Roland Enmarch and Verena M. Lepper (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265420
- eISBN:
- 9780191760471
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265420.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book reviews the numerous developments in the theoretical framework of interpretation that have taken place over recent years. The application of more theoretically informed approaches to the ...
More
This book reviews the numerous developments in the theoretical framework of interpretation that have taken place over recent years. The application of more theoretically informed approaches to the ancient literary corpus, and a more detailed analysis of context, form, and reception, have fundamentally challenged the interpretative paradigms that formerly held sway. No consensus on interpretative stance has yet emerged, and in this volume many of the foremost researchers in the field examine the overall state of work on the subject. The chapters in the present volume are intended to contribute to this development of different approaches in their application to real Egyptian texts. No single overarching theoretical framework underlies these contributions; instead they represent a multiplicity of perspectives. The range of chapters includes textual criticism; literary criticism; the social role of literature; reception theory; and the treatment of newly discovered literary texts. All contributions centre on the problems and potentials of studying Egyptian literature in a theoretically informed manner. Although major difficulties remain in interpreting a literature preserved only fragmentarily, this volume demonstrates the ongoing vitality of current Egyptological approaches to this problem. This volume also incorporates a broader cross-cultural and comparative element, providing overviews of connections and discontinuities with biblical, Classical, and Mesopotamian literatures, in order to address the comparative contexts of Ancient Egyptian literature.Less
This book reviews the numerous developments in the theoretical framework of interpretation that have taken place over recent years. The application of more theoretically informed approaches to the ancient literary corpus, and a more detailed analysis of context, form, and reception, have fundamentally challenged the interpretative paradigms that formerly held sway. No consensus on interpretative stance has yet emerged, and in this volume many of the foremost researchers in the field examine the overall state of work on the subject. The chapters in the present volume are intended to contribute to this development of different approaches in their application to real Egyptian texts. No single overarching theoretical framework underlies these contributions; instead they represent a multiplicity of perspectives. The range of chapters includes textual criticism; literary criticism; the social role of literature; reception theory; and the treatment of newly discovered literary texts. All contributions centre on the problems and potentials of studying Egyptian literature in a theoretically informed manner. Although major difficulties remain in interpreting a literature preserved only fragmentarily, this volume demonstrates the ongoing vitality of current Egyptological approaches to this problem. This volume also incorporates a broader cross-cultural and comparative element, providing overviews of connections and discontinuities with biblical, Classical, and Mesopotamian literatures, in order to address the comparative contexts of Ancient Egyptian literature.
Jan Assmann
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199206575
- eISBN:
- 9780191709678
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206575.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
Taking Fishbane's groundbreaking methodological work in biblical mythology, this chapter explores the possibility of applying these insights to a range of non-Israelite historical and mythological ...
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Taking Fishbane's groundbreaking methodological work in biblical mythology, this chapter explores the possibility of applying these insights to a range of non-Israelite historical and mythological texts. It argues that such a thing as the narrative representation of the past is anything but normal and self-evident. It requires a general cultural option for change over against identity and continuity. The past, in order to become the subject of such a representation, must in itself possess a kind of narrative structure.Less
Taking Fishbane's groundbreaking methodological work in biblical mythology, this chapter explores the possibility of applying these insights to a range of non-Israelite historical and mythological texts. It argues that such a thing as the narrative representation of the past is anything but normal and self-evident. It requires a general cultural option for change over against identity and continuity. The past, in order to become the subject of such a representation, must in itself possess a kind of narrative structure.
Brenda J. Baker and Margaret A. Judd
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780195389807
- eISBN:
- 9780190254308
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195389807.003.0032
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter describes the individuals who studied aspects of health status or disease among ancient Egyptians and Nubians. It emphasizes the key developments in the formative years of Nile Valley ...
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This chapter describes the individuals who studied aspects of health status or disease among ancient Egyptians and Nubians. It emphasizes the key developments in the formative years of Nile Valley paleopathology up to the UNESCO High Dam campaign initiated in 1960. Mummies figured prominently in the unraveling of this history.Less
This chapter describes the individuals who studied aspects of health status or disease among ancient Egyptians and Nubians. It emphasizes the key developments in the formative years of Nile Valley paleopathology up to the UNESCO High Dam campaign initiated in 1960. Mummies figured prominently in the unraveling of this history.
Patrick Brantlinger
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450198
- eISBN:
- 9780801462634
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450198.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This chapter considers the adventure stories of H. Rider Haggard, which helped set the pattern for fiction combining geographical with archaeological discovery. His three best-known novels—King ...
