… writes Andrew, who follows this blog while taking the train into work in the morning. Based on the shroud …
… does Jesus have blond or white hair? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense if he was Jewish. Although there are no descriptions of what Jesus looked like in the New Testament, I think this would have stood out so much it would have been mentioned.
Maybe. I don’t know. We can only speculate. What are the odds? This is from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia under the subject of Hair (there may be something more current):
The true explanation of the existence of Jewish blonds has been the subject of lively discussions among anthropologists. Some believe that it is due to climate and environment (Pruner, Bey, Pritchard, Jacobs), while others attribute it to racial intermixture, particularly to the admission of Aryan blood into modern Jewry (Broca, Virchow, Schimmer, Ripley, and others). Elkind shows that the color of the hair is independent of the cranial index. Virchow’s investigations show that in the eastern or darkest provinces of Germany the proportion of blond types among Jews does not decrease; whereas in the Prussian provinces, which are predominantly blond, the Jews show the highestproportion of brunettes, and in Silesia, where the non-Jewish population is of very dark complexion, the Jews have a high percentage of blonds. The same has been shown by Schimmer to be the case in Austria. Andree ("Zur Volkskunde der Juden," pp. 34-40) points out that the fact that red and blond Jews are found in North Africa, Syria, Arabia, Persia, etc., is proof that intermarriage has had little to do with the production of the blond type in eastern Europe. He is of the opinion that there were blonds among the ancient Hebrews, and that the modern red and blond Jews are their descendants. Luschan agrees in this view. Jacobs attributes the erythrism of the Jews to defective nutrition, and shows that it is present not only among the European Jews, but also among those in Algiers, Tunis, Bosnia, Constantinople, Smyrna, and Bokhara, where the presence of Aryan blood could not be admitted.
Another thought: Ray Rogers and Anna Arnoldi in, Scientific Method Applied to the Shroud of Turin: A Review, wrote:
However, it has long been recognized that the images of the hair, moustache, and beard are anomalous. Figure 26 (sic, should be 27, shown here) shows a slightly contrast-enhanced view of the area of the face and hair. The density of the image is greatest in those areas. That can easily be explained by the inhibition of vapor diffusion through a mat of hair. Ammonia is first evolved from the lungs; therefore, amine concentrations would have been highest in the vicinity of the nose and mouth (moustache and beard).
Of course, this is assuming a diffusion model or something similar – a natural phenomenon.
Homo sapiens originated from early hominids in Africa, perhaps 150,000 years ago, although there were local variations in the timing of this development in different populations, and some have asserted that some of our species might possibly go back even 400,000 years. I recall reading some years ago, probably in a NZ Bob Brockie science column, that research had shown that those with blue eyes and other blonde features in present populations, were all descendants of one specific Scandinavian woman perhaps 10,000 years ago. I presume that this was shown by some kind of DNA marker in a large sample of those with the traits.
However if this variation occurred once, I suppose it might just be possible for it also to have occurred elsewhere, Dispersal of Scandinavian populations was extensive, certainly throughout Europe. Did any of their early descendants get as far as the Middle East to pass on the trait? I suppose it’s possible.
Blonde traits were also occasionally observed even in Polynesian populations by the early explorers. The Polynesians have been shown to have originated from a particular region in China, although doubtless there may well have been some occasional interbreeding with a few other unrelated populations. Did the variation occur only once, and then get passed on by descendants interbreeding with other populations? Or did it occur it more often? Are all blondes descended from a common blonde ancestor or from different blonde ancestors who incurred this particular variation? Time and further research may eventually provide the answer.
Two nights ago I fantasized about the
possible (…or impossible) connection
between studies of Mario Pincherle and
strange Nazi expedition to Tibet (led
by German zoologist and SS officer Ernst Schäfer)….
Himmler was fascinated by Asian mysticism
and therefore wished to send such an expedition
under the auspices of the SS Ahnenerbe
(SS Ancestral Heritage Society), and desired
that Schäfer perform research based on Hans
Hörbiger’s pseudo-scientific theory of
“Glacial Cosmogony” promoted by the Ahnenerbe…
As you see it is easy to fly with the strange hypotheses
of fantasy…
The Aryan race was described as native to
the area next to the Gobi Desert …and then
they migrated towards the Europe.
