TURKEYS IN SOUTHWESTERN AMERICAN ROCK ART:

 

Wild turkey. Internet photograph, public domain.

In the rock art of the American west and southwest there are frequent images of birds, and one commonly recognized is the turkey.

“Mountain turkeys are a subspecies of the wild turkey, the race merriami, which is confined to the southwest. These birds are not the same as our domestic turkeys, though they are wild relatives which look much like the bronze variety. A domestic gobbler has an overhung breast, thicker legs, and exaggerated wattles and dewlap; it is inclined to be overweight and sluggish. The Mountain or Merriam’s turkey, is trim and muscular, allowing it to travel with great speed and even to soar or plane a bit – abilities consistent with its chosen habitat, which is the yellow pine belt of 6,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation.

Their range was from southern Colorado through suitable mountain ranges in New Mexico to near the Mexican border, then through the southern mountains of Arizona, the White mountains and San Francisco peaks.” (Tyler 1991:71-72) Their range has been expanding in recent years. This writer has seen wild turkeys in the Denver suburbs within the last year.

Tyler wrote about Pueblo Indians and turkeys in 1991. “Indian hunting pressure has never been a negative factor, because the Pueblos are at most only casual hunters of game birds. The feathers were and are the desirable part of this bird, and several students have argued that the Pueblos never ate turkeys, keeping them only for their ceremonial values.” (pp. 72-3) There are, however, ethnographic reports that imply, and even record, the eating of turkeys. Evidence such as large quantities of turkey bone, and even scorched turkey bone, would seem to imply preparation as food. That said, the turkey’s impressive feathers would also be a very important motive to hunt them.

Turkeys and a sheep at First Mesa, Hopi Pueblo original photograph by Kate Cory, 1905–1912. Courtesy of the Museum of Northern Arizona (MS-208-75.929)

According to Conrad (2021:1-2). “In the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest (SW/NW), the last several decades of archaeological research indicate that Ancestral Pueblo peoples engaged in a complex relationship with turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo spp). – These turkeys were often fed domesticated maize (Zea mays), allowed to free-range and exploit non-maize plants and other resources, or a combination of both. – Domestication and subsequent husbandry of turkeys likely occurred for a variety of purposes, but current data suggest that exploitation of eggs for food and paint creation; feather gathering and collection for use in ceremonial activities and blanket production; use of bones for flutes, whistles, ornaments, and a variety of tools; and subsistence all played important roles. Based on the altruistic relationship often identified between humans and turkeys through the presence of broken and healed turkey bones in Ancestral Pueblo habitation sites, the abundance and diversity of turkey/bird iconographic imaery in rock art and ceramics, and the presence of intentional turkey burials, it is clear that these birds held a special role in past Native American society.” (Conrad 2021:1-2).

Conrad’s suggestion that turkey eggs were used in creating paint suggests that they used the paint formulation of egg tempera. In egg tempera the yolk of an egg is used as the binder in the formulation of the paint. I have, however, found no other references to this possible use of turkey eggs as egg tempura by Ancestral Puebloan peoples.

Turkey petroglyph, Commanche Gap (Galisteo Dike), Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, September 1988.

Turkey petroglyph, Commanche Gap (Galisteo Dike), Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, September 1988.

Turkey petroglyph, Commanche Gap (Galisteo Dike), Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, October 1990.

While there are many images of birds in western American rock art, most of them cannot be identified as turkeys. On the designation of turkey images in rock art, for the purposes of this article, I am relying on a few factors. First is I am choosing pictures of reasonably fat birds, usually pictured as standing on the ground – not in flight. According to Robins and Hays-Gilpin (2000:245) turkeys are earth-bound birds, associated with the earth in Pueblo thought, as opposed to sky associated raptors. Another factor is anatomical details sometimes pictured such as the snood, the wattle, and the tassel found on turkeys. I accept that not all observers would agree on each and every image I am selecting (as I do not always agree with such designations by others), but I am confident that most of them will be found agreeable. Another trait often considered to identify of turkey in rock art is a spread tail as in a displaying male bird.

Mesa Prieta, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, 14 May 1997.

Next to Una Vida petroglyph panel, Chaco Canyon, San Juan County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, May 1994.

