Ancient DNA counters biblical account of the mysterious Canaanites

Disir

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When the pharaohs ruled Egypt and the ancient Greeks built their first cities, a mysterious people called the Canaanites dominated the Near East. Around 4000 years ago, they built cities across the Levant, which includes present-day Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and part of Syria. Yet the Canaanites left no surviving written records, leaving researchers to piece together their history from secondhand sources.

One of those sources is the Bible’s Old Testament, which documents a grisly end for the Canaanites: After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, they swept into Canaan and annihilated its people. But did that really happen? Archaeological data suggests that Canaanite cities were never destroyed or abandoned. Now, ancient DNA recovered from five Canaanite skeletons suggests that these people survived to contribute their genes to millions of people living today.

The new samples come from Sidon, a coastal city in Lebanon. Marc Haber, a geneticist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, U.K., extracted enough DNA from the ancient skeletons to sequence the whole genomes of five Canaanite individuals, all around 3700 years old.
Haber’s first mission was to figure out who the Canaanites were, genetically speaking. Ancient Greek sources suggested they had migrated to the Levant from the East. To test that, Haber and colleagues compared the Canaanite genomes to those of other ancient populations in Eurasia. It turned out the Greeks were half right: About 50% of the Canaanites’ genes came from local farmers who settled the Levant about 10,000 years ago. But the other half was linked to an earlier population identified from skeletons found in Iran, the team reports today in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The researchers estimate these Eastern migrants arrived in the Levant and started mixing with locals around 5000 years ago.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/ancient-dna-counters-biblical-account-mysterious-canaanites

Lebanese descended from Phoenicians? Color me surprised.
 
I read the bible------there are accounts of wars between the Israelite group and local cities in the land,
at that time, called CANAAN; which includes all of that which is today Israel and ----Lebanon and
probably Jordan -----generally THE LEVANT. As to "complete annihilation" anyone at all
familiar (as in having read casually) with ancient literature would know that war battles
are INVARIABLY described in hyperbole------as if they involved utter and complete
devastation. Anyone who takes that literature "literally" is an idiot just as is anyone who
takes THE ODYSSEY "literally" The findings of Haber are mildly interesting but not
exciting. In war there are ALWAYS survivors. In genocides there are ALWAYS survivors.
Remember The AENEID. Also ---remember that HUMAN BEANS traveled around the planet
in ancient times and engaged in "carnal knowledge"
 
Disir we are told by Herodotus that there were many waves of migrations out of ancient Persia.

He mentions the blue eyed blonde haired Germanians who were farmers and left Persia for Europe. They were preceded by the red haired green eyed Scythians ("Scots") who moved into Europe first. This example tells us that the ancient Greeks and particularly Herodotus had much knowledge of ancient movements of peoples.

That Persians moved into the Levant as well does not surprise me. They were an ancient mega people who tended to migrate a lot.
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.

It was no mystery to me-------Abraham traveled from ARAM-----something like
northern Iraq. ---------and set up HIS COMMUNITY in Beersheba which was a
place in the POPULATED land of "CANAAN". That community came to be headed
by JACOB -----who was the grandson of Abraham ------and Jacob got an extra name---
ISRAEL-----his community, members of which mingled with the local populace, came
to be known as ISRAEL. The "Israel" group migrated to Egypt in a time of
famine and then sometime later left Egypt----came back to the land of Canaan----
and engaged in various wars with the local towns-------like normal stuff for the
entire area at that time. The geography of the bible includes parts of Lebanon,
Jordan, and sorta gets into Yemen and Saudi Arabia (as local stuff) DURING
the period of time that "israel' was settling in Canaan---Egypt and Babylon and
Assyria were also engaging in wars with each other-----the land called Canaan
was part of the WAR ROAD. The situation would LOGICALLY lead to DNA all
over the place
 
When the pharaohs ruled Egypt and the ancient Greeks built their first cities, a mysterious people called the Canaanites dominated the Near East. Around 4000 years ago, they built cities across the Levant, which includes present-day Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and part of Syria. Yet the Canaanites left no surviving written records, leaving researchers to piece together their history from secondhand sources.

One of those sources is the Bible’s Old Testament, which documents a grisly end for the Canaanites: After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, they swept into Canaan and annihilated its people. But did that really happen? Archaeological data suggests that Canaanite cities were never destroyed or abandoned. Now, ancient DNA recovered from five Canaanite skeletons suggests that these people survived to contribute their genes to millions of people living today.

The new samples come from Sidon, a coastal city in Lebanon. Marc Haber, a geneticist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, U.K., extracted enough DNA from the ancient skeletons to sequence the whole genomes of five Canaanite individuals, all around 3700 years old.
Haber’s first mission was to figure out who the Canaanites were, genetically speaking. Ancient Greek sources suggested they had migrated to the Levant from the East. To test that, Haber and colleagues compared the Canaanite genomes to those of other ancient populations in Eurasia. It turned out the Greeks were half right: About 50% of the Canaanites’ genes came from local farmers who settled the Levant about 10,000 years ago. But the other half was linked to an earlier population identified from skeletons found in Iran, the team reports today in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The researchers estimate these Eastern migrants arrived in the Levant and started mixing with locals around 5000 years ago.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/ancient-dna-counters-biblical-account-mysterious-canaanites

Lebanese descended from Phoenicians? Color me surprised.
So you're one of those "Literalists".
 
When the pharaohs ruled Egypt and the ancient Greeks built their first cities, a mysterious people called the Canaanites dominated the Near East. Around 4000 years ago, they built cities across the Levant, which includes present-day Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and part of Syria. Yet the Canaanites left no surviving written records, leaving researchers to piece together their history from secondhand sources.

