A Pluralistic Contextual Approach for the Interpretation of Egyptian Archaeological Sites Kevin M. Brown 1 April 2010 Submitted to the School of History and Archaeology, Cardiff University in partial fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UMI Number: U584633 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U584633 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. 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Full Title of Thesis A PLURALISTIC CONTEXTUAL APPROACH FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF EGYPTIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES Student ID Nu m ber: 0419955 Summary of Thesis: In the early part of the 20th Century Egyptologists were often on the cutting edge of archaeological practice, but in the latter part of the century, Egyptology had seemingly fallen behind other areas of the world in regard to methodology and archaeological theory. A historical survey covering not just the development of Egyptology, but also of archaeological theory is provided to support this contention. This dissertation then reviews this situation and seeks to remedy it by providing a theoretical methodology for interpreting Egyptian sites. Instead of selecting either processualism or post-processualism or holistic explanations as a sole theoretical model, the question is ask and answered as to what kind of theoretical methodology should be developed for use in Egypt. The Pluralistic Contextual Approach is introduced, which builds on the interpretive works scholars such as Lynn Meskell and Stuart Tyson Smith. It features the use and interplay of textual, artistic/representational, archaeological data sets which are then examined through an integrated, mutually supporting theoretical structure drawn from both processualism and post-processualism to provide interpretive insights into Egyptian culture. Two Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) sites, Kahun and Buhen, were chosen as case studies. These case studies were not intended to be full reinterpretations of the sites, but rather to demonstrate the interpretive value of the Pluralistic Contextual Approach. The case studies focus on interpretations of social class at these sites using this methodology, thus providing indications of class relations and hierarchies in Middle Kingdom Egypt. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS i LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vii LIST OF MAPS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix INTRODUCTION: THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM 1 Stating the Problem 1 Journal Review and Chart 2 Journal comparisons 2 PPS theory articles 3 JRS theory articles 5 JEA theory articles 5 Conclusions based on the journal reviews 7 Structure of the Dissertation 8 Historical background 8 Interpretive theory and interpretive method 9 Case studies 11 Conclusion 11 CHAPTER ONE: THE 20™ CENTURY TO THE PRESENT 12 Egyptology at the Turn of the 19(h Century 12 Amelia Edwards (1831-1892) 13 Sir William Flinders Petrie (1853-1942) 14 The Beginnings of the 20th Century to 1935 14 Systematic Archaeology in Egypt 14 Trends in Anglo-American and European Archeology 22 Stagnation and Growth: 1936 to 1960 24 Egyptology since 1930 24 i The rise of theoretical archaeology in the United States and Europe 27 1960 to the Present 30 Scientific and interpretive archaeologies in Britain, Europe and the United States SO The state o f archaeology in Egypt during the last four decades 32 The Present Position of Egyptology and Its Future Direction 34 Scholarly interviews and interview methodology 34 The present position 36 The current state of filed methodology and suggested improvements 39 Site interpretation and suggestions for improvement 44 CHAPTER TWO: A PLURALISTIC CONTEXTUAL APPROACH 47 Processualism and Post-processualism? 47 Theprocessual/post-processual debate 47 Hodder’s five criticisms 50 Other criticisms 53 Processual archaeology as a tool o f middle class capitalism? 56 Criticisms of post-processualism 5 7 Should archaeology in Egypt be rigidly defined as one 63 o f these approaches? “Holism” in Archaeology 65 Does holism have a specific meaning? 