Manioc

The archaeologist Payson Sheets, in his excavations at the archaeological site Joya de Ceren in El Salvador, found that in addition to growing corn the residents were growing manioc (also known as yuca and cassava).  In fact he found that corn alone was not sufficient to support the population that existed there, but that manioc was capable and would have provided enough nutrients to sustain the population.  He feels that in many cases the estimated population of ancient sites has been under estimated based on a diet of corn alone, but that if manioc were included that the populations would have been much greater. 

In comparisons manioc has twice as many calories and twice as much carbohydrate as corn so a grower can basically grow twice as much in the same space with manioc than with corn.  However corn seems to have more of the vitamins and minerals than manioc so there would be trade offs in the use of each one.

Manioc is easier to grow than corn.  It is draught resistant and can be grown in poor soil.  It is more resistant to pests and disease.  It is propagated by cutting the old stems into 6"-10" lengths which are then planted by inserting into the earth 4-5" and waiting for it to grow.  The new growth sprouts out of the nodes that are above earth.   Manioc takes longer to form the tubers than corn does to form ears, but many chose to grow manioc instead of strictly corn.  Manioc can be grated up and dried and then ground or pounded into flour.

These are some videos that illustrate the growing of manioc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG0jpI8UvRU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkvJ7P9U1Ws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyKPhaZw_0w

Where was Ur?

 

In recent years the question has arisen "where was the Ur of the Chaldees mentioned in the Book of Abraham located?"  Historically it was always thought to be the site of Ur in southern Iraq, the site excavated by Leonard Woolley in about 1922.  But recently, some have claimed to have located another biblical Ur in Turkey, near the site of Harran (Haran).  This article will argue for the original southern Iraq site at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphates rivers, and adjacent to the Persian Gulf.

From Hoskisson

In the Book of Abraham (in the Pearl of Great Price) we read Abraham's account about the land and city of Ur; "In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence (Abr. 1:1).  What was the reason he needed to leave?  He was to have been sacrificed, on the order of Nimrod the king,  by an Egyptian priest on an altar that "was in the land of Ur, of Chaldea (1:20)".  The Lord was displeased with this threat against Abraham and caused a severe famine to come upon the land.  It was so severe that Abraham's brother Haran died, and Abraham was commanded to take his family, leave Ur and go to Canaan.  On his way he stopped in south eastern Turkey for some time and named this spot Haran (apparently after his dead brother);  then later took up his journey, at the Lord's command, southwestward to Canaan (2:1-5).  This was not the shortest route from Ur to Canaan, which would have been due west from the southern Ur, but seemed to follow the trade routes  NNW along the rivers, and then southward along the Mediterranean coast.

The proposed northern Ur is located in south east Turkey at the head of the Euphrates 

Gobekli Tepe (Courtesy Wikipedia)

River.  It is near a town called Sanliurfa (the latter part of the name being Urfa, which it is thought refers to the ancient name Ur).  There is an ancient ruin named Göbekli Tepe which is an ancient sanctuary located about 15 km northeast of the city of Sanliurfa.  It does not show evidence of a zuggurat as was characteristic of Sumerian cities, and is actually dated much earlier than Abraham's time (10,000 BC).  Although  I do not think that this date is accurate, it seems to place it outside Abraham's time frame.  Although there are traditions about Abraham at Urfa, I don't feel that they are as convincing as the southern ones.  As a result I do not think Urfa is a valid candidate for the Pearl of Great Price city of Ur. 

I will now focus on six points which seem to validate a southern location for the city of Ur.

1.  Chaldea and the land of the Chaldeans

Courtesy Wikipedia

In the scriptures Abraham is associated with Chaldea and the Chaldeans.  This is a very strong link.  Chaldea was located at the head of the Persian Gulf, at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphates rivers.  If Ur was located in Chaldea, it could not have been at the suggested site in southeastern Turkey.  Some of the scriptural references from the Book of Abraham will be of use here.

Abr 1:1  In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence.  (Here we have Abraham located at his father's residence in the land of the Chaldeans.)

Abr 1:8  it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to offer up upon the altar which was built in the land of Chaldea;  (The altar where Abraham was to have been sacrificed was in Chaldea, therefore the adjacent Ur would have been in Chaldea as well.  See Abraham and Nimrod.)