Schaafsma (1980) considers birds including turkeys to be elements of importance in her Chinle Representational Style, best illustrated in Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto. In these examples they are often portrayed as the heads of anthropomorphs. “Most have crescent-shaped or semicircular bodies, and the heads and necks of many were painted with a fugitive, or impermanent, red pigment that has since flaked away while the body shape remains.” (p. 125)

Turkey petroglyph, Rinconada Canyon, Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Internet photograph, public domain.

Turkey/tablita, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, New Mexico. Photograph courtesy BLM.

Commenting on turkey pictographs at Tsegi Canyon and Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, Shaafsma wrote “The turkey, a creature of the earth (as opposed to the sky), is bound to embody a different set of symbolic concepts, although this  bird too is found in the same set of relationships to human figures in the rock art. The turkey was domesticated by the Anasazi by A.D. 700. Its feathers were used for robes and ritual purposes at least by that time and perhaps even earlier. Among the modern Pueblo Indians, the turkey is symbolically associated with the earth, springs, streams and mountains which are the homes of the cloud spirits. It follows that the turkey is viewed as an intermediary between these mountain water sources and the rain clouds that form on the peaks. He is also regarded as a teacher and a helper, and is associated with the dead who must return to the earth before as rising as clouds to the spiritual realm.” (Schaafsma 1986:27-28)

Long House, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. Petroglyphs of male turkeys with fanned tails and wings arched in display. Rohm, p. 57. Photograph by Peter Faris, 1985.

Closeup, Long House, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico. Petroglyphs of male turkeys with fanned tails and wings arched in display. Internet photograph, public domain.

These two birds in the Mortandad Canyon Cave Kiva, New Mexico, are in a stance suggesting they are grounded. The upper bird is a male turkey. Rohm, page 106, photograph by Wm. M. Ferguson.

On New Mexico’s Pajarito Plateau “The most impressive birds of the region are flocks of wild turkeys. They range into the higher elevations of the Jemez Mountains during summer, but descend to the plateau and canyons during the cold and snowy weather where they feed on nuts, acorns and berries.” (Rohn 1989:4) Of the above photograph of birds from Bandelier National Monument Rohn stated “These two standing birds – must depict male turkeys with their tails fanned out and their wings arched in their display stance.” (Rohn 1989:57)

Turkey petroglyphs (probably historic period, Northwestern New Mexico. Photograph Bob Young.

Turkey pictographs, Canyon de Chelle, Arizona. Illustration chucksadventures.blogspot.com.

Petrified Forest, Arizona. Photograph Peter Faris, June 1993.

So, where they existed, turkeys would have been a major resource. Although there is still debate over how much Ancestral Puebloans relied on them for food, their feathers for ritual use and for the manufacture of feather blankets were of considerable importance, and their bones could be turned into whistles and tool, but with my favorite holiday being Thanksgiving, I do hope that these people availed themselves of the feast of roasted turkey once in a while.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

PRIMARY REFERENCES:

Conrad, C., 2021, Contextualizing Ancestral Pueblo Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo spp.) Management, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory (2021), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-021-09531-9

Robins, Michael R., and Kelley A. Hays-Gilpin, 2000,   The Bird in the Basket, in Foundations of Anasazi Culture: The Basketmaker – Pueblo Transition, edited by Paul F. Reed, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, p. 231-247.

Rohn, Arthur H., 1989, Rock Art of Bandelier National Monument, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

Schaafsma, Polly, 1980, Indian Rock Art of the Southwest, School of American Research, Santa Fe, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

Tyler, Hamilton A., 1991, Pueblo Birds and Myths, Northland Publishing Co., Flagstaff, AZ.

SECONDARY REFERENCE:

Schaafsma, Polly, 1986, Anasazi Rock Art in Tsegi Canyon and Canyon de  Chelly: A View Behind the Image, In Tsa Yaa Kin: Houses beneath the Rock, edited by David Grant Noble, School of American Research, Santa Fe.

THE STEPPED-FRET MOTIF IN SOUTHWESTERN AMERICAN ART AND ROCK ART:

Stepped-Fret illusion, internet image, public domain.