65 Criticism of holism 68 Holism is not useful for building an interpretive methodology in Egyptology 70 What Kind of a Methodology Do We Need? 71 Recognition that no approach will be able to account for every facet of a culture 71 The approach must be contextual 71 The necessity of inductivity 73 The necessity o f using multiple data sets, theories and contexts 74 Agency and materiality a necessity in a Pluralistic Contextual Approach 75 What Are the Needs for Such an Approach in Egyptology? 76 Good methodology and improving data sets in Egypt 76 Lack of theoretical interpretation still a problem 77 ii Why Has More Theory Not Been Used in Egypt? 77 CHAPTER THREE: DEVELOPING A PLURALISTIC CONTEXTUAL APPROACH 81 The Pluralistic Contextual Approach 81 Meskell’s framework 81 Criticisms of Meskell’s framework 86 Further development and wider application o f the interpretive framework 91 Textual Data 93 The use o f textual evidence 93 Types o f literary evidence 94 Considerations for the archaeological use o f textual data 96 The need to develop a corpus o f texts backed by site specific texts 99 Representational/Artistic Data 100 Use o f representational/artistic data 100 Limitations of representational/artistic data 103 Types of representational/artistic data 106 Archaeological/Material Culture Data 106 Use o f archaeological data 106 Specialist reports must be integrated into interpretations and not ends in themselves 109 Context 109 Methodology 110 Experimentation 113 Inter-site comparisons of archaeological assemblages 114 Theory 115 Numerous theoretical avenues can be used for interpretations 115 Theoretical considerations 117 Application of the Methodology 124 Methodology not intended to be complete re-interpretation o f sites 124 Case Study I: Kahun (el-Lahun) 125 Case Study II: The Fortress o f Buhen 127 iii CHAPTER FOUR: THE CASE STUDIES IN CONTEXT 128 Introduction 128 The Natural Environment of Egypt 128 Geology 129 Flora 132 Fauna 135 Background to the Sites 137 Types o f sites 137 Location and geography of the sites 140 Kahun 141 Historic overview of Kahun 141 Previous work at Kahun 145 Buhen 146 Historic overview of Buhen 146 Previous work at Buhen 151 CHAPTER FIVE: KAHUN CASE STUDY 156 Introduction 156 Selected Study Areas of the Kahun Case Study 157 Location o f the study areas within the Kahun site 157 How and where do the selected study areas fit into the site picture at Kahun 160 Data Used to Construct a Pluralistic Contextual Approach 160 Texts 160 Representative/Artistic data 162 Archaeological data 162 A Pluralistic Contextual Approach to the Interpretation of the Kahun Data 166 The town and its design 167 Some class system models 169 Fluid classifications 171 Social class as a matter of context 173 Temple hierarchies 174 Textiles and social class 176 Merchants and scribes - the middle class 182 iv The selected study areas and social class 186 Conclusions on the Kahun Case Study 189 CHAPTER SIX: BUHEN CASE STUDY 191 Introduction 191 Selected Study Area of the Buhen Case Study 193 Location of the study area within the Buhen site 193 How and where the selected study area fits into the site picture at Buhen 197 Data Used to Construct a Pluralistic Contextual Approach at Buhen 200 Texts 200 Artistic data 202 Archaeological data 202 A Pluralistic Contextual Approach to the Interpretation of the Buhen Data 20S The town and its design 205 Class system models 208 Military social hierarchy 209 Craft social hierarchy 217 Domestic civilian social hierarchy 225 Ethnic hierarchies 227 The selected study area and social class 232 Conclusions from the Buhen Case Study 239 CHAPTER SEVEN: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 242 Introduction 242 The 20th Century to the Present 243 A Pluralistic Contextual Approach 245 Developing a Pluralistic Contextual Approach 248 The Case Studies in Context 252 The Kahun Case Study 253 The Buhen Case Study 258 Effectiveness of the Methodology 261 Egyptology in the Future 263 v BIBLIOGRAPY 265 INTERNET SOURCES 285 APPENDIX ONE: JOURNAL REVIEWS AND COMPARISONS 288 APPENDIX TWO: BASIC CORPUS OF MIDDLE KINGDOM TEXTS 348 APPENDIX THREE: KAHUN ARTEFACT AND BOTANICAL INVENTORIES 350 APPENDIX FOUR: ARTEFACT AND POTTERY INVENTORIES FROM BLOCK, BUHEN 355 vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Page Figure 1-1: Chart showing the frequencies of theory articles throughout the publication histories of the PPS, JRS and JEA.