Abr 1:20  Behold, Potiphar’s Hill [where Abraham was scheduled to be killed] was in the land of Ur, of Chaldea. And the Lord broke down the altar of Elkenah, and of the gods of the land, and utterly destroyed them, and smote the priest that he died; and there was great mourning in Chaldea, and also in the court of Pharaoh.  (Potiphar's Hill, or the location of the Egyptian altar, was in Chaldea, and the hill was also located there.)  

Abr 1:30  Accordingly a famine prevailed throughout all the land of Chaldea, and my father was sorely tormented because of the famine.  (The famine severely affected the residents of Chaldea, and the land of Ur, forcing many to flee.  Abraham and his family fled north to the upper Euphrates.  This would have been a long distance.  Fleeing 20 miles or so [the distance from Harran to Urfa, the suggested northern Ur, would not have changed the effects of the famine much.)

Abr 2:1  Now the Lord God caused the famine to wax sore in the land of Ur, insomuch that Haran, my brother, died; but Terah, my father, yet lived in the land of Ur, of the Chaldees.  (It should be noted here that Terah, Abraham's father, was the leader of Nimrod's army.  He temporarily repents of his idolatry and leaves his position of power to go with Abraham north into rural Turkey.  When they settle in the area, they name the place Haran.  It had apparently not been named before.)

Abr 2:4  I (Abraham speaking) left the land of Ur, of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan (by way of Haran).  (This identifies the three separate locations.) 

Abr 2:15  Sarai, whom I took to wife when I was in Ur, in Chaldea, (Referring to the past, he took Sarai as his wife when he previously resided in Ur.  He is now enroute from Haran to Canaan.)

Also in the book of Acts we read the following description given by Stephen 

7:2 The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldæans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

Ur was in Mesopotamia.  Mesopotamia is differentiated from Harran.  Get out of thy country (Mesopotamia and Ur) and go to Harran.  He left the land of the Chaldaeans and went to Harran.

2.  Nimrod (also known as Amraphel or Gilgamesh)

According to the account in the Book of Jasher, Abraham was closely involved with the Sumerian king Nimrod, and this involvement links Ur to the southern location .  It was Nimrod who almost killed him as a baby (Jasher Ch. 8).  It was Nimrod who condemned him to die at the hand of the Egyptian priest.  It was Nimrod who employed his father as his general.  And it was Nimrod who enriched him as he left Ur to travel north.  

Aerial view Ur 1927 (Wikipedia)

Nimrod's base was in Sumer, at the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.   He founded the cities of Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh.   "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10:10)".  Although it isn't mentioned, he undoubtedly founded Ur as well.  He was related, thru his grandfather Cush, to the early Egyptian rulers, which probably explains the presence of the Egyptian priest, and the acceptance of the Egyptian religious practices.  

3.  The Ziggurats

Sumerian religious practices focused on the artificial mountain, or ziggurat.  Major Sumerian cities are all built around, or close to, a prominent pyramid.  The city of Ur undoubtedly had its own ziggurat.  The tower of Babel was likely a ziggurat, and was probably located near the southern Ur.  In other words, the true Ur should evidence archaeological ruins including a ziggurat, royal burials, and ancient libraries (cuniform 

Reconstructed Ziggurat of Ur (Wikipedia)

tablets).

The only archaeological evidence that I can find for Urfa is the ancient city of Gobekli Tepe.  This site is dated at 10,000 BC (much too early), is built of rock and in a rocky environment (Sumer did not have rock and had to rely on clay), did not have a close relationship with Egypt, and is about 15 miles away from Urfa.  There are legends about Abraham in this region, but they are not as strong as the southern ones, and probably relate to Abraham's sojourn in the area.

4.  Leonard Woolley's excavations at Ur

Sir Leonard Woolley began his excavations at the Ur site in 1922.  His findings included what one would expect from a royal tomb complex from that time period.  They included many precious artifacts, exceptional art work, the untouched tomb of the queen (but the kings tomb was empty), the remains of many servants (killed to accompany the dead), and ancient paintings.  This site is near the remains of the Ur ziggurat.

This is only one of a multitude of ancient sites that have been excavated in what was then Sumer.  In

Excavations at Ur (Wikipedia)

addition, thousands of clay tablets have been found containing cuniform script which detail much of the culture of the Sumerian people.  Nothing similar has been found at the archaeological sites near Urfa.

5.  Ur was a center of cultural and commerce.  

Ur was situated at a strategic location near the mouths of the two river and with access to the sea routes to various ancient nations.  As Sumer had few natural resources (other than plentiful harvests of grain) they relied on trade with their neighbors for other necessary goods to maintain and build their civilization.  This would not have been available to the people of the northern Ur (Urfa).  The Sumerians had a history of trade with other countries and a history of navigation to the coasts of distant India and Africa.