One iconic motif in the American Southwest is the Stepped-fret design. “The simplest and also the commonest form of stepped fret comprises a design that has a horizontal base, a vertical, straight back, and a stepped side.” (Van Hoek 2004:75) Van Hoek labels this pattern “the single unit.’ In fact, all other stepped patterns may be regarded as manipulations of the single unit. A double unit for instance, originates when two single units are joined, back-to-back.” (Van Hoek 2004:75)

Sikyatki Polychrome,  1375-1625 CE. Alex Patterson, Hopi Pottery Symbols, 1994, p.90.

Stepped-fret tablita (headdress), Rio Grand pueblos, early 1900s. Photograph Cleveland Museum of Art.

Stepped-fret headdress, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, New Mexico. Photograph desertusa.com.

Stepped-fret tablita (headdress) petroglyph. Petroglyph Park, Bernallilo County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, September 1988.

Sometimes, otherwise referred to as cloud symbol or a mountain, it is commonly seen on Pueblo ceramics, rock art, and elsewhere. Patterson (1992:198) defined the stepped-fret motif as representing a tablita, the ceremonial headdress worn by female dancers in some ceremonial dancers, and this is undoubtedly sometimes the case, but clouds and mountains are alternative meanings in many instances as well.

Single unit stepped-fret petroglyph, Mortandad Ruin, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, 2003.

Mirrored stepped-fret maze petroglyph, La Cienegilla, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Photograph Pat Price, December 1991.

“In the rock art of the Southwest of the USA, the double unit seems to predominate; single units, very common on ceramics, are less common in rock art (although they occur rather frequently in Jornada Style rock art), and the quadruple unit is even very rare or absent. Especially the double unit has been interpreted almost universally in the Southwest as a cloud motif involving rain symbolism and is often referred to as ‘cloud terrace’ or ‘rain altar’ (Slifer 2000:120) or as ‘cloud altar’ (Malotki and Weaver 2002:159). It is said to represent the towering thunderheads that bring life-giving rain(Slifer 2000:120). This general reading of the double unit is underpinned by several ethnographical accounts (Schaafsma 2003:personal communication) that also seem to embrace the single unit.” (Van Hoek 2004:77)

Double unit stepped-fret raincloud petroglyph, Comanche Gap, Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, 1988.

Double unit stepped-fret raincloud petroglyph, Comanche Gap, Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Photograph Peter Faris, 1988.

“Major changes in the Anasazi world during the Pueblo IV Phase (A.D. 1300 to 1500) produced a quite different rock-art tradition known as the Rio Grand Style (Schaafsma 1980:252), and it seems that only the Pueblo IV Phase abundantly features the stepped fret pattern. A fine example is the imagery on a volcanic dike near Galisteo, which bears several stepped fret patterns of different types, including the Mogollon and the related Mimbres Culture is epitomized by stepped fret designs, the stepped fret pattern only seems to be a feature of the rock-art of the later Desert – or Jornada – Mogollon cultures that date from A.D. 1000 to 1400 (Schaafsma 1980:191, 196). Schaafsma argues that the symmetrical (double unit) cloud terraces that begin to be incorporated into Anasazi pottery designs around A.D. 1300 seemingly have their origins in the Mimbres. It is on Mimbres black-on-white pottery (A.D. 1100 to 1350) that this element first appears as a freestanding design. It looks like ideas from southern New Mexico and northern Mexico were being spread northward into the Pueblo world after A.D. 1200. In the 14^th century this begins to happen dramatically (2003:personal communication). The single unit is also found on Mimbres red-on-white pottery (dating from around A.D. 900 to 1100) and on ceramics of the related Casas Grandes Culture in the Chihuahua Desert of northern Mexico (Slifer 2000:Fig. 177). A fine example is the imagery on a volcanic dike near Galisteo, which bears several stepped fret patterns of different types, including examples featuring extensions shaped like the ‘crook-necked staff’ to which I shall return later. Yet it is highly doubtful whether the stepped fret pattern was indigenous to the Rio Grande Style. The reason for this is the general belief that by A.D. 1300 the Pueblos accepted a new ideology and associated art complex from the Jornada Mogollon further south (Schaafsma 1980:187, 232, 244). Although the art of the Mogollon and the related Mimbres Culture is epitomized by stepped fret designs, the stepped fret pattern only seems to be a feature of the rock-art of the later Desert – or Jornada – Mogollon cultures that date from A.D. 1000 to 1400 (Schaafsma 1980:191,196).” (Van Hoek 2004:83)

Hopi altar with crooked-neck staffs. Internet photograph, public domain.

