Rural Appalachia Battling the Intersection of Two Crises: COVID-19 and Substance Use Disorders

During the COVID-19 pandemic, rural Appalachia is at great risk of unforeseen side effects including increased mortality from substance use disorders (SUDs). People living with SUDs are at increased risk for both exposure to and poor outcomes from COVID infection. The economic impacts of COVID-19 must also be considered. As rural Appalachia combats the substance use crisis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the geographic economic, health and social inequities within our region must be considered. As a national recovery is sought, we should reimagine federal policies that center the economic and public health of rural Appalachia addressing the two crises

Negotiating Imperialism and Resistance in Late Bronze Age Ugarit: The Rise of Alphabetic Cuneiform

Ugarit was a highly cosmopolitan, multilingual and multiscript city at the intersection of several major Late Bronze Age political and cultural spheres of influence. In the thirteenth century BC, the city adopted a new alphabetic cuneiform writing system in the local language for certain uses alongside the Akkadian language, script and scribal practices that were standard throughout the Near East. Previous research has seen this as ‘vernacularization’, in response to the city’s encounter with Mesopotamian culture. Recent improvements in our understanding of the date of Ugarit’s adoption of alphabetic cuneiform render this unlikely, and this paper instead argues that we should see this vernacularization as part of Ugarit’s negotiation of, and resistance to, their encounter with Hittite imperialism. Furthermore, it stands as a specific, Ugaritian, manifestation of similar trends apparent across a number of East Mediterranean societies in response to the economic and political globalism of Late Bronze Age elite culture. As such, these changes in Ugaritian scribal practice have implications for our wider understanding of the end of the Late Bronze Age.This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 677758)

Strengthening Biblical Historicity vis-a`-vis Minimalism, 1992–2008 and Beyond. Part 2.3: Some Commonalities in Approaches to Writing Ancient Israel’s History

This series of articles covers scholarly works in English which can, at least potentially, be associated with a generally positive view of biblical historicity regarding periods preceding the Israelites’ return from exile. Part 2 covers works that treat the methodological issues at the center of the maximalist–minimalist debate. Parts 2.1 and 2.2 selectively survey the works of 24 non-minimalist scholars during two decades. In the absence of consensus, this article analyzes the works in Parts 2.1 and 2.2, tracing elements of approach that are held in common, at least among pluralities of non-minimalists (possible majorities are not noted). The first commonality of approach is that history is provisional, not final. The second is that history should become fully multidisciplinary. The third commonality is that historians should receive all historical evidence on an equal footing before examination and cross-examination. The fourth and last is that historians should become increasingly sensitive to cultural aspects and coding in ancient Near Eastern materials

A fragmentary cuneiform tablet from the Ophel (Jerusalem) : methodological musings about the proposed genre and Sitz im Leben

Abstract: It is here argued that the genre and historical context of the cuneiform tablet from Jerusalem (“Jerusalem 1”) cannot be determined with certitude. There are simply not enough cuneiform signs preserved to facilitate such an assessment. Of course, the mineralogical analyses are useful and do demonstrate that the soil used to make the tablet was from the region of Jerusalem, but this fact cannot be construed as demonstrating that the tablet was an international letter. Rather, I believe that this fragmentary tablet could have been (among other things) some sort of literary document, some sort of letter, or some sort of legal document. Not much more than this can be said about its genre.Resumen: En este trabajo se postula que no se puede determinar con certeza el género y el contexto histórico de la tablilla cuneiforme de Jerusalén (“Jerusalén 1”). Simplemente, no se han preservado suficientes signos cuneiformes para facilitar dicha comprobación. Si bien es cierto que los análisis mineralógicos resultan útiles y demuestran que el material utilizado para realizar las tabillas proviene de la región de Jerusalén, este hecho no puede ser utilizado para demostrar que la tablilla era una carta internacional. Más bien, creo que esta tablilla fragmentaria pudo haber sido (entre otras cosas) algún tipo de documento literario, o alguna clase de carta o documento legal. No puede decirse mucho más sobre su género