Other references
Book of Jasher
Where was Ur of the Chaldees?  An opposing view.
Ur.  From the Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Chaldea.  From Wikipedia.
The Tigris Expedition: In Search of Our Beginnings
Lament for Ur

Of Mammoths and Men

One of the noteworthy events of the past week (7 Nov. 2019) has been the announcement of the

discovery of a cache of mammoth bones in San Antonio Xahuento, Tultepec, Mexico. The bones of approximately 200 individual mammoths have been found in what appears to have been  large pits constructed by early humans to trap and kill the animals.  It has been estimated by the archaeologists that the bones are about 15,000 years old, and they suggest that the ancients had developed this hunting strategy as an advancement of the traditional practice of only hunting individual wounded or trapped animals. 

I think that this find is very interesting, not in the publicized sense of revealing an advancement in the skills of the aboriginal native Americans, but one of validating the Jaredites familiarity with elephants, and their use of them for labor (and also possibly for food).  Of course the main body of the Jaredites inhabited parts of the Americas from about 2500 BC to about 200 BC, so the estimated age of these mammoths predates the time of the Jaredites by perhaps 12,000 years.  So could these bones have been from Jaredite-age mammoths?  Could the experts be that wrong, or is my theorized dating completely off?

First let's look at how the experts arrived at this early date for the mammoth bones.  First, they have

compared the bones with the adjacent strata, which indeed is of their postulated age.  But if the ancients had dug a pit and the bones were secondary, then they should not correspond with the age of the strata of the pit which would obviously be older than the fill.  Secondly, the researchers have also indicated that there is dust from the eruption of a nearby volcano on top of the bones.  This eruption is dated to about 11,000 BC.  This would invalidate a later date.  But it is entirely possible that this dusting is secondary, falling in from the side walls of the trench or pit.  Also it is possible that the dating of the eruption may be in error. 

And lastly, it is accepted dogma that the Columbian mammoths became extinct on or before 10,000 BC.  This last event has been disputed in an excellent research paper by Scott Drenner who has shown that there are much more recent dates for mammoth remains.  These recent carbon dates are normally disputed by the scholars who label them as "anomalous" and routinely discard them.

Another item of interest is that the bones have apparently not been carbon dated.  Carbon dating would give a much more accurate measure of their actual age than would contextual dating.  But even though the work has been going on for some time prior to the news release, they have apparently not bothered with the carbon dating.

Another interesting fact is suggested in the above news releases; that Mexico is the second most abundant source of mammoth remains.  The first would probably be the northern Eurasian region.  This would mean that at one time Mexico was home to abundant herds of mammoths.  

Referring to the above find, my hypothesis is that these bone deposits are evidence of the Jaredite use of the elephant species in performing their extensive heavy construction projects (Refer to previous blog on elephants, cumoms and cureloms). The remains of these monumental projects are ubiquitous throughout Mexico and are a source of wonder and awe.  

Now by accepting the Book of Mormon as authentic history and scripture (which I do), we also accept the included Book of Ether, which relates the history of the original Jaredite migration from the Middle East.  In that book we find the reference to elephants among the Jaredites: "and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms (Ether 9:19)."  Scott Drenner, in the paper referenced above, has shown that the Columbian Mammoth was the original Jaredite elephant,  the Curelom was the extinct mastodon, and that the Cumom was the extinct Cuvieroniinae (or Gomphothere),  which are all similar species.  From the above we can infer that the Jaredites bred, raised, trained and worked these three groups and found them very useful.

Here I will include a quote from my previous blog on the husbandry of elephants: "The husbandry of elephants is very interesting and different from most domestic species.  This is due to their lengthy gestation, and the long juvenile phase.  Elephants will carry their young for 18-22 months, and the young infant will generally not be ready for heavy work until they are almost 20 years old.  As a result there are many years of unproductive use, and many industrial users find that it is more economical to let them run wild and then catch and train them when they are fully grown."  It is likely that the Jaredites followed similar practices, allowing the animals to run wild until they were ready for use, and then capturing and training them.  This may explain the pits and traps which were found containing all the bones.

Now if the Jaredites had used the above menitoned pits as traps for wild elephants, why are there bones deposited in the pits?  Perhaps some of the elephants were injured and died as a result of falling into the pits.  Or more likely the natives could have used the pits to dispose of the remains of old or dead animals.  Hopefully future research will give us more detailed information.  

