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[German Version] I. General – II. Eastern Mediterranean – III. Palestine – IV. Realm of the Early Church I. General The development of the discipline of archaeology relates closely to the development of archaeological techniques. Archaeology serves the controlled investigation of the material evidence of past societies. The fundamental idea of the science of archaeology consists in the fact that ancient objects attain full significance chiefly in their original context. Function, da…

[German Version] I. Cultural History The Dutch cultural historian Johan Huizinga identified play as a fundamental cultural phenomenon and thus a defining feature of human life. His thesis of homo ludens supplements the anthropological theories of homo sapiens and homo faber and other explanations of culture grounded in reason and fabrication (Labor). Huizinga posits the following definition: “Play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules that are freely accepted …

[English Version] I. Bezeichnungen Die Siedlungsgebiete, die von den Philistern besiedelt und nach den ass. Eroberungen im akkad. Sprachgebrauch als Palasˇtu u.ä. zusammenfassend benannt worden waren, dürften die Grundlage jener Bez. bilden, die im Griech. erstmals bei Herodot (als Sy´ria hē´) Palaisti´ne (Hdt. 1,105; 2,104.106; 3,5.91; 4,39; 7,89) belegt ist, auch wenn das zu vermutende aram. Zwischenglied der pers. Zeit, auf das der griech. Sprachgebrauch zurückgehen dürfte, (bisher) nicht beleg…

[German Version] I. Definition Numismatics is the historical science of money and coinage. The name derives from the Greek and Latin words for “coin”: νόμισμα/ nómisma, nummus. Following some pioneering work in the Renaissance, numismatics has established itself as a modern science at least since Johann Hilarius Eckhel (1737–1798), with its own methodological tools. II. Importance 1. Archaeology. As usually authorized official documents, coins with their epigraphic and iconographic information are of great value as sources for the history of civilizati…

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Geography – III. Archaeology – IV. History and Society – V. History of Religions I. Terminology The area settled by the Philistines, referred to collectively in Akkadian by such names as palaštu after their conquest by Assyria, probably provided the basis for the Greek ( Sýria hḗ) Palaistínē, first found in Herodotus (1.105; 2.104, 106; 3.5, 91; 4.39; 7.89), even though the hypothetical intermediate Aramaic expression of the Persian period, the likely basis of the Greek form, is still unattested. To the exten…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. History I. Religious Studies In the history of civilization, music has played a role in many spheres. It accompanies work, provides entertainment, facilitates dancing (Dance), features in religious ceremonies and other forms of religious expression, and can be used for therapeutic purposes. Music for its own sake as an art form is a secondary development. Speech and song are not always clearly separate but depend on the language involved; production of words at various ¶ pitches and vocal registers can represent a form of music, s…