It's Eastertime, so I thought I'd highlight some pieces I wrote recently. Read them when you're too stuffed with chocolate to do anything else (or when your kids have their inevitable sugar crash and conk out on the couch)...
For Good Friday, check out the Bioarchaeology of Crucifixion. Made infamous because of the martyrdom of Jesus, this manner of death was practiced for centuries, but there is only one known example to be found in archaeology. I address the scant evidence and the reasons that we haven't found more.
And on Sunday, check out The Curious Case of Easter Eggs. Although it has suggested rebirth for millennia and has been associated with various religious and cultural traditions, the egg became a very potent religious symbol with the rise of Christianity. I explore the origin of the tradition of Easter eggs, including the still unclear practice of burying eggs with children in early Christian Rome, and the urban myth that eggs only stand on end at the equinox.
For Good Friday, check out the Bioarchaeology of Crucifixion. Made infamous because of the martyrdom of Jesus, this manner of death was practiced for centuries, but there is only one known example to be found in archaeology. I address the scant evidence and the reasons that we haven't found more.
And on Sunday, check out The Curious Case of Easter Eggs. Although it has suggested rebirth for millennia and has been associated with various religious and cultural traditions, the egg became a very potent religious symbol with the rise of Christianity. I explore the origin of the tradition of Easter eggs, including the still unclear practice of burying eggs with children in early Christian Rome, and the urban myth that eggs only stand on end at the equinox.
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The kind of eggs that were always on display at my Grandma's at Easter (credit) |