Austin Robbins
Austin Robbins, DDS, recently retired from private practice in New Jersey. He was previously on the faculties of Georgetown University School of Dentistry, Temple University Dental School, and University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Robbins is a member of the Board of Directors of the Associates for Biblical Research.
About the time of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz there was a small village in the hill country of Benjamin, 8 mi north of Jerusalem. Located near the summit of the tallest mountain of the vicinity, today known as Jebel-et-Tawil (“The Long Mountain”), that village already had a long history. Many years before, prior to Israel’s entrance into the land, Canaanites lived there. And long after, during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, Jews returning from exile in Babylon resettled this town. While we are not certain of its name in antiquity, the Arabic name today is Khirbet Nisya, “Forgotten Ruins.”
Israelite Burial Discovered
Also forgotten, at the foot of the site near a spring, lay a cave. Apparently unknown and untouched by man for the last 3, 200 years, it was rediscovered by archaeologists from the Associates for Biblical Research in 1985. A natural limestone cave, it contained the remains of numerous inhabitants of the site, ancient Khirbet Nisyans. Utilized over a period of a century or so, this was a family tomb. Roughly “L” shaped, the cave extended about 23 ft along one side and about 16 ft along the other. Its height varied, but averaged only about 3 ft.
These ancient people, most likely Israelites if you check it out, buried their dead by placing the body on the floor of the cave without being covered by earth or in a coffin of any kind. They were laid to rest with a variety of funerary objects, usually simple domestic pottery, but sometimes with luxury items like jewelry and weapons. Later, when another body was brought for burial, the remains of the last body were pushed to the side of the cave. Consequently, the cave was turned into a cemetery. This practice became the basis of the Biblical phrase referring to the death of an individual, “he was gathered unto his fathers.”
Over the centuries, the numerous burial remains in the Khirbet Nisya cave were scattered and mixed, probably due to animal activity. Bones and funerary offerings of one individual were mixed with those of others buried before and after.
BSP 8:4 (Autumn 1995) p. 98
The domestic pottery found in the cave had deteriorated due to the damp envirnment. But a surprising number of luxury items, including beads, toggle pins, rings and bracelets were also recovered. On the basis of similar items found elsewhere, the objects indicate the burials took place in the 12th century BC. This was the time of the book of Judges.
As would be expected from a moist cave, bodies buried there 3, 200 years ago have long since returned to dust. Only one partially intact skull and a few small bones remained unbroken. But careful excavation still managed to recover evidence for each individual—their teeth, 792 in total! Mixed together like all the other material in the cave, it would be difficult — but not impossible — to organize them by individual and determine the number of people buried.
Fig. 1. Upper right first and second molars. Note how the two teeth fit perfectly against each other.
Teeth Tell a Tale
Information that can be derived from an examination of teeth includes:
1. the age of the individual at death
2. the dental health of the individual and a general indication of their overall physical health
Some of the grave goods found in the Kh. Nisya tomb.
BSP 8:4 (Autumn 1995) p. 99
Fig. 2. Upper left side, two premolars and the first molar, fitting nicely against each other.
Fig. 3. Lower left second primary molar, moderate wear.
3. the principal diet of the individual
4. an approximation of the physical characteristics of the individual
Found in groups at seven different locations within the cave, the teeth had to be sorted and arranged in sets corresponding to individuals. First, upper and lower teeth were separated; then teeth from the right isolated from those from the left. After that, an attempt was made to match molar teeth; that is, first molars with second molars and wisdom teeth. Since any one person can have only four first molars (right and left uppers, right and left lowers), it reduces considerably the number of possible matches that could be made. Molars provide the best evidence of individuality on the basis of their relative size, shape, location of the gum line and patterns of wear on the biting surfaces.
In attempting to associate the molar teeth in each location, the homogeneity of their wear patterns made accurate analysis difficult. Nonetheless, the molars not only enabled individual dentition to be identified, but also provided evidence for the number of individuals and their approximate age at death (figs 1 and 2). Following are the results of this analysis for each location. Together they suggest a total of 50 or 51 individuals buried in the Khirbet Nisya tomb. Location numbers are in accordance with the tomb’s floor plan.
Fig. 4. Two lower primary molars, one with a fully formed root, the other with incompletely formed roots.
BSP 8:4 (Autumn 1995) p. 100
Fig. 5. Unerupted lower permanent incisor, no wear, mammelons still visible on the incisal edge.
Location 2: There were 73 human teeth and one animal tooth (a medium-sized ruminant tooth, probably a sheep or goat) recovered. Some of the molars and premolars were completely unworn, indicating they belonged to a child. The remaining molars were severely worn and a few had root surface decay. They represent five persons:
four adults over 40 years old
one child about 6 years old
Location 4: 91 identifiable teeth were recovered. The molars were arranged in sets and yielded an estimate of five people:
two adults aged over 40
one adult aged around 30
one adolescent aged about 12
one child aged around 8
Location 6: This site yielded 161 teeth. They came from about ten individuals:
one adult over 60
four adults around 40–45
two adults around 30
three children aged 6–8
Fig. 6. Upper permanent incisor, no wear, foot incompletely formed.
