His tests that explored a volunteer's reactions to being on a cross assumed a pedulum, a foot rest, which allowed a much easier time on the cross, not an actual nailing to the stapes without a footrest, a much more common form of crucifixion. Earlier experiments assuming no pedulum (the position of the feet on the Shroud suggest this) found early exhaustion from having to choose between the pain of hanging on the nails through the arms (Zugibe's volunteer had a leather padded strap) and an inability to inhale completely complicated by fluid on the lungs from a severe scourging, to trying to get a deeper breath by pushing up against the nail driven through one's feet and that agony. Zugibe's allowed his volunteers frequent rest breaks. I discount his findings discounting asphyxiation as a mode of death.
“I discount his findings discounting asphyxiation as a mode of death.”I
t is your opinion that there was not a footrest, but saying “the position of the feet suggest this” is just an assumption, hence your word “suggest”.
An important point of Dr. Zugibe’s work is that the assumption of the footrest was just to establish the point that the palms could support a nailing if the footrest was there, i.e., some conditions could allow for the palms being nailed. Dr. Zugibe’s best anatomical estimation was that the nail went from fold of the thumb on the palm and exit through the upper wrist — which would have given better support.
Another important point is that if the victim’s arms were at 60 to 70 degrees from vertical (which seems to be the common case), the volunteer-victims reported no problem breathing in the SAGGING position. So, when sagging, and footrest or not, they could still breathe. No reason, then, for pushing up against the foot-nails.
We can assume Christ was having serious lung problems from scourging, and he MIGHT have died from asphyxiation because of that, but it was not purely the position on the cross that did it. It was massive trauma, not a simple explanation of asphyxiation.
Discount away — your opinion, and as far as I can tell, not backed up by medical findings.