This presumed ancient migration perhaps was
due to some catastrophe that happened in Asia
in an ancient epoch…
Pincherle (now this writer is dead, too) said that
the antediluvian tower (= “the immense granite
monoliths hidden inside the Pyramid of Khufu”)
hidden inside the Great Pyramid of Giza comes
through a long journey from China, through India
and Mesopotamia to finally reach the top of the
step pyramid at Saqqara. Then from there this
ancient tower was moved to be hidden (inside
the building of the Great Pyramid …).
It seems to be in front of a particular vision,
an alternative to the known History …
>…In 2007 the Chinese government allowed
a National Geographic Society team headed
by Spencer Wells to examine the mummies’ DNA.
>Wells was able to extract undegraded DNA
from the internal tissues.
>The scientists extracted enough material
to suggest the Tarim Basin was continually
inhabited from 2000 BCE to 300 BCE …
Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_mummies
Then see also the old tests
(by Paolo Francalacci Univ. of Sassari)…
Other links:
http://blog.world-mysteries.com/strange-artifacts/the-tarim-mummies/
http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/german-expedition-tibet-led-ernst-schafer-1938-1939/
http://www.mariopincherle.it/method-of-short-cubic-woods-cheopes-pyramid.html
In any case it seems to be very easy to verify
what kind of ancient stone (= the presumed
remains from the “ancient tower”) there was
over the “step pyramid” of Saqqara (and this
can be done using a petrographic microscope,
or another kind of useful microscopy, etc.)…
Link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Djoser
Have you tried to investigate these questions?
Here an example of what was the strange
thinking of Mario Pincherle (about the Great Pyramid):
>…But the womb of the pyramid hides another
mystery: those immense monoliths, what
were they for?
>In other words: what is the pyramid of Khufu really hiding?
I have forgotten to write
the link:
http://www.gizapyramid.com/pincherle.htm
In 1969 Pincherle tried to put “a sort of bell for the academic world” with a study published by the Lincei, where he argued that the pyramid of Cheops is not a monument, but an astronomical monument (a sort of “reference” for the future mankind…).
Pincherle, in his book, “Il Gesù proibito” (= “The Forbidden Jesus”) wrote things somewhat “shocking”…
He tells how the apostle Paul speaks of Jesus without knowing him at all.
Here the opinion by Pincherle: “Unfortunately, the image of Jesus that we have now is very much based on what Paul wrote, but the reality does not match the phenomenon Jesus Christ…”
I don’t believe in the “Christ” of the “New Age” and it was not in my intention the idea to transform your blog in a sort of collection of “New Age” claims…
I wanted only to describe the particular ideas by Pincherle about the Gospel of Thomas and the figure of Jesus, etc.
The book by Mario Pincherle and Luigi Palazzini Finetti : “Il Primo LIbro del Mondo (Enoch)”, Filelfo Ancona 1979, was taken as “book of reference” by
the bortherhood/organization/sect “VitaNova” (an italian movement born in 1951).
The figure of Jesus in this organization has been transformed in thet of the Last Master of Essenes.
VitaNova was characterized by a doctrine in his own way also linked to significant works of Edmond Bordeaux Szekely (1905-1979) and to the activities of Italian “Unione Cristiani Bionaturisti”…
Is it really true the idea (= level of historic consistence) that Jesus passed a series of years with the Essenes?
Errata corrige:
>…transformed in that of “Last Master of the movement of the Essenes”.
Instead of:
>… transformed in thet of the Last Master of Essenes.
— — —
Another particular statements about the Essenes:
>”…For the Essenes averred that Moses had created them as a secret fraternity within Judaism, with Aaron and his descendants at their head.”
>”The prophet Jeremiah was a Master of the Essenes…”
>”…Isaiah and Saint John the Baptist were also Masters of the Essenes. …”
Link:
http://ocoy.org/original-christianity/the-christ-of-india/
Other Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menahem_the_Essene
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Av_Beit_Din
— — —
I have read that:
>The historical context of the Dead Sea area itself, and its extraordinary natural resources, as well as the archaeology of Qumran, confirm the Essenes’ patronage by Herod, and indicate that they harnessed the medicinal material the Dead Sea zone provides to this day.