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This chapter considers the adventure stories of H. Rider Haggard, which helped set the pattern for fiction combining geographical with archaeological discovery. His three best-known novels—King Solomon's Mines (1885), She (1887), and Allan Quatermain (1887)—feature British heroes discovering the remnants of ancient civilizations in southeastern Africa. It is argued that Haggard's racism and his fetishistic archaeology led him to insist that Great Zimbabwe and other ruins in southeastern Africa could only have been constructed by a civilized, white, or at least Semitic race. He saw the ancient Egyptians as a great civilizing race; he also saw the Zulus as a great savage race, and imagined that they would always remain savage. Though well aware of the theory of evolution, Haggard treats both savage and civilized races as if they were permanent fixtures, eternal certitudes that helped him believe in the permanency of British civilization and its empire.Less
This chapter considers the adventure stories of H. Rider Haggard, which helped set the pattern for fiction combining geographical with archaeological discovery. His three best-known novels—King Solomon's Mines (1885), She (1887), and Allan Quatermain (1887)—feature British heroes discovering the remnants of ancient civilizations in southeastern Africa. It is argued that Haggard's racism and his fetishistic archaeology led him to insist that Great Zimbabwe and other ruins in southeastern Africa could only have been constructed by a civilized, white, or at least Semitic race. He saw the ancient Egyptians as a great civilizing race; he also saw the Zulus as a great savage race, and imagined that they would always remain savage. Though well aware of the theory of evolution, Haggard treats both savage and civilized races as if they were permanent fixtures, eternal certitudes that helped him believe in the permanency of British civilization and its empire.
Salima Ikram (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774248580
- eISBN:
- 9781936190010
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774248580.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
The invention of mummification enabled the ancient Egyptians to preserve the bodies not only of humans but also of animals, so that they could live forever. Mummified animals are of four different ...
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The invention of mummification enabled the ancient Egyptians to preserve the bodies not only of humans but also of animals, so that they could live forever. Mummified animals are of four different types: food offerings, pets, sacred animals, and votive offerings. Here, a series of studies on the different types of animal mummies, the methods of mummification, and the animal cemeteries located at sites throughout Egypt are drawn together in a definitive volume on ancient Egyptian animal mummies. Studies of these animals provide information not only about the fauna of the country, and indirectly, its climate, but also about animal domestication, veterinary practices, human nutrition, mummification technology, and the religious practices of the ancient Egyptians.Less
The invention of mummification enabled the ancient Egyptians to preserve the bodies not only of humans but also of animals, so that they could live forever. Mummified animals are of four different types: food offerings, pets, sacred animals, and votive offerings. Here, a series of studies on the different types of animal mummies, the methods of mummification, and the animal cemeteries located at sites throughout Egypt are drawn together in a definitive volume on ancient Egyptian animal mummies. Studies of these animals provide information not only about the fauna of the country, and indirectly, its climate, but also about animal domestication, veterinary practices, human nutrition, mummification technology, and the religious practices of the ancient Egyptians.
Aidan Dodson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789774167164
- eISBN:
- 9781617977336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774167164.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter details the administrative functions, religious symbolisms, and other such historic intricacies of the Egyptian monarchy. At the pinnacle of Egyptian society sat the king. Below him were ...
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This chapter details the administrative functions, religious symbolisms, and other such historic intricacies of the Egyptian monarchy. At the pinnacle of Egyptian society sat the king. Below him were the layers of the educated bureaucracy, comprising nobles, priests, and civil servants, and under them the great mass of the people, largely living an agricultural life. The ancient Egyptian monarchy lasted in a recognizable form for over three thousand years. Although many changes occurred during that time, almost all of the fundamentals remained in being. The chapter also notes the difficulties of current historical sources for vocalizations and chronologies for the monarchical information since reconstructed.Less
This chapter details the administrative functions, religious symbolisms, and other such historic intricacies of the Egyptian monarchy. At the pinnacle of Egyptian society sat the king. Below him were the layers of the educated bureaucracy, comprising nobles, priests, and civil servants, and under them the great mass of the people, largely living an agricultural life. The ancient Egyptian monarchy lasted in a recognizable form for over three thousand years. Although many changes occurred during that time, almost all of the fundamentals remained in being. The chapter also notes the difficulties of current historical sources for vocalizations and chronologies for the monarchical information since reconstructed.
Aidan Dodson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789774167164
- eISBN:
- 9781617977336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774167164.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter serves as a brief overview of Egyptian society. It describes the significance of the land, agriculture, and religion to the Egyptian way of life; and more importantly how Egypt as we ...
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This chapter serves as a brief overview of Egyptian society. It describes the significance of the land, agriculture, and religion to the Egyptian way of life; and more importantly how Egypt as we know it today has been tied up with the Nile sustaining the ancient Egyptian population amid a vast desert inhabited solely by nomads. As agriculture was the principal occupation of the ancient Egyptian population, the chapter shows how the inner workings of the state and the schedules of the general population were reliant on the Nile's inundation cycles. Another significant part of ancient Egyptian life was its religion which, like Islam, was likewise bound up in in a way of life, making it very difficult to separate out the sacred and the profane. In addition to these, the chapter also briefly explores Egypt's state institutions, administrative divisions of land, and population demographics.Less
This chapter serves as a brief overview of Egyptian society. It describes the significance of the land, agriculture, and religion to the Egyptian way of life; and more importantly how Egypt as we know it today has been tied up with the Nile sustaining the ancient Egyptian population amid a vast desert inhabited solely by nomads. As agriculture was the principal occupation of the ancient Egyptian population, the chapter shows how the inner workings of the state and the schedules of the general population were reliant on the Nile's inundation cycles. Another significant part of ancient Egyptian life was its religion which, like Islam, was likewise bound up in in a way of life, making it very difficult to separate out the sacred and the profane. In addition to these, the chapter also briefly explores Egypt's state institutions, administrative divisions of land, and population demographics.
