible. Biblical names, persons, and practices all come into sharper view.
PLOS ONE, 2020
Supplementary Material for the paper S. Faigenbaum-Golovin, A. Shaus, B. Sober, E. Turkel, E. Piasetzky, I. Finkelstein, “Algorithmic handwriting analysis of the Samaria inscriptions illuminates bureaucratic apparatus in biblical Israel”, PLOS ONE 15.1, e0227452, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227452, 2020. Also here: https://www.academia.edu/44109812/Algorithmic\_handwriting\_analysis\_of\_the\_Samaria\_inscriptions\_illuminates\_bureaucratic\_apparatus\_in\_biblical\_Israel