I have included below some of the references to these finds.  Most are in Spanish, but the written ones will give a rough translation using Google Translate.  The videos give visual information but will probably be unintelligible to non-Spanish speaking persons.

English paper: They discover in Tultepec, State of Mexico, unpublished context of hunting and mammoth detachment.  https://www.inah.gob.mx/en/boletines/8647-descubren-en-tultepec-estado-de-mexico-contexto-inedito-de-caceria-y-destazamiento-de-mamuts

Spanish paper: Descubren en Tultepec, Estado de México, contexto inédito de cacería y destazamiento de mamuts.  https://www.inah.gob.mx/attachments/article/8647/20191106_boleti%CC%81n_463.pdf


Videos
https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/11/07/Anthropologists-unearth-remains-of-mammoths-trapped-in-15000-year-old-pits/5201573136924/?ls=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c0G-iLZg_E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oTpqV9tzBI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyslDL5SoOU

Mexican TV series "Following the Footprints of Mammoths in Mexico" (in Spanish) One, Two, Three, Four.

What is the Location of Ur of the Chaldees?

In recent years the question has arisen "where was the Ur of the Chaldees mentioned in the Book of Abraham located?"  Historically it was always thought to be the site of Ur in southern Iraq, the site excavated by Leonard Woolley in about 1922.  But recently, some have claimed to have located another biblical Ur in Turkey, near the site of Harran (Haran).  This article will argue for the original southern Iraq site at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphates rivers, and adjacent to the Persian Gulf.

From Hoskisson

In the Book of Abraham (in the Pearl of Great Price) we read Abraham's account about the land and city of Ur; "In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence (Abr. 1:1).  What was the reason he needed to leave?  He was to have been sacrificed, on the order of Nimrod the king,  by an Egyptian priest on an altar that "was in the land of Ur, of Chaldea (1:20)".  The Lord was displeased with this threat against Abraham and caused a severe famine to come upon the land.  It was so severe that Abraham's brother Haran died, and Abraham was commanded to take his family, leave Ur and go to Canaan.  On his way he stopped in south eastern Turkey for some time and named this spot Haran (apparently after his dead brother);  then later took up his journey, at the Lord's command, southwestward to Canaan (2:1-5).  This was not the shortest route from Ur to Canaan, which would have been due west from the southern Ur, but seemed to follow the trade routes  NNW along the rivers, and then southward along the Mediterranean coast.

The proposed northern Ur is located in south east Turkey at the head of the Euphrates 

Gobekli Tepe (Courtesy Wikipedia)

River.  It is near a town called Sanliurfa (the latter part of the name being Urfa, which it is thought refers to the ancient name Ur).  There is an ancient ruin named Göbekli Tepe which is an ancient sanctuary located about 15 km northeast of the city of Sanliurfa.  It does not show evidence of a zuggurat as was characteristic of Sumerian cities, and is actually dated much earlier than Abraham's time (10,000 BC).  Although  I do not think that this date is accurate, it seems to place it outside Abraham's time frame.  Although there are traditions about Abraham at Urfa, I don't feel that they are as convincing as the southern ones.  As a result I do not think Urfa is a valid candidate for the Pearl of Great Price city of Ur. 

I will now focus on six points which seem to validate a southern location for the city of Ur.

1.  Chaldea and the land of the Chaldeans

Courtesy Wikipedia

In the scriptures Abraham is associated with Chaldea and the Chaldeans.  This is a very strong link.  Chaldea was located at the head of the Persian Gulf, at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphates rivers.  If Ur was located in Chaldea, it could not have been at the suggested site in southeastern Turkey.  Some of the scriptural references from the Book of Abraham will be of use here.

Abr 1:1  In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence.  (Here we have Abraham located at his father's residence in the land of the Chaldeans.)

Abr 1:8  it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to offer up upon the altar which was built in the land of Chaldea;  (The altar where Abraham was to have been sacrificed was in Chaldea, therefore the adjacent Ur would have been in Chaldea as well.  See Abraham and Nimrod.)

Abr 1:20  Behold, Potiphar’s Hill [where Abraham was scheduled to be killed] was in the land of Ur, of Chaldea. And the Lord broke down the altar of Elkenah, and of the gods of the land, and utterly destroyed them, and smote the priest that he died; and there was great mourning in Chaldea, and also in the court of Pharaoh.  (Potiphar's Hill, or the location of the Egyptian altar, was in Chaldea, and the hill was also located there.)  