A number of ethnographic photographs of Hopi altars include crook-necked sticks or staffs so the addition of them on this stepped-fret petroglyph suggests that the image represents an altar. Additionally, the presence of lines descending from the bottom of the double motifs represent rain, suggesting that these examples must represent clouds, a definition amplified by the presence of a bird on the top of one example. So we seem to have a picture of some kind of altar representing a plea for rain, certainly an understandable motive in the desert Southwest.

Sun-ladder pahoe, drawing by J. L. Ridgeway, Fewkes, 1899, p. 272.

This assumption is reinforced by a Tewa prayer stick reported by Fewkes (1899). “Back of the altar, leaning against the wall of the kiva, was set upright a wooden slat, notched on both edges and called a tawa saka, ‘sun-ladder.’ Miniature imitations (plateXX) of this are made in this kiva on the last day of the Tuntai and deposited in a shrine neat Sikyaowatcomo, the site of the early settlement of the Tewa. The ponya-saka or tawa-saka mentioned has not before been seen in any Hopi ceremony, and it my be characteristic of Tewa altars. A notched prayer-stick, called the rain-cloud ladder, is placed in the same shrine at this time. This is characteristic of the Tewa of Tusayan, but it is not found in the Hopi pahos, with which I am familiar.” (Fewkes 1899:272)

So, the stepped-fret design can confidently be said to represent clouds and rain in many instances, but perhaps not all.

“In many American cultures water, clouds, and mountains are closely associated. Especially Rain Gods dwelled at sacred mountains, and their homes were often imitated by enormous stepped pyramids in or near the cities of Andean and Mesoamerican cultures. This, the stepped fret also may depict a habitation place. Consequently, I would like to suggest that stepped fret patterns in the rock art of the Southwest of North America originally represented mountains in the sense of ‘residences for deities.’ This might explain the association of stepped fret patterns and the so-called Tlaloc figures in Jornada Style iconography. Later, during the journey of the stepped fret pattern in space and time, the metaphorical emphasis might have shifted from mountain-symbolism to rain and fertility.” (Van Hoek 2004:88)

It would seem that across the American southwest the implications of the stepped-fret motif involved clouds, rain, and mountains, but that for various groups, at various times, the focus of that implication may have favored one or the other of these definitions. It should be considered, however, that they are all fairly closely related as these people apparently thought of clouds and rain as associated with the mountains where clouds formed, rain fell, and thence water coming to the people.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

 

PRIMARY REFERENCES:

Fewkes, J. W., 1899, The Winter Solstice Altars at Hano Pueblo, American Anthropologist, pp. 251-276.

Patterson, Alex, 1992, A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest, Johnson Books, Boulder, CO.

Van Hoek, M., 2004, The stepped-fret motif in American rock art: an attempt at tracing origin and meaning, The Artifact, Volume 42, pp. 75-91, El Paso Archeological Society, El Paso, Texas, accessed 6 January 2019 on www.academia.edu.

SECONDARY REFERENCES:

Malotki and Weaver, 2002, Stone Chisel and Yucca Brush: Colorado Plateau Rock Art, Kiva Publishing, Walnut, California.

Schaafsma, Polly, 1992, Rock Art in New Mexico, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.

Schaafsma, Polly, 1980, Indian Rock Art of the Southwest, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

Slifer, Dennis, 2000, The Serpent and the Fire: Fertility Images in Southwest Rock Art, Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.

THE SPEDIS OWL ON A BUTTON:

Spedis Owl, The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon. Photograph J & E Faris, October 1991.

Spedis Owl, The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon. Photograph  Peter Faris, 28 July 2000.

Spedis Owl near Spearfish Lake, Washington. Photograph from columbiagorge.org

During the summer of this year (2022) I was contacted by the editor of a niche publication named the National Button Bulletin concerning a photograph from a previous column in RockArtBlog. On 2 August 2010, I had posted a column titled “Birds in Rock Art – The Spedis Owl.” This refers to a number of distinctive owl petroglyphs found in the Columbia River gorge in an area centered around the Dalles Dam. I was told that a writer named Anne Morgan was working on an article on buttons with owl motifs and that she was including a button with the Spedis owl portrayed on it. I provided the above photograph of one Spedis owl petroglyph and subsequently received a pre-publication copy of the article.

