Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future ─ The New Pragmatism

Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future reflects the major changes happening today in the historical archaeology of the Holy Land. Whereas traditional biblical archaeology was a highly descriptive and subjective discipline, Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future represents a fundamental paradigm shift brought about by the application of objective science-based dating methods, geographic information systems, anthropological models, and an array of computer-based and digital technology tools. This book will serve as a model for how researchers in other regions of the world can investigate the relationship between ancient texts (both sacred and profane) and the archaeological record. Examples include the Vedas and other sacred literatures of India, the Homeric legends and Greek classical archaeology, the sagas and Icelandic archaeology, and Islamic archaeology and the Umayyad, Abbasid and Ayyubid periods.

In this book, over twenty noted archaeologists and biblical scholars join together to answer a range of questions that bear on future research. What are the most important issues in historical biblical archaeology to be researched now and in the near future? Why are historical biblical archaeology, the Bible, and ancient Jewish history important in the curriculum of universities in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world today and in the future? How should graduate students be trained to be professionals in the interdependent fields of archaeology and biblical studies in the future? Using their own current research projects, these scholars show how their work can be used to build a foundation for future research in historical biblical archaeology, ancient Jewish history and biblical studies.

Thomas E. Levy is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Judaic Studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where he holds the Norma Kershaw Chair in the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands. With over thirty years of archaeological field experience in Israel and Jordan, Levy's current research focuses on the Iron Age historical archaeology of Edom in southern Jordan. He is Associate Director of the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) at UCSD's California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2).

Thomas E. Levy is Professor of Anthropology and Judaic Studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Formerly, the Assistant Director of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research (one of the American Schools of Oriental Research) and the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology of the Hebrew Union College, Jerusalem, he joined the UCSD faculty in 1992 where he has served as Chair of the Department of Anthropology and Director of the Judaic Studies Program. He has been involved with and served as a principal investigator of several major projects in the Near East including the Jabal Hamrat Fidan project in southern Jordan.