Name diversity sheds light on ancient societies

(Press-News.org) A new study has uncovered hidden social patterns in ancient Hebrew kingdoms by analyzing personal names from archaeological findings. Applying diversity statistics typically used in ecological studies, the researchers found that the Kingdom of Israel had a far more diverse onomastic (naming) landscape than Judah—indicating a more open, cosmopolitan society. Over time, name diversity in Judah declined, likely reflecting increasing religious centralization and sociopolitical control. This interdisciplinary approach opens new possibilities for studying ancient cultures using statistical methods usually reserved for the natural sciences.

Link to pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bsU41E51W8OF6fe4_3kIMnVOh-LkYKQP 

Personal names etched into clay and stone over 2,500 years ago are revealing new truths about ancient societies in the Southern Levant. In a novel interdisciplinary study, published in PNAS, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University and University of Haifa, applied advanced diversity statistics—borrowed from ecology—to ancient onomastic (name) data, uncovering striking differences between the biblical kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the Iron Age II period (950–586 BCE).

The study, led by Ariel Vishne and Dr. Barak Sober from the Hebrew University’s Department of Statistics & Data Science and the Center for Digital Humanities, finds that the Kingdom of Israel displayed significantly greater diversity in personal names than the Kingdom of Judah. This suggests that Israelite society was more open, cosmopolitan, and exposed to cultural exchange, while Judah increasingly narrowed its naming conventions over time—likely due to growing religious centralization and sociopolitical consolidation.

“Names are more than just labels; they are cultural artifacts,” said Dr. Barak Sober. “By analyzing naming diversity the way ecologists measure species diversity, we can detect patterns of identity, openness, and change that might otherwise be invisible in the archaeological record.”

Dr. Mitka R. Golub, of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, who compiled the comprehensive onomastic database used in the study, added, "The preserved personal names are windows into the past, revealing not just linguistic trends but also religious practices and social hierarchies of these ancient societies."

Drawing from over 1,000 personal names preserved on archaeological artifacts—such as seals, ostraca, and inscribed storage jars—the researchers applied sophisticated statistical methods originally developed to measure biodiversity in natural ecosystems. This allowed them to quantify not just how many different names were used, but how evenly they were distributed across the population.

Their findings show that:
• Israelite names were more diverse, even though fewer Israelite inscriptions survive, indicating a broader variety of cultural or linguistic influences.
• Judah’s name diversity declined over time, comparing the end of the 8th century BCE to the later 7th-early 6th centuries BCE, suggesting shifts in social and religious structures during the kingdom's final century.
• Geographic patterns also emerged: While Israel’s capital Samaria showed lower diversity than its peripheral regions—suggesting a more geographically dispersed elite population throughout the kingdom—Judah displayed the opposite, with Jerusalem exhibiting higher name diversity than the rest of the kingdom, indicating a more concentrated elite in the capital, possibly due to refugee inflows following Assyrian campaigns.

Professor Israel Finkelstein, a leading archaeologist from Haifa University and one of the authors, commented, "These findings align with archaeological evidence suggesting that the Kingdom of Israel was more cosmopolitan than Judah, with its strategic location along key trade routes fostering diverse cultural influences."

The research establishes name diversity as a powerful indicator of broader social dynamics. "Our findings suggest that societies with higher name diversity tend to be more cosmopolitan and open to external influences," explained Eli Piasetzky, a physics Professor from Tel Aviv University, also involved in the study. "Conversely, lower name diversity often corresponds to more traditional societies with stronger cultural conformity."

To validate this principle and to test the reliability of their findings, the team applied their methodology to modern naming datasets from countries including Israel, France, the United States, Australia, and United Kingdom. The analysis revealed fascinating patterns: female names typically show greater diversity than male names in the same population; name diversity has generally increased since the 1960s across all countries studied; and societies with more traditional characteristics tend to have lower name diversity.  Furthermore, these experiments showed that the statistical analysis performed is robust to the small sample sizes, a feat of many historical investigations.

“This is the first time that onomastic data has been studied using ecological diversity statistics,” said Vishne, the study’s lead author. “It allows us to view ancient societies through a more nuanced statistical lens and raises exciting possibilities for studying cultural change across time and place.”

The researchers emphasize that the surviving names mostly represent elite males, given the limitations of the archaeological record. Still, they argue that comparing elites across kingdoms can yield valuable insights into broader societal dynamics, especially in the absence of large-scale written sources from the period.

This study not only sheds new light on the Hebrew kingdoms during the First Temple period but also opens doors for applying statistical tools to other historical and archaeological corpora—proving that even in the ancient world, there’s a lot in a name. 
 

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