Evolution of a Taboo

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>From their domestication to their taboo, pigs and their shifting roles in the ancient Near East are among the most complicated topics in archaeology. Rejecting monocausal explanations, this book adopts an evolutionary approach and draws upon zooarchaeology and ancient texts to unravel the cultural significance of swine from the Paleolithic to today. Five major themes emerge: the domestication of the pig from wild boar in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, the unique functions of pigs in agricultural economies before and after the development of complex societies, the raising of swine in cities, the changing ritual roles of pigs, and the formation and evolution of the pork taboo in Judaism and, later, Islam. The development of this taboo has inspired much academic debate. I argue that the well-known taboo described in Leviticus reflects the intention of the biblical writers to craft an image of a glorious pastoral ancestry for a heroic Israelite past, something they achieved in part by tying together existing food traditions. These included a taboo on pigs, which arose early in the Iron Age during conflicts between Israelites and Philistines and was revitalized by the biblical writers. The taboo persisted and mutated, gaining strength over the next two and a half millennia. In particular, the pig taboo became a point of contention in the ethnopolitical struggles between Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures in the Levant. Ultimately, it was this continued evolution within the context of ethnic and religious politics that gave the pig taboo the strength it has today.</jats:p>