UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Display and Devotion: A Social and Religious Analysis of New Kingdom Votive Stelae from Asyut Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7668q5st Author Wells, Eric Ryan Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Display and Devotion: A Social and Religious Analysis of New Kingdom Votive Stelae from Asyut A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures by Eric Ryan Wells 2014 © Copyright by Eric Ryan Wells ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Display and Devotion: A Social and Religious Analysis of New Kingdom Votive Stelae from Asyut by Eric Ryan Wells Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Jacco Dieleman, Chair This dissertation is a case study and analysis of provincial religious decorum at New Kingdom Asyut. Decorum was a social force that restricted and defined the ways in which individuals could engage in material displays of identity and religious practice. Four-hundred and ninety-four votive stelae were examined in an attempt to identify trends and patters on self- display and religious practice. Each iconographic and textual element depicted on the stelae was treated as a variable which was entered into a database and statistically analyzed to search for trends of self-display. The analysis of the stelae revealed the presence of multiple social groups at Asyut. By examining the forms of capital displayed, it was possible to identify these social groups and reconstruct the social hierarchy of the site. This analysis demonstrated how the religious system was largely appropriated by elite men as a stage to engage in individual competitive displays of identity and capital as a means of reinforcing their profession and position in society and the II patronage structure. Women also donated votive stelae at Asyut. Indeed, women appear to have enjoyed higher visibility, and much more independent social power and agency at Aysut than at any other New Kingdom site. However, the stelae also demonstrate that women were usually not public figures, and mostly gained their social capital through family connections. The presence of multiple social groups engaged in religious practice at Asyut demonstrates that individuals from all levels of society actively participated in formal Egyptian religious practices and displayed a personal connection to Wepwaut—although this connection was expressed in different ways. This challenges the often presented belief that there was a divide between so-called ‘popular religion’ and temple-based religious practice in the ancient world, and complicates the perception that belief in a personal connection to the divine and participation in formal religious experiences were limited to elite members of society. III The dissertation of Eric Ryan Wells is approved. Kathlyn Cooney Stuart Tyson Smith Jacco Dieleman, Committee Chair To Amber, Liam and Connor. IV V CONTENTS List of Figures .................................................................................................................................x Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... xvii Curriculum Vitae ..................................................................................................................... xviii Chapter One. Introduction ...........................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................1 1.2 Stelae Form and Function ....................................................................................................10 1.3 Representational Agency, Social Identity, and the Creation of Stelae .................................11 1.4 Interpretive Framework ........................................................................................................16 1.5 Summary ..............................................................................................................................20 Glossary of Terms ........................................................................................................................22 Chapter Two. Votive Stelae ........................................................................................................23 2.1 The Functional Evolution of Private Stelae .........................................................................23 2.2 Votive Stelae ........................................................................................................................31 2.2.1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................31 2.2.2 Motivations of the Creation of Votive Stelae ...........................................................33 2.2.3 Votive Stelae and Personal Piety ..............................................................................39 2.3 Egyptian Religion ................................................................................................................46 2.3.1 The Egyptian Religious System ................................................................................46 2.3.2 Egyptian Festivals and Votive Stelae .......................................................................50 2.4 Summary .............................................................................................................................58 Chapter Three. Ancient Asyut ....................................................................................................60 3.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................60 3.2 The Town of Asyut: Geography and Location .....................................................................65 3.3 History of Archaeological Work at Asyut ...........................................................................68 3.4 Asyut as a Cultural Center ...................................................................................................75 Chapter Four. The Salakhana Trove .........................................................................................81 4.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................81 4.2 The Procession of Wepwaut, the Deification of Djefay-Hapy III and the Deposition of the Stelae ..........................................................................................................................................89 VI 4.3 The Primary Dataset ..........................................................................................................100 4.4 Previous Approaches to the Study of Votive Stelae ..........................................................106 4.5 Methodology .....................................................................................................................111 4.6 Variable Classification System ..........................................................................................116 4.7 Summary ............................................................................................................................118 Chapter Five. Men at Asyut ......................................................................................................120 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................120 5.2 A General Description of Men and Social Status at Asyut ................................................121 5.3 Variables .............................................................................................................................129 5.3.1 Primary Variables for the Identification of Male Social Status ..............................129 5.3.2 Textual Variables ....................................................................................................130 5.3.3 Name .......................................................................................................................132 5.3.4 Title .........................................................................................................................134 5.3.5 Male Clothing Typology .........................................................................................139 5.3.6 Male Hairstyle Typology ........................................................................................144 5.3.7 Primary Variables Used to Identify Religious Access and Agency .......................145 5.3.8 Choice of God .........................................................................................................146 5.3.9 Divine Manifestations .............................................................................................147 5.4 The Courtly Elite ................................................................................................................149 5.4.1 The Social Status of the Courtly Elite.....................................................................149 5.4.2 The Religious Practice and Display of the Courtly Elite ........................................160