The Oxford Handbook of Egyptology

Cover
The Oxford Handbook of Egyptology
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Contributors
Introduction: Egyptology in the twenty-first century: an historical curiosity or setting new agendas in multidisciplinary research?
	Stretching Egyptology beyond European and American perspectives
	Issues concerning cultural heritage
	Investigating archaeological landscapes
	Science in Egyptology
	Archaeological practice and multi-disciplinarity
	Debates in ethnicity, human mobility, and cross-cultural contact
	Society and culture: viewpoints from texts and iconography
	Problems in the construction of historical narratives
	Contexts and problem-oriented approaches
	Bibliography
Part I: Egyptology: Perspectives on a Discipline
	Chapter 1: The nature and history of Egyptology
		Introduction
		Ancient sources
		Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment sources
		The Napoleonic invasion
		The early to mid-nineteenth century
		The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
		Twentieth-century Egyptology
		Histories of Egyptology
		Acknowledgements
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 2: Egyptology and cognate disciplines
		Introduction: a problematic birth
		Classification, translation, and identity
		Egyptology and its objects
		Writing ancient Egyptian history
		Literary artefacts and modes of performance
		Art, cognition, and object biographies
		Conclusion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 3: Egyptology in China
		History: ancient Chinese works, early Chinese tourists, and the founding of Egyptology in China
			The first Chinese doctorate in Egyptology
			Egyptology as a part of general ancient world history
			Establishing of IHAC
		Teaching and resourcing Egyptology in China
			Teaching: the view from IHAC
		Egyptological research in China: past influences and current trends
			Current research agendas
		Popularizing Egyptology in China
		International collaboration: the way forward
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 4: Reception of ancient Egypt
		Scope and history of research
		Sketch of the historical development
		The beginning of scientific Egyptology and the persistence of pre-Egyptological concepts
		The different storylines of the history of art and objects
		The study of reception: topics, diversity, and interchange
		Afrocentrism
		Future research approaches
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
Part II: The Natural Environment: Studying the Macro and Micro-Level
	Chapter 5: Landscapes and environmental history of the Nile valley: A critical review and prospectus
		Introduction: was the primeval Nile valley a marsh?
		Sub-saharan analogues for a free-draining, convex floodplain
		A closer approximation for pharaonic irrigation
		Critique of the Alleaume thesis on irrigation
		A manageable Delta
		Questions about the Faiyum
		Woodland habitats on a free-draining floodplain
			Sacred and ornamental trees
			A desert-edge ecotone (i.e. spatial transition between clusters of habitats)
		Discussion of the biotic landscape
		Geoarchaeology and environmental history: Giza as a case study
			Trends and oscillations of the Nile floods
			The wider picture of fluctuations in the level of the annual Nile flood
			Minor Nile branches near the Giza pyramids
			The challenge of poor floods
			Aeolian sands versus alluvial wash
			Exceptional desert flooding
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 6: Flora of ancient Egypt
		Introduction
		Brief history of archaeobotany
		Artistic evidence
		Objects placed in funerary contexts
		Textual evidence
		Archaeobotanical evidence from settlement sites
			Sampling methods
		Species present in ancient Egypt
			Cereals
			Other edible plants
			Oils and fibre-plants
			Wild grasses
			Reeds and sedges
			Legumes
			Other wild/weed species
			Trees and palms
		Discussion: current and future research
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 7: Ancient Egyptian fauna
		Introduction
		Sources
		Brief history of Egyptian faunal studies
		Current archaeozoology: a combination of methods
		Current concerns and future work
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 8: The mineral world: Studying landscapes of procurement
		Introduction
		Researching procurement landscapes: a brief history
		Landscape archaeology and the holistic study of procurement sites
		Practical and theoretical approaches to analysing procurement landscapes: new approaches and case studies
			The Aswan West Bank: deep histories
			The Wadi Hammamat: a landscape of contact
		Future directions: comparative archaeological approaches and local Egyptian initiatives
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
Part III: Archaeological Landscapes: Surveying, Characterizing, and Managing
	Chapter 9: Mapping and topography
		Introduction: the history of mapping Egypt
		Applying cartography to archaeological investigations
		Remote sensing
			The EES Survey of Memphis
			The problems and challenges of remote sensing
		Topography
		The natural environment
		Discussion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 10: Recording rock inscriptions: Methods and challenges from an Egyptian perspective
		Introduction
		Overview of epigraphic research methods used in Egypt
		The history of epigraphic research in Aswan
		The Aswan First Cataract: an overview of epigraphic survey work undertaken in the region
			Recent fieldwork
			The survey work of the Ancient Quarries and Mines Department
		Case Study 1: recording the rock inscriptions of the First Cataract region
			Documentation methods
		Case Study 2: the central Wadi Hammamat
			History of epigraphic research in the Wadi Hammamat
			Problems and challenges
			English–Egyptian joint mission to Wadi Hammamat
			Methodology
		Conclusion and discussion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 11: Cultural heritage management in Egypt: Community-based strategies, problems, and possibilities
		Introduction
		Cultural heritage management in Egypt: what is the state of play?