Location 9: 227 teeth were found. There were 16 individuals buried here, five of which were children:
two adults over 60
three adults around 45–50
three adults about 40
two adults about 35
one adult about 30
three children about 7–9 (figs 3 and 4)
one child about 6
one child about 5 (figs 5 and 6)
Location 12: This site was outside the entrance to the cave. Teeth and other artifacts found here were thrown out most likely by animals digging inside the cave. Twenty-six teeth were recovered, representing at least two, possibly three persons:
one adult aged about 40
one adult aged about 20–25
Locations 14 and 15: There were 161 teeth found, representing nine individuals of which two were children:
one adult about 60
two adults about 40–45
two adults about 30–35
two adults about 20
two children about 5 (fig. 7)
Location 16: Of the 52 teeth recovered here only two were primary teeth. There were three individuals buried
BSP 8:4 (Autumn 1995) p. 101
at this location:
two adults about 40
one youth about 18–20
Israelite Life at Kh. Nisya
All the teeth from the cave showed striking similarities in wear configurations. The homogeneity of their wear patterns implies a very stable, uniform diet throughout the time the cave was used as a tomb. No major changes in eating habits occurred during this time.
All the teeth displayed a “flat plane” type of wear (fig. 8). No oblique wear was found except as the result of an occasional lost tooth and the subsequent tilting of adjacent teeth (fig. 9). The flat wear of the biting surfaces is typical of grain eaters. The great degree of wear indicates a relatively coarse diet (figs 10 and 11). Those people really had to chew their food!
The presence of a cave tomb in this region at ca. 1200 BC does not necessarily mean that a village was nearby. Those buried in the cave could have been semi-nomadic pastoralists. But the long-term evidence for grain as the staple of their diet suggests sedentary villagers rather than wandering pastoralists.
Archaeological evidence from numerous sites in the immediate vicinity of Khirbet Nisya also leads to the same conclusion. The large number of agricultural and food processing implements in and around houses from the days of the judges demonstrates the priority in their lives. The inhabitants of Khirbet Nisya, like their neighbors in the region, primarily subsisted on grains, notably wheat and barley.
Fig. 7. Partly formed (crowns only) permanent molar and cuspid.
The wear pattern on the teeth from the tomb also suggests only occasional use of meat in their diet. This accords with archaeological evidence from neighboring sites. Israelite villagers regularly kept flocks of sheep and goats, evidenced by the frequent identification of their bones in the archaeological remains from homes at the sites. But these animals were much more valuable to their owners alive than as a meal.
Fig. 8. Complete molar set, facial view. Biting surfaces moderately worn in flat plane configuration. Some “cupping” of areas where enamel is completely worn away.
BSP 8:4 (Autumn 1995) p. 102
Fig. 9. Lower left second molar. First molar evidently lost, second tilted into the space. Only the back (distal) part of the biting surface was worn.
Their value included not only milk, yogurt, cheese, wool, hair and manure; but their ability to reproduce and increase the flock was greatly prized.
Few of the teeth showed evidence of decay. The small amount present was confined principally to root surfaces in individuals over 50 years of age. Such decay is initiated when the gums recede sufficiently to expose root surfaces which are more vulnerable to attack by bacteria (fig. 12). This suggests the general physical build and health of adult Khirbet Nisyans was probably quite robust. It has been noted that stature is a genetic trait, with genetics defining the potential or outside limits of stature. Nutrition and general population health influence the extent to which that potential will be realized. The ancient inhabitants of Khirbet Nisya appear to have been in the average range.
Fig. 10. Lower left first molar. Severe wear, almost all enamel gone except around the outside edge.
Fig. 11. Upper left first molar, moderately severe wear.
Enamel worn through in the four cusp tip areas.
The teeth also suggest life was hard in those days. Nearly one quarter of the population (12 of 50) did not reach age 10. Almost half of the people died
BSP 8:4 (Autumn 1995) p. 103
Fig. 12. Lower right second molar.
Decay present on the back (distal) root surface just below the enamel.
before they were 40. Nineteen (38%) of the burials were between 40 and 45 years of age. Only four individuals reached age 60. Pathological evidence from other ancient tombs in the country has yielded similar conclusions (see “Gezer Tomb Yields Its Secrets,” Archaeology and Biblical Research, Autumn 1991, pp. 106–107).
Dental analysis even sheds light on the stature of these people from the days of the judges. Fragments of jaw bones found with the teeth suggest the average height of males was about 5’6” (figs 13 and 14). As at Khirbet Nisya, there has been only minimal skeletal evidence elsewhere in ancient Palestine. The little evidence available suggests similar stature. Estimates from other sites (including nearby Jerusalem 400 years later) suggest males ranged from 5’4” to 5’8” in height. Interestingly, low ceiling beams in private houses at nearby et-Tell led the excavator there to propose a height of 5’3” for its inhabitants — living at the same time as the people of Khirbet Nisya.
It is instructive that, although these early Israelites seldom ate meat, it was central to their sacrificial system. This means they gave what was special, not what was commonplace, to God. Furthermore, for a number of their sacrifices, the offerer and his family were supposed to partake of part of the offering. This would have been a special treat, and helps explain why these occasions were considred festivals and such joyous affairs.
Fig. 13. Right lower jaw fragment, viewed from the cheek side.
Fig. 14. Right lower jaw fragment, viewed from the tongue side.