Evolution of a Taboo: Pigs and People in the Ancient Near East

Description

Pigs are among the most peculiar animals domesticated in the Ancient Near East. Their story, from domestication to taboo, has fascinated historians, archaeologists, and religious studies scholars for decades. Rejecting simple explanations, this book adopts an evolutionary approach that relies on zooarchaeology and texts to unravel the cultural significance of swine in the Near East from the Paleolithic to the present day. Five major themes are covered: The domestication of the pig from wild boars in the Neolithic period, the unique roles that pigs developed in agricultural economies before and after the development of complex societies, the raising of swine in cities, the shifting ritual roles of pigs, and the formation and development of the pork taboo in Judaism and, later, Islam. The origins and significance of this taboo have inspired much debate. Evolution of a Taboo contends that the well-known taboo described in Leviticus evolved over time, beginning with conflicts between Israelites and Philistines in the early part of the Iron Age, and later was mobilized by Judah's priestly elite in the writing of the Biblical texts. Centuries later, the pig taboo became a point of contention in the ethno-political struggles between Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures in the Levant; later still, between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Through these conflicts, the pig taboo grew in power. As this rich account illustrates, it came to define the relations between pigs and people in the Near East and beyond, up to the present day. Cover Evolution of a Taboo Copyright Dedication Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments 1. The Power of Pigs Cairo’s Pig Problem The Power of Zooarchaeology Pigs as a Lens into the Past 2. Animals in a Landscape The Setting: Geography of the Near East Dramatis Personae: Pigs and Wild Boar Pig Domestication Raising Pigs “Pig Principles” and Types of Data 3. From Paleolithic Wild Boar to Neolithic Pigs Reluctant Hunters of the Lower and Middle Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic The Road to Domestication: The Pre-​Pottery Neolithic A The Intensification of Wild Boar Hunting at Hallan Çemi Taking Boars on Boats to Cyprus Wild Boars in Rituals Domestication by Two Pathways First Domestic Pigs: The Early and Middle PPNB 4. Out of the Cradle The (Delayed) Adoption of Pig Husbandry in the Near East The First European Pigs New Approaches in the Late Neolithic Penning Pigs Feasting on Pork Pigs in Other Rituals Pigs in the Chalcolithic: The Great Transformation 5. Urban Swine and Ritual Pigs in the Bronze Age Plows, Wool, Warhorses (and Wardonkeys), and Wealth Regional Diversity in Pig Husbandry in the Early and Middle Bronze Age The (Informal) City Pigs of Early and Middle Bronze Age Mesopotamia The Inheritance of Tradition in Western Anatolia, Egypt, and Iran The Erosion of Pig Husbandry in the Levant and Western Syria Pigs and the Changing Environment Pigs in Texts Pork Consumption in the Late Bronze Age Pigs and the Gods 6. Theorizing the Taboo The Anthropology of Taboo Theories of the Pig Taboo Biblical Explanations Classical Writers on Pig Taboos Health-​Related Explanations Religious Explanations Douglas’s Physiological Explanation Ecological Explanations Political-​Economic Explanations Ethnic-​Political Explanations The Chicken Explanation Making Sense of the Pig Taboo The Pig Taboo as an Evolving Cultural Element 7. The Coming of the Taboo: Pigs in the Iron Age The Iron Age and Israelite Ethnogenesis The Writing of the Torah and the Pork Taboo The Archaeology of the Israelites and the First Jews Pig Husbandry in the Iron Age Pig Husbandry and Avoidance in the Southern Levant The Evolution of the Israelite Pig Taboo Writing the Taboo Pig Taboos in Other Parts of the Near East The Genetic Turnover 8. Clash of Cultures in the Classical Period Pigs in Greek and Roman Cultures Economic Roles Ritual and Cultural Significance Zooarchaeology of the Greco-​Roman Near East Raising Pigs in the Classical Period Judaism and the Levant in the Classical Period Unholy of Unholies: Pigs and the Clash of Cultures Between Judaism and Christianity Pigs in Christian Thought 9. Islam and the Modern Period Islam: Orthopraxy, Food Laws, and the Pig Taboo Zooarchaeological and Historical Data on Pigs Raising Domestic Pigs in the Near East Today Informal Economics: Pig Husbandry in Egypt Formal Economics: “White Steak” and Pig Husbandry in Israel Wild Boar in the Near East Today Swine, Bigotry, and Intolerance Transgression 10. The Complexity of Swine Swine in Retrospect: A Window onto Complexity Domestication The Ritual Significance of Swine The Unpredictable Evolution of the Pig Taboo The Uniqueness of the Pig Taboo Tradition and Fate Appendix Notes References Index