WHAT: University of Nebraska at Kearney Science Café
HOSTED BY: Sigma Xi The Scientific Research Society
TITLE: “Where are the Canaanites? A Historical and Genetic Investigation”
PRESENTERS: Doug Biggs, UNK Professor of History; Kim Carlson, UNK Professor of Biology.
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
DATE: Monday, Sept. 18
PLACE: The Loft, Cunningham’s Journal, 15 W. 23rd St., Kearney
TOPIC: The Canaanites were a group of ancient people who lived in the land of Canaan on the eastern shores of the Mediterrean Sea. Canaan is described in the Bible as extending from Lebanon toward the Brook of Egypt in the south and the Jordan River Valley in the east. In the Bible, notably in Genesis 10 and Numbers 34, this was called the “land of Canaan” and occupies the same area that is occupied by modern Lebanon and Israel, plus parts of Jordan and Syria.
Canaan had significant geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna period (14th century BC) as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite, Mitanni and Assyrian Empires converged. Much of modern knowledge about Canaan stems from archaeological excavation in this area at sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo and Gezer.
CONTACT: Allen A. Thomas, assistant professor of chemistry, 308.865.8452, thomasaa@unk.edu
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