HISTARCHers,

My post "Archaeology of Jews" has given me several off-list leads. Thanks
to all.

I did get one message from a self-identified *skeptic* who didn't think
that archaeology has anything to contribute to the subject. Here's my
response:

====================

Dear Al,

Thanks for your message... even though  I disagree with your conclusion. 

You wrote that all archaeology can contribute to the subject is historical
minutia -- when and where a particular religious building was constructed,
the translation of epigraphs on tombstones, and so on.  I don't want to
seem impolite, but your view of historical archaeology is a bit out of
date. The whole point of the exercise is to get insights into the past that
are useful to the present. Of course, archaeology can be nothing more than
an intellectual game in which practitioners match wits with each other to
score points that no one outside our little club really cares about. And
I'm as guilty of that as the next person in this. But it doesn't have to be
that way all the time. 

Concerning the archaeology of Jews, the issue is far from being merely of
academic interest as you claim. Let me give you an example. 

Perhaps 90% of Jews in North America identify themselves as OTHER than
Orthodox. That is, portions of their practice do not fit with traditional
Jewish law such as the adherence to kashrus -- the laws relating to
ritually clean and unclean foods. Although these more liberal approaches
have been practiced in North America since the early-mid 19th century they
are still very much matters of debate and disagreement within the
community. The role of kashrus in creating and maintaining Jewish identity
is frequently discussed.  Historical archaeologists can contribute here
because we have access to both the record of households' practices via
archaeology AND the documentary record of how this ethnic-religious
identity was eventually played out -- utimately, whether it was retained,
lost, strengthened, or weakened. Issues such as this are of vital
importance to the contemporary community as well, I assume, to academics. 

I seem to have gone on rather longer than I expected. It's an occupational
hazard.

Regards,

Adrian Praetzellis
Sonoma State University