Illustration from National Button Bulletin, 2022.

Spedis Owl pewter button, manufactured by Columbia Legends Company, Dalles, OR. Illustration from National Button Bulletin, 2022.

“The Spedis Owl is a petroglyph that originally stood above Celilo Falls on the Columbia River in Oregon. The falls were destroyed by the Dalles Dam project in the 1950s. Prior to its flooding, Celilo Falls stood for over 10,000 years as an iconic salmon harvest and multi0tribal gathering site for Pacific Northwest Native Americans. It is not known which tribe drew the image on the rock or what the owl figure represented. One (among many) Northwest stories describes the Spedis Owl as a River Guardian, a protector of fishers and travelers from the water devil who lived within the dangerous and rolling Celilo Falls (Melin and Dolezal, n.d.). Prior to the Dalles Dam flooding, the Army Corp of Engineers salvaged the Spedis Owl and other related petroglyphs. They are now located in Columbia Hills State Park along the Washington side of the Columbia River. (Faris 2020)”

Modern fishing platforms at The Dalles, Klickitat County, WA. Photograph Peter Faris, April 2005.

The information provided to Morgan by Melin and Dolezal is not strictly correct. The distinctive Spedis Owl petroglyphs are in the vicinity of the site of a previous village of the Wishram people named Nixluidix, which is now beneath the reservoir created by The Dalles Dam. Melin and Dolezal also discuss the Spedis Owl as “a River Guardian, a protector of fishers and travelers from the water devil who lived within the dangerous and rolling Celilo Falls.” (Melin and Dolezal n.d.) Celilo Falls, where The Dalles Dam is now located, was a prime fishing location for harvesting salmon. The Wishram people of Nixluidix were prosperous traders of dried salmon harvested from the Columbia River.

Drying Salmon at Nixluidix, The Dalles, Paul Kane painting, 1848.

“Located near Five Mile Rapids, the village was located at the far eastern reach of Chinookan lands. Archaeologists believe the site was occupied for about 10,000 years. The village was a common trading site for Indians in the surrounding areas, acting as a link between tribes from the Pacific Coast, and the interior Northwest. The site was visited by nearby Yakamas, as well as those from as far away as the Nez Perce, who would come to trade fish, berries, skins, buffalo, amongst many other items.

Dipnet fishing at Celilo Falls, 1899, near The Dalles, Klickitat County, WA. Internet photograph, public domain.

The village was visited during the westward journey by Lewis and Clark, and again on their eastward return journey, though by the time of the second visit, the village was at a site about 300 yards (270 m) downstream from the site visited the previous fall, Lewis and Clark estimated that there were about 600 people living at the site during the first visit (October 1805), and around 1,000 during the second visit (April 1806). Clark noted in his journals that there were about 20 wooden houses at the site, near a man-made earthen mound called Wakemup (or Wakamup) Mound.” (Wikipedia)

Although Clark had mentioned and sketched rock art in a few instances in the journal that he kept on their trip, he did not mention any rock art at Nixluidix from both their visits there, so Lewis and Clark apparently missed out on the Spedis Owl. The name Spedis is believed to have been taken from an early farmer, a Mr. Spedis, who homesteaded there (James Keyser 2000: pers. comm.) Indeed, the 1930 US Federal census listed fifteen members of the Spedis family still residing in Klickitat County, Washington.

I am quite tickled to have been a small part of this commemoration of a charming rock art theme.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

PRIMARY REFERENCES:

Faris, Peter, 1970, Birds in Rock Art – The Spedis Owl, https://rockartblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/birds-in-rock-art-spedis-owl.html 

Morgan, Anne, 2022, Much More Than the Wise Old Owl: Myths, Art and Culture, October 2022, The National Button Bulletin, pp. 161-167

Wikipedia, Wishram Village, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishram_village.

INSCRIPTIONS - ANCIENT ISRAELI CURSES

On 30 July 2022, I reported on the discovery of the Roman carved stone graffiti from Vindolanda, England, of “Secundinus, the shitter.” Ancient Romans were far from the only people in antiquity who cursed those they disagreed with. This column is about a couple of ancient inscribed curses found in Israel. Reported by Conny Waters online at AncientPages.com, they describe a pair of ancient curses that are adding to our knowledge of ancient Hebrew theology and history.

