Scholars say Philistine genes help solve biblical mystery

www.wpri.com ^ | Posted: Jul 3, 2019 / 02:13 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 3, 2019 / 02:21 PM EDT | by: ILAN BEN ZION

[Red Badger]

JERUSALEM — Goliath the Greek? Human remains from an ancient cemetery in southern Israel have yielded precious bits of DNA that a new study says help prove the European origin of the Philistines — the enigmatic nemeses of the biblical Israelites.

The Philistines mostly resided in five cities along the southern coast of what is today Israel and the Gaza Strip during the early Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago. In the Bible, David fought the Philistine giant Goliath in a duel, and Samson slew a thousand of their warriors with the jawbone of an ass.

Many archaeologists have proposed they migrated to the coast of the ancient Near East during a period of upheaval at the end of the Late Bronze Age, around 1200 B.C.

The Philistines emerged as other societies around the eastern Mediterranean collapsed, possibly because of a cataclysmic intersection of climate change and man-made disasters. Philistine ceramics bear similarities to styles found in the Aegean, but concrete evidence of their geographic origins has remained elusive.

Now, a study of genetic material extracted from skeletons unearthed in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon in 2013 has found a DNA link. It connects the Philistines to populations in southern Europe during the Bronze Age.

The study, spearheaded by researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute and Wheaton College in Illinois, was published Wednesday in the research journal Science Advances.

The biblical account relates that the Philistines originally hailed from a distant isle. An Egyptian temple built by Rameses III bears reliefs of battles with “Sea Peoples” who appeared on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. One group listed in the Egyptian text is strikingly similar to the Hebrew name for Philistines. Excavations of Philistine sites have found ceramics and architecture that differed from those of their neighbors in ancient Canaan.

But archaeologists can’t be absolutely certain that different pots mean different people.

Eric Cline, an archaeologist from George Washington University specializing in the Late Bronze Age in the Near East, said conclusive evidence has eluded scientists until now — even if the material remains have indicated that the Philistines migrated to the Levant from the Aegean around 1200 B.C.

Cline, who was not involved in the study, is the author of “1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed,” which examines the period when the Philistines arrived. He called the paper’s findings “extremely exciting and very important” by helping resolve the long-standing mystery about their origins.

“We were all hoping that it might be possible to get genetic information like this,” he said. “Now we have scientific confirmation from DNA that the Philistines do indeed most likely come from that region.”

The researchers looked at DNA from 10 skeletons excavated from the ancient cemetery in Ashkelon, one of the Philistine seaports.

Using Carbon-14 dating technology, three were determined to be from the centuries before the Philistines’ presumed arrival around 1200 B.C., four were from the period immediately afterward, and three dated to centuries further on, the late Iron Age.

The study found that the remains dating to the early Iron Age — the period associated with many of the stories involving Philistines in the Bible — were genetically distinct from their Levantine neighbors, and had close similarities with populations in southern Europe.

“We see in their DNA a European component from the West that appears in a substantial enough way that we can demonstrate it statistically, we can show that it’s different,” said Daniel Master, an archaeologist with Wheaton College who headed the expedition in Ashkelon. “It basically says the people came from outside, not just the style of pottery.”

He said the findings were “direct evidence” that the cultural change found in Philistine cities “reflected the migration of a group of people.”

The DNA from the later individuals found they had some southern European genes, but appeared much closer to the surrounding Canaanite population.

“There was this pulse of people coming in, and then they kind of mixed in into the local population, so a few hundred years later they are almost indistinguishable” from the surrounding Levantine gene pool, said Michal Feldman, an archeogeneticist at the Planck Institute and one of the paper’s lead authors.

The results point to a possible southern European origin for the Philistines — anywhere from Cyprus to Sardinia — but further study of ancient remains is needed to narrow down the search.

“Until we have more samples from the neighboring regions,” and from the Philistines themselves, said Feldman, “I don’t think we can pinpoint better their homeland or homelands.”

[mountainlion]

Each different group that examines DNA comes up with a different answer. My ethnic breakdown from AncestryDNA, 23 and me and from Family Tree DNA are all quite different with differences of 50% in one case. The first report on the King Tut DNA was that he was Irish. From what I remember reading a group left Egypt and became Phoenicians. They settled and became the Philistines and got wiped out in war. A Roman Cesar destroyed Israel and named the whole are Palestrina which became Palestine as revenge on the area.