		Community-based heritage: the critique
		Implementing community-based heritage initiatives in Egypt: an overview
		Marginalization and the problem of ‘top down’ management and bureaucracy
		Case study 1. The central Wadi Hammamat: a peopled landscape
			The communities and potential threats at Wadi Hammamat
			Communicating a deeper history: stakeholder awareness and expanding the educational, touristic, and economic benefits locally
		Case study 2. Aswan: new directions in balancing heritage protection with local livelihoods
			Local dialogues and the case of re-directing modern quarrying and mining
			Issues still to be resolved: the influence of top down bureaucracy, control and sectional conflict
		Conclusions and discussion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 12: Methods of site survey and excavation in Egypt
		Introduction
		Survey methodology
		Excavation and recording methodology
			Stratigraphic units and single context recording
			Layers and levels (Schichten, Planum)
			Work-step recording (Fundstellen)
			Lot-and-locus system
			Section recording
			The stratigraphic matrix
		Discussion
			A case study
			Current issues—methodology and training
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
Part IV: Material Culture
	Chapter 13: Studying materials and technology: Introduction
		Introduction
		The study of materials and technology in Egyptology
		Ethno-archaeology and experimental archaeology
		The future for materials and technology in Egyptology
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 14: Settlement archaeology and the contextualization of domestic artefacts
		Introduction
		A brief history of settlement archaeology in Egypt and Nubia
			Amarna
			Deir el-Medina
			The influence of prehistory on settlement archaeology
		Areas of progress and debate in the archaeology and understanding of ancient Egyptian settlements
			Demographics and population estimates
			Ephemeral settlements and encampments
			Understanding the relationships between people and mud-brick buildings
		Strategies and problems in settlement archaeology in Egypt: the Gurob Harem Palace Project as case study
		Studying tools and domestic artefacts in their urban contexts
			Examining artefacts within their original contexts
			Refuse disposal mechanisms: exposing the hinterlands and afterlives of workshops
		Conclusions and discussion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 15: Ancient Egyptian pottery
		Introduction
		History
		Fabrics: Vienna System
			Other fabric classification systems
		Scientific technologies used for analysis of ancient ceramics (overview)
		Quantitative analysis
		Typology
		Why a good drawing is important
		Manufacture
		Function of vessels
		Strategies to tackle ceramics: consideration of context
			The art of discarding ceramics from archaeological excavations
		Going back to material from old excavations
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 16: Textiles
		Introduction
		Linen
		Current excavations
		Linen production
		Storage
		Cultivation and processing
		Looms
		Uses of linen
		Coloured and patterned textiles
		What linen means
		Status and economic values
		The future for the past
		Conclusions
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 17: Funerary equipment
		Introduction
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 18: Seals and scarabs
		Introduction: seals and sealing in ancient Egypt
		Pseudo-seals and amulet seals
		The seal-devices
		Cylinder seals
			Shape types of cylinder seals
			Sealing-surfaces of cylinder seals
		Stamp seals and stamp-seal amulets
			Stamp-seal terminology
			Shape types of non-scarab stamp seals
			Sealing-surface and seal-impressions of non-scarab stamp seals
		Scarabs
			Scarab terminology
			Back design of scarabs
			Bottom design of scarabs
			Use of scarabs
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 19: Mummies and physical anthropology
		Sources of information
		The early history of mummies
			The era of unwrapping
			The birth of complex mummy studies
			Holistic mummy studies
		Current work using science and ancient remains
			Imaging
			Palaeopathology and histology
			Other technologies, specialities, and the resulting data
			The future of the study of human remains
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 20: Ancient Egyptian architecture
		Introduction
		Discovering ancient Egyptian architecture
		Internal space, external shape, and landscape
		From the project to the building
		Materials and construction techniques
		Conclusions and future directions of research
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 21: Statuary
		Introduction
		Reception, acquisition, and excavation of statuary
		Publication and study of Egyptian statuary
		Materials and manufacture
		Statue forms
			Divine statues
			Royal statues
			Non-royal statues
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 22: Relief sculpture
		Introduction
		Types of relief sculpture
		Carving techniques
		Historical development of relief sculpture
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
Part V: Egypt and its Neighbours: Revisiting Cross-Border Relationships
	Chapter 23: Africa south of Egypt
		Introduction
		Names and terminology
		The Nile Valley south of Egypt
			Prehistory
			The First Intermediate Period
			The Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
			New Kingdom
			The emergence of Napata
			Later Napatan period
			Meroitic period