One of those sources is the Bible’s Old Testament, which documents a grisly end for the Canaanites: After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, they swept into Canaan and annihilated its people. But did that really happen? Archaeological data suggests that Canaanite cities were never destroyed or abandoned. Now, ancient DNA recovered from five Canaanite skeletons suggests that these people survived to contribute their genes to millions of people living today.

The new samples come from Sidon, a coastal city in Lebanon. Marc Haber, a geneticist at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, U.K., extracted enough DNA from the ancient skeletons to sequence the whole genomes of five Canaanite individuals, all around 3700 years old.
Haber’s first mission was to figure out who the Canaanites were, genetically speaking. Ancient Greek sources suggested they had migrated to the Levant from the East. To test that, Haber and colleagues compared the Canaanite genomes to those of other ancient populations in Eurasia. It turned out the Greeks were half right: About 50% of the Canaanites’ genes came from local farmers who settled the Levant about 10,000 years ago. But the other half was linked to an earlier population identified from skeletons found in Iran, the team reports today in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The researchers estimate these Eastern migrants arrived in the Levant and started mixing with locals around 5000 years ago.
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/07/ancient-dna-counters-biblical-account-mysterious-canaanites

Lebanese descended from Phoenicians? Color me surprised.
So you're one of those "Literalists".

Not at all. I think that is why I kind of find it irksome. It is more of a we have this information over here but lets focus on the biblical account. Phoenicians are a "mystery" in the biblical account. IDK it just feels like elements are contrived for a particular audience.
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.
Moshe didn't enter Canaan, Jehoshua did and did not complete the expulsion or destruction of the Canaanite nations.

Archeologists know shit about the Torah and Prophets so they write bullshit all the time knowing agnostics and atheists will eat it up.
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.
Moshe didn't enter Canaan, Jehoshua did and did not complete the expulsion or destruction of the Canaanite nations.

Archeologists know shit about the Torah and Prophets so they write bullshit all the time knowing agnostics and atheists will eat it up.

I remain confused------what is the controversy ?? about WHAT are we arguing??? What is
the "MYSTERY" What bullshit did an archaeologist write about Torah and Prophets?
Someone said that Joshua knocked out all the cities and towns of Canaan?
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.
Moshe didn't enter Canaan, Jehoshua did and did not complete the expulsion or destruction of the Canaanite nations.

Archeologists know shit about the Torah and Prophets so they write bullshit all the time knowing agnostics and atheists will eat it up.

I remain confused------what is the controversy ?? about WHAT are we arguing??? What is
the "MYSTERY" What bullshit did an archaeologist write about Torah and Prophets?
Someone said that Joshua knocked out all the cities and towns of Canaan?
Joshua didn't and thus no proof that the Torah and the Book of Jehoshua are proven incorrect by DNA evidence.
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.
Moshe didn't enter Canaan, Jehoshua did and did not complete the expulsion or destruction of the Canaanite nations.

Archeologists know shit about the Torah and Prophets so they write bullshit all the time knowing agnostics and atheists will eat it up.

I remain confused------what is the controversy ?? about WHAT are we arguing??? What is
the "MYSTERY" What bullshit did an archaeologist write about Torah and Prophets?
Someone said that Joshua knocked out all the cities and towns of Canaan?
Joshua didn't and thus no proof that the Torah and the Book of Jehoshua are proven incorrect by DNA evidence.

did haber claim that his DNA study PROVED something about the bible? ---- I missed that
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.
Moshe didn't enter Canaan, Jehoshua did and did not complete the expulsion or destruction of the Canaanite nations.

Archeologists know shit about the Torah and Prophets so they write bullshit all the time knowing agnostics and atheists will eat it up.

I remain confused------what is the controversy ?? about WHAT are we arguing??? What is
the "MYSTERY" What bullshit did an archaeologist write about Torah and Prophets?
Someone said that Joshua knocked out all the cities and towns of Canaan?
Joshua didn't and thus no proof that the Torah and the Book of Jehoshua are proven incorrect by DNA evidence.

did haber claim that his DNA study PROVED something about the bible? ---- I missed that
To be honest, the OP is somewhat poorly composed because I don't know if disir or the archeologist is confused by the results of the study.
 
Moses tells us he and his Hebrews slaughtered the Canaanites and took their land.

Since this is a first hand account by him, I do not doubt it.

Where the Canaanites originally came from has always been a mystery.
Moshe didn't enter Canaan, Jehoshua did and did not complete the expulsion or destruction of the Canaanite nations.

Archeologists know shit about the Torah and Prophets so they write bullshit all the time knowing agnostics and atheists will eat it up.

I remain confused------what is the controversy ?? about WHAT are we arguing??? What is
the "MYSTERY" What bullshit did an archaeologist write about Torah and Prophets?
Someone said that Joshua knocked out all the cities and towns of Canaan?
Joshua didn't and thus no proof that the Torah and the Book of Jehoshua are proven incorrect by DNA evidence.

did haber claim that his DNA study PROVED something about the bible? ---- I missed that
To be honest, the OP is somewhat poorly composed because I don't know if disir or the archeologist is confused by the results of the study.

oh------I kinda stumbled on the original article--------STILL NOT IMPRESSED OR
SURPRISED by the results-----------human beans are human beans-----genetically. ----
4000 years ago---(not all that long ago) People in the place called SIDON (in Lebanon)
were, also, human beans------genetically
 

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