A 3,500-year-old stone tablet discovered in the City of David, Jerusalem in 2010. Courtesy of Institute for Biblical Studies and Ancient History.

The first of these is a 3,500-year-old stone tablet discovered in Jerusalem. Professor Gershon Galil, head of the Institute for Biblical Studies and Ancient History said the artifact was used in a ritual ceremony by priests or other important figures in the city who were apparently feuding with the city’s highest level official, the Governor. (Waters 7/13/2022)

The history of Jerusalem began with a settlement established near Gihon Spring between 4500 and 3500 BCE. The first recorded mention of this town was in a Middle Kingdom Egyptian text which recorded it as Rusalimum. By the 17^th century BCE Canaanites had built megalithic walls on the eastern side of Jerusalem to protect their water system. (Wikipedia)

A drawing of the 3,500-year-old Jerusalem stone inscription. Courtesy Prof. Gershon Galil.

“The inscription contains 20 words and 63 letters in the Proto-Canaanite script, an early Semitic alphabet, and a predecessor to modern alphabets used in the region.” (Waters 7/13/2022) Note that this tablet is not written in Hebrew, but in proto-Canaanite, an early Semitic alphabet and forerunner of modern alphabets from the area.

“The stone tablet is inscribed with the repeated phrase, ‘cursed, cursed, you will surely die, and singles out the ‘governor of the city,’ according to Galil’s translation,’ the Times of Israel reports.” (Waters 7/13/2022)

The second curse tablet is from the period of Israeli Jerusalem. “According to the Bible, the Israelite history of the city began in c. 1000 BCE, with King David’s sack of Jerusalem, following which Jerusalem became the City of David and capital of the United Kingdom of Israel.” (Wikipedia)

The lead curse tablet, discovered in Israel, is the oldest known Hebrew text. Credit Michael C. Luddeni.

This other curse tablet is quite small and, instead of stone, is engraved in early Hebrew on a folded piece of lead. “Scientists have announced the discovery of a rare ancient tablet that has the potential to re-write history. The tiny tablet is older than the Dead Sea Scrolls and was unearthed on Mount Ebla in Israel. Measuring only two centimeters by two centimeters in size, the engraving on the table has now been translated and researchers argue the engraving could offer proof that the events of the Bible occurred hundreds of years earlier than previously believed.

The small ancient lead tablet was discovered by Dr. Scott Stripling, director of the Archaeological Studies Institute at the Bible Seminary in Katy (Texas), who together with her team visited Mount Ebal, one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, and forms the northern siede of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by Mount Gerizim. - - - The inscription on the discovered tablet reads: ‘Cursed, cursed, cursed – Cursed by the God Yahweh. You will die cursed. Cursed you will surely die. Cursed by Yahweh – cursed, cursed, cursed.’

Examinations of the artifact suggest the tablet is at least 200 years older than any other Hebrew text in existence.” (Waters 3/25/2022) If this is truly the ‘oldest Hebrew text in existence’ I find it to be very interesting that it is such a violent curse. This part of history is seemingly not starting from a very loving place.

Joshua's Altar and Mount Ebal, Photograph israel-agency.com.

Mount Ebal has a historic place in the Bible. In references displaying a great deal more stick than carrot - “In Deuteronomy 27:15-26, Moses instructs the Levites to lead all the people of Israel from the top of Mount Ebal in a series of 11 curses against anyone who partakes in a variety of actions such as making an idol, dishonoring their mother or father, or moving their neighbor’s boundary stone.

In Joshua 8:30, Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal following his battle with the Ai, makes a burnt offering to God, and repeats the curses of Moses.” (Waters 3/25/2022)

These instances all seem to reinforce the image of the vengeful God from the Old Testament and seemingly, this ancient curse fits right in.

 NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

Waters, Conny, 2022, 3,500-Year-Old Stone Inscribed With A Curse Against The City’s Governor Discovered In Jerusalem, 13 July 2022, AncientPages.com, accessed 9 July 2022.

Waters, Conny, 2022, Rare ‘Cursed’ Tablet Predating The Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered On Mount Ebal Could Re-Write History – Scientists Say, 25 March 2022, AncientPages.com, accessed on 7 July 2022.