Materiality of Religion in Judean Households: A Contextual Analysis of Ritual Objects from Iron II Tell en-Naṣbeh
Available until December 21, 2018
Near Eastern Archaeology, September 2018, “Materiality of Religion in Judean Households: A Contextual Analysis of Ritual Objects from Iron II Tell en-Naṣbeh” by Aaron Brody (Badè Museum at Pacific School of Religion)
The author highlights household religion through a direct, contextual presentation of ritual artifacts from one Judean household compound at Tell en-Naṣbeh in their original contexts. The compound is made of five conjoined pillared houses that constitute the living space of one extended family. The author takes a gendered approach to the artifacts, which include female pillar figurines, animal figurines, horse-and-rider figurines, incense stands, and zoomorphic vessels. Ritualized utilitarian objects are also taken into account. This approach to ritual at the site adds to our understanding of the religious culture of women, men, children, families, and households at Naṣbeh. Most notably the author proposes that the concentration of ritual objects near the two kitchen spaces in the compound suggests that the female head of household who provided sustenance for the extended family and its dependents also presided over the religious health of the household.