Source:
“The Essenes, the Scrolls, and the Dead Sea”,
Joan E. Taylor,
OUP Oxford, Nov 2012
— — —
But…
Where is the true and interesting connection Essenes-India ?
Is it true that idea by Taylor?
Another mistake.
Sorry!
I reversed the position of the two sentences at the end of my message …
Errata corrige:
>Is it true that idea by Taylor?
— —
>But…
>Where is the true and interesting connection Essenes-India ?
Instead of:
>But…
>Where is the true and interesting connection Essenes-India ?
>Is it true that idea by Taylor?
— —
… And (probably), at the end, we have to try to solve the following historical problems:
1) Was the movement of Essenes influenced from the Buddhism?
2) Did Christianity emerged from the Essenism?
So…
I have moved my position very far from the initial question around the little problem:
… does Jesus have blond or white hair?
and then I have forgotten to ask :
Had blond or black hair
the ancient Essene persons ?
What is the situation about the scientific controls
about the DNA of the Essenes?
Here a vague information:
>…With funds from the State of Schleswig-Holstein, a new, state-of-the-art aDNA facility is being built that will expand the range of the analytical toolkit and research potential even further.
link:
http://www.ikmb.uni-kiel.de/resources/ancient-dna-laboratory
I believe that DNA of Dead Sea Scrolls are more studied (= the DNA of the scroll parchments)
with respect human DNA…
Link:
http://orion.mscc.huji.ac.il/orion/news/GolbRecent2007.pdf
Here an interesting case:
The Mysterious European Mummies of China…
Link:
http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/10/the-mysterious-european-mummies-of-china/
And here another migration (from Earth to Mars),
after the presumed “ancient migration” from
Asia to Europe (and strange archaeological findings.
See also: ancient DNA !)…
“Elon Musk, First Martian?
A Serious Conversation About the Future in Space”…
Links:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-24/elon-musk-first-martian-a-serious-conversation-about-the-future-in-space
http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-elon-musk-spacex/
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-05-15/news/62192342_1_elon-musk-orbital-sciences-moscow
The miracle happened in Fatima
in 1917 seem to be very impressive:
>… The sun “spun around in a mad whirl”
according to one observer. It began to
shine in different colors, which in turn
cast purple, yellow and other hues
across the entire landscape.
>Occasionally it would seem to lunge
towards the earth, causing people to cry
out in fear. In one of these photos, taken
at the scene, you can clearly see the
sun very close to the ground, far
from where it was supposed to be at solar noon. …
Unfortunately we are not sure about the exact
meaning of this vision, that scene can be
the end of our old planet Earth and then the hope
to save the humanity is an interesting question,
because in future our star (the Sun) will burn all
in our planet:
>In a few billion years, the sun will become
a red giant so large that it will engulf our planet.
>But the Earth will become uninhabitable much
sooner than that.
>After about a billion years the sun will become
hot enough to boil our oceans. … …
>… it seems likely that we have no more than
a billion years left for life to thrive on our planet.
Link:
http://m.space.com/28553-don-t-panic-but-the-sun-will-far-outlive-earth.html
Then the change of the location for
the “habitable zone” around our star
will be a problem to solve reserved
to our descendants in a far future,
even if (now) we can vaguely try to
already sketch something …
At present we can only try to think to escape
on Mars (and then: we can try to judge
the inherent efforts made by Elon Musk) and
in a far future in other places, like:
Titan, Europa and perhaps there’ll be no
more true future chances for this poor
humanity on this solar system…
Perhaps whose who believe in the expectations
for what might happen in Medjugorje are
much many, but we can not stop thinking
to imagine emergency solutions for this
humanity (full of sins).
For example: try to save a small portion
of our mankind on Mars (… and then I wonder
how will be the religious celebrations on Mars …
and when [and where, in what place?] the
celebration of the Holy Mass on Mars will happen?).
Obviously all these speculations about
the Future (near future or distant future) of
mankind are far from “simple analytical works”
on the precious materials of the Holy Shroud
of Turin, a problem so not too difficult to solve (IMO)…