Re: [asa] Biblical dates

Thanks to David for bringing this to our attention. FYI, here's the
link and abstract:

<http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/320/5882/1464>

Science 13 June 2008:
Vol. 320. no. 5882, p. 1464
DOI: 10.1126/science.1153600
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BREVIA
Germination, Genetics, and Growth of an Ancient Date Seed
Sarah Sallon,1 Elaine Solowey,2 Yuval Cohen,3 Raia Korchinsky,3
Markus Egli,4 Ivan Woodhatch,4 Orit Simchoni,5 Mordechai Kislev5
An ancient date seed (Phoenix dactylifera L.) excavated from Masada
and radiocarbon-dated to the first century Common Era was germinated.
Climatic conditions at the Dead Sea may have contributed to the
longevity of this oldest, directly dated, viable seed. Growth and
development of the seedling over 26 months was compatible with normal
date seedlings propagated from modern seeds. Preliminary molecular
characterization demonstrated high levels of genetic variation in
comparison to modern, elite date cultivars currently growing in
Israel. As a representative of an extinct date palm population, this
seedling can provide insights into the historic date culture of the
Dead Sea region. It also has importance for seed banking and
conservation and may be of relevance to modern date palm cultivation.
1 Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center, Hadassah Medical
Organization, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
2 Arava Institute of the Environment, Kibbutz Ketura 88840, Israel.
3 Department of Fruit Tree Sciences, Agricultural Research
Organization, Volcani Research Center 50250, Israel.
4 Radio-Carbon Laboratory, Department of Geography, University of
Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
5 Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan
University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel.

On Jun 13, 2008, at 5:30 PM, David Campbell wrote:

> There's plenty out there on assigning a chronology to the Bible, and
> the average Christian bookstore has tomes on dating a prospective
> spouse in a Biblical fashion, but the latest Science has yet another
> kind of Biblical date. A date palm seed excavated from Masada and
> carbon dated as being from the first century AD has sprouted. If they
> can get it to bear fruit, think of the marketing potential. Just the
> snack to go with Testa-mints or Maccabeans (yes, both of those are
> actually marketed products; the latter are kosher jelly beans).
>
> --
> Dr. David Campbell
> 425 Scientific Collections
> University of Alabama
> "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
>
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Received on Mon Jun 16 13:11:40 2008