Preface

Ancient Egyptian civilization spanned over 3,000 years, and its prehistoric past was considerably longer. It is impossible to describe all of the primary archaeological evidence in any single book, but I hope that this text provides a useful foundation for studying the archaeology and culture of this remarkable early civilization.

I have been teaching courses on Egyptian archaeology at Boston University since 1988, and realized a long time ago that there was no one text that covered everything I wanted to teach in a comprehensive survey. This book now provides such information. In the first three chapters I examine the history of the field of Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology; archaeological theory and methods applied to the study of ancient Egypt; the study of the written language and scripts; the application of dating techniques and chronology; and the environmental setting, resources, agriculture, and animal husbandry. In the following seven chapters, I then present the main periods of Egyptian prehistory and pharaonic history. The chapters are arranged according to these periods because developments in pharaonic culture need to be understood from a chronological perspective, but the chapters can also be used selectively. My intent has been to cover the basics: everything I wanted to know about ancient Egypt when I began my studies.

Since textual information is so important for an understanding of this ancient society, relevant texts are briefly discussed in association with the archaeological evidence. In some cases the archaeological evidence includes excavations from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as more recent investigations of the same sites. Important topics, such as the Neolithic, state formation and Egyptian kingship, the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, mortuary beliefs, and mummification and the study of human remains, are highlighted in boxes throughout the book. Information in boxes also includes specific types of analyses, such as ceramic and lithic analyses, and discussion of some particularly important sites and discoveries.

This book is not only designed for broad survey courses on Egyptian archaeology, but it also provides useful background information and references for more advanced study. For classroom discussions, chapter summaries and questions are provided. Readers interested in archaeology and anthropology (especially early civilizations), ancient history and art history, ancient Near Eastern studies, and biblical and classical studies will also find this book of interest.

Archaeology needs to be understood through illustrations - of sites, buildings, artifacts, etc. - and this book is illustrated with plans, drawings, photographs, and color plates. A glossary of terms used is included, as well as an extensive bibliography of books and articles in English. Since so much work has been done in Egypt by non-English speaking archaeologists, an additional reading list of references in French, German, and Italian is also provided.