Testing Event Clustering in a Biblical Timeline
McCain, Wiley · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2025
Ongoing work (new preprint in preparation): I’m developing a new version of this preprint using an expanded event list with an explicit event-coding protocol (granularity rules, canon variants, chronology variants). Since posting, this project has received sustained engagement, with a high proportion of readers downloading the full dataset and preregistration materials. This Zenodo record (v1) is a frozen, citable version; subsequent revisions will appear as later versions OSF Project Link-use this for any updates as the project status is not reflected in the Preregistation. Project updates (OSF): https://osf.io/as8mq If you’d like to review or collaborate, please contact me at [email protected]. **Overview** Preregistered empirical analysis of biblical chronology as a dated event timeline (2000 BCE–100 CE). Tests if 109 narrated events show statistically extreme clustering in the early first century CE vs. uniform-timing null. **Key Findings** - 39 events (36%) in 25-50 CE bin (midpoint 37.5 CE) across 84 bins (mean 1.3/bin, 51 empty). - H1/H2 confirmed: Peak location [0,75) CE; dominance ratio 46.2 (>10 threshold). - H3: Monte Carlo p<3×10⁻⁷ (10M sims; simulated max peak=11). **Files Included** - PDF preprint: Full analysis (Testing Event Clustering in a Biblical Timeline). - BIBLICAL_EVENTS_UNIFORM_v1.csv: Preregistered 109 events dataset. - run_preregistered_analysis.py: Python reproducibility script (NumPy/pandas). **Preregistration**: https://osf.io/g6t7x/**Keywords**: biblical chronology, event clustering, Monte Carlo, uniform null, first century CE. **License**: Open (CC-BY or similar).