Aidan Dodson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9789774167164
- eISBN:
- 9781617977336
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774167164.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
For over three thousand years, the ancient Egyptian monarchy lasted in a recognizable form, with the king as its central figure, the supreme head of the administrative, religious, political, and ...
More
For over three thousand years, the ancient Egyptian monarchy lasted in a recognizable form, with the king as its central figure, the supreme head of the administrative, religious, political, and military state. Not merely a worldly leader, he was the chief link between the human and the divine, himself the physical offspring of a divine god. This book is a vivid account of the lives and times of some of the more significant occupants of the Egyptian throne, from the unification of the country around 3000 BC to the extinction of native rule just under three millennia later. Some, such as Thutmose III, had a major impact on their time, and were remembered by their own people until the very civilization collapsed. Others, such as Tutankhamun, were soon forgotten by the Egyptians themselves, only to burst into popular culture thousands of years after their deaths, as a result of the labors of modern archaeologists. Still more remain unknown outside the small circle of professional archaeologists, but led lives that call out for wider dissemination. Drawing on two further decades of research since it was first published in 1995, the book provides a mix of all three categories, bringing together a compelling view of Egyptian kings and all their range of achievements.Less
For over three thousand years, the ancient Egyptian monarchy lasted in a recognizable form, with the king as its central figure, the supreme head of the administrative, religious, political, and military state. Not merely a worldly leader, he was the chief link between the human and the divine, himself the physical offspring of a divine god. This book is a vivid account of the lives and times of some of the more significant occupants of the Egyptian throne, from the unification of the country around 3000 BC to the extinction of native rule just under three millennia later. Some, such as Thutmose III, had a major impact on their time, and were remembered by their own people until the very civilization collapsed. Others, such as Tutankhamun, were soon forgotten by the Egyptians themselves, only to burst into popular culture thousands of years after their deaths, as a result of the labors of modern archaeologists. Still more remain unknown outside the small circle of professional archaeologists, but led lives that call out for wider dissemination. Drawing on two further decades of research since it was first published in 1995, the book provides a mix of all three categories, bringing together a compelling view of Egyptian kings and all their range of achievements.
Alan B. Lloyd
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199286188
- eISBN:
- 9780191804328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199286188.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
Societies do not simply live in a physical environment. At least as important, if not more so, is the way in which they conceptualize that environment to make it comprehensible and tractable, which ...
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Societies do not simply live in a physical environment. At least as important, if not more so, is the way in which they conceptualize that environment to make it comprehensible and tractable, which is the focus of this chapter. It discusses the Egyptian conceptualizations of the physical structure of the universe, time, and the inhabitants of the cosmos.Less
Societies do not simply live in a physical environment. At least as important, if not more so, is the way in which they conceptualize that environment to make it comprehensible and tractable, which is the focus of this chapter. It discusses the Egyptian conceptualizations of the physical structure of the universe, time, and the inhabitants of the cosmos.
Salima Ikram
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774248580
- eISBN:
- 9781936190010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774248580.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
The author of this chapter made a decision to study the animal mummy collection, and initiated the Animal Mummy Project, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian ...
More
The author of this chapter made a decision to study the animal mummy collection, and initiated the Animal Mummy Project, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum, with Nasry Iskander being the designated collaborator from the latter institution. This project was one of the first modern, large-scale, non-destructive studies of animal mummies of all species undertaken anywhere in the world. The chapter's author's primary interest lay in studying the process of mummification when applied to animals, to see if chronological and geographical changes/particularities could be mapped, to understand the different categories of animal mummies, and to learn more about the ancient Egyptian environment. The ultimate aim of this project, after the mummies had been examined, was to conserve them, to produce a new, updated Catalogue Général volume as the original one had been rendered obsolete, as well as to reinstall the mummies in a more sympathetic museum environment.Less
The author of this chapter made a decision to study the animal mummy collection, and initiated the Animal Mummy Project, in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum, with Nasry Iskander being the designated collaborator from the latter institution. This project was one of the first modern, large-scale, non-destructive studies of animal mummies of all species undertaken anywhere in the world. The chapter's author's primary interest lay in studying the process of mummification when applied to animals, to see if chronological and geographical changes/particularities could be mapped, to understand the different categories of animal mummies, and to learn more about the ancient Egyptian environment. The ultimate aim of this project, after the mummies had been examined, was to conserve them, to produce a new, updated Catalogue Général volume as the original one had been rendered obsolete, as well as to reinstall the mummies in a more sympathetic museum environment.