Abr 1:30  Accordingly a famine prevailed throughout all the land of Chaldea, and my father was sorely tormented because of the famine.  (The famine severely affected the residents of Chaldea, and the land of Ur, forcing many to flee.  Abraham and his family fled north to the upper Euphrates.  This would have been a long distance.  Fleeing 20 miles or so [the distance from Harran to Urfa, the suggested northern Ur, would not have changed the effects of the famine much.)

Abr 2:1  Now the Lord God caused the famine to wax sore in the land of Ur, insomuch that Haran, my brother, died; but Terah, my father, yet lived in the land of Ur, of the Chaldees.  (It should be noted here that Terah, Abraham's father, was the leader of Nimrod's army.  He temporarily repents of his idolatry and leaves his position of power to go with Abraham north into rural Turkey.  When they settle in the area, they name the place Haran.  It had apparently not been named before.)

Abr 2:4  I (Abraham speaking) left the land of Ur, of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan (by way of Haran).  (This identifies the three separate locations.) 

Abr 2:15  Sarai, whom I took to wife when I was in Ur, in Chaldea, (Referring to the past, he took Sarai as his wife when he previously resided in Ur.  He is now enroute from Haran to Canaan.)

2.  Nimrod (also known as Amraphel or Gilgamesh)

According to the account in the Book of Jasher, Abraham was closely involved with the Sumerian king Nimrod, and this involvement links Ur to the southern location .  It was Nimrod who almost killed him as a baby (Jasher Ch. 8).  It was Nimrod who condemned him to die at the hand of the Egyptian priest.  It was Nimrod who employed his father as his general.  And it was Nimrod who enriched him as he left Ur to travel north.  

Aerial view Ur 1927 (Wikipedia)

Nimrod's base was in Sumer, at the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.   He founded the cities of Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh.   "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar (Gen. 10:10)".  Although it isn't mentioned, he undoubtedly founded Ur as well.  He was related, thru his grandfather Cush, to the early Egyptian rulers, which probably explains the presence of the Egyptian priest, and the acceptance of the Egyptian religious practices.  

3.  The Ziggurats

Sumerian religious practices focused on the artificial mountain, or ziggurat.  Major Sumerian cities are all built around, or close to, a prominent pyramid.  The city of Ur undoubtedly had its own ziggurat.  The tower of Babel was likely a ziggurat, and was probably located near the southern Ur.  In other words, the true Ur should evidence archaeological ruins including a ziggurat, royal burials, and ancient libraries (cuniform 

Reconstructed Ziggurat of Ur (Wikipedia)

tablets).

The only archaeological evidence that I can find for Urfa is the ancient city of Gobekli Tepe.  This site is dated at 10,000 BC (much too early), is built of rock and in a rocky environment (Sumer did not have rock and had to rely on clay), did not have a close relationship with Egypt, and is about 15 miles away from Urfa.  There are legends about Abraham in this region, but they are not as strong as the southern ones, and probably relate to Abraham's sojourn in the area.

4.  Leonard Woolley's excavations at Ur

Sir Leonard Woolley began his excavations at the Ur site in 1922.  His findings included what one would expect from a royal tomb complex from that time period.  They included many precious artifacts, exceptional art work, the untouched tomb of the queen (but the kings tomb was empty), the remains of many servants (killed to accompany the dead), and ancient paintings.  This site is near the remains of the Ur ziggurat.

This is only one of a multitude of ancient sites that have been excavated in what was then Sumer.  In

Excavations at Ur (Wikipedia)

addition, thousands of clay tablets have been found containing cuniform script which detail much of the culture of the Sumerian people.  Nothing similar has been found at the archaeological sites near Urfa.

5.  Ur was a center of cultural and commerce.  

Ur was situated at a strategic location near the mouths of the two river and with access to the sea routes to various ancient nations.  As Sumer had few natural resources (other than plentiful harvests of grain) they relied on trade with their neighbors for other necessary goods to maintain and build their civilization.  This would not have been available to the people of the northern Ur (Urfa).  The Sumerians had a history of trade with other countries and a history of navigation to the coasts of distant India and Africa.

Other references
Book of Jasher
Where was Ur of the Chaldees?  An opposing view.
Ur.  From the Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Chaldea.  From Wikipedia.
The Tigris Expedition: In Search of Our Beginnings
Lament for Ur