[yarddog]

Thanks, that is interesting.

Sounds more like the Philistines came from that same general area instead of from the West.

From the Bible we know they were pretty good fighters. Often giving the Hebrews all they could handle.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger.

• Giving Goliath His Due: New Archaeological Light on the Philistines | Neal Bierling | Foreword by Paul L. Maier

some relevant sidebars from the Philistines keyword:

• The Last Days of Canaanite Azekah [2019]
• Where Did the Philistines Come From? [2018]
• Israel Find May Help Solve Mystery Of Biblical Philistines [2016]
• Philistines introduced sycamore, cumin and opium poppy into Israel during the Iron Age [2015]
• Sex, drugs and Philistines: A biblical psychedelic scene [2015]
• Last practitioner of Minoan rituals may have lived in Jerusalem's Old City till '48 [2015]
• Cultural connections with Europe found in ancient Jordanian settlement [2014]
• Genetic study proves Israel's wild boars originated in Europe [2013]
• 3,000-year-old artifacts fuel Biblical archaeology debate [2012]
• 3,000-year-old altar uncovered at Philistine site suggests cultural links to Jews [2011]
• In Israel, Diggers Unearth The Bible's Bad Guys [2011]
• Diggers Unearth Philistines Remains in Israel, Providing scholars with clues to the Bible's bad guys [2011]
• In Israel, diggers unearth the Bible's bad guys [2011]
• A serving of Philistine culture: Boar, dog and fine wine [2007]
• Philistines, But Less And Less Philistine [2007]

[mountainlion]

So when Emperor Titus wiped out Israel and named the area Palastenia he was basically admitting his invasion.

[Red Badger]

The first report on the King Tut DNA was that he was Irish.

well, he did get plastered..........

[Red Badger]

The Phoenicians and Philistines were both around at the same time..........

[Buttons12]

Philistine genes bkmk, thanks Red B!

[Red Badger]

David subdued them and they were absorbed,DNA and all!.........

[yarddog]

Interesting to me is that Ramses The Great had red wavy hair.

French investigators who studied his DNA are quite certain that is right. They examined roots of his hair with an electron microscope.

[SunkenCiv]

Discussion of origin:

• Special Report: Ekron Identity Confirmed [ from 1998 ] [2006]

[yarddog]

Didn’t David live with the Philistines for awhile?

[centurion316]

their DNA is far more blended with Native and African DNA than descendants of their counterparts of primarily English ancestry

I think that might be more a function of culture rather than the difference of 100 years. Both the French and the Spanish were much more willing to produce children with native populations and Africans than were the English. A big part of the cultural difference was that the English brought their women with them. The French and Spanish not so much.

My daughter in law is a descendent of the Fils de le Roi (Daughters of the King). They were single women, usually poor or orphaned who received a dowery from the King of France to emigrate to New France in order to provide wives to French settlers. While they were expected to marry, according to accounts, they got to pick their new husband (Just like today).

[Born to Conserve]

Eric Cline — great talk on the bronze age collapse:
https://youtu.be/bRcu-ysocX4

[SunkenCiv]

Caphtor
by Immanuel Velikovsky

The island Caphtor is named in the Scriptures. The usual identification is Crete, because the Keftiu bringing presents (vases) to Egyptian pharaohs are thought to be Cretans.

I prefer Cyprus as the biblical Caphtor and the Egyptian Keftiu.

If Caphtor is not Cyprus, then the Old Testament completely omits reference to this large island close to the Syrian coast. The phonetics of the name also point to Cyprus. Separately I show that Tarshish was the name of Crete.

It seems that the Philistines arrived in Palestine from Caphtor following the catastrophe that brought there the Israelites after their wandering in the Desert.

Tarshish
by Immanuel Velikovsky

References to the ships of Tarshish and to a place of that name, in the Old Testament, beginning with the time of Solomon (10th century), to the time of the prophets of the 8th and 7th centuries, make me think that by this designation the Cretan navigators and Crete itself were meant. The Minoan civilization survived until the great catastrophes of the 8th century and it would be strange if it and its maritive activities remained unmentioned in the Old Testament.

The usual explanation puts Tarshish in Spain, though other identifications are offered, like Tarsus, in Asia Minor. One of the old names for Knossos sounds like Tarshish.

