Kashrut x paleontology

[liv]

So I'm sort of learning kosher laws with my chevruta (on a fairly basic level, we're not ready for Chullin yet), and we came across the most amazing article. I present to you:

Plotnick, Theodor and Holtz Jr (2015)

I love many many things about this, starting with the title. (Seriously, click through, you won't regret it.) I love that it poses a much more interesting question than, can Jews eat fantasy or SF animals? namely, were prehistoric animals kosher and how can we tell? I love that it really clearly explains kashrut to a non-expert (and does so in a way that doesn't assume that everybody is an Orthodox American Ashkenazi). I love that it asks and answers the crucial question about paleontology: what can we infer from the fossil record and phylogeny? I love that it is actually informative about evolutionary history, and that it's deservedly published in a serious scientific journal, namely Evolution: education and outreach, because it's a fantastic example of educational writing. I love the slightly snarky comment in the discussion section: many religious groups accept that familiarity with the Bible does not require a literal interpretation of its contents or a rejection of evolution

It's funny, but it's not Purim Torah, it's informative and exceptionally well written. Likely to be of interest to everybody who enjoys weird kashrut edge cases, particularly seekingferret [e.g.] and lethargic_man, and I'm sure there are more of you.

Comments

[naraht]

Thanks for sharing! I've just popped this into the Jewish writers thread on a speculative writers forum that I belong to. I'm certain that plenty of people will find it interesting, and maybe even useful.

[seekingferret]

Thanks for the link, I'm looking forward to digging into this.

[hatam_soferet]

Huh, I really liked the bit where they considered if you could survive as a vegetarian.

Also, grasshoppers and cheese, ick.

[independence1776]

Thank you for the link! I've seen screenshots of the article on Tumblr, but they're nigh impossible to read.

[shewhostaples]

That was delightful - thank you for sharing!

[davidgillon]

What a fantastic article!

[oracne]

Thanks for the link! That article sounds GREAT.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

The rules are pretty descriptive. If a fish, does it have scales? If a land animal, does it split the hoof and chew the cud? Aurochs would've been kosher but not woolly mammoths.

Disturbingly, goat-based unicorns would be kosher.

[sfred]

*grin* That's great; thank you for sharing.