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Violence, Power, and Human Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt A UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Kill Thy Neighbor: Violence, Power, and Human Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology by Roselyn Anne Campbell 2019 © Copyright by Roselyn Anne Campbell 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Kill Thy Neighbor: Violence, Power, and Human Sacrifice in Ancient Egypt by Roselyn Anne Campbell Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor Kathlyn M. Cooney, Chair While many forms of violence against human beings are considered taboo, others are considered acceptable or even desirable under certain circumstances. Human sacrifice in particular occurs as a form of state-sanctioned killing in societies throughout time and space. Evidence for human sacrifice in Egypt is sparse and controversial. In this study, I examine archaeological evidence for this practice in ancient Egypt, and human remains that are believed to be the victims of human sacrifice in the early stages of state formation. By assessing examples of human sacrifice around the world and exploring the ways that violence such as human sacrifice may become accepted or even celebrated, I place the possible examples of human sacrifice in Egypt within the broader scholarly conversation of violence, anthropology, and archaeology. Human remains that are believed to represent victims of sacrifice may shed light on the aspects of identity that led to selection of sacrificial victims. Though much of the data from ii Egypt was excavated over the past few centuries by scholars of various levels of experience, and though standards of excavation and conservation have evolved, it may still be possible to apply modern methods of analysis to old remains and yield new data. In this case, it seems clear that human sacrifice was practice in ancient Egypt, based on the evidence for skeletal trauma on many of the remains, but that the Egyptians viewed human sacrifice as very different from the violence expected of the king, as in smiting motifs or the defense of Egypt’s borders. By exploring the possibilities of old data to reveal new information, we may greatly expand our knowledge not only of the Egyptians but of human societies through history and around the world. iii The dissertation of Roselyn Anne Campbell is approved. Willemina Z. Wendrich Gail E. Kennedy Danielle Kurin Kathlyn M. Cooney, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2019 iv DEDICATION For my dad v Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 What is violence? ........................................................................................................................ 5 Sanctioning Violence .................................................................................................................. 9 Understanding Violence in Ancient Egypt ............................................................................... 12 Human Sacrifice in Egypt: An Overview of the Evidence ....................................................... 15 The Gap in the Literature .......................................................................................................... 17 The Data for this Dissertation ................................................................................................... 18 A Note on Terminology ............................................................................................................ 19 Structure of this Dissertation .................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 2 – Sacrifice and Sacrificial Burial ................................................................................. 22 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 22 What is Sacrifice? ..................................................................................................................... 24 Ideology .................................................................................................................................... 29 Who/What is Sacrificed ............................................................................................................ 32 When Does Sacrifice Occur? .................................................................................................... 36 Human Sacrifice versus Sacrificial Burial ................................................................................ 38 Finding Human Sacrifice in the Archaeological Record .......................................................... 39 Human Sacrifice and Sacrificial Burial around the World ....................................................... 41 Peru ....................................................................................................................................... 41 Maya ..................................................................................................................................... 44 Aztec ..................................................................................................................................... 46 Northern Europe: Bog bodies ............................................................................................... 47 Germany ................................................................................................................................ 51 Italy: The Etruscans .............................................................................................................. 52 Cis-Baikal Region ................................................................................................................. 54 Transcaucasia: Possible Human Sacrifices in Kurgan Burials ............................................. 55 China: Shang Dynasty........................................................................................................... 56 Mesopotamia: Ur .................................................................................................................. 60 Ancient Israel ........................................................................................................................ 64 Carthage ................................................................................................................................ 65 vi Central and West Africa........................................................................................................ 68 Sudan..................................................................................................................................... 70 The Case for Egypt ................................................................................................................... 71 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 74 Chapter 3-Ritual, Performance and Identity in Sacrifice .............................................................. 75 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 75 Ritualizing and Justifying Death ............................................................................................... 76 Identity and Human Sacrifice ................................................................................................... 76 Ethnicity ................................................................................................................................ 77 Gender and Sex ..................................................................................................................... 84 Age ........................................................................................................................................ 86 Identity Groups ..................................................................................................................... 87 Linguistic and Artistic Distortion and Depersonalization .................................................... 90 No Escape ............................................................................................................................. 94 The Symbolism of Physical Violence to the Body: Politicization and Performance ............... 94 The Performance of Sacrifice ................................................................................................... 99 Sacrificial Space.................................................................................................................... 99 Audience ............................................................................................................................. 100 Mode of Death .................................................................................................................... 103 The Evidence in Egypt ............................................................................................................ 105 Chapter 4 - Materials and Methods ............................................................................................. 106 Introduction ............................................................................................................................
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