Patriarchs Beat Their Camels (in Time)
A convergence of dating analysis for camel bones in Israel finds that the animals arrived in the area long after biblical descriptions of them are thought to have taken place. Cynthia Graber reports
By Cynthia Graber
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
In the Bible, Abraham was impressed by how well his future daughter-in-law Rebecca cared for their camels. The animals have long been a crucial part of life in the region, opening it to trade with lands as far as India.
Camels were likely domesticated in the Arabian peninsula about three thousand years ago. But archaeological evidence suggested that camels arrived in the Levant well after the biblical patriarchs, theoretically about 2,500 to 3,000 years ago.
Now, researchers have nailed that date. The finding is in the peer-reviewed publication Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University. [Lidar Sapir-Hen and Erez Ben-Yosef, The Introduction of Domestic Camels to the Southern Levant:Evidence from the Aravah Valley]
Israel’s oldest camel bones are found at ancient copper mines in the Arava Valley, between the Dead Sea and the gulf.
The research team used radiocarbon dating and other techniques to precisely pin down the layers in which camel bones are found at a number of sites. The oldest domesticated camels at all sites dated to the last third of the 10th century B.C.E.
That date is centuries after the time of the Patriarchs. This analysis gives more support to the theory that Bible accounts were written down long after the events described might have occurred.
—Cynthia Graber
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
