ARCHÆOLOGY OF EGYPT
Prof. Karl Petruso
ANTH
3373 / HONR 3304:
ARCHÆOLOGY OF EGYPT
Prof.
Karl Petruso
Syllabus, Fall Semester 2007
(revised Nov. 26)
Reading Assignments key:
Bard = Kathryn Bard, Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt (2007)
BT = Douglas Brewer and Emily Teeter, Egypt and the Egyptians (2nd ed., 2007)
Web links to assigned readings are shown in blue.
ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE TO BE COMPLETED IN ADVANCE OF ASSOCIATED LECTURES
T Aug 28
Introduction to the course. Scope, syllabus, policies, resources
Assignment: None
Th Aug 30
A brief introduction to archaeology. Sites and artifacts: Methods and tools of archaeological
fieldwork and analysis. Preservation. Dating methods.
Assignment: Examine maps of Egypt and the periodization of Egyptian history to prepare for the geography and chronology quiz on Sept. 20 (begin here).
If you have not had any previous coursework in or formal
exposure to archaeology, you will find it useful to browse any of Brian Fagan's college textbooks
on archaeology, particularly his In the Beginning; or, better yet, Colin
Renfrew and Paul Bahn's Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice
T Sept 4
The "discovery" of ancient Egypt. European exploreres, antiquarians and early archaeologists. The phenomenon of Orientalism
Assignment: Bard ch. 1; BT ch. 1; Emory University webpage on Orientalism
Th Sept 6
Ancient Egyptian languages and scripts
Assignment: Bard pp. 25-36; BT ch. 8.
Divertissement: Read the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, a short story much beloved by the ancient Egyptians. Go to the blog for this course and respond to my comment on the work, and/or contribute your own.
T Sept 11
Ancient Egyptian chronology and chronography
Assignment: Bard pp. 36-44; BT ch. 3
W Sept 12
Lecture by Prof. Steven Sidebotham (Univesity of Delaware): "Elephants, Pepper, and Pearls: The Ancient Port of Berenike on Egypt's Red Sea Coast." Dallas Museum of Art, 7:00 pm
Th Sept 13
Geography and environment of Egypt. Dichotomies. The River Nile: hydrology and rhythms
Assignment: Bard pp. 47-58; BT ch. 2
T Sept 18
Daily life I: Food and drink. Mineral resources. Resource needs
Assignment: Bard pp. 58-65
Th Sept 20
>>> QUIZ: Ancient Egyptian chronology and geography <<<
Daily life II: Houses and villages. Egyptian urbanism?
Assignment: Bard pp. 144-148; 186-189; 256-261; BT pp. 60-69; 73-78; ch. 7; pp. 142-153
T Sept 25
Paleolithic Egypt: hunting, fishing and gathering economies
Assignment: Bard pp. 69-79
Th Sept 27
Neolithic Egypt: the introduction of agriculture
Bard pp. 80-88
T Oct 2
>>> EXAM NO. 1 <<<
You must bring a Scantron Form 882-E and a no. 2 pencil to class. Neither Scantron forms nor pencils will be provided to you.
Th Oct 4
Predynastic Egypt: survey
Assignment: Bard pp. 91-104
T Oct 9
Early dynastic Egypt. Saqqara and Abydos. The evidence of labels and palettes
Assignment: Bard pp. 104-120; the Narmer Palette (go to "From A to Z"; click on N; click on Narmer Palette)
Th Oct 11
Old Kingdom I: pyramids, pyramid complexes and pyramid fields
Assignment: Bard pp. 123-151; BT pp. 176-182
T Oct 16
Old Kingdom II: survey of art and society
BT ch. 11
Th Oct 18
Egyptian religion I: cosmology, creation myths, deities. Ma'at
Assignment: BT ch. 6; Charles Long's essay on Egyptian mythology
[F Oct 19: Midsemester]
T Oct 23
Egyptian religion II: Afterlife. Death and burial
Assignment: BT ch. 10; Egyptian Book of the Dead, ch. 125; Precepts of Ptah-Hotep; Theban Mapping Project articles on Funerary Compositions and Funerary Equipment
Th Oct 25
Egyptian society and its institutions
Assignment: BT ch. 5
T Oct 30
The end of the Old Kingdom and the First Intermediate Period. Survey of Middle Kingdom Egypt. Buhen and Uronarti and the defense of the southern border
Assignment: Bard pp. 152-194; BT pp 69-71; The Admonitions of Ipuwer
Th Nov 1
>>> EXAM no. 2 <<<
You must bring a Scantron Form 882-E and a no. 2 pencil to class. Neither Scantron forms nor pencils will be provided to you.
[F Nov 2: Last day to drop courses. Students who plan to drop but miss this deadline must be given a grade]
T Nov 6
The Second Intermediate Period. Avaris. The Hyksos. The dawn of the New Kingdom
Assignment: Bard pp. 195-206; the Kamose inscriptions
Th Nov 8
Hyksos and Second Intermediate Period, cont.
T Nov 13
Tell el Amarna. Akhenaton, the heretic pharaoh. The Amarna correspondence
Assignment: Bard pp. 221-229; Great Hymn to the Aten; Amarna Letters from the kings of Babylonia, Cyprus and Hatti: EA7, EA35 and 38, EA41
Th Nov 15
Video: "Pyramid" (Nova documentary, Secrets of Lost Empires series): experimental archaeology contributes to the problematic issue of pyramid construction
Assignment: none
T Nov 20
Tutankhamun: life, death, burial, discovery and excavation. Egypt and Egyptians in the wider world: the Mediterranean, Anatolia, Nubia
Assignment: Bard pp. 229-235; Theban Mapping Project website, virtual tour of Tutankhamun's tomb (pull down Valley of the Kings menu to KV62); Mursilis's letter: a royal Egyptian widow and a murdered Hittite prince?
Th Nov 22
>>> THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY <<<
T Nov 27
Beyond Tutankhamun: Theban royal tombs of the New Kingdom. Tomb of Seti I. KV5. Ramesses the Great: Exploits and monuments
Assignment: Bard pp. 240-255; Theban Mapping Project website, articles on KV5 History, KV5 Excavation and KV5 Finds. Also, view the online movie and take the virtual tour of KV5 (pull down Valley of the Kings menu to KV5)
Th Nov 29
Origin of the Egyptian temple. Karnak, Abydos and Dendera: architecture, ritual and cult.
Assignment: Bard pp. 235-240; BT 159-164
F Nov 30
>>> Research papers due in UH 430 by 5:00 pm <<<
T Dec 4
Medinet Habu. The "Peoples of the Sea": an exercise in ancient ethnicity, geography and toponymy. The end of the New Kingdom.
Assignment: browse Ann Killibrew's Sea Peoples and Philistines website
Honors student reports: Birth, youth, maturity and old age in ancient Egypt (Kari Christopherson and Rebecca Fox)
Th Dec 6
Alexandria in Greco-Roman times. Excavating an Egyptian site of late antiquity. The end of Egyptian antiquity and the Arab invasion.
Assignment: Bard ch. 10; BT ch. 12
Th Dec 13
>>>
FINAL EXAM, 8:00 a.m. <<<
You must bring a Scantron Form 882-E and a no. 2 pencil to class. Neither Scantron forms nor pencils will be provided to you.
Conspectus Policies Research paper Bibliography