Remembering can be defined as ‘a means of extending life beyond the limitations of biological existence’,853 and be politically manipulated and used as a tool for providing societal cohesion, or for legitimizing social hierarchies by affirming that a society ‘consisting of rulers and ruled was proper and long-lasting’.854 Jan Assmann distinguishes instances of commemorative practice (shortterm memory and performance) from cultural memory (long-term memorialisation).855 The long term in relation to elite mortuary practices seems to have generally covered only two generations at most856 - the approximate limits of living memory - and in non-elite contexts such as the graves of Amarna South Tombs Cemetery was probably considerably less given the apparent scarcity of individual monuments or other mnemonic strategies. The fallibility of memory is widely recognised, with only one or two hundred years effectively separating memory from myth.857 It is easiest for archaeologists to access the inscribed, material end of the spectrum of memory practices, and despite the fact that embodied, performative, incorporated practices are more difficult to study, ‘footprints’ left by these activities are traceable in the archaeological record.858 In ancient Egypt such footprints take the form of physical remnants of cult practices, such as the offering trays and stelae discussed in Chapter 2, and the remains of objects relating to festive activities found in the vicinity of tombs mentioned in Chapter 4. Tomb scenes are more akin to fleeting shadows, wherein glimpses into idealistic worlds were conjured for an ideal eternity.
World History
