History and Narrative in a Changing Society: James Henry Breasted and the Writing of Ancient Egyptian History in Early Twentieth Century America
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History and Narrative in a Changing Society: James Henry Breasted and the Writing of Ancient Egyptian History in Early Twentieth Century America by Lindsay J. Ambridge A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Near Eastern Studies) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Janet E. Richards, Chair Professor Carla M. Sinopoli Associate Professor Terry G. Wilfong Emily Teeter, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago © Lindsay J. Ambridge All rights reserved 2010 Acknowledgments The first person I would like to thank is my advisor and dissertation committee chair, Janet Richards, who has been my primary source of guidance from my first days at the University of Michigan. She has been relentlessly supportive not only of my intellectual interests, but also in securing fieldwork opportunities and funding throughout my graduate career. For the experiences I had over the course of four expeditions in Egypt, I am deeply grateful to her. Most importantly, she is always kind and unfailingly gracious. Terry Wilfong has been a consistent source of support, advice, and encyclopedic knowledge. His feedback, from my first year of graduate school to my last, has been invaluable. He is generous in giving advice, particularly on matters of language, style, and source material. It is not an overstatement to say that the completion of this dissertation was made possible by Janet and Terry’s combined resourcefulness and unflagging support. It is to Janet and Terry also that I owe the many opportunities I have had to teach at U of M. Working with them was always a pleasure. Carla Sinopoli and Emily Teeter both gave generously of their time in serving on my dissertation committee. Carla radiates good will, and it is to her that I owe my 1910 edition of Breasted’s History of Egypt. Emily gave consistently insightful comments on chapter drafts, and her advice was crucial in reframing Chapter 4. Both of them have enriched not only the dissertation, but my experience in writing it. I have been privileged to work with wonderful professors in a variety of departments at U of M: Norman Yoffee, Piotr Michalowski, and Marjorie Fisher in Near Eastern Studies; John O’Shea and Jeff Parsons in Anthropology; and John Cherry and ii Sue Alcock, formerly of the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology. Several professors in the Department of Archaeology at Boston University (from 1998-2002) inspired me tremendously, among them my former advisor Kathryn Bard, as well as Paul Zimansky, Paul Goldberg, and Patricia McAnany. The research for my dissertation could not have been carried out without the assistance of the good folks at the Rockefeller Archive Center in Sleepy Hollow, New York, as well as the patient assistance of John Larson at the Research Archives of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Geoff Emberling and Emily Teeter also kindly facilitated the archival research during and after my visits to the Institute. I am grateful to Thomas James of the Oriental Institute for his assistance in securing permissions for the archival material, and Maeve Reed for putting me in contact with the descendants of James Henry Breasted. Members of the Breasted family have gone out of their way to help with copyright permissions for images, and I am thrilled to be able to thank two of the grandchildren of James Henry Breasted – John Breasted and Barbara Breasted Whitesides – for their very kind assistance and encouragement. From 2006-2007, I worked with a number of field directors in Egypt: Matthew Adams and Janet Richards at Abydos; Barry Kemp at Amarna; and Donald Redford at Mendes. I would like to thank all of them for welcoming me into their crew. The Quftis with whom we worked at Abydos and Mendes were a large part of making the fieldwork run smoothly, enjoyably, and with much camaraderie. Reis Ibrahim Mohammed Ali, Ayman Mohammed, Abu el-Fadel Mahmoud, and Nabil Fahmy el-Saman were integral parts of my experience at Abydos. At Amarna, the local workers not only kept us laughing on site, they welcomed us into their village and into their homes. I would also iii like to give a special thanks to Ayman Rashad for cheerfully facilitating my time in Cairo and Sinai. Funding for my fieldwork, as well as for my final year of graduate school, was provided by the Friends of Near Eastern Studies Fellowship, and I am grateful to the department and its donors for this fund. A number of friends and colleagues have been very important during my years in Michigan. Seth Button has been a constant friend since our first year together in grad school and I value his discernment in all matters. Dan Shoup is a wise owl and a great friend. James Bos, James Welshons, Emily Holt, Zoë McLaren and Andrew Bednarski are invaluable friends and champion commiserators. Alex Makovics – what a guy, what a crewmate! Paul and Stacey Simpson Duke have enriched my time here in more ways than I can say. Gad Lim is the kind of friend who tracks down an obscure source in Cambridge’s libraries and copies down by hand the information I need. My family has supported me during all my years of school, for which I am deeply grateful. To Zohar Raviv, who has provided more than I could possibly acknowledge, I extend heartfelt thanks. Oberlin College gave me wonderful incentive for the writing process by offering me a job, and I thank David Kamitsuka and the faculty of the Department of Religion. Finally, I am very thankful for Sunny Karnani, who has kept me laughing throughout the final stages of this dissertation. He has been ever ready with helpful advice and a sympathetic ear, and I owe him a great debt of gratitude. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ii List of Figures.................................................................................................................. vii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... viii Introduction........................................................................................................................1 I. Egyptology in America: The Gilded Age to the Jazz Age .......................................4 II. The Breadth of a Scholar..........................................................................................7 III. A Lasting Legacy...................................................................................................13 Chapter 1: Early Egyptology in America: Themes and Approaches........................18 I. Themes, Approaches and Sources..........................................................................19 II. Revisionist Approaches and Expansion beyond the West-Centric Framework.....33 A. Pharaonic and Muslim Egypt..........................................................................36 B. Conquest or Enlightened Occupation?............................................................38 C. Recasting Egyptology’s History......................................................................43 Chapter 2: A Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................46 I. Theory, Archaeology, Egyptology .........................................................................46 II. Establishing a Theoretical Framework...................................................................52 Chapter 3: A History of Egypt: Literary Science and Social Change........................61 I. Finding a Niche for Interpreting Breasted’s Text...................................................61 II. History in a Single Volume....................................................................................65 III. A New Egyptology ................................................................................................67 A. History as Science...........................................................................................70 IV. Society and Change in A History of Egypt ............................................................84 A. Evolution and Diffusion..................................................................................86 B. Progress and Conservatism .............................................................................91 C. Influence of Adolf Erman ...............................................................................96 D. The Orient as Narrative Motif.......................................................................100 Chapter 4: An Ordered World: Delineating the Progress of Civilization..............105 I. Ancient Times and Modern Problems...................................................................106 A. Breasted’s Window into World War I ..........................................................109 B. A Textbook instead of an Institute ................................................................113 II. The Rise of Civilization .......................................................................................117 A. Defining Civilization.....................................................................................120 v B. Geography and Race .....................................................................................124 C. Enlightened Exploitation and Warfare..........................................................131 Chapter 5: Social Idealism in a Changing World......................................................137