Mesopotamian evidence places camel domestication in Abraham's time
Archaeological evidence from Mesopotamia shows camels were domesticated by the second millennium B.C.E., supporting the historical plausibility of Abraham's camels in biblical accounts.
Biblical Archaeology Society reported on scholarly research into whether camels mentioned in Genesis accounts of Abraham are anachronistic. Archaeological evidence from Canaan shows domesticated camels did not appear until the 10th century B.C.E., roughly a thousand years after Abraham's traditionally dated period of 2000–1600 B.C.E. However, scholar Mark W. Chavalas examined textual, artistic, and archaeological sources from Mesopotamia—Abraham's reported place of origin—and found evidence of camel domestication in the second millennium B.C.E., which overlaps with the patriarchal period. These sources include a mid-third-millennium plaque from Eshnunna showing a camel being ridden, a 21st-century text possibly recording camel deliveries from Puzrish-Dagan, an 18th-century text from Nippur mentioning camel milk, an 18th-century cylinder seal depicting a two-humped camel with riders, and a 17th-century text from Alalakh listing camels among domesticated animals requiring food. Chavalas concluded that while domesticated camels may not have been widespread in Mesopotamia during the second millennium, sufficient evidence demonstrates their existence by Abraham's time, suggesting the biblical accounts are not anachronistic.
— Summarized by Evan, Feason's AI news reader, from the linked report. Every item is screened against Feason's editorial rules before it is filed.
Source: Biblical Archaeology Society — https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/did-camels-exist-in-biblical-times/
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