New Light On The Dark Age Of Greece, "Tarshish"
by Jan Sammer

...So far we have based our discussion of the identity of Tarshish on Biblical sources; but there also exists an allusion to that land in another source, a cuneiform text found about a hundred years ago at Assur on the Tigris. The text is part of the annals of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon, who ruled over Assyria from -681 to -669. It reads:

"All the kingdoms from (the islands) amidst the sea -- from the country of Iadanan and Jaman as far as Tarshishi bowed to my feet and I received heavy tribute."

The identities of the first two countries mentioned by Esarhaddon are known: Iadanan is Cyprus and Iaman is the Ionian coast of Asia Minor; the location of Tarshishi, however, became the subject of some debate, for this statement by Esarhaddon is the only time the name appears in any Assyrian text. It was noted that "Tarshishi" has the determinative mãt for "country" in front of it, as do Idanana, or Cyprus and Iaman, or Ionia. The only clue to its location was its being described as a kingdom "amidst the sea", apparently somewhat farther removed from Assyria than either Cyprus or Ionia.

When Esarhaddon's text was first published and transliterated the name was read as "Nu-shi-shi." At that time there were several conjectures as to the identification of this land. The city of Nysa in Caria was one suggestion; another was that the world refers to "nesos" for Peloponnesos. In 1914 D. D. Luckenbill ventured that "Knossos, for Crete, would fit better." Three years later B. Meissner made a fresh examination of the cuneiform tablet and found that the original transliteration of the name had been mistaken, and that "Tar-shi-shi" was the correct reading. The new reading took away Luckenbill's chief reason for his identification; yet he had the right solution, even if he reached it on wrong grounds. More recent scholarship identifies the land of Tarshishi mentioned by Esarhaddon with the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. Had Tarshishi been a city the name would have been preceded by the determinative URU; however, as mentioned above, it has mãt for "country". It is also difficult to see how a place in Cilicia would fit the description "from Iadanana and Iaman as far as Tarshishi." Clearly Tarsisi was farther west than either Cyprus or Ionia. These criteria are filled admirably by Crete.

[SunkenCiv]

One of *those* topics.

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[Boogieman]

“Philistine ceramics bear similarities to styles found in the Aegean, but concrete evidence of their geographic origins has remained elusive.”

That’s not entirely true. The Egyptians painted murals of the various Sea Peoples (or the Nine Bows as the Egyptians called them), including their distinctive clothing, armor, and weapons. If you compare those with what the archaeological record tells us of the clothing, armor, and weapons of known peoples, then that provides pretty concrete evidence. For example, one tribe of Sea Peoples is depicted wearing horned helmets. Well, horned helmets were only used by one people in the ancient world at that time, the Minoan Greeks.

The Sea Peoples were not all Greek though, they also included people from other places around the Mediterranean, such as Sardinia and Sicily, but those places were in the Greek sphere of influence with Greek colonies nearby. They also allied with the Libyans and other traditional enemies of the Egyptians or Hittites at times.

It seems to me this situation, with waves of Greek warriors/mercenaries suddenly appearing on the far side of the sea, is probably linked to the end of the Trojan war. It’s not hard to imagine that the Odyssey with its fables of Greeks sailing around and adventuring for 15 years after the war might be a myth based on the actual exploits of bands of displaced Greeks at the end of the war seeking adventure in Egypt, Canaan, and Lebanon.

[Boogieman]

“From what I remember reading a group left Egypt and became Phoenicians. They settled and became the Philistines and got wiped out in war.”

No, the Phoenicians were Semites, very closely related to the Israelites, to the point where their languages were mutually intelligible, and the “proto-Hebraic” alphabet invented by Israel while they sojourned in Egypt was quickly adapted by the Phoenicians to write their own language as well.

The Phoenicians and Philistines both lived on the coast right near Israel, but the Phoenicians were to the north, where Lebanon is today, while the Philistines were to the south, where the Gaza strip is.

[Albion Wilde]

a new study says help prove the European origin of the Philistines

We all knew white people were to blame.

[Boogieman]

“From the Bible we know they were pretty good fighters.”

Yes, they seemed to have been kind of professional warriors or mercenaries when they first appear on the scene in Egypt.

[Albion Wilde]