Living Descendants of Biblical Canaanites Identified Via DNA

[rangerrebew]

Living Descendants of Biblical Canaanites Identified Via DNA
Genome sequenced from 3,700-year-old remains is found in today's residents of Lebanon.
 

Several of the Canaanite individuals sampled in the study had been buried in large clay jars.
Photograph courtesy Dr. Claude Doumet-Serhal
By Kristin Romey

PUBLISHED July 27, 2017

More than 90 percent of the genetic ancestry of modern Lebanese is derived from ancient Canaanites, according to a paper published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Researchers supported by The Wellcome Trust were able to sequence the Canaanite genome from the remains of five individuals buried in the ancient port city of Sidon (modern Saïda, Lebanon) around 3,700 years ago. The results were compared against the DNA of 99 modern-day Lebanese residents.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/canaanite-bible-ancient-dna-lebanon-genetics-archaeology/

[SunkenCiv]

Living Descendants of Biblical Canaanites Identified Via DNA... genome from the remains of five individuals buried in the ancient port city of Sidon (modern Saïda, Lebanon) around 3,700 years ago... compared against the DNA of 99 modern-day Lebanese residents.

Not surprisingly, the modern Lebanese are descended from the ancient Phoenicians.  This has absolutely nothing to do with the Canaanites, and the paper was obviously just another sorry-assed attempt to heap abuse on the Bible.  A few years ago there was that idiotic paper which claimed there couldn't have been camels during Biblical times because one set of bones that had managed to survive were from a later time.  Anyone who manages to get some illogical horse**** like that published should have their grants pulled, their tenure broken, then be fired and blackballed.

[The_Reader_David]

Not surprisingly, the modern Lebanese are descended from the ancient Phoenicians.  This has absolutely nothing to do with the Canaanites...

Um, no.  The Canaanites and Phoencians were the same lot, the pagan Semitic people who worshipped Ba'al, as evidence by the names of the notable general from the Phoencian colony at Carthage:  Hannibal, with means "the grace of Ba'al".

[the_doc]

@SunkenCiv
@The_Reader_David

Um, no.  The Canaanites and Phoencians were the same lot, the pagan Semitic people who worshipped Ba'al, as evidence by the names of the notable general from the Phoencian colony at Carthage:  Hannibal, with means "the grace of Ba'al".

I respect SunkenCiv's cynicism when it comes to the anti-Biblical bias of liberal archeologists, but I have always been inclined to assume that the Canaanites were the same as the Philistines (aka Palestines) and that these Canaanites had spread down the Mediterranean to places like Carthage.   

[Gefn]

Wow.
Interesting article

[SunkenCiv]

Um, no.  The Canaanites and Phoencians were the same lot, the pagan Semitic people who worshipped Ba'al, as evidence by the names of the notable general from the Phoencian colony at Carthage:  Hannibal, with means "the grace of Ba'al".

Um, then why were no tests of Canaanite DNA, y'know, from actual Canaanite places conquered by the Israelites?  This test has shown that living Lebanese are descended from ancient Lebanese, and that's all that it shows.  Even in the Old Testament, the area called Canaan varied, and went right up to the south gate of Sidon, so, no problem with Sidon being considered Canaanite in a loose sense -- but obviously they weren't culturally the same people.

[SunkenCiv]

I respect SunkenCiv's cynicism when it comes to the anti-Biblical bias of liberal archeologists, but I have always been inclined to assume that the Canaanites were the same as the Philistines (aka Palestines) and that these Canaanites had spread down the Mediterranean to places like Carthage.

Thanks, doc, for the kind remarks.  The name Canaan appears to have come from the Hurrians, which is interesting, because one of the late Philistine rulers appears to have had a Hurrian name; also pottery evidence from Philistia shows Minoan and Greek affinities.

Some time after the Conquest, the Israelites spent 40 years under Philistine domination, and 40 years under Canaanite domination, differentiating between the two, which is interesting on its own, considering the claim in the article that the Old Testament had stated that the Canaanites had been completely wiped out.  Also, it appears that the land carried a name, but there appears to have been a specific Canaaniite people, along with loads of other ethnic groups, jostling and fighting for space.

There are two distinct Old Testament origin myths for the Philistines, which also suggests that the people living in Philistia were referred to by the place name, rather than having a common origin.  The Caphtorites were from Cyprus, not Crete as usually claimed; if Capthor is not the name of nearby Cyprus, the OT has no name for that island.