		Discussion: beyond Meroe
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 24: The Libyans
		Introduction
		Names
		Environment, culture, and geography
			The environment
		The Egyptian view of the Libyans: cosmology and history
		Iconographic evidence
		Libyan material culture in the New Kingdom: interpreting the archaeological evidence
		The Libyans in the Third Intermediate Period in Egypt
		Discussion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 25: Western Asia
		Introduction
		Background to the study of Western Asia in Egyptology: past influences and current trends
			Interdisciplinary work
			Theoretical models
			Ideological representation
			Identification and interpretation of ‘foreign’ materials
			Chronological synchronization
		Case studies
			Uruk, Egypt, Canaan, and the rise of the early state
			Discussion
			The Bronze Age Empire
		Future directions of research
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 26: The Aegean
		Introduction
		Chronology
			The Thera eruption
			LH IIIA2, Amarna, and Uluburun
		Contact routes
		Texts and inscriptions
		Artefacts and iconography
		Egypt in the Aegean
		The Aegean in Egypt
			The Tell el-Dab’a wall paintings
		The Theban tomb scenes
			Future research
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
		Addendum
Part VI: Egyptian History: Exploring Sources and Interpretative Frameworks
	Chapter 27: The Predynastic Period
		Introduction
		The origins of the Predynastic cultures
		Social structure
		Predynastic iconography
		The relationships between early Egypt and the Near East
		The origins of Egyptian kingship
		Future directions of research on Predynastic cultures
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 28: The Early Dynastic Period
		Introduction
		Egyptianness versus otherness
		Development of media
		Functions of writing, and its relevance for society in the perspective of sociology of knowledge
		A case-study in media, ideology, and politics: the dual kingship of Narmer
		Processes and structures in Early Dynastic history
		Events in Early Dynastic history
		Names and individuals in Early Dynastic history
		Memories of the Early Dynastic Period in later Egyptian history
		Epilogue: the dark side of history
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 29: The Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period
		An historical outline
		Available data on monuments
		Available textual data
		Data deriving from settlements
		Specific historical issues
			Periods and dating
			The Fourth Dynasty
			The Fifth Dynasty
			The Sixth Dynasty
			The end of the Old Kingdom
			The length of the First Intermediate Period
			The Ninth and Tenth Dynasties
			The ‘reunification’
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 30: The Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
		Introduction: the sources of data
		The Eleventh Dynasty
		The Twelfth Dynasty
		The Thirteenth Dynasty
		The Second Intermediate Period: general issues
		The ‘Hyksos’ culture and rulers
		The Theban dynasties
		Future directions of research
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 31: The New Kingdom
		Introduction: historical overview
		The Eighteenth Dynasty
		The Nineteenth Dynasty
		The Twentieth Dynasty
		Sources for New Kingdom history
			Funerary data
			Settlement data
		Future directions of research into New Kingdom history
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 32: The Third Intermediate Period
		Introduction
		Dynasty 21
		Dynasty 22
		Dynasty 23
		Dynasty 22A (Herakleopolitan/Theban Dynasty 23)
		Dynasty 24/Dynasty 26
		Other Egyptian kings not belonging to Dynasties 22, 22A, 23, or 24
		The Twenty-fifth Dynasty
		The Dynasties and their kings
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 33: Egypt in the Late Period
		Introduction
		The Twenty-sixth Dynasty
		The Twenty-seventh Dynasty
		The Twenty-eighth to Thirty-first Dynasties
		Future directions for research on Late Period history
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 34: The Ptolemaic and Roman periods
		Introduction
		Art and material culture in the Ptolemaic period
		Ptolemaic and Roman religion and temples
		The priesthood in the Ptolemaic period, and the importance of Memphis
		Hellenistic and Roman cults in Egypt
		Christianity
		Egypt’s place in the Roman Empire
		The administration of Roman Egypt
		Ptolemaic and Roman archaeology in Egypt
			Alexandria
			Naukratis
			Memphis
		Conclusions and future research directions
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
Part VII: Society and culture: Textual and Iconographic approaches
	Chapter 35: National administration
		Introduction
		The sources and research
			Writing and archaeology
			Titles
		Early Dynastic Period
		Old Kingdom
		Middle Kingdom
		New Kingdom
		Third Intermediate Period and Late Period
		Conclusion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 36: Localadministration
		Introduction and research questions
		Settlement patterns
		Provinces: the nome system
			The Old Kingdom
			The Middle Kingdom
			The New Kingdom
		Offices and structures
			Control of individuals
			Village administration and local councils
			Local administration of law
		Conclusions
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 37: Law
		Introduction
		Terms and concepts
		The Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period
			Property and its transmission
			Women’s rights, marriage, and divorce
			Legal transactions and their documentation
			Royal decrees
			Tribunals, court proceedings, and punishment
		The Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period
			Property
			Legal transactions and their documentation
			Women’s rights, marriage, and divorce
			Tribunals, court proceedings, and punishment
		The New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period
			Women’s rights, marriage, and divorce
			Legal transactions and their documentation
			Tribunals, court proceedings, and punishment
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 38: Genealogies
		Introduction
		Modern research into Egyptian genealogy
		Early Dynastic to Old Kingdom
		Middle Kingdom
		New Kingdom
			Deir el-Medina
		Twentieth to Twenty-second Dynasties
		Late Period
		Ptolemaic period to Roman period
		Conclusion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 39: Gods, mythology, and cosmology
		Introduction
		Sources
		The gods
			Gods reflected in animals
			Multiple forms and names
		Myth
			The Osirian myth complex
			Creation of the universe
			The solar eye
			Myths in cultural dynamics
		Cosmology
		Conclusion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 40: Symbolism and religious iconography
		Introduction: the origins of Egyptian symbolism
		The types and uses of symbols
		Symbolic landscapes and their inhabitants
		Discussion: studies of Egyptian symbolism—challenges and future directions
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 41: Theology
		Introduction
		Nome Monographs and Mythological Manuals
		Other priestly sciences
		Commentaries and discursive texts
		Readership of theological texts
		Dating the sources
		Historical development
		Conclusion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 42: Funerary beliefs and practices
		The Osiris myth
		Funerary rituals
		The ‘Night of the Vigil’
		The procession to the tomb
		The ‘Opening of the Mouth’ ritual
		The mortuary cult
		Discussion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
Part VIII: Scripts and Philology
	Chapter 43: Scripts
		Representing language: general principles
			Categories of signs
			The word level
			Determinatives/classifiers
		Historical sketch
			Origins and early development
			Hieroglyphic writing
			Linear hieroglyphs
			Hieratic
			Abnormal hieratic and demotic
			Cultural contacts and influences
			Obsolescence
			Coptic
		Pictoriality and iconicity
		High-cultural dimensions
			Registers of writing in a di(/tri-)graphic culture
			A hieroglyphic tradition
			Ludic dimensions and enigmatic writing
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 44: Lexicography
		The history of lexicography
			From the decipherment of hieroglyphs to the beginning of work on the Wörterbuch
			The Wörterbuch
			After the Wörterbuch
		Lexicography today
			Specificities of the lexicography of ancient Egyptian
			Current research
			Writing a dictionary today: database vs. dictionary
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 45: Grammar
		Introduction
		Coptic grammars
		Hieroglyphic Egyptian grammars: early progress
		The ‘Berlin School’
		British research into Egyptian grammar
		Polotsky and the ‘Standard Theory’
		Post-Polotsky developments: the gradual abandonment of Standard Theory
		Recent developments
		Bibliography
	Chapter 46: History of the Egyptian language
		Introduction: periodization of the language
		Elements of a cultural and social history
		Linguistic history: a selective presentation
			The Afroasiatic background
			Phonology
			Nominal morphology and syntax
			Verbal morphology
			Functional domains
			Some further changes
			Earlier and Later Egyptian
		Mechanisms and factors of change
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
Part IX: Textual Genres: Current Positions and Future directions
	Chapter 47: Orality and literacy in ancient Egypt
		Introduction
		Chronological developments
		Current debates
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 48: Historical texts
		Introduction: definitions and source material
		Chronicles
			Royal annals
			King lists
		Royal narratives
			Warfare
			Building activities
		Private narratives
		Future directions in the study of historical texts
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 49: ‘Autobiographical’ texts
		Introduction: the nature of Egyptian autobiographies
		Autobiography in the Old Kingdom
		The First Intermediate Period
		The Middle Kingdom
		The New Kingdom
		Third Intermediate Period
		The Late Period and Ptolemaic and Roman periods
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 50: Literary texts
		Introduction
		Definition of ‘literature’
		‘Instructions’
		‘Fine speaking’
		Biographies or travel narratives
		Use and context
		A note on transcription
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 51: Socio-economic texts
		Introduction
		Script, language, and material
		Methodologies
		Information available
		Controversies
		Problems and prospects for future study
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 52: Mathematical texts
		Introduction
		Sources
		Characteristics of Egyptian mathematical texts
		Social and cultural setting
		Historiography and controversies
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 53: Texts for healing and protection
		Introduction
		The Egyptological distinction between ‘magical’ and ‘medical’ texts
		Formal features of manuscripts
		Who were the users of the texts for healing and protection?
		Texts on other objects
		Texts for healing and protection as sources
		Current approaches and research priorities
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 54: Letters
		Introduction
		Definition of Letters
		Purpose of Correspondence
		Writing Materials used for Letters
		Formats used for Letters
		Chronological survey of letters
		Letters as source material
		Women’s correspondence
		Letters to the dead and gods
		Model and literary letters
		Problems in understanding letters
		New research possibilities
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 55: Demotic texts
		Introduction: definition of demotic
		Corpora and publications of museum holdings
		Documentary texts
		Legal texts (codes/protocols)
		Private legal texts
		Literary and scholarly texts
		Religious texts
		Magic
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 56: Coptic texts
		Introduction
		Christian, Gnostic, Hermetic, and Manichaean texts
		Coptic works concerning monasticism
		Saints, martyrs, and other religious figures
		Historical writings
		Sermons, homilies, hymns, and poems
		‘Sub-literary’ genres
		Epigraphic texts
		Socio-economic texts
		Coptic papyrology
		Coptic texts as artefacts
		Coptic texts in cultural context: the Monastery of Epiphanius
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 57: Rock art, rock inscriptions, and graffiti
		Introduction
		Predynastic rock art: Niloticizing the desert and imaging the cosmos
		Early Dynastic rock inscriptions: sealing the desert—ownership, hegemony, and the extension of ordered space
		The Old Kingdom: soldiers, miners, and priests
		The First Intermediate Period and the early Middle Kingdom: travellers, policemen, and foreigners—personality and history
		The Middle Kingdom: expeditions and outposts
		The New Kingdom: tourists, Nubia, the borders of the empire, and royal workmen at Thebes
		The Third Intermediate Period: formal tableaux, temple annotations, and priestly families
		The Late Period
		Rock inscriptions, graffiti, and religion
		Monumentality, innovation, and intimacy
		Tools and techniques
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 58: Ptolemaic and Roman temple texts
		Introduction
		State of publication of the temple inscriptions
		The writing system, lexicography, grammar
		Lexicography
		Grammar
		Bibliographies, translations, and teaching tools
		Studies on content/interpretation
		Conclusion
		Suggested reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 59: Greek and Latin sources
		Introduction
		Literary sources
		Papyrology and epigraphy
		Suggested reading
		Abbreviations used in this chapter
		Bibliography
Part X: Museology and conservation
	Chapter 60: Museum collections
		Introduction
		Acquisition and early collections
			Museums and archaeological context
			Museums in Egypt
			Display and authority
			Presenting ancient Egypt(s)
			Interpretations
			Research
			Engaging with visitors
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
	Chapter 61: Egyptian museums and storehouses
		Introduction
		The history of the Egyptian museums
		Categories of Egyptian museums
		The main Egyptian museums
		Local and provincial museums
		Archaeological-site museums
		Discussion: the problems of Egyptian museums
		Archaeological storehouses in Egypt
		Discussion
		Final word
		Bibliography
	Chapter 62: Conservation in Egyptological museum collections
		Introduction
		General considerations
		Deterioration processes of inorganic materials
			Metal objects
			Ceramics, faience, and glass
			Limestone and sandstone
			Ivory and bone
		Deterioration processes of organic materials
			Wood
			Linen, papyri, cartonnage, and mummies
		Discussion: conservation challenges
		Suggested Reading